“Probably about as much as a cowboy does,” she muttered.
He caught her off guard by releasing a low chuckle. “You might be surprised at what I know how to do in the kitchen.”
Nevada couldn’t keep her gaze from latching on to him and the minute it did her stomach did a nervous jump. Was he talking about cooking, she wondered, or something altogether different?
“Really. Then maybe you could teach me a few things,” she ventured.
The amusement on his face disappeared like a cloud slipping past the sun and his gaze traveled from her face to her bosom and back again. “I’m sure you’ve already learned everything there is to know.”
Chapter Four
Something about Linc’s words struck Nevada hard and deep. And for the next few minutes she didn’t say anything as she finished bandaging his fingers then went to work on his left arm to repeat the same process.
She really didn’t know why his remark had bothered her so. Maybe it was the note of disgust she’d picked up in his voice or maybe it was the lewd way he’d looked at her. Either way, it didn’t matter, she told herself. Linc Ketchum wouldn’t be the first person to think she was a promiscuous young woman. Some of her so-called friends had also accused her of sleeping with a long list of boyfriends. But in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Nevada was a virgin. And so far she hadn’t met one man who would make her want to change that fact.
Even so, she wasn’t going to explain any of this to Linc Ketchum. Her sexual habits were none of his business. Pure and simple.
Later that evening, after she’d finished dressing Linc’s burns, Nevada went outside to explore the rugged landscape of the yard. She was at the back of the house enjoying the sight of the far-distant San Juans when she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.
Carefully picking her way through the rocks and clumps of blooming sage, she skirted the end of the building to see Marina climbing out of an old red pickup truck.
“Marina! Hello!” she called to the housekeeper.
The large Mexican lady with a heavy braid pinned to the back of her head, turned in the direction of Nevada’s voice and smiled broadly when she spotted her.
Nevada waved and hurried over to the woman. Without uttering a word of welcome, she hugged Marina tightly. Nevada didn’t get to see her old friend that often. Yet somehow from the very first time Victoria had introduced Nevada to the housekeeper, Marina had felt like the mother that Nevada had always wanted.
“It’s good to see you,” she said in a thick voice.
Marina’s broad face was wreathed in smiles as she stepped back and patted Nevada’s cheek. “Lord, Lord, you don’t know how glad I am to see you, chica. You look beautiful. Just what Linc needs.”
Nevada scowled at the other woman. “Marina! I’m not up here for eye candy. I’m nursing Linc.”
“Hmmph. There’s different ways of nursing, you know.”
Nevada decided it would be better to let Marina’s remark drop completely and she sniffed at the delicious smell of food wafting from the open window of Marina’s truck.
“Mmm. Something sure smells good.”
Marina stepped back to the truck and opened the door. Inside on the bench seat was a cardboard box draped with a white towel. “Nothing special. Just some smothered steak and vegetables. Oh, and a few sourdough biscuits.”
Nevada groaned. “Marina, don’t you be bringing stuff like that up here every evening. I’ll weigh a ton before I leave here,” she admonished in a teasing voice.
“You could use a little more weight on those bones,” the housekeeper told Nevada. “Besides, I know how much Linc loves to eat. And he needs good nourishment to get well.”
Nevada was about to assure Marina that she’d make sure the man ate right, when the sound of the front door opening caught her attention.
Both women turned their heads to see Linc stepping out onto the porch. He eyed the two women for a moment before he walked over and took a seat in one of the lawn chairs.
Her face filled with deep concern, Marina lowered her head toward Nevada and said in a quiet voice, “I’m very worried about Linc, chica.”
“You shouldn’t be,” Nevada stated with confidence. “His arms and hands are coming along very well. It won’t be long before he’ll be well again and able to work.”
Marina shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about. His body will heal, yes. But his insides, his heart…it’s troubled.”
Even though the two of them were too far away from Linc for him to catch any of their words, Nevada felt as if he was hearing every syllable that was being uttered about him.
Turning her back to him, Nevada pretended to examine the items in Marina’s food box. “Marina, Linc has been through trauma. It’s normal for him to be a little down.”
The older woman rolled her eyes toward the sky. “Down? Chica, he’s never acted like this in his life. Linc has always been the quiet, gentle one of the bunch. He’s always been kind through and through. But now, he’s like a monster!”
Nevada hadn’t known Linc before the accident, but she could agree with that last description. The man certainly hadn’t come across as kind and gentle since she’d arrived. He clearly didn’t trust her abilities as a nurse and he’d practically accused her of being a slut. How much nicer could a man get, she wondered wryly.
Out loud she said, “That’s because he probably feels like a monster, Marina. Think about it. He can’t do any of the things he loves to do. That would bother you, too. Don’t you think?”
Marina’s head tilted from one side to the other as she considered Nevada’s explanation. “I guess so. But I’m still worried.” She lowered her head even closer to Nevada’s and whispered. “I haven’t told anyone about this, chica, but I’ve been seeing Linc’s momma in my dreams. I don’t know what she’s doing there and it scares me.”
A cool shiver raced down Nevada’s back. She’d never been a superstitious woman and she had her doubts about anyone seeing things that weren’t visible to anyone else. But Marina had a bit of a track record for envisioning forthcoming events. The night before the barn fire, she’d warned Ross that something was about to happen. Unfortunately, she had not seen enough details to predict exactly what would actually occur. If the housekeeper was now dreaming about Linc’s mother, it had to mean something.
“I’ve known for a long time that Linc’s father, Randolf, had passed away. I don’t know any of the circumstances around his mother. Is she still living?”
Once again, Marina lifted her brown eyes toward the heavens. “Only God knows that, Nevada.”
Nevada looked at her thoughtfully. “You mean, Linc doesn’t hear from her? He doesn’t know about his own mother?”
Shaking her head, Marina muttered in a disgusted voice, “She left here a long time ago, after Randolf died. Had a new husband on her arm. And she wanted Linc to go with them.”
Nevada’s gaze drifted thoughtfully to the next ridge of mountain where the tiled top of the big ranch house could be seen above the treetops.
“He didn’t go?” she asked.
With another shake of her head, Marina answered, “No. His home, his family had always been here. She couldn’t have dragged that boy away from his horses and his cousins to go live somewhere on the east coast. She should have known better. And I expect she did. But she wanted to get away from here—no matter about her son,” Marina added with a disapproving sniff. “She was a hard woman to understand. Guess that’s ‘cause she never did talk much. Linc got that from her. But that’s about all he got from that woman.”
Nevada was beginning to get the picture and it was one she didn’t like. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about your dreams, Marina. Sounds like Darla Ketchum is totally out of the picture and has been for some time. I seriously doubt Linc’s mood is connected to her in any way.”
Marina grimaced. “Darla Ketchum may be out of the picture now, but she could always come back.”
Nevada resisted the urge to look over her shoulder to make sure Linc was still in his chair on the porch. “Were you serious when you said no one knew whether she was alive?”
“That’s the truth. As far as I know, no one has heard from her in many years.” Marina shook her head back and forth. “Linc’s a private man, though. If he received any kind of communication from his mother, the rest of us on the ranch might not ever hear about it.”
That wasn’t surprising news to Nevada. She figured getting anything personal out of him would be worse than trying to give a toddler a dose of medicine.
“Are you two going to yap out there all evening?” Linc suddenly called from the porch. “Or do we get to eat some time before midnight?”
“See,” Marina said through tight lips as she looked beyond Nevada’s shoulder to the porch. “Listen to him. That’s not the Linc I’ve always known and loved.”
Seeing the woman was truly concerned, Nevada patted her shoulder. “Quit worrying, Marina. He’ll come out of this, I promise.”
The other woman reached into the truck cab to retrieve the box of food. “I hope you’re right, chica. If anyone can get him back to normal it ought to be you.”
Nevada didn’t know what normal was for Linc Ketchum, but for everyone’s sake she was going to try to find it.
After handing the box to Nevada, Marina climbed into the truck and started the engine.
“You don’t want to go say hello to him?” Nevada asked her as the housekeeper ground the gearshift into Reverse.
“No. Tell him I don’t like him no more.”
“Marina!” Nevada scolded. “You ought—”
“I’m only kidding. But it won’t hurt him to think I’m a little put out with him. Maybe it’ll get his mind off himself.” She grinned then and gunned the truck down the hill.
Nevada waved the housekeeper off and then headed to the house. As she stepped up on the porch, Linc was eyeing her thoughtfully.
“I didn’t realize you were chummy with Marina. You know her?”
“Of course. I’ve treated her in the clinic. And I’ve also visited the ranch several times. Her husband was a distant cousin to my father. Both of them sorry men,” she added matter-of-factly, then inclined her head toward the door. “Let’s go in and eat. I’m starving.”
He followed her into the house and on to the kitchen. She sat the boxed meal on the table and began to pull out the plastic containers that Marina had sealed it in.
“I’ll get plates,” he said, turning toward the row of oak cabinets.
Nevada’s mouth opened as she looked over her shoulder to voice a protest, but just as quickly she stopped herself. She’d bandaged his hands and fingers thickly enough to provide a cushion. It wouldn’t hurt anything to allow him to carry a couple of plates to the table. And would probably do his mental attitude a wealth of good.
“It looks like she’s even sent iced tea,” Nevada told him. “Is that all right with you?”
“Anything wet will be fine.”
He returned to the table carrying two plates, forks and knives and placed one setting at the end of the table and the other across from it. Apparently, Nevada thought, he’d rather have her sitting across from him than right next to him.
Well, that was all right with her. She didn’t need to be any closer to the man than she had to be. Something about him made her edgy and flushed, and it didn’t have anything to do with his caustic remarks. But she figured it had a whole lot to do with his hard, handsome face and lean, rugged body. One look at him and anyone could see he was a man’s man. His body was hewn from years of manual labor, and she realized his physical build was a heck of a lot sexier than some of her male friends who constantly worked out at the gym.
After Nevada poured the tea into glasses and fetched napkins and salt and pepper from the cabinets, the two of them sat down and began to fill their plates.
“Do you think you can manage all right?” Nevada asked. “I can fill your plate for you if you’d like.”
His lips a tight line, Linc shook his head. “I’ll clean up whatever I spill.”
Nevada sighed. “I wasn’t worried about that. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
“By lifting a spoon with some vegetables in it?” he asked sarcastically.
Exasperated, she waved a dismissive hand at him. “Go ahead. What do I care if your fingers split open? Victoria will probably fire me, is all.”
“Worried about your job, are you?”
Normally, Nevada could hold her temper—especially around trying patients. But something about Linc Ketchum really got under her skin and heated her to the boiling point. In spite of his vulnerable condition, she wanted to whack him.
Tossing down her fork, she looked at him. “I think I’ve had just about enough of you for one evening.”
“Think you’re about ready to pack up and head back into town?”
As Nevada looked at him she suddenly realized he’d been goading her on purpose, testing her just to see if she was weak-willed enough to bend and run. Well, he was certainly in for a shock if he expected her to quit anything. She wasn’t a quitter.
“No. I’d just like to eat my meal without getting indigestion. I’ll take my plate to the porch and eat. If you don’t mind. Or even if you do.”
She started to rise to her feet and was shocked when he reached over and placed his bandaged hand on her arm.
“Sit down.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” “Sit down anyway.”
Nevada plopped her plate back onto the table, then reached across and plucked the brown cowboy hat from his head.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” he practically yelled at her.
She placed the hat on the bench beside her and tried not to stare at the hair she’d exposed. The chocolate-brown strands were thick and curled recklessly around his head in a way-too-sexy way. And suddenly she was wondering how many women had ever run their fingers through those glossy curls. How many had touched his face and kissed his lips? The questions were not something that crossed her mind about other men and the fact that Linc Ketchum had piqued her curiosity was enough to fill her with embarrassed heat.
Looking down at her plate, she said, “We’re eating a meal together. The least you can do is respect me enough to take off your hat.”
Linc lifted his hand halfway to his rumpled hair before he realized he couldn’t do much finger-combing. Dropping his hand back to the table he glanced across the table to her. He felt like a damn idiot for being so nasty with her. But something seemed to be pushing him to say things to her that he’d never say to anyone, much less a beautiful woman like Nevada. He wasn’t sure what had come over him, but the moment she’d driven up and stepped from her car, he’d felt like a ruffled rooster.
“Nevada?”
This was the first time he’d said her name and the way she looked up at him told Linc the sound of it surprised her.
“Yes,” she replied.
Like a boy who’d been naughty but never wanted to admit it, he fought the itch to squirm in his seat. “I…uh…guess I’ve pretty much acted like an ass since you’ve arrived.”
Her brown eyes flicked warily back and forth across his face and Linc wondered what it would feel like to have her soft little body draped over his and be able to look deep into those liquid brown pools.
“Oh. I don’t know that I’d say that. Maybe a donkey would be more like it,” she said in a teasing manner.
The idea that she seemed to take what he dished out and still managed to smile was quite a surprise to Linc. Most women would have already been out the door. Is that what he’d been trying to do? he wondered. Send her away before he had the chance to like her? Really like her?
He sighed. “Earlier you asked me about my personality. I don’t know if anyone knows how to describe himself. But I do know that since you arrived you haven’t been seeing my normal self. I’ve behaved badly and I’m sorry about it.”
The
last thing Nevada had been expecting from him was an apology and for long moments she sat studying his rugged face.
“There’s no need for you to apologize, Linc. I understand how it is to be unable to work, to do all the things you like to do.”
His expression sober, he worked to maneuver the fork between his bandaged fingers. “Being temporarily incapacitated doesn’t give me the right to be rude or forget my manners.”
“Sometimes it does,” she said softly.
“You’re too damn understanding. You know that?”
Smiling, she rose from the bench and eased around the table until she was standing next to his shoulder. “Here,” she offered, “let me cut the meat up for you.”
He wanted to tell her that he was a big, strong man. He didn’t need a flirty little thing like her to feed him. But he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to enjoy Marina’s smothered steak.
Handing his knife and fork up to her he said, “Go ahead before I have the whole plate in my lap.”
She chuckled. “You’ll do better soon. The more you try to bend your fingers the more flexible they’ll become. And tomorrow evening when we redo the bandages it might be possible that I can make the gauze just a bit thinner. That should help, too.”
She leaned across him to reach his plate and Linc was suddenly swamped with the female scent of her skin and hair and the warmth of her body that was so very, very close she was practically touching him.
“I hope so,” he said thickly.
Long seconds passed as she cut the steak into bitesize pieces. Linc tried his best to keep his breathing even and his mind on anything but her. But it didn’t work and eventually the whole lower half of his body was standing at rigid attention.
“There you go,” she said. “Think you can manage the fork?”
Linc released a long breath as she finished the task and moved away from him. “I can manage,” he muttered.
While he’d been in the hospital, he’d been dependent on the nurses to feed him. But Nevada was a hell of a sight different than any of the nurses that had cared for him and there was no way he could endure her feeding him bite after bite until his plate was empty.
Taming a Dark Horse Page 5
