“So are you.” He huffs back.
My lips form a flat line, and I squat, still holding his hand. I’ve peed behind bushes and trees and behind barns and fences with cowboys everywhere, but never one this close. He’s going to hear it hit the water for hell’s sake.
“Can you plug your ears?” I groan. “This is embarrassing.”
The bothered look on his face turns into a smirk. “I can do that. I would leave the room, but I don’t trust you to call me when you need help to get up and out of here.” He turns around, and I wonder what’s running through his head.
“How old are you?” I look up at him from where I sit, his back facing me. He’s got enough grey in his beard thatI’d guess around forty. But the physique of this man is insane.
“Forty-five.” He drawls, from the deepest part of his throat and I shiver as I relieve myself. Part of me wants to believe that’s just what happens when you pee—but the bigger part of me knows, that wasn’t what gave me the shiver at all.
His bare back flexes in the dimly lit room. The only light, coming from the hallway outside the bedroom door, and the moonlight floating through the windows. I take whatever silent moments these are to memorize his body. From the top of his head, down to his heels. I doubt I’ll ever see him naked again, and if he’s the only man I ever see that looks like this, I want to remember.
“Finished?” He grunts and I realize it's quiet.Crap.How long have I been sitting here?
“Yes.” I clear my throat and grip the metal bar next to me as I spread my thighs wider in order to wipe. Standing on my good foot I reach down to pullhisbaggy shorts up with my panties. I wiggle my hips to help get them situated and then I lift my gaze—my boss’s bearded scowl staring down at me.
“When did you turn around?” I blurt out. My scowl now matches his.
“When I heard my shorts slide over your hips. You were quiet, and I had to make sure you weren’t bending over so far, you lost your balance. You forgot to flush though.”
His arm reaches behind me and he presses the small flush handle on the toilet. I straighten and use my lips to blow the long hair from my face. “I didn’t forget. I justdidn’t have time to do it yet…boss.” There’s a certain tone to my words and I know he hears it. He picks me up with one arm, just like he did last time and a warmth floats down into my belly. What the hell is happening to me?Dixie Jean Wilder, you quit it right now!But I can’t. It’s beyond my control, so I let him help me to the sink to wash my hands… again.
He gently lifts my leg and places the pillow under my ankle. “How does that feel?” I realize he’s looking at me for confirmation. I nod my head to let him know it’s just right.
“Thank you.” I breathe in disbelief of what just happened. I can’t believe any of this is happening.The bad dream continues.“Oh!” I pause. “Would you bring me some more ibuprofen please?”
“If I don’t, I’ll catch you sneaking out of this room, trying to climb the kitchen counter to get it yourself.” I swear he winks on his way out. I think I’m gonna start my period, that’s it. My emotions are tricking me, and that’s what is happening. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then I hear him come back in.
“Asleep already?”
I open one eye to glare at him. “Told you. I sleep with one eye open.”
He smirks and holds out his hand with two blue pills. “Hopefully this takes the edge off.” There’s a glass of water in his other hand and he offers it as I take the medicine and place it on my tongue. Once I’ve finished, I hand it back and thank him. But as he leaves he turns around one last time. “When I wake up, you better still be in that bed. Tomorrow I’ll ride into town and get those crutches. But until I do, your hard ass is hitched to mine.”
With that he turns and leaves me alone, in his bed, in his pajamas, and with an endless pit of thoughts and feelings to dig through.
Chapter Sixteen
The couch isn’t horrible, but it’s not my bed. My neck is tight. I forgot to change out of my day clothes last night when I put Dixie to bed for the first time. So I slept in my briefs. I threw my clothes over the back of the recliner. But they’re filthy and I’ve got to go to town, get the crutches and grab my girls too. So I toss the thin blanket off my mostly naked body and head toward my bedroom where a woman, who’s not my wife, is sleeping in my sheets.
I peek around the corner to see; she is in fact, still sleeping. Her long sunflower tresses fanned around her, over my pillow and her shoulders. I bite the center of my lip as I pull the dresser drawer and snatch a new pair of briefs. I’m lusting after an employee. Entering my closet, I pull down a fresh shirt and jeans from a short built in shelf.
I drop my dirty underwear to the floor and slip on the new ones. I slide each leg into the pair of jeans, pull themup and roll my hips to pick a side, then pull the shirt over my head and exit the closet. As I move toward the bed, she stirs.
“Sleep good, blondie?”
Her eyes flutter open and she yawns as she stretches her upper half.
“Yes sir, I did.” Her voice is still tired. I help her get up and to the bathroom first, then get her situated in her spot on the recliner, elevating her foot. Assuming she’s not picky a second time, I bring her a bowl of cheerios and a spoon.
“I love these damn things, how’d you know?” Her eyes twinkle as she puts a giant spoonful in her mouth. I set her up to finish the rest of our movie and make sure she has everything she needs.
“Will you swear to sit right here and watch the screen until I get back?” I know the look on my face is part disbelief, part hope.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, boss man. Whatever you tell me to.”
I grunt and smooth my hand over my jaw to relax the tension I suddenly feel there. “Good.”
