She hurried over, found a metal box with a red cross on the front onone of the shelves, opened it, and took out bandages, tape, alcohol, and a clean roll of gauze.
Linc grabbed a blanket, stripped out of his wet, muddy clothes, wrapped the blanket around his hips, and sat down on the cot.
Ignoring his glorious chest with all its intriguing muscles, fascinating valleys and shadows, his lovely curved pecs, and smooth tanned skin, she used the gauze to wipe away the blood oozing from the gash across his ribs.
Cleaning the wound as best she could, she applied some antiseptic cream she found in the kit and taped on a thick gauze bandage. Satisfied it would hold until Linc could get medical attention, she stripped off her own wet clothes, wrapped herself in another blanket, tucked it in beneath her arms, and sat down beside him to wait out the storm.
Linc ran a finger down her cheek. “You scared me tonight. When I saw that bastard chasing you, shooting at you, I wanted to kill him with my bare hands.”
Carly thought again how close Linc had come to dying and emotion washed through her. “I thought he’d killed you.” She took a deep breath, fighting not to cry.
Linc pulled her against his uninjured side, his arm gently wrapping around her. “I’m hard to kill, baby. I learned that about myself in prison. Ray Archer didn’t stand a chance.”
She just leaned into him, breathed in his scent. She tried not to think how much he meant to her, how deeply she had come to care for him.
She thought of the ranch house Linc loved and hoped it would survive the storm. She thought of the horses out in the fields, safer perhaps than in the barn, and prayed they would find shelter.
She thought of Zach losing his father and her heart went out to him. No matter how bad Ray Archer was, the man was still Zach’s dad.
Linc’s husky voice rolled over her. “We’re gonna be all right, you know.”
“I know.”
His gaze moved over the blanket, all that covered her nakedness, and his mouth edged up. “I don’t suppose now is a good time to be thinking about sex.”
In spite of the exhaustion that enveloped her, Carly laughed. She looked like a drowned rat and felt even worse, felt as if every muscle in her body had been battered into submission by the storm.
Linc kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you lie down, honey, and try to get some sleep.”
No way was she letting go of him, not after he had come so close to dying. Not after she had come so close to losing him. “I’m okay right here.”
His arm tightened around her.
Carly wouldn’t have believed she could fall asleep nestled against Linc’s shoulder. But when she awakened, they were both still alive—and the storm was over.
* * *
Linc stirred at the pounding he thought was in his head. Sitting on the cot, his back against the cement wall, with Carly nestled against him, he realized it was morning and someone was beating on the cellar door. A sharp pain in his side reminded him of last night as he eased Carly over, rose from the cot, and made his way to the wooden stairs.
Sliding the bar out, he shoved open the door and bright light hit him. His foreman, Joaquin Santos, stood next to Frank Marino, Deke Logan, and three other men, their backs to the early-morning sun.
“Is Carly in there with you?” Frank asked, his face clouded with worry. A thick white bandage was wrapped around his head, making his russet hair stand up.
“She’s here. We’re both okay.”
“Thank God.”
“What happened to you?” Linc asked.
“When the tornado warning went out, I drove back to the ranch house to bring Carly to the shelter. Halfway back to the main house, my car got stuck in the mud. When I got out, a piece of flying debris hit me in the head. One of the guys found me early this morning and got me patched up. We went back to the ranch house but Carly wasn’t there.”
“When we got there,” Deke said, “one of my guys spotted the Tex/Am truck so we figured the two of you were together. We started a search,weren’t having much luck till your man Santos showed up and brought us here, said you knew about the shelter.”
“Damn good thing I did,” Linc said. Carly came up beside him, tugging on her blanket to keep it in place. Linc slid an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close.
Every time he looked at her, he remembered the terror he’d felt when he’d seen her running out of the house into the deadly storm, seen Ray Archer shooting at her.
Carly turned to Frank. “I should have gone with you. I’m really sorry, Frank.”
