Page 27 of In Bed with the Rancher

While her heart raced, she pushed slightly and looked up at him. “You’ll be late getting to your parents’ for their family dinner for you tonight. You said you wanted to shower.”

“Yeah. Want to join me?”

“You’d never get there for dinner,” she answered, shaking her head.

“Okay. I’ll go and I’ll hurry. I don’t even know where the shower is.”

“You’re a big boy. You’ll find it,” she said, turning to walk to the glass doors that opened onto a balcony.

She heard his boots as he crossed the room and then she was alone. She walked across the spacious room, saw an open door and walked into a large bedroom with black-and-white decor and an oversize bed with a mirror above the bed. She walked over to a glass table with steel legs. A picture in a silver frame was on the table and she picked it up to look at Wynn and a gorgeous blonde smiling into the camera. His arm was around the woman and she had her hand on his knee and was leaning against him. Her black dress was elegant and looked expensive.

Ava put the picture back. Looking at the picture, she hurt inside, even though common sense made her question if there was a woman in his life.

She glanced around and walked out onto the balcony to look at Dallas spread below, but her thoughts were on Wynn and how tonight might be goodbye.

“I’m ready to go to my folks’ house,” he said, stepping out on the balcony minutes later, and her heart thudded. His black eye was gone and his bruises had almost faded away. His thick black hair was neatly combed. He wore a crisp white dress shirt, open at the throat, gold cuff links in French cuffs, navy slacks and his same boots, and if she had thought he was handsome before, it was nothing to the way he looked now. Her heart raced and she wanted to touch and kiss him and just look at him.

“Wow, do you clean up good.”

“Dang. Now I really do want to call them and tell them I can’t get there until tomorrow night.”

Laughing, she took his arm. “No, you don’t. No telling what they’ve been doing to get ready for your homecoming. Come on, handsome man, let’s go. The sooner you go, maybe the sooner you’ll get home.”

“Yeah, right. I’m sure not the rancher brother—there isn’t a pair of boots in that whole big closet that is filled with clothes. I don’t know where or how I got these. I have to tell you, my taste in clothing must have changed with this bump on my head because there are some flashy clothes in that closet that I can’t imagine wearing.”

She laughed. “On you, I’m sure anything would look good, you handsome devil,” she teased.

“I really would like to cancel tonight and go see your house and bedroom and shower.”

“Maybe we can work that in later or tomorrow,” she said lightly, but she hurt because she thought of the beautiful woman in the picture with him. She could easily be at his parents’ home, waiting for his arrival.

As they rode down in the elevator, Ava couldn’t keep from looking at him. He still had the shadow of short whiskers on his jaws and chin and the look in his dark eyes made her pulse continue to race.

“I can take my car and use the GPS.”

“When you can’t remember you parents, I don’t think I should let you go on your own. I’ll take you this time and I’ll be happy to pick you up and take you back to my place or yours,” she said, turning to smile at him.

“Oh, baby, I want to turn around now.”

“No, your family is waiting. Let’s go.”

She drove to an older part of Dallas, where homes were mansions, set back from the street with landscaped yards, tall shade trees and well-tended beds of blooming flowers in the warm Texas fall.

“I’d like you to meet my family. Have dinner with me and my family tonight.”

She wanted to say yes, but she didn’t think she should. “Thank you. That’s nice, but you’re going home to your family and you don’t know what you’ll find. Your memory hasn’t returned. You reacquaint yourself with your family. You may have a girlfriend here tonight waiting to see you and that could be awkward if I’m with you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “I guess you’re right. I’ll be with you later tonight. By then I’ll know my family and any friends they have join us tonight.”

“Maybe seeing where you grew up and your family will begin to trigger memories.”

“If it doesn’t, I’ll be sharing my time between a doctor’s office and a home with a bunch of strangers who are my family. I don’t even know what kind of work I do.”

“I suspect you don’t have to worry about it too much.”

His family home had a circular drive and she took him to the porch steps of a sprawling three-story mansion with a wide front porch that had white Doric columns.

“Well, here’s your parents’ house,” she said. “Your childhood home, from what we could learn.”

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