Read Online Mountain Wild (Harlequin Historical Series) by Stacey Kayne - Free Book Online Page B

batting lashes.
    Instead of carousing or courtship, he’d assaulted a decent woman who’d saved his life.
    What a fine mess.
    He ate the last of his stew wondering all the while what had happened to Grace for her to end up alone in this cave. Done up as it was, the stone enclosure was still a cave in the heart of wild country. And she shouldn’t be out there in that wind!
    He stood, his sore muscles complaining as he collected the empty dishes on the table. It would take another day before he’d be of any use. A full stomach didn’t do anything but sap the last of his strength. Not that she’d welcome his help.
    Damn it.
    Spotting her shotgun still propped inside the door, he knew he was lucky she hadn’t reached for her gun and loaded him full of buckshot after the liberties he’d taken. Would have served him right.
    He stepped up to a washstand wedged between her pantry and the empty wood box. Finding a jar of dishrags, he took one and wiped out the bowls then set them in the basin. He lifted the kettle from the stove and scalded the tin with the hot water. Grace returned as he was stacking the dishes in her pantry. Didn’t take but a glance at her wide blue eyes to gauge her wariness.
    Boots trotted in before her, his wet paws tracking prints across the floor she’d already mopped up once today.
    She kicked the door closed behind them and stood there, her arms loaded down with wood.
    “I’ll wipe up the floor,” he said, turning to find another rag.
    “No.”
    The single words stopped him.
    “You should lie down.”
    He figured that was her way of telling him to get the hell away from her. Tiny thing that she was, he didn’t doubt his size made her nervous. He backed toward the bed. His dog seemed to know the routine, having lain back down in his corner without prompting.
    She didn’t take a step forward until Garret eased onto the mattress. She dropped the firewood into the box beside her stove, her gaze moving over the sink basin and the dishes he’d rinsed and put away. She fetched the drying sheet from the back of her chair and dropped it on the damp floor. Her foot dragged the cloth across the puddles as she watched him.
    “If I can help with anything—”
    “You can help by resting.”
    “Two days abed should have been enough,” he said, hating that he felt so damn useless.
    “You were sick.”
    Red rimmed her eyes. He imagined she hadn’t slept much in the past three days.
    “Doesn’t look like you’ve had much sleep at all.”
    “I’ll sleep just fine once you’re gone.”
    “I can kick back in that chair if—”
    “You’ll stay in the bed. I’m not taking the chance of your fever coming back.”
    Her cut-and-dried delivery of orders sure could go against a man’s grain. Aggravated by his weakened state and aching with exhaustion, he was in no shape to argue with her.
    “Rest up,” she said, picking up her shotgun on her way to the chair. She settled back like a guard on watch duty. “You’ve got a long walk home.”
     
    Garret kept his eyes on Grace as he stepped into his second boot and reached for his coat. He hated that he’d slept in her warm bed while she’d huddled over a table all night. Her cheek rested on her folded arms, one of her hands gripped a white cloth. Her expression was peaceful in the dim light of the lamp, yet he knew the quilt draped over her shoulders couldn’t be keeping her warm. A hard wind blew outside, the cave growing colder by the second.
    He’d attempted to stoke the fire, but hadn’t been able to do more than clear out ashes. Grace had already burned the last of the wood she’d brought in. With no natural light in the place he couldn’t tell the time, but judging by the cold stove and empty firebox, it was near dawn or shortly thereafter.
    Boots bumped his hand as he reached for the gloves tucked in his coat pocket. Anxious to go outside, his dog pranced impatiently.
    “Easy, partner,” he whispered.
    Grace jerked up as though he’d