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“No, but thank you. If you don’t mind, I think I need to lay down again. A hearty meal and loss of blood make for a fine combination of exhaustion.”
Searching his handsome face, I echo the sentiment that the mysterious cowboy needs to rest.
“Sure, just sit tight and I’ll put together something a little more comfy.” With that, I go to the first stall by the bench. It also happens to be the cleanest, filled as it is with a few new straw bales. Snipping the binding on one of the bales, I take clumps of straw and shake them on the soft ground. I grab another horse blanket and lay it on top of the straw, making a sort of makeshift bed. As I work, I can feel the handsome stranger’s eyes on me, strangely hot yet calming all the same. I turn back with an apologetic smile.
“It’s not much, but it’ll be cleaner and less musty than the back of the barn.” I stand in front of the man and help him rise from the bench. He keeps a hand gripped tightly around the horse blanket at his hips as I do so, and we stumble over to the newly made bed. He lies down carefully and sighs with relief.
“You need to rest. You lost a lot of blood.” I tell him as I fluff up the straw around him. I try to ignore the fire that surges through me from our brief touch.He just needed some help, silly.
“I’m okay. Nothing that sleep won’t cure.” He smiles at me, and I feel my knees go weak at the grin.Oh good lord, he’s too handsome for his own good.
I continue to chitchat in an attempt to avoid thinking my salacious thoughts. “It’ll be cozy in here, out of the elements. And I can check on you while I do my chores. I think you should try and rest a little.”
“Yes ma’am.” I grab the other blanket from the back of the barn and put it under his head to serve as a crude pillow to make his nap spot as comfortable as possible.
“Thank you again, ma’am. I do appreciate it.” He closes his eyes, starting to drift off.
“Darcy.”
He opens his eyes again.
“Ma’am?”
I smile gently.
“Ma’am is my mother. I’m just Darcy. Darcy Fields.”
He smiles at me. “Darcy then. That’s a pretty name,” he mutters before drifting off into a restless slumber.
Meanwhile, I gather up the dirty plates from the bench as quietly as possible and start to ease out of the barn. But I can’t help myself and stop at the door to take one last look at the man resting so easily on the hay. His broad chest rises and falls with steady breaths. His body, though currently relaxed, is the kind of body that could readily hurt or protect, strong and masculine. I shudder slightly at his raw power.
I wonder which one he’ll be to me. Someone who will hurt me or someone who’ll protect me?
I shake my head at my ridiculous thoughts and slip silently out, closing the door on the mysterious cowboy now resident in my barn.
2
RANGER
Judging from the angle of the sun seeping through the partially closed barn door, I think it’s around seven o’clock in the evening. Outside, the cicadas have started to pick up, their noisy chirps echoing across the fields. Not far from where I’m resting, I can hear the cow munching on her evening oats, a sound that makes my own stomach growl in hunger.
You slept for about six hours, big guy. No wonder I’m starving.
Wincing, I sit up, bits of straw poking through the scratchy horse blanket. It’d been sweet what Darcy had done, making me this little bed, but floor sleeping makes for even more aches sometimes. I start to stretch but wince. Every muscle in my body hurts and it’s hard to say if it’s from the accident, the floor, or my wound.
Alright, let’s assess the damage.
I pull off the blanket wrapped around my hips in order to get a better look at the gash on my thigh. Carefully so as not to pull skin, I unravel the soft cloth that covers it. The cut stings a little but otherwise looks clean. There doesn’t seem to be any infection, since Darcy’s shirt seems to have protected it from most dirt and grime.
Damn fool. I berate myself over the accident.
It was true what I said about getting bucked off my horse. How embarrassing, especially since the damn stallion had just been broken in, too.
It was probably a mistake to ride him then. I shake my head at my own stupidity.I never should have let my brothers break him in because those fools never know what they’re doing.
Cocky bastard that I am, I thought the horse would be steady enough to ride, given that it was just a short journey we needed to make. But when that first bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, I knew I was done for. The thunder that followed scared the damn stallion like there was no tomorrow, and it reared up in terror. Next thing I knew, I was flat on my ass and all cut up, having landed in some kind of wood chippings. One of the large bits tore right through my jeans and I could fill the slivers of woods working their way under my skin.
At the sound of another boom of thunder, the damn horse was gone. Horse or no horse, I know better than to be caught in the open in one of these western squalls.
