Page 6 of Long Hard Fall

She was getting away from him. Again. When she stumbled slightly, he swooped in to pick her up.

“Oh.” She pushed at his chest, her expression full of dismay. “Don’t do that. I stink.”

He smiled in reassurance. Vomit smell or not, it didn’t decrease her appeal. “I’ll take you to the house and you can clean up while I get my mare settled.” Worry plagued him. Patsy Cline wasn’t acting right, but he needed to take care of Abbi first. “Then you can tell me why you’re here.”

She relaxed into him like she had when they’d been alone in her room. He’d been reliving it all freaking morning.

He aimed straight for his house, juggled her while finagling the handle, and nudged the door open with his boot. Abbi’s color was stabilizing, her healthy glow returning.

Settling her on the couch, he said, “Use what you need; I’ll be right back.”

The burn of her eyes licked his back as he walked out the way he’d come. Why did he have to be so aware of her?

He gauged the time. The horses had been fed and the section fence repaired. He should be meeting up with Dillon to give him a break from the combine. Patsy Cline had delayed him when he’d noticed she wasn’t interested in her food and was pawing at the ground. He’d been trying to get her back into the stall to monitor her symptoms when Abbi had interrupted.

He jogged to the barn and unhooked his horse. She was whinnying and pawing hard. He managed to get the suffering horse into a stall before she decided to drop and roll.

Hell, that was a bad sign. Withdrawing his phone, he hit speed dial. “Hey, Doc, it’s Patsy Cline.”

He rattled off the symptoms and hung up. Torn between his sick horse and a sick Abbi, he sighed. Doc would take care of Patsy Cline; he’d have to take care of Abbi.

On his way back to the house, he texted Dillon about the colic and the vet but didn’t mention the woman on his couch. When he got inside, the couch was empty. Sounds of splashing water came from the small bathroom in the narrow hallway.

He was used to entertaining his cousins but was at a loss for what to do in this situation. He stared at his boots for a few moments, trying to come up with something to do while waiting.

Water.

He went into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. Coming back into the living room, his steps loud on the hardwood, he heard the bathroom door squeak open. Abbi couldn’t sneak away in this old house.

“I have some water for you.” He set it on the end table.

Abbi scooted around him and settled on the edge of the couch with her small suitcase at her feet. She must’ve grabbed it while he’d been wrestling with his horse. Her sweatshirt this time was a black hoodie with neon trim. Yoga pants showed off her legs, and athletic shoes capped off the look. Sporty was the only style he’d seen her in, but she did it well.

Her face pinched. “I’m so sorry about the barn.”

“Don’t worry. Pull out a few calves stuck in the birth canal and puke won’t bother you.”

Her lips curled in disgust. “Uck, I’ll pass. But it’s still embarrassing.”

He had so many questions. Why’d you leave this morning? Why’d you invite me back for some fun between the sheets in the first place? But he started with the most pressing. “So, what are you doing out here? Did you get lost?”

She shook her head. “No, I came to Moore looking for one of my brother’s friends. Two, actually.”

“Did they leave you hanging at the bar last night?”

Several expressions traveled across her lovely features. “No, I was…drowning my sorrows, you could say. I planned to go searching today and—” she spread her hands, “—here I am.”

He reclined against the wall with his arms crossed. She hadn’t seemed sad last night. “And your search brought you to me. Who’s your brother?”

“Yeah, I need directions to the guys my brother served with. My brother’s name was Perry Daniels.”

Chapter 3

His expression went blank. Dammit, why couldn’t she remember his name? Had she screamed it at some point last night? The more she was around him, the more flashes of memory she experienced. Especially when she’d been cradled against his strong chest. Lots of naked images had bombarded her mind then.

She wanted more.

But she was here for a much different reason. “I know only one guy’s full name, but their last name is Walker. No one I’ve talked to knows who Reno Walker is, but they said the Walkers live out this way.” Why hadn’t she asked him last night how she could find Reno Walker? Because she’d been medicating her anger with copious amounts of alcohol. And then he’d taken her mind off…everything. “So, I guess I’ll ask you. Do you know who Reno is?”

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