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Frowning, I put my hat on. “Did you think I wasn’t?”
“Well, I mean, I didn’t know.”
“I like it here, Lincoln. Plus, now that I’ve got Blayze and Morgan in my life, I wouldn’t want to leave them.”
“Kaylee, I would love for you to buy the house. We can talk more about it later. Just go get some wood, then let me know when you get back inside.”
“Will do,” I said, opening the front door and stepping outside. “Give me a few minutes to call you back.”
“Okay, talk soon! Love ya!”
“Love ya too.”
I hit end and put the phone in my coat pocket, then quickly slipped on my gloves. I was about to turn and pull the door closed when Ty said hello from behind me, scaring the living daylights out of me. I jumped and slipped on ice on the front porch.
“Oh, no . . . no . . . no . . . no!” I screamed as I slipped and slid across the porch toward the steps. “Shit!”
But luckily, I came to a stop when his strong hands kept me from tumbling down the steps. I quickly turned and saw Ty standing there with a smile on his face.
“It was tempting as hell to let you fall, ya know.”
I snarled my lip at him before giving him a good push. He didn’t budge, of course, but I got an A for effort, even if it made me slip again, and he had to reach out and steady me. I ignored the zip of excitement that raced through my body. How in the hell did he do that—make me feel our connection—when I had layers of clothes on?
“Why are you here? There’s a blizzard outside.”
Ty laughed. “This isn’t a blizzard, Kaylee. The snow we got right before Christmas? Now that was a blizzard.”
I rolled my eyes and headed carefully down the steps.
“I need to get firewood. Brock said the power might go out.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Facing him, I felt a little flutter of excitement bubble up in my chest. Had Ty been worried about me and come to make sure I was okay? That thought really shouldn’t have gotten me as excited as it did. Damn my vibrator. She was obviously not doing her job.
“Brock called me, since my place is the closest, and asked me to make sure you had enough firewood.”
I was positive he could see the disappointment on my face, because he pulled his brows in ever so slightly. I quickly smiled. “That was sweet of him, but I am perfectly fine and more than capable of taking care of myself.”
Continuing down the steps, I slipped and fell right on my ass. Hard. The pain shot through me, taking my breath away and causing instant tears.
“Shit, Kaylee, are you okay?” Ty asked, reaching down to help me up.
My tailbone hurt so bad I almost felt sick. The moment Ty saw tears in my eyes, I could tell something in him changed. He moved to lift me into his arms. I hated feeling weak and wanted to protest, but this was the closest my body had been to his since that night he’d kissed me . . . so, weak I would be. Plus, I still hadn’t gotten my breath back, and the pain was verging on the unbelievable.
Ty quickly brought me back into the house and gently placed me on the sofa. He took off my hat, my gloves, and then my boots as I stared at him in shock.
Who was this man? Where did Ty the uncaring jerk go?
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t okay. I was in terrible pain, and I knew that if I talked, I would cry. Not to mention, I was feeling a bit emotional on top of the pain. Looking into his blue eyes nearly left me dizzy. His black cowboy hat always made his eyes stand out a little more, and he was mere inches away right now. It was all too much coming at me.
“Can you stand up and we’ll get your jacket off?”
I went to stand and stopped, the pain radiating through my entire midsection. “Oh, God. Oh, God,” I croaked out.
“It’s okay, let me help you.”
Ty carefully helped me out of the jacket. The way he moved so slowly, so gently, if I hadn’t been in pain, I would have swooned.
Damn man.
“My, my phone . . . pocket.”
Once Ty found which pocket, he took the phone out and handed it to me.
“Let me go get you some ice. Do you have any ibuprofen?”
I nodded. “There’s some in the master bathroom.”
“Let’s get you to lie down. Sitting on your tailbone is going to be painful. Do you like lying on your side or your back?”
Normally, I would have made a smartass comment about him trying to get me on my back, but I was in too much pain to joke or make inappropriate innuendoes.
