Saved by the Rancher Page 7

  “Is it serious?”

  “I don’t know. Something inside me broke loose yesterday when I met her. Every time I look into those green eyes . . . I don’t know . . . It’s something I haven’t felt before.” He tossed his hands up in the air and let them fall. “I can’t explain it.”

  Caleb smiled. “You think she’ll stay?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll try to convince her.” He needed to know what this thing between them was. She felt it too, just for a moment in the café. They’d both felt it. “All I know for sure is that I need to find out who did this, and do everything I can to make sure he never gets to her again. I can’t stand by and do nothing. I think that’s why Ben sent her to me. Besides the fact the ranch is isolated, he knew I’d protect and keep her safe against any threat, no matter who it is.”

  “You know Summer and I will do everything we can to help.”

  “Thanks. I think she’s starting to trust me a little. She doesn’t seem to mind when I’m in the room, or when I touch her. Course, she’s half out of it. We’ll see how she reacts when she’s fully awake. She’s got guts. I’ll give her that.”

  “I’m heading out. Call me on the CB if you need anything. I’ll be in the south pasture, then I’ll check the fencing to the east. The crews have all been sent out. Everything’s running like clockwork.”

  Caleb left the barn through the large open doors at the end of the stalls. Jack opened Blue’s stall door and stepped in to groom him. The physical work would do him good, and Jack knew horses were sensitive to emotions. Maybe spending some time with Blue would help him sort out his feelings.

  Blue put his huge head over Jack’s shoulder. Jack rubbed his hands down both sides of Blue’s neck. Blue rubbed his head against Jack’s head.

  “Yeah, big guy. I know. You missed me. A pretty lady needed me. Just like you.” Maybe that’s what finally broke the dam in Jack’s heart. Jenna needed him and he wanted to be needed for something deeper than his wallet.

  Jack continued to stroke Blue, working a brush over his whole body. All the strokes and exertion were helping Jack finally relax. Blue shook his big head up and down happy, letting Jack know he appreciated the effort.

  Jack finished grooming him and made sure he had feed and water. As he closed the stall door behind him, he gave Blue an apple.

  “You’re a fine friend.” Jack felt better.

  One of the grooms worked inside a nearby stall, and Jack ordered, “Take Blue into the pasture later, so he can get some exercise.” Jack wasn’t riding anywhere today and the big stallion liked a good run.

  He headed into his office at the end of the barn and found Pete waiting for him.

  “Everyone’s been talking about the lady you got up at the house. She okay?”

  “She will be. What’s everyone saying?” Jack asked.

  “All kinds of things. Mostly they think someone beat her up and you saved her. I saw her last night. Never seen anything like that. You get the guy who did it?”

  People were talking because Pete let it be known he’d seen Jenna. Jack’s behavior last night had been unexpected and Pete and the others wanted to know if the boss had himself a new woman.

  “I don’t know who did it. And I didn’t save her, she saved herself. I just patched her up. Hey, if you see anyone around the property who doesn’t belong, you let me know.”

  “No problem. Me and the guys, we’ll keep our eyes open. She staying here a while?”

  “If I have anything to say about it. Tell everyone to stop talking about her. I don’t want her to feel self-conscious or embarrassed. She’s scared right now, but she’s tough. She’ll get through this.”

  “If you need anything, we’re all here to help.”

  “I know, Pete. Pass the word that I appreciate it.”

  “Sure, Boss. I’d better get back to it.”

  Jack sat and leaned back in his chair, put his head back, and contemplated the ceiling for a while. Tired after the long morning, he gathered up the papers on his desk and worked his way through them. He spent hours working on the computer, entering figures and printing out reports. The ranch was doing well and turning a profit. Jack intended to keep it that way. He started on the paperwork for the diner when the office phone rang.

  “Jack, it’s Beth. You’re two hours late for lunch. Get up here.”

  Time slipped away from him. He hated doing the paperwork. He’d rather be out in the fields with the horses and cattle. He needed to check on Jenna and felt guilty he’d lost track of time.

  “She still asleep?”

  “Yeah, now come have lunch.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Jack usually went around the house and entered through the kitchen. Today he went in the front and up the stairs to check on her first. She hadn’t moved, was still sound asleep. Beth had put another cool cloth on Jenna’s fevered head. He prepared the antibiotics and gave her another shot and tucked the sheet around her so she wouldn’t get the chills.

  She stirred and called his name. He brushed his hand over her head and held it over her soft cheek. “I’m here,” he whispered. She relaxed again and settled into sleep. He rubbed his fist over the ache in his chest.

  Sally licked his hand. “You’re a good girl. Keep an eye on her.”

  Jack kissed Jenna’s shoulder and lingered over the task. Her skin, so soft. He brushed his lips over her. He hated to leave her, but he needed food and headed downstairs for lunch, knowing she pulled at him even as he left her sleeping.

  “She’s fine, Jack,” Beth said when he entered the kitchen. “Your face is hanging so low, you look like a hound dog. Don’t worry. She hasn’t stirred all morning, or afternoon.”

  “I know, but that fever hasn’t gone down.”

  “I have to leave in an hour. So you’ll need to stay with her, or have one of the guys come up to the house.”

  “She wouldn’t like having a strange man around if she wakes up. I’ll stay.”

  “Dinner’s in the fridge. Just pop it in the oven for half hour and you’ll be good to go. If she wakes, there’s soup in the fridge for her and fresh bread in the box on the counter.”

  “Yeah, I’ve thought about that. I need to get some fluids into her before she wastes away.”

  “Why don’t you call Doc Stanton and have him come check on her?”

  “If she isn’t better by tomorrow morning, that’s exactly what I intend to do, whether she likes it or not.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  * * *

  JACK SETTLED ON the couch to watch a ball game on the big screen TV. Beth left a few hours ago, and evening set in. He tried to get his mind on the game and off the woman upstairs. No good. He couldn’t muster up any enthusiasm despite his team leading three to one in the third inning. Sally ran in and jumped on his lap, whining and pawing at his chest.

  “What’s up, girl? I didn’t think you’d ever leave that room. You need to go out? Hungry?”

  Sally kept pawing at him and whining. He stood, practically dumping her off his lap, and walked to the front door to let her out, but she ran and stood by the stairs and looked back at him. Her warning registered and he ran upstairs to Jenna’s room and found it empty. Jenna wasn’t in the rumpled bed or the bathroom. Sally scratched at the door to the walk-in closet, whining, determined to get in.

  Jenna’s anguished sobbing came through the door.

  He knocked and called out, “Jenna, it’s me, Jack. I’m opening the door and coming in. You’re okay. I won’t hurt you.”

  His stomach in his throat, Jack opened the door into the dark closet. Sally ran in and lay down by the wall and Jenna. He hit the switch for the light and found Jenna huddled in the corner, wrapped in the sheet, her knees pulled up to her chest, her head on them as she rocked back and forth sobbing. Her hands covered her head. She’d done a good job of pulling most of her hair out of the braid.

  Jack slowly walked toward her. Plenty of room in the empty closet for both of them. Jenna sob
bed harder the closer he got to her in the back corner. Jack bent down on his knees a couple feet in front of her. She put a hand up to stop him from coming any closer. She never stopped rocking and sobbing.

  The past few days had crashed down on her. Inevitably she’d break down and have to let it all out. Every sound of misery tore at his heart and twisted his gut.

  “Jenna, I won’t hurt you. You’re okay. Let me help you back to bed.”

  She continued to rock, her body shook, and sweat broke out on her arms and what little he could see of the side of her face. She buried the rest in her knees and the arm she wasn’t holding up to him covered her head. He didn’t know what to do.

  “Jenna, baby, come to me. I’ll put you in bed. You’re okay.”

  “I won’t go back. I won’t go back. I won’t go back,” she sobbed and chanted.

  “No, honey. You can stay. Stay with me.” He added the last on a whisper.

  Jack moved closer and ran a hand over one of her hands and down to her shoulder. She pulled back and tried to curl up more. No place for her to go, she stuffed herself into the corner.

  “Come here, sweetheart. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

  He kept stroking her arm. She rocked and sobbed, shaking from the exertion.

  “I won’t go back. I won’t go back.”

  “Come on, sweetheart. Come to me. Please,” he begged.

  Jenna tilted toward him and Jack took the initiative. He grabbed her from around her back, putting his arm around her knees. He picked her up enough to move her between his legs, his back to the wall. He scooted himself into the corner with Jenna between his up-drawn knees. He crossed his ankles, making a circle around her with his long legs, and wrapped his arms around her and held on to her while she cried.

  She put both hands under his right arm and held on to his bicep, burying her face in his chest. Jack wrapped himself around her like a cocoon, letting her soak up all his warmth and protection. She cried it all out. Nothing else for her to do, he’d found her with all her defenses down. Too far gone, she didn’t have the strength to put up her walls and push him away.

  Summer stood in the doorway. Jack lifted his face from Jenna’s hair and met Summer’s sad eyes. He nodded they were okay and for her to go. Summer silently agreed and left.

  Jenna settled down after a while and her exhaustion took her into a deep sleep. He needed to get her back into the bed. Sitting on the floor probably hurt her, and he hoped her stitches were still intact. He rubbed his fingers back and forth over her soft skin on her shoulder. He didn’t want to let her go. Not yet.

  He listened for a long time. Her breathing evened out. The wracking breaths from crying subsided. Safe to take her back to the bed. His legs were half asleep, so he stretched them out and accidentally kicked Sally. Jenna didn’t stir. She did have a good hold on his arm and nothing had ever felt better than the feel of Jenna against him. He hated to let her go, but he couldn’t sleep with her on the floor of the closet all night.

  He scooped her up close to his chest and, bracing his back to the wall, rose as best he could from the floor without disturbing her. He carried her to the bed and lay her down on her stomach. Even with the sheet wrapped around her, he managed to pull it up her thigh and check the bandage and stitches. Still swollen and red, none of them were torn, making him grateful for that small mercy. Sally jumped up next to her and took up guard. He shut off the lights and crashed in the chair by the window. Tonight took an emotional toll on him. He never wanted to hear anyone cry like that again. He fell asleep watching over her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  * * *

  THE SUN SHINED through Jenna’s eyelids and she opened her eyes to a strange room. She recognized the tall, lean, handsome man asleep in the lounge chair by the window. Jack. Little memory of the last two days, but she remembered him doctoring her back and leg, murmuring in her ear, and holding her while she cried. He’d said comforting things that made her feel warm inside. She would never forget that low, soothing voice, or how she felt safe in his arms. Safe, a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. She’d be grateful to him the rest of her life for giving her the small respite from reality.

  She tried to move, but a paw pressed down on her shoulder. Sally gave out a soft bark. Jenna turned her head and came nose to nose with the golden retriever.

  “Good morning, Sally. No barking, you’ll wake up Jack.”

  “Jack is awake.”

  “Now see what you did.” Jenna turned her head again and stared at Jack.

  “How are you?” he asked. He took a measuring look at her. “Your face has a little more color. Your eyes are bright and clear. Fever must be down.”

  “I’m a little groggy, and I hurt everywhere. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is lying down by the fire in the cabin. After that, bits and pieces. A stinging pain on my back, something poking my thigh over and over again . . . you talking to me. I don’t really remember what you said, but I heard your voice.” She paused to gather her emotions. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  “Let’s start at the cabin.” He leaned forward and laid his forearms on his knees, his big feet planted firmly on the floor. “My sister pounded on the door, but you wouldn’t wake up. She came to cut your hair, which at first seemed kind of strange considering your condition. But then, when she took the towel off your head and revealed the mess someone made of your hair, well, it became clear.” Eyes boring into hers, fear flashed and turned to fury in an instant. Not sure she’d seen the first, she didn’t miss the second. “You scared her half to death, so she called me.”

  Anger laced his voice and every word. Tightly controlled, but underneath his icy gaze and matter-of-fact tone, he was livid. Familiar alarms went off in her head and the recognizable tingling feeling crept up her spine.

  “I used my key to get in. That’s when we saw the blood down your back and leg, not to mention the fact you were unresponsive and unconscious.”

  “I hadn’t slept much over the past four days.”

  “Yeah, I got that. How you sat in a car and drove for four days in your condition is another matter entirely. Anyway, the short version is, I called Ben. He said not to take you to a hospital, that it would just make matters worse. So I brought you here and fixed you up.” His tight control slipped.

  “You’re angry. I’ll go. I promise. As soon as I can, I’ll go.”

  He couldn’t stand to hear her pleading with him. Her voice changed to that of a child begging. He got up and stood over her. He spoke before he could control the tone of his voice and it sounded harsh even to him. “You’re not going anywhere. Do you hear me?”

  It happened so fast; he couldn’t believe she could move that fast in her condition. She rolled onto her left side and pulled her knees up to her chest into the fetal position. She threw both arms over and around her head to protect herself the only way she could. A bright red bloom of blood spread across the sheet where she tore the stitches in her thigh.

  Everything inside him shattered, crushed under the weight of his guilt. He never meant to sound so harsh. He just wanted her to know she didn’t have to go. Now he’d scared her half to death and made her tear the stitches. He caused this. He didn’t know if he could live with himself at that moment.

  Sally came around to Jack’s side and blocked him from Jenna, growling low and menacing.

  He spoke softly, hoping to reassure Jenna and gain back what little trust he managed to forge over the last two days. “Jenna, please listen to me. You’re bleeding again.”

  “I’ll go. I promise. You won’t ever see me again. I’ll go.”

  Slowly, he managed to move Sally from between them and kneeled next to the bed. “Listen to me, Jenna. I don’t want you to go. I’m sorry I yelled. I’m not angry with you. I’m not. I’m angry this happened to you. I’m angry with the scum who did this to you. Not with you, never with you. Stay here with me, I’ll keep you safe.”

  Jenna peeked out from between
her arms. “Do you mean that? It’s okay for me to stay?” She hadn’t known how much she wanted him to ask her to stay until he asked. Overwhelming hope bloomed inside her. The kind of hope she hadn’t felt in a long time. The kind of hope that was dangerous, because it left her open to more disappointment and hurt. She didn’t know if she could take any more.

  “I want you to stay.”

  She stared into those eyes, staring back at her and filled with so much warmth. She remembered the way he enveloped her and held her while she cried. Something unspoken passed between them. A bond, a promise, a connection shared.

  Tired of being alone, here was a handsome, rugged man offering her a lifeline. Scared to reach out for it, even more afraid not to and give up a chance to have something good and decent in her life.

  She laid her hand on Jack’s soft, lightly waved blond hair. When was the last time she touched someone? She stroked her hand down his head to his scratchy cheek and rested her hand against his warm skin.

  “I’ll stay.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes and Jack lovingly held her hand and kissed her palm, her fingertips, and her knuckles. She ran her hand back through his hair. He had great hair. She could bury her fingers in it. He closed his eyes and put his brow to hers.

  “Jack?”

  “Yeah,” he said without moving away from her. Her breath feathered across his face, so close he could kiss her.

  “Something’s wrong with my leg. It’s killing me.”

  He pulled back and spread his hand over her hip above the cut on her thigh. “I’m sorry I made you do that.”

  “It’s not your fault. Most women don’t react like I do when someone snaps at them. It’s just that my sensitivity is heightened after it happens. Takes me a few weeks to find some inner calm and readjust to being around people. Please understand, it’s not you. It’s not anyone here. It’s just me.”

  A soft knock at the door made Jenna jump. Jack put his hand over hers.

  “It’s okay. It’s probably my sister coming to check on you.”