Read Online Buckhorn Beginnings by Lori Foster - Free Book Online Page B

air. Then he heard her draw in her breath. “No, I don’t. My plans don’t concern you.”
    Everything in him fought against the truth of her words. “You landed in my lake.”
    â€œAnd I offered to pay for the damages.”
    He turned to face her, his muscles tense. “Forget the damn damages. I’m not worried about that.”
    She looked sad and resolute. “But payment for the damages is all I owe you. I didn’t ask to be brought here. I didn’t ask for your help.”
    â€œYou got it anyway.” He stalked close again, unable to keep the distance between them. “No respectable man would leave a sick, frightened woman alone in a rainstorm. Especially a woman who was panicked and damn near delusional.”
    â€œI wasn’t—”
    â€œYou slugged my son. You were afraid of me.”
    She winced again, then worried her bottom lip between her teeth. His heart nearly melted, and that angered him more than anything else. He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hands in his. “Honey, you can trust me. You can trust us.” She didn’t quite meet his gaze, staring instead at his throat. “The best thing now is to tell me what’s going on so I know what to expect.”
    She looked haunted as her gaze met his, but she also looked strong, and he wasn’t surprised when she whispered, “Or I can leave.”
    They stared at each other, a struggle of wills,and with a soft oath Sawyer stood and paced away. Maybe he was pushing too fast. She needed time to reason things through. He’d wear her down, little by little. And if that didn’t work, he’d have Morgan start an investigation—whether she liked it or not.
    One thing was certain. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew it was safe.
    With his back to her, his hands braced on the dresser, he said, “Not yet.”
    â€œYou can’t keep me here against my will.”
    â€œWanna bet?” He felt like a bastard, but his gut instincts urged him to keep her close regardless of her insistence. “Morgan is the town sheriff, and he heard everything you said. If nothing else, he’d want to keep you around for questioning. I’m willing to give you some time. But until you’re ready to explain, you’re not going anywhere.”
    He could feel her staring at his back, feel the heat of her anger. She wasn’t nearly so frail as he’d first thought, and she had more gumption than the damn old mule Jordan kept out in the pasture.
    Despite the raspiness of her voice, he heard her disdain when she muttered, “And you wanted me to trust you.”
    His hand fisted on the dresser, but he refused to take the bait. He pulled open a drawer and got out a pair of shorts, saying over his shoulder, “I need to shower and get dressed before patients start showing up. Why don’t you just go on back to sleep for a spell? Maybe things’ll look a little different this afternoon.”
    He saw her reflection in the mirror, the way hereyes were already closing, shutting him out. He wanted to say something more, but he couldn’t. So instead he walked away, and he closed the door behind him very softly.
    Â 
    S HE SLEPT the better part of the day. After taking more medicine and cleaning up as much as she could using the toothbrush he provided and the masculine-scented soap in the bathroom, she simply konked out. One minute she’d been disgruntled because he was rushing her back to bed, and the next she was sound asleep. Sawyer roused her once to take more ibuprofen and sip more water, but she barely stirred enough to follow his directions. He held her head up with one hand, aware of the silkiness of her heavy hair and the dreamy look in her sleepy eyes. She smiled at him, too groggy to remember her anger.
    Fortunately for him, since he couldn’t stay by her side, she hadn’t kicked off her blankets again. He’d