Most of the time, he didn’t mind that he had to drive a half-hour to and from the ranch. It was inconvenient tonight because his dad would have to take him home after a long day.
Henry considered everything while he was in the shower, and he decided to stay the night at the ranch. He would still take the day off tomorrow, but he would just sleep there tonight and save his father the trip.
Henry was accustomed to long days on the ranch working with animals. He knew how to take an effective shower, and within minutes, he had lathered and rinsed and repeated. Henrywas now fresh as a daisy, and he felt so much better. His jeans and shirt were neatly folded near the bathroom sink, but he knew he couldn't put them back on with how clean he felt at the moment.
He figured those women weren't there yet, so he had no second thoughts about making his way through his mom's house with very little covering. Henry towel-dried his hair and ran his fingers through it, pushing it away from his face. He wrapped the towel around his waist and headed out of the bathroom in search of some clean clothes.
He glanced both ways in the hallway, and when he saw that no one was there, he went quietly and quickly to the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the second floor. He had passed an opening that led to the main living area, and sure enough, he could hear women's voices from a distance. He figured the guests had arrived. No one could see him from where he was, so he kept moving.
He found the upstairs hallway and walked toward the spare bedroom where some of his old clothes were stored. He was walking quickly, but he stopped when one of the doors opened just as he passed in front of it.
There was a woman on the other side of that door, and he watched in amazement as she noticed him and then reacted. She was smiling when she first opened the door, but that only lasted a split-second. Her smile faded, and she looked shocked before her face whipped violently into the edge of the door. She must've taken a step at the wrong time because her foot got in the way, and made the door bounce back. She ran straight into the edge of the solid door. There was a cracking thud and then a moan, and she went limp. Henry dropped his dirty clothes and grabbed her by the arm, but she put a hand out, straightening, blinking, and touching her forehead with the other hand.
"Oh, whoa, are you okay?" he asked, having seen the whole thing. "Are you all right?" he repeated.
She blinked dazedly. "I hit my head," she said.
He had to stop the laughter from coming out. He was nervous from how hard she had hit it, and it was difficult to contain his reaction to her words. He held it in, though.
"You did hit your head," he said assuredly. "You hit it hard. Oh goodness. That'll leave a mark. It is leaving a mark right now." Henry could already see a vertical line forming on the front of her forehead where the corner of the door had smacked her face. "We might need some ice for that," he continued, staring at it as started to swell. The young woman touched her forehead, wearing a serious expression.
He could see that her eyes were full of tears, and he wanted to reach out and comfort her. She was sweet and cute, and he hated that she got hurt.
"What are you doing walking around with no clothes on?" she asked in a tone of dismay, as if that were the important thing at a time like this.
"I was just walking by here to get some clothes," he said.
She was turned away from him, leaning in and looking closely at the mirror, inspecting her forehead.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"No, you can't. I was just using the restroom. The lady who owns this house told me to come up here and use this one. I didn't expect to see anyone or to… intrude on your… shirtlessness."
Chapter 3
Amelia
I could not have been more humiliated. But it didn't matter because I was in too much pain to care. I clocked myself in the face by walking into the edge of a door, and a half-naked, gorgeous man witnessed the whole agonizing thing, including my stunned reaction. His abs were out, and he was wearing a towel with wet hair, freshly showered. It was like a joke. His whole muscular upper body was completely uncovered, and I had almost knocked myself smack-dab out the second I laid eyes on him.
I turned to the mirror to inspect my face. I blinked, and a tear fell onto my cheeks. It hurt, and a tear fell even though I didn't mean for it to.
I had hit my face hard enough that my ears were ringing and I was seeing stars.
"I'll yell at my mom and tell her to get you an ice pack," his deep voice said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Are you good with getting down the stairs? You might need to sit down for a minute."
I honestly couldn’t tell if he was being cheeky or serious. He seemed sincere enough, but my mind was swimming.
"I'm good," I said, answering him since I knew he was waiting for me to.
I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to focus on the place where there was the most pain. I was unable to fathom how hard I hit myself. My ears were ringing, and the mark on my forehead was changing… growing. I blinked, focusing on the throbbing area of my forehead.
"What's happening to it?" I asked, staring at it and blinking at the lump.
"Oh, it's a goose egg," the guy said, moving to come behind me and look at my reflection. "It's just that the blood has nowhere to go."
I was a biology student, and I technically knew what was going on. But in the moment, I was out of it, and it seemed really scary—life-threatening, even. I imagined that a real goose egg would be larger than a chicken's egg, and it struck me that the mark on my face would grow to be that big. I had heard of such a thing, but it was my first time experiencing it.
The words he said, combined with the lump that was forming on my forehead, caused me to feel suddenly lightheaded. I felt the blood leave my head, and I knew I needed to sit down. I took two steps back and sat on the toilet. I felt the man's hands on my arms, helping me down. He was stooping in front of me, looking at me with an expression of concern. I rested my face in my hands and took a deep breath, filling my lungs with oxygen before letting it slowly out. A long, slow breath.
