TEN
“Ouch!” Zack snappedback and blocked Whitney from dabbing anymore lotion on his face. “That stings.”
“Well of course, it stings, silly.” She poured more ointment on the cotton ball. “That’s what happens when you get a really bad sunburn. Now let me get your nose...”
She dabbed again, but as much as she tried to be careful, it still hurt. Since he didn’t want her to think he was a baby, he gritted his teeth against the pain. Joe had warned him to wear a cowboy hat. Now he knew why. His forehead and nose were burned, along with the tops of his ears.
Not only was his face sore, his legs ached since he’d used different muscles while riding a horse. Apparently, he didn’t take to riding asexceptionally wellas he’d thought yesterday. He could hardly walk today.
Taking pity on him, Joe had instructed Zack to use the recliner chair with an ice pack on his thighs. This was the position he was in when Whitney found him this morning. She chuckled for a moment, but then turned into the caring woman he’d seen only a few times. Although he liked that side of her, at this particular moment, he wished she’d stop torturing him with this lotion.
He jerked his head away from her touch. She sighed heavily and frowned.
“Zack, this ointment will take away the burn.”
“I don’t see how,” he whined. “Especially when all it is doing is causing my skin to sting.”
“Well, if you don’t let me rub this on you, you’re going to look like you have a skin disease in a few days when your face dries up and your skin starts peeling. Now, the question is, do you want people to see your handsome face or a dry, scaly one that looks like you’re from zombie land?”
He arched an eyebrow. “You think I’m handsome?”
“Seriously? You really need to ask that?”
He chuckled. “Fine. Administer the ointment, Dr. Whitney.” He held his breath and stayed still as she finished rubbing the lotion on his face. It lasted only a few torturous minutes and then she left his side to dispose of the evidence she’d used to punish him.
As he watched her walk away, his body relaxed. She was pretty today. Instead of wearing one of his mother’s western outfits, the pair of old jeans she wore fit her legs much better, and her blue and green flannel shirt made her look more comfortable. Instead of cowboy boots, she wore white sneakers. He was glad she didn’t pull her hair back into a ponytail, but she didn’t fluff it up, either. Still, she looked sexy with it long and wavy around her shoulders.
When she returned to the living room with a glass of water in one hand and pills in the other, she stopped and gave him a questionable look.
“Why are your eyes glazed over? Have you already taken some pain pills?”
He chuckled. “No. My eyes are probably glazed over because of the pain you just put me through.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and came closer, handing him the glass and pills. “Take these. You’ll feel a little better soon.”
“Alittlebetter? That’s not very comforting, you know.”
She knelt beside the chair again, leaning on the armrest of the recliner. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her as he swallowed the pills with the water. He handed her the empty glass.
“I’m sorry that I’m whiney today,” he said sincerely. “I just didn’t expect this to happen to me.”
“The others know you’ve never been on a ranch. It’s understandable.”
“Yeah, but doyouunderstand? You don’t think badly of me, do you?”
“No.” She chuckled softly. “I had done the same thing as you. After I graduated high school and moved away from my mother, I decided to visit Joe for a month before starting college. I hadn’t been on a horse since I was ten. So,” she sighed, “needless to say, I was sunburned and had stiff muscles for a few days, too.”
He smiled. “Did Gladys take care of you like you’re taking care of me?”
