She smiled. “Holler, huh? Now you sound like a cowboy.”
“Shucks, ma’am, it’s downright hard keepin’ up the facade all the time,” Jake drawled, smiling as he walked away.
Emily chuckled. Her smile lingered as she closed her eyes. Jake’s drawl was almost as cute as he was. The man may have gotten his good looks from his dad, but he had Faith’s compassion.
She thought it was the ranch that made her feel safe and gave her a measure of peace, but it was Jake. His promise to keep her safe and his gentleness in making her comfortable made her feel special and protected. Which attracted her to him even more, and that was dangerous as long as she didn’t know who she was.
Chapter 9
Thump, thump, thump.
Emily awoke to a soft rhythmic drumming. She lay still, listening to the noise, trying to determine its source. Faith’s voice in the kitchen, and Lottie’s softer tones, drifted her way. She looked toward Jake’s open office door.
Was he in there?
Poor man.
He hated being stuck inside doing paperwork, but today must feel especially torturous with Emily having interrupted his work.
Thoughts of the SUV, her lone memory before waking up in the hospital, filled her head. Tamping down the fear, she focused on the memory, hoping to recall something more.
She let out a frustrated sigh when nothing new came to mind.
Thump, thump, thump.
There was the soft drumming again. Moving carefully, she sat up and shifted to look out the window. Daniel’s right shoulder blocked part of the view.
As she studied him, he swiped at his brow and the nape of his neck. She recalled the pleasant temperature earlier. It was too early in the summer to be that hot, besides Daniel sat in the shade.
He bounced his good leg again.
Ah, the source of the drumming. He swiped at his brow again then scratched at first one arm then the other.
He’s not well.
“Have you been awake long?” Emily jumped at Jake’s voice near her shoulder.
She’d been so focused on Daniel’s behavior she hadn’t heard him come out of his office. When he joined her on the couch, she saw he’d taken off his boots. That’s how he’d sneaked up on her.
“A few minutes.”
“What were you looking at? Did you remember something else?”
“No. I was watching Daniel. Is it safe for him to have a loaded gun?”
“Daniel knows how to handle a gun.”
“That may be true before...” she left the words hanging.
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Before what?”
“Before he broke his leg and became dependent on his painkillers.”
Jake’s eyes widened, and a flash of guilt crossed his face.
“But perhaps the painkillers are masking something else, something bigger.”
Jake scratched the back of his neck. “Daniel’s a good kid. He went through something difficult last fall. He doesn’t want anyone to know about it though. We hoped getting him back to the ranch would help, but with his broken leg...”
