Saved by the Rancher Page 3

  JACK WALKED DOWN Main Street with Sally to the diner and noticed the new SUV parked out front. Not many new cars in a small town like Hidden Springs. The woman sitting in the driver’s seat had her head back, eyes closed. At first, he thought maybe she fell asleep, until she shifted awkwardly and opened the car door. Moving more like an eighty-year-old woman, she eased out and limped toward the grocery store. About five-six, skinny as a beanpole and pale as a ghost. Though he missed getting a good look at her face, especially after she put on her shades, he did notice her nicely rounded curves. Her hair, knotted on top of her head, deep brown, until the sun shone on it, flashed red, like bark catching fire. He’d like to see it by firelight and watch it come to life. He shook his head to dislodge the thoughts taking root and shoved them away. He didn’t need complications in his life. Women were usually a complication—at least the ones he’d dated.

  Still, he watched her walk, unable to help himself. Something about her drew him. Pale, but probably beautiful on a good day. Maybe she had the flu. It had been going around town for the last few weeks.

  Jack entered the diner and took his usual back corner booth. Sally, his golden retriever, took up residence on his boots under the table and settled in for a late afternoon nap.

  “Hey, Mary. How’s business today?”

  “Not bad. A little slow right now, but the dinner crowd should be coming in soon. Do you want the usual?”

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  Mary brought him his cup of coffee, saying his burger and fries would be out shortly. Jack read the paper, drank the strong brew, and waited for his lunch.

  The bell over the front door rang and the young woman from the SUV came into the diner. Careful of her movements, she lowered herself onto a stool at the counter. Very pretty at a distance, up close, she made some ember spark to life inside him.

  “I’d like a cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich, please.” Her hoarse voice reinforced his earlier assumption she suffered some ailment.

  “Are you okay?” Mary asked.

  “I’m fine.” She lowered her head and took off her glasses, laid them on the counter with her purse. Mary poured her coffee and put in her order with her customary efficiency.

  Jenna put her shaking hands around the hot mug and drank deeply, hoping the coffee would breathe a little life and warmth back into her. Not many customers in the diner at this hour. The fewer people around her, the safer she felt. The other customers, including the nice-looking man in the corner, didn’t seem to notice her. Sandy blond hair, a day’s growth of beard, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen fixed on the paper he was reading. Relaxed in the room and with himself, he conveyed strength and confidence. Nothing bothered him. It was in the way he took up the space in the booth. She envied people like him. She used to be like him. Once.

  Jack couldn’t stop staring at her over his paper. She turned her head his way and he stopped breathing. Dark circles under her eyes marred her sickly pale skin. A dark bruise bloomed along her jaw, and a bad cut ran up her temple to her forehead. He took a closer inspection. Bruises speckled her arms, several more on the part of her legs revealed beneath the hem of her skirt. Her green eyes and face remained blank. What the hell happened to her?

  Mary asked after her. She replied with an automatic fine, but Jack saw a lot during his life in the military and knew she was far from okay. She tried to hide it, but not very well. He wondered if he shouldn’t take her to the hospital. He checked the impulse to go to her and at least try to make her smile. She looked lonelier than he’d felt the last several months.

  Mary placed his order in front of him and he asked under his breath, “Is everything okay up there?”

  “I don’t know, Jack. She says she’s fine, but did you see her?” Mary whispered back.

  “Yeah, I see her.” He couldn’t not see her. He tried, but everything inside him had focused on her.

  After leaving his order, Mary, pity and sadness set in her lips and eyes, grabbed the woman’s late lunch and set it on the counter in front of her. The woman worked up half a smile, but it took effort. She nodded her thanks and ate her sandwich in silence with her head down. Judging by the way she put away her lunch, Jack figured she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in a while.

  “Excuse me, do you know how to get to Stargazer Ranch?”

  Mary turned from making fresh coffee. “What do you want with Jack Turner’s place?”

  “I rented a cabin on his property.”

  “Mr. Turner is sitting in that booth over there. He’ll give you directions.”

  She laid a twenty on the counter, stood, kept her hand on the back of the stools for balance, and walked over to him. She stopped about four feet away and cleared her throat to get his attention from the paper he pretended to read.

  Not wanting to make it obvious he’d been watching her the whole time, he asked, “Can I help you, ma’am?”

  “Mr. Turner?”

  “Yes. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m Jenna,” she said, leaving off her last name. “Ben said he rented a cabin for me at your place.”

  Sally got up from under the table and sat guard at Jenna’s feet. Sally rubbed against Jenna’s leg, and unless he hadn’t been looking at her face, he would have missed the small wince of pain that crossed her eyes. She hid it quickly and bent to pet the dog on the head. Soft, loving strokes. Jack liked her for that alone.

  “Ben and I go way back. I saw him a few months ago. He rented the place, paid for a full year, but never said when to expect you. He called a few days ago, said you might show up soon. I guess you’re here.” She wasn’t exactly what he expected.

  “I am. Would you please tell me how to get to your place? Perhaps you have the keys, or someone at the ranch can give them to me.”

  “You look like you’re about to fall over, why don’t you sit down.”

  “I really just want to get to the cabin. I need some sleep.”

  “Looks like you need a hospital,” he coaxed in a soft voice.

  Her eyes pleaded with him. “Mr. Turner, please. Directions to the cabin, that’s all I want.” The fragility in her voice tore at his heart.

  “Follow Sally and me back to the ranch. We’ll get you settled. And it’s Jack. Call me Jack.”

  “I don’t want to cut your supper short, Jack.”

  “No trouble. I’ll take the rest of my food to go, and we’ll get you to the ranch.” He asked Mary to box up his meal. She made quick work of the job and handed over his lunch.

  Jack exited the booth and stood up tall in front of her. Just to see her reaction, he took a step toward her. She took two quick steps back. Sally stayed in front of her. Just what he thought, she was afraid of him—men. His anger flashed, and he narrowed his eyes. Some man did this to her. For reasons he didn’t want to identify, tenderness welled in his heart. She reminded him of a wounded bird. Skinny as one, too. Great legs from what he glimpsed below the flowered skirt. As wrinkled as she appeared, he guessed she’d been on the road a long time.

  He took another step toward her. She took one back, Sally keeping pace with her.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t touch you.” He dropped his voice to a near whisper. Her eyes grew large and the deep green softened to jade. He took a good long look into those pools of green. For a second, he thought he recognized something essential in them.

  “Um”—she held her hands tight together in front of her—“I don’t like people being too close.”

  “It’s all right.” Voice soft, he coaxed, “You go out first, and I’ll be right behind you.”

  Unable to stop looking at her, something pulled them toward each other. He thought she noticed it, too. They started for the door together, but she peeked over her shoulder twice to make sure he didn’t get too close.

  “Shouldn’t you pay your bill?”

  Jack gazed into her sad eyes. “I own the place.”

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t you want your change, miss?” Mary called
after Jenna before she exited the door. She turned so abruptly she almost ran straight into his chest. She took a quick step backward and so did he. He gave her enough space so he didn’t crowd her or make her feel threatened. Sally stayed at her side.

  “Keep the change.” Jenna half smiled, unable to meet Mary’s eyes. The tip wasn’t for the service, but for caring about her well-being. He liked her for that, too.

  They exited the diner and Jenna headed for her SUV with Sally on her heels. Jack’s truck sat parked a few spaces past hers.

  “Hop in my truck. I’ll drive you and send one of my guys to pick up your car later. You look like you’re about to fall over. It’s dangerous to drive when you’re exhausted.”

  “I’m okay. I made it this far, I’ll make it the rest of the way.”

  “I’d hate to see you fall asleep at the wheel and crash. I’d never get a chance to get to know you,” he added, without really thinking.

  The last made her take a step back, like even the thought of getting to know him made her want to distance herself. Still, something in the way she looked at him, just for a split second, made him think she might be interested in getting to know him too.

  “I’ll be okay. Shall we go?”

  Standoff. No way to convince her to get into his truck with him, a man she didn’t know and feared based on some other asshole’s unholy acts. Shit. Afraid to let her drive herself, but he relented. What could he do? If he tried to force her, she’d probably take off. “Come on, Sally, in the truck.”

  Sally didn’t budge. She stood at the door of the SUV next to Jenna, who stared down at the dog.

  “Go on, girl. Go to the truck.”

  Sally refused. Ornery, she sat on Jenna’s feet.

  “Sally, come on. Get in the truck.” Jack let his impatience tinge his voice. He wanted to get Jenna to the cabin and off her feet. She wouldn’t be standing much longer in her condition.

  “Jack, if you don’t mind, she can ride with me. It’s no trouble.” Jenna opened the door and Sally jumped in.

  Jenna carefully raised herself into the high driver’s seat. He wondered what her clothes were hiding. The cut and bruises on her face were probably not her only wounds. The way she moved indicated her back bothered her and the limp pointed to an injury to her leg. The skirt went down to just below her knees. Her thigh or hip must be injured.

  His anger simmered and a knot fisted in his stomach. He wanted to kill whoever did this to her. He wanted to take her in his arms, kiss every inch of her, and take all the hurt away.

  Nice, Jack. Real nice. She’s hurt, and you’ve got her undressed to tend a hell of a lot more than whatever wounds she’s hiding.

  Alone for a long time, too long maybe, he preferred it that way these days. Didn’t he? His last relationship ended in disaster when he finally closed his wallet and asked to share something more than his credit card. He wanted what his sister had, love, a family. Instead, he got a woman who took and gave nothing back. Jenna didn’t seem that way. Shoot, she’d left Mary a fourteen-dollar tip on a six-dollar meal just because Mary was nice to her. Now, that’s saying something. Reminded him of his mother, her warmth and kindness innate. He found it rarely in the women he dated, but seeing it in Jenna . . . well, it made him want to break his dinner-for-one streak and ask her for a date. His mother once told him after a particularly bad breakup that true beauty shines through from a warm heart.

  Jenna leaned over the console, wrapped her arms around Sally, and hugged the dog close. Her eyes closed when Sally nuzzled against her neck, offering the comfort Jenna so obviously needed and wanted. Funny, he wanted to give it to her.

  Well, she is staying at his ranch for the next several months. Plenty of time to get to know Jenna with the sad green eyes.

  Chapter Four

  * * *

  JENNA HARDLY NOTICED the dense woods, the pungent smell of pines, the green grass, or brilliantly blue sky. She concentrated on the two-lane highway and the silver truck in front of her. Whenever her eyes drooped, Sally barked.

  “What a smart dog you are, keeping me awake.” She gave Sally a nice pat on the head and rubbed behind her ears. Sally wagged her tail and kept an eye on her as she drove.

  They turned off the main highway onto a deserted road that wound up through the hills and down into the next valley. A huge ranch with green pastures filled with horses spread out before her. The main house sat off to the right of the property with several cabins tucked behind the huge white barn. The barn looked new, and from what she could see, well maintained. Jack, obviously, ran a tight operation.

  Across a large pasture and off to the left, tucked into the trees, another cabin stood, its pointed peak reaching to the high limbs. Beautiful, all wood with large windows, rustic, but not run down. Near the cabin, a creek ran along the back side and through the far end of the pasture where it met the trees again. She imagined hearing the rushing water while she slept. She couldn’t wait to explore.

  Jack headed toward the cabin, Jenna followed. The cabin’s gravel driveway split off from the main road just after the gates to the main ranch.

  Jack exited his truck and headed over to Jenna’s SUV. He opened the door for her and stepped back a good two feet, allowing her to exit on her own. Barely able to move, when she stood up, she wavered. He made a grab for her arm, but she braced herself with a hand on the door and the other held palm up to stop him before he touched her.

  “I’m fine. Just tired.” Sally jumped out and ran up the steps to the cabin door, waiting patiently for them to let her in.

  “I’ll get your bags,” Jack offered, giving her the space she needed, but keeping an eye on her just the same.

  “You don’t have to do that. I can manage.”

  “I’ll be surprised if you can get up those five steps to the door,” he offered with a smile to soften the frustration in his voice. He grew more disturbed with every tired movement and sigh she made.

  Too tired to argue with him, he was only trying to help, and she was being stubborn.

  He isn’t a threat. She repeated that to herself again. And again.

  Jenna walked toward the cabin at a snail’s pace, her body rebelling against her brain’s commands. Her leg was getting worse, her back and shoulders stiff. Every move made her muscles ache. Feverish sweat broke out on her forehead and between her breasts.

  Jack passed her, went up the steps and into the cabin before she made it to the first step. By the time she made it up to the third, he passed her on the way back to the car and brought up the rest of her bags and groceries. He never said a word about her slow progress, but his warm eyes remained watchful. She had no doubt if he thought she was really in trouble, he’d come to her rescue. Not such a bad feeling, she thought.

  She finally made it in the door. Jack stood in the kitchen, putting her groceries in the cupboards.

  “You only bought fruit and dry goods? Nothing for the refrigerator?”

  “I’ll go back to town in a few days for more. I didn’t know how long it would take to get here, so I only bought essentials.”

  “What’s with all the bandages? Are you hurt?” Ridiculous question. The bruises, her exhaustion, her inability to move normally proved she hurt. He needed to know how bad. All the bandages and medicine made him nervous. He didn’t think she’d give him a straight answer, but she surprised him again.

  “I have a cut on my thigh. I’ll put a fresh bandage on it. It’ll be fine. No problem.”

  Yeah, right, no problem. He should put her up over his shoulder and drag her to a hospital. Let a doctor get those clothes off her and see what they were hiding, find out what was hiding under that pale skin. He hoped she didn’t have any internal injuries.

  Jenna ignored his penetrating scrutiny and focused on the beautiful and spacious cabin. The kitchen was off to the back of the living space. Everywhere her gaze fell on wood: wood walls, cabinets, floors, and furniture. She loved it. A large loft with a queen-sized bed framed by massive windows s
at at the top of a steep set of stairs. A brown leather sofa faced the fireplace with a cream and navy blue rug under the pine coffee table. A gorgeous river-rock fireplace invited her to set a blaze and curl up in front of it for the next week. That’s just what she needed, someplace soft and warm to lie down and sleep.

  Her gaze fell to the wood floor. Flashes of memories poured over her: her lying helpless, bleeding in the cottage, all the pain and destruction. She inhaled sharply. Jack stared at her with blue-gray eyes that saw far more than she wanted him to see.

  She tried to cover her behavior. “The cabin is wonderful. I love it. Thanks for renting it to me.”

  He frowned, not buying her false exuberance. “I’m glad you like it. It gets cold at night this time of year. I’ll build you a fire and let you get some rest. There’s plenty of wood here and more on the back porch. If you run low, just let me know.”

  “I’d love a fire. Thanks.”

  He took another long look at her and at the stairs leading to the bed. She wanted to sleep. He wanted her off her feet. He didn’t even want to acknowledge the little daydream he had going of undressing her and laying her out on the cool sheets upstairs and them making a fire of their own.

  “Can you make it up those stairs?”

  She frowned, the longing for the bed clear in her eyes. “I’ll crash on the couch for a while. Once I’ve had some sleep, I’ll be better.”

  “Right. Better is probably relative in your world,” he said under his breath. Her eyes narrowed when she didn’t hear him, and he said, “I’ll help you up to the bed.”

  “No,” she protested and took two steps back and put up both hands this time, despite the fact he stood five feet away and never made a move toward her. “I’m sorry, I’ll be fine.”

  “That’s what you keep saying, but you don’t look fine, sweetheart.” He shoved down his instincts to take care of her, carry her up to bed, tend her wounds, and tuck her in for a good long sleep. He mentally kicked the shit out of his insane thoughts of wrapping her in his arms and holding her. Instead, he gave his hands something better to do and kneeled in front of the cold fireplace and stacked heavy logs and kindling, sparking a match, and setting them to blaze.