A smile flickered across his face.“I was wondering when you’d admit you deliberately ambushed me.”
She averted her eyes.“I wanted to discourage you from buying the ranch.”
“Why?Somebody will, sooner or later, and you don’t own it now, anyway.”
She mustered her composure and faced him.“Eb Whitlock wants it, but he doesn’t have the kind of money you do.Eb’s a neighbor and a friend.He’ll let me keep running the ranch.”
“And you thought I’d fire you?After you’ve proved how valuable you are to the whole operation?”
“You’re an Easterner.Who knows what you would do?”
“Never trust anybody who comes from east of the Mississippi, is that it?”
She lifted her chin.“Works for me.”
With a sigh, he settled his hat on the log beside him.
“But I’m sorry I’ve crippled you,” she added.“You didn’t really deserve that.”
“What if this experience sours me on the True Love and I decide against buying it, just like you planned?Will you be sorry then?”
She looked into his blue eyes, sharp with pain.“Yes, I’ll still be sorry.It was a dirty trick and I apologize.Why don’t you let me ride down and arrange for a helicopter?”
“No.”He took a swig from the flask and contemplated his boots.
“I don’t think you can get those off by yourself.”
“Of course I can.”He leaned slowly forward.“I—augh!”He straightened and passed a hand over his face.“And to think only this morning I could tie my own shoes.”
“Here.”Freddy straddled his leg, her backside to him, and took hold of his boot heel.“Resist me on the count of three.”
“In this condition, I’ll be able to resist you no matter how long you count.”
“Very funny.Now get ready.One, two, three!”She yanked and he yelled, but the boot came off.“Now the other one.”She repeated the procedure, then turned to face him, looking directly into his eyes.“Now the pants.”
Defiance flashed in the blue depths.“I can do?—”
“It’ll be faster and easier if I help you.”A heavy load of guilt pushed her to press on in this mission of mercy.“This is no time to be modest, T.R.You need that Bag Balm applied as soon as possible.Imagine yourself as a patient in the emergency room of a hospital.”
“I usually try to avoid the hospital if I can help it.”
“And no woman has ever taken off your pants?”
He took another drink from the flask and impaled her with a look.“I didn’t say that.”
To her dismay, she flushed, which completely destroyed the air of sophistication she’d been striving to maintain, but she barreled on, just the same.“Take off your belt and unbutton your jeans.I’ll work them off from the ankles.”
He held her gaze while he complied, and she met his challenge for as long as she could before looking away.She suspected the liquor he’d imbibed accounted for the bold stare.The trail ride had been a dumb idea, she decided.She’d thought that by tomorrow she’d be celebrating her victory over the briefcase-carrying businessman who had tried to steal her ranch.Except that T.R.was no longer an impersonal enemy, but a vulnerable man in pain.A sexy man in pain.And that was the crux of the problem.
“I’m ready.”He was still regarding her with the same intensity.Only now his jeans were unfastened and his hands were braced on either side of him in what had to be an unconscious gesture of invitation, considering his condition.“Got a bullet for me to bite down on?”
“You’ve seen too many movies.”Taking a deep breath, she squatted between his ankles.As she tugged on the stiff denim, breath hissed between his teeth.She paused.
“Just keep going.”
Trying to remain focused on his ankles, she worked the material down.His socks came with the jeans, and finally she was forced to grasp the waistband and pull it past his calves.The job couldn’t be done without touching him, but she tried to minimize contact.In spite of her efforts, her fingers encountered firm muscle and the tantalizing brush of hair.She swallowed and wrenched the jeans over his feet with more force than was necessary.
He gasped, but didn’t cry out.
