Read Online Off Limits by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online Page B

directly on the wound. I don’t know how much it might hurt.”
    Alex steeled herself and refused to watch Jim. Surprisingly, there was little pain associated with the yellow powder he generously poured onto the festering flesh. He replaced the compress. There was something healing about Jim’s touch, the way he cared for her.
    â€œI had awful nightmares,” Alex admitted. Jim sat next to her after retrieving a bowl of rice. He hungrily dipped into the contents.
    â€œAbout the crash?”
    â€œNo, about losing you.”
    He shrugged his shoulders.
    She watched him for a long moment and saw ruddiness steal into his cheeks. Warmth flooded Alex, and she sensed his terrible aloneness as never before. Over what? Too tired to pursue the topic, she asked, “Did any VC spot you?”
    â€œNo.” Jim wiped his fingers on his pant leg. He pointed to the far wall. “I managed to steal us some more rice, too. I’ll make it for us late this afternoon before dark. I don’t want the light from the magnesium tab to give this place away to some sharp-eyed VC. Hungry?”
    Alex shook her head. “Not really. Just worried to death.”
    Jim laughed softly, feeling suddenly lighter, better than he could recall in a long time. Getting to his knees, he brought the bowl to Alex. “I want you to try to eat. I know the fever’s got you in its grip, but you’ve got to keep up your strength, gal.”
    The way he cajoled her made Alex respond despite how bad she felt. “You should have been a doctor,” she muttered as he helped her sit up, then used his body as a support for her to lean against.
    â€œYou know, Ma said the same thing.” He watched Alex pick up a small bit of rice with her fingers. “She said I was good with animals. I always had some critter around the cabin that I was getting well.”
    â€œI believe it. I’m feeling better just because you’re back,” Alex admitted. The rice was tasteless, but she ate for Jim.
    Having Alex tucked beneath his arm, resting against him, sent a feeling of serenity through Jim. He sighed and closed his eyes. Her feminine scent, that special womanly fragrance, reminded him of a far less harsh world and sent dizziness tracing through him.
    â€œYou keeping company with anyone?” Jim barely realized he’d asked the question. He was afraid of the answer—and disgusted at the foolishness of his asking in the first place. How could anyone as pretty as Alex, and a congressman’s daughter, not be attached to some lucky man?
    â€œKeeping company?”
    He blushed and cleared his throat. “Sorry, it’s my Missouri slang getting in the way. Keeping company means going steady or being engaged to some fella.”
    With a muffled laugh, Alex shook her head. “Are you kidding me?” When she saw his suddenly intense gaze turn in her direction, Alex felt heat nettle her cheeks. Becoming serious, she said, “No. I used to have a boyfriend, but we parted ways a couple of months ago. What about you? The way you talk about Molly Pritchard, I thought you might be engaged or married to her.”
    It was his turn to laugh softly. “No, Molly went on to marry the captain of the football team—a city fella whose pa owns a furniture store. Molly did well by herself.”
    â€œYou liked her, though.”
    â€œYeah,” he said wistfully, “I always had a crush on that little gal.” And then Jim glanced down at Alex. “But I was this ganglin’ boy who tried to go through high school barefoot, until the principal whacked me across the rear with a ruler for not followin’ the rules. Molly didn’t want to be embarrassed by the likes of me.”
    Her heart twinged with pain, Jim’s pain. “I’d like you, shoes or no shoes.”
    With a chuckle, he glanced down at his dirt-stained bare feet. “You don’t have much choice, gal.”
    Their