Rafe tried to block her out as he closed his eyes.He didn’t understand why she persisted.Why she hadn’t left.Why she was so determined to take care of him.Why she didn’t understand he didn’t want her help.
You didn’t do it, did you?He hated the way he’d felt when she asked that question.But she hadn’t really asked.It had been a statement, presented sadly, as if she already knew the answer.He’d felt a quick flare of warmth.Christ, no one had believed him except the small group helping him against Randall.Men he’d considered friends had deserted him, afraid he would taint their own careers.And the woman he’d planned to marry … she had been the first to desert him.
He couldn’t even remember what she looked like now.In his mind’s eye he saw just Shea Randall.And felt her hands.They had been so gentle when they’d touched him.No one had touched him like that before.Allison had touched him with passion, but never with tenderness, never with a soft, caring look in her eyes.
Shea Randall was the last person in the world he would expect to show understanding.He kept telling himself it was a lie, nothing but a lie.A trick.
Or that unlucky star again.He’d felt rage when he had seen her above him, so much bitterness toward whatever fates controlled him.He hadn’t wanted that flash of wonderment over her presence, over the concern for him that made her eyes hazy.And he had lashed out at her, daring her to betray him, to prove him right about her.
He kept trying to convince himself that she would do exactly that, even as he fell asleep.There wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, in any event.He had to get his strength back.And then … and then he could reason again.Without those damned eyes looking at him, he could think again.
Shea kept the door to the cabin ajar, to catch the light, to listen for any rider and warn that person about the she-bear.
It was almost dark when she finally heard a frightened neigh and realized an incoming horse had smelled the bear.She looked down at Rafe.He was still sleeping, as restlessly as before but at least he was getting some rest.She was worried about fever; his skin had gone from warm to clammy and then warm again.
The rider was Ben.She ran out to him, keeping her distance from the large bear that was only too visible as it kept a careful eye on the cabin.
“What the hell?”he said as he tried to calm his skittish horse.
“You’d better take him inside the stable,” she said.
“Where’s Rafe?”His voice was suspicious, his eyes wary.
“Inside the cabin.Ill.I think he needs a doctor.”
“If you …” The warning died as he realized she would have been long gone if she’d been responsible for whatever had happened.Still, his eyes remained watchful as he searched her face.“Why are you still here?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said impatiently as the bear rose on its back paws, growling loudly.“Just take the horse inside,” she said.
Ben dismounted, led the horse over to the stable, and stopped.“It’s locked.”
“The key must be on Rafe.”She noted the stunned look on Ben’s face, and if she hadn’t been so concerned about Rafe, the bear, and the cub, she would have been amused at the odd expression.“I’ll get it.”
He hesitated, but he had no choice.His horse was nearly uncontrollable, and he couldn’t tie it to a tree, not with the bear nearby.He nodded.
Shea went into the cabin and knelt next to Rafe.The key had to be in the pocket of his trousers, where he usually kept it.
He had moved again, and his leg had fallen off the side.His breath was not quite so labored, but his skin was still clammy.Thank God, there was some help now.
She searched the pocket that was reachable.Nothing.Her fingers skimmed over his chest, silently urging him to move without waking him.She found her hands lingering against the smooth hardness of his body.He groaned slightly and moved enough that she could reach his other pocket.She quickly searched and felt a key.
Just as she was extracting it, his eyes opened.His hand reached out, clasping her wrist with unexpected strength.
“What are you doing?”
The suspicion in his voice angered her even though the touch of his hand was like lightning running through her.“I thought you wanted me gone.”
His hand didn’t let go.
Shea tried to pull away, but he continued to hold her.“Your friend is here.And if he doesn’t stable that horse, that bear’s going to drive it wild,” she said.
“Clint’s here?”
“Ben.”
He released her.“I’m sorry,” he said, though he didn’t seem sorry at all.But he’d given her as close to an apology as she was apt to receive.
She started to rise, but his question stopped her.“The bear’s still out there?”
