Page 53 of Wilder Heart

“No, just… hurt, a little. I’ll be fine. Are you out here by yourself?” His eyes scanned the yard, but he saw no sign of Mary-Beth or anyone else.

“Nah, Momma’s in the backyard hanging up clothes.”

“By herself? Ain’t you supposed to be helping her?”

Annalise looked down, scuffing her boot in the grass. “Hanging clothes is boring.”

“Yeah, but she’s pregnant with your baby brothers. She needs your help.”

“Maybe I wanna helpyou. What areyoudoing out here?”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She’d want to tag along if he went to the horse barn or paddock. Maybe he could get her to leave if he was stern, but he found he didn’t want to wipe the bright curiosity from her face. He didn’t want anyone else to be afraid of him. That Wilder had no place here.

“I’m—gonna go help your Momma, I reckon,” he said.

She looked doubtful. “Really? But you’re hurt.”

“My arms work just fine. Come on now.” He waved her ahead of him, and she turned to fall into step with him with a put-upon sigh.

“Fine,” she said.

Lain might not like it if he hung around his family, and his mouth was dry with nerves as he crossed the yard and rounded the house with Annalise bouncing along beside him. Wind whipped across the yard, and he heard a quiet curse from around the corner. When Mary-Beth came into view, a lightweight blouse smacked him in the face.

Two peals of laughter rang out as he sputtered and pulled the cloth away.

“Sorry about that!” Mary-Beth called. “But thanks for grabbing it. Lord knows I can’t chase it down right now.”

“No problem.” He shot Annalise an arch look. “Chasing down stray clothes should beyourjob, anyway.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. You’re just like Daddy.”

He ducked his head sharply, hoping she didn’t see the stricken look that crossed his face. To distract her, he gave her the blouse to run over to Mary-Beth so he could hang on to his crutches.

“Need some help?” he asked.

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, please, you’d be doing me a favor. I’m going stir-crazy in my room.”

“Bending down to get the clothes is the hardest part for me. Think you could just stand here and grab clothes for me to hang?” She gestured to the basket of clothes at her feet.

“Really?” he asked. “Just stand there? You sure?”

She looked down at the brace on his knee. “I think that might be all you can handle right now, don’t you think?”

He arched a brow at her. “At least I can see my feet.”

For a moment he thought he might’ve fucked up, but then she threw her head back with a howl of laughter.

“Touché. Come on now. These clothes won’t hang themselves.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She made no comment about how long it took him to get into place, laying his crutches at his feet and bending at the waist to grab an article of clothing in each hand.

“How is the leg, by the way?” she asked as she hung up the first shirt.

“Oh, everything hurts today,” he said matter-of-factly. It was surprisingly easy to be honest with her. She was one step removed from his brother, and with Lain out of sight, she was just another person on the ranch rather than his sister-in-law.

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