Authors: Melody Snow Monroe
The next obstacle was washing. Her soap came in a bottle. She had to turn it upside down, squeeze out the liquid goo on her leg, then rub the soap onto her palm. She squeezed shut her eyes, almost wishing she had Wade and Heath to help her, but that went against everything she stood for.
Just deal
.
The hair washing didn’t go any easier. By the time she turned off the water, she was mostly clean and totally exhausted. Since her fingers on her right arm didn’t move very well, drying her hair tried her patience. Maybe she should just walk around naked with tangled wet hair. It would make her life easier.
Because she needed to let Jake, her foreman, know she was back, she had to dress. She’d finishing putting on sweatpants and a sweatshirt when the doorbell rang. Maybe Jake saw her return and wanted to check up on her. She pulled open the door.
“Hi, babe.”
She was speechless as Wade and Heath barreled in with a suitcase each. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, if you won’t move in with us, we’re willing to compromise. We’ll move in with you.”
Chapter Three
Samantha couldn’t believe their audacity. “You can’t stay here.” Her body wanted them, but there was no doubt these alpha males would try to make all the decisions. She couldn’t let her ranch hands see any weakness or she’d lose too much traction.
Heath stepped closer, and she could smell his aftershave. Involuntary tingles shot up her body.
Damn him
. He knew full well what his yummy smell would do to her.
He ran a finger down her good arm. “We’re just following the doctor’s orders. Besides, we want to make your life easier.” He tilted his head and his lips formed a small pout. Why did he have to sound so sincere?
Wade tapped her cast. “Don’t worry. We’ll put you to work. We know you can’t drive, so leave the shopping to us, but you can make all the ranch-running decisions.”
As if she would ever let them take charge. She studied Wade to see if he was telling the truth. She doubted it. He just said that to confuse her. What he really wanted was to get in her pants, and that would never happen.
“Fine.” They both grinned. “In fact, I was on my way to the kitchen to scrounge up some food. Maybe you can help me.” She wanted to see how much latitude they were going to give her.
“We’d be delighted.”
All three went into the kitchen. She sat down at the table, ready to watch them work. Her dad would be helpless there, and she expected the same from them.
Wade cocked a brow. “What are you doing?”
“You said you wanted to cook for me.”
“We do, but you need to help. There is no slouching here.”
She pushed away from the table, happy for some control. “We could make grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, or possibly a tuna salad sandwich.”
Wade didn’t look very excited. “You got any meat? I like a nice hamburger.”
Meat she had. “Sure.” She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the ingredients. When the plate she was holding tipped, Wade was there to help.
“I got it,” he said with a wink.
She tamped down her frustration. “There are buns in the pantry somewhere.”
Heath fired up the grill.
Together the three of them managed to whip up a meal. Making lunch went better than she ever expected.
Once they were all done, Wade picked up the dishes. “Why don’t you just sit and we’ll clean up? With your hand, you’d suck at washing.” He smiled, and her chest caved a bit.
She couldn’t quite get a handle on their agenda. First, they wanted her to participate, and now they wanted her to sit back. Did they want the control or not?
Bottom line, she decided this whole live-in thing wasn’t going to work.
They had just finished cleaning up when someone knocked on the door.
“It’s probably Jake. He’s my foreman. I haven’t seen him yet.” They followed her out to the living room, acting more like bodyguards than helpers. She didn’t want Jake to see the Watson brothers.
Before she opened the door, she spun around. “I don’t need you hovering. In fact, I would prefer if you didn’t. Jake and I need to talk in private.” She was pleased she didn’t come off as bitchy.
Once Wade and Heath made themselves scarce, she pulled open the door. Jake stood there with his back straight and his chest puffed out.
Oh my
. He’d shaved and had on a fresh shirt. Yes, he had on chaps over his jeans, but it looked like he went out of his way to clean up.
His eyes widened. “Sam, you okay? I’m so sorry.” He nodded to her cast and seemed genuinely concerned. Maybe she’d forgotten to tell him about the broken arm when she’d called.
“Come on in, and I’ll tell you.”
He was the one who’d spotted the rustlers last week when he was passing by late last week. He’d gone to get his horse so he could catch them, but by the time he got back, they’d taken off.
She led him into the living room and motioned he take a seat. She wasn’t sure where her
bodyguards
were, but she was glad she could talk in private.
He sat next to her and rubbed her hand. Unlike when Wade or Heath had gotten close, Jake’s touch unnerved her. In the six months she’d owned the ranch, he’d not tried to put the moves on her, though from the way he was looking at her now, he wanted to.
Jake leaned forward. “Did you recognize any of them?”
“No, but I don’t think they’ll be coming back.”
“You can’t be sure. You should hire a few guys to come at night for a while.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“You can’t afford not to. We’ve already lost twenty head. Hell, you could have three men at a thousand each to patrol a couple of times a week and you’d save yourself a ton of anguish.”
She quickly did the math in her head. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Hell yeah I’m right.”
Wade and Heath came out of the kitchen and Jake jumped up. “What are they doing here?” He narrowed his eyes and stared down at her. “How do you know they aren’t responsible for the rustling?”
Heath held up his hands. “I can assure you we did not steal Sam’s cattle. We got hundreds of our own to deal with.”
She believed them. “They drove me home from the hospital.”
Jake ground his teeth. “They’re not going to stay here, are they?”
She never lied. “For a bit.”
His breaths came out too rapidly. “I would have volunteered to help you. Don’t you know that?”
Her heart squeezed. My God, he was interested in her. It was the only thing that made sense. “They’re just helping me cook and clean. I need you to help herd the cattle and to see that the men do their jobs.”
His shoulders lowered. “You know I’ll handle the ranch hands for you.”
“I appreciate that.”
Even though they hadn’t discussed anything about the ranch, Jake turned tail and stormed out.
Wade smiled. “That went well.”
She rolled her eyes. “He takes his job seriously.”
“Never said he didn’t.”
She wasn’t sure how having the Watson brothers at her house was going to work out. She needed to work with Jake, and she didn’t need a spitting match every time he stopped by. Maybe she’d have to make a point of seeking him out first.
“If you’re determined to stay here, let me show you where the linens are. The bed in the guest room is made up already.”
By the time she got them settled, she was exhausted. “I’m going to take a nap. You okay by yourselves?”
“Don’t worry about us,” Wade said.
“Good.”
She went into her bedroom to lie down. After she struggled to get her boots off, she was too tired to undress. When light speared her eyes, she was shocked to find she’d slept away the night.
Showering would have to come after she ate something. She washed her face and brushed her teeth then headed into the kitchen. Only Heath was there.
“Hey.”
Heath spun around and smiled. “You’re up. Sleep well?”
“Too well. I didn’t realize I was so exhausted.”
“Can I fix you something? I bet you’re hungry.”
“That’s for sure. I’m starving.”
She poured herself a glass of juice and watched Heath fry a couple of eggs and bacon. He brought over the plate.
“I was looking at what you have in your kitchen, and it’s sorely lacking in vegetables. Once you finish eating, do you want to tag along with me to the farmers’ market in town?”
During the summer, the farmers sold their wares in town once a week. After spending all that time in the hospital, she’d like nothing more than to get some sun. “I’d love to.” She glanced down at her grungy outfit. “Let me put on something a bit more appropriate.”
Heath was dressed for the warm weather, so he didn’t need to change. Once she finished eating, she went into her bedroom and pulled out a few outfits, all of which required a bra of some sort. She found something cool enough and tried it on. Her tits peeked through.
Damn
. She tore off that top and dragged on another one. It wasn’t any better. Exhausted, she dropped onto the bed.
A knock sounded on her door. “You okay in there?”
She glanced at the clock. She’d been there for over twenty minutes. Not good.
“Just a sec.” Grabbing the bra, she held it tightly over her breasts. She looked down and saw that nothing showed. “Can you come in for a minute?”
Heath pushed open the door and craned his head forward. “You sure you want me in here?”
Samantha turned her back. “Can you do the back of the bra for me? I can’t reach it.”
He had the nerve to chuckle. “Sure.” His warm fingers caressed her skin as he slowly hooked the bra. “There. Anything else I can do for you?”
Damn him. He was enjoying her helplessness. “Just stay there.” She went over to the bed and picked up one of the discarded tops. Her mom had made this one for her birthday. The front of the T-shirt had the Circle Bar emblem on it, but she’d had to ditch it when she wasn’t wearing a bra. She pulled the soft tee over her head. Threading her hands in the sleeves normally took effort, but an extra set of hands guided her fingers through. She turned around.
He smiled. “You look good.”
“Thanks.” It was just a T-shirt.
Heath’s eyes were warm. As he leaned closer, his lids lowered and his lips slightly parted as if he was going to kiss her.
Noooo
.
She ducked out of the way. “I’m good now.”
“You wearing those sweatpants? You might get hot.”
Damn
. “No.” She lifted the pants she planned to wear with her good hand. They were skinny jeans and would require a bit of tugging. “Can you close your eyes?” This was going to be tricky, but she did need his help.
“Sure.” He did as she asked.
With her left hand, she grabbed his left hand and placed it on her right hip. She inhaled. “I need to get out of these. Now tug.”