by Stark, Cindy
She gave a soft laugh. “You will, unless you don’t come to work.”
“Oh, I’ll be there. Hug goodnight?” Without warning, he opened his arms and pulled her close to him.
She stumbled slightly and wrapped her arms around him to steady herself and return the hug. He squeezed her tightly, compressing her breasts against him, and she wondered if he realized his strength.
“I’m glad you had fun,” she said when he loosened his hold.
“I did.” He didn’t completely release her, forcing her to look up to see if she could decipher his intentions. When she met his gaze, his eyes were in shadow. “No kiss goodnight?”
He said it jokingly, and she wanted to laugh and say no, but the thought of tasting the lips that had tempted her all night was too much to resist. She stared at him for a long moment and then stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his mouth.
His kiss swept away every sane thought in her brain. She’d only meant to give him a peck, but every sexy, tension-filled moment they’d shared that evening begged for release.
When she didn’t immediately move away, energy in the atmosphere around them intensified. He tightened his hold on her, no longer giving her the option of a quick kiss. He released a hungry moan as he slipped his hand into her hair and deepened their kiss.
She understood his desire. Whatever had smoldered between them all night burst into a heated exchange that she couldn’t control. His mouth seared hers, stirring embers until they blazed.
“Oliver,” she whispered when she found herself at a tempestuous moment. If they didn’t stop now, she might not be able to.
He pulled away, leaving both of them breathless. He held her gaze for a long moment as though something unexpectedly powerful had caught him, too. She could do nothing but return his stare.
“Sorry,” he finally said. “I’m not sure where that came from.”
“Right.” She nodded, bringing her fingertips to her lips. “I should go.”
How did his kiss make her feel things none of the other men had? She and Oliver didn’t even like each other all that much. Dislike described their relationship for the most part…until tonight, and she had no idea what to do with her unexpected feelings.
“Goodnight.” She turned without waiting for his response and hurried to her car. Once inside, she looked at him through the windshield as she started the engine.
He remained standing on his porch, watching her with an unreadable look in his eye. She released a heavy sigh full of turmoil and shifted her car into gear, driving away as though she’d escaped something alarming.
Chapter Eleven
Daisy propped Rachel’s recipe for fajitas in front of her on the counter. Fairly-easy and straight forth. Something she should be able to make on her own once she and her mom were in New York.
Caleb and Rachel had ridden out to check on strays much earlier in the day and wouldn’t be back until dinnertime. Apparently, Oliver had spotted a wolf on the ridge the day before, and Rachel wanted to ensure her cattle were as safe as possible. Daisy had volunteered to cook so they didn’t have to eat canned soup and because she’d secretly sequestered herself in the house. Coming face-to-face with a wolf would terrify her.
Not that Daisy had received Oliver’s information firsthand. She hadn’t seen him up close or spoken to him since their so-called date three days ago.
Obviously, their kiss had bothered him as much as her, enough that he felt he needed to avoid her. She desperately wished she could take it back. Things had been awkward before. Now, she feared running into him and forcing him to speak to her. Another reason to stay inside.
She found a green pepper in the fridge and an onion in a bowl with several others on the counter. Once she unearthed the cutting board and a knife, she started peeling and chopping. The appetizing scent of onions teased her stomach, making it growl.
When she had a nice pile of sliced onions, she moved to the peppers.
It wasn’t as if she and Oliver couldn’t speak to each other. They’d shared a kiss. Not a damn marriage proposal. She’d kissed plenty of guys before with no strings attached, and none of them had made things this awkward.
Maybe it was a country-folk kind of thing. Maybe a kiss had more meaning in a small town. They seemed to take other social customs more seriously.
She huffed a breath of frustration. She hadn’t liked him from the get go for a reason. She should have trusted her instincts.
After she retrieved a bowl for the cheese, she found an unopened block of cheddar in the fridge. Guys were so stupid. Oliver should know she wasn’t out for anything serious. She’d talked numerous times about moving to New York to start her career. Why did one kiss scare him so much? Seriously.
When she couldn’t open the cheese with her hands, she slipped the edge of the knife through the packaging. The blade slid easily until she reached the seam of the plastic. As she gave the knife a jerk to cut through it, the sight of Oliver walking across the yard to the paddock where he trained his yearling stole her attention.
A millisecond later, searing pain shot across the pad of her left forefinger, and she dropped the knife. She gasped as blood gushed from the cut.
“Son of a bitch.” She hurried toward the sink with her right hand cupping her left to catch any blood droplets. With shaking fingers, she grabbed a wad of paper towels and pressed on her wound to soak up the blood. As she lifted the towel to check her cut, a large red circle stained the paper towel, and more blood overflowed the cut and splattered into the sink.
“Dammit.” She tried to examine the depth of the slice, but she couldn’t get a good look with all the blood. Not good.
Though it hurt, she wrapped another paper towel around her wound and held it against her stomach to keep pressure on it as she fished her phone from her pocket.
With a shaking finger, she dialed Rachel’s number. As she waited for the phone to connect, she glanced down. Blood had soaked through the side of the towel and onto her white t-shirt. “Oh, hell.”
The phone rang several times before it switched to voicemail. “Answer,” she whispered frantically as she tried again. With no success, she dialed Caleb’s number next.
Same outcome. No answer. No one to come to her rescue.
She inhaled a calming breath. No reason to panic. She wasn’t dying.
As she lifted the paper towel for another glance, more blood ran from the wound. She might not be dying, but this cut would not stop bleeding from pressure alone.
How could she have been so careless?
She rewrapped her finger and found her purse. If Rachel had done the same, she wouldn’t freak out. She’d manage it like she did everything else, with a cool head and decisive movements. Daisy would do the same.
With her pulse throbbing wildly in her finger, she dug for her keys. Moose Meadows had a clinic. They could tell her if she needed stitches or not. Even if not, they could clean and bandage it better than she could one-handed.
She held her hand against her chest as she pushed open the front door, no longer worried about damaging a ruined shirt. She caught movement from the corner of her eye, but she refused to glance fully in that direction. Oliver was nearby, not Rachel or Caleb, and she couldn’t worry about him and his precious feelings right now.
Her vision blurred for a second, and she glanced at her hand again. She hadn’t lost that much blood. She tried to settle her nerves as she pulled open her car door and climbed inside. In her rearview mirror, she spotted Oliver sprinting toward her.
“Shit,” she muttered. She could pretend she hadn’t seen him or…too late.
He stood outside her window and made the motion to lower it. With limited use of her left hand, he was out of luck. She tried to reach over with her right hand, but Oliver jerked open the door instead. His gaze jumped from her wounded hand to her face.
“What the hell happened? You have blood all over you.” His voice contained a hint of panic that left her vulnerable.
She lo
oked down at her stained shirt. “I’m aware of that.”
He kneeled next to her and met her gaze. “What did you do?”
Something about the way he looked, the concern in his eyes, coaxed her emotions to the surface. “I cut myself.”
“Bad?”
She shrugged. “I think maybe.”
“Can I see?”
She hesitated and then held out her hand to him. “Be careful.”
“I will.” He accepted her offering and gently opened her haphazard bandage.
“Jesus, Daisy. You need stitches. How the hell did you cut yourself?” He met her gaze as tears sprang to her eyes.
The last thing she wanted was a needle in her already damaged finger. “I tried to open a package of cheese and the knife slipped.” She blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the moisture, unwilling to mention he’d distracted her.
He reached in, took hold of her right elbow and pulled her from the car. Then he hugged her tightly against his chest.
She sniffed. “You’re going to get blood on you.”
“I don’t care.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let me drive you.”
With a vicious headache coming on, she wasn’t in a position to argue. Even if she could, she’d rather have him help her than go alone.
Once in the car, he drove with neither of them speaking. When they arrived, he parked directly in front of the clinic and hurried around to help her from the car. Inside, a plump older lady and the scent of disinfectant greeted them. The clinic looked small but efficient and friendly.
“Hey, Maxine. Is Doc Beckman here?” He maintained a steady arm around her waist.
Maxine’s eyes shifted behind silver-rimmed glasses from Oliver to Daisy and then to the hand she had clutched against her chest. “He’s at home, but I can call him in. What do we have here?”
“This is Daisy, Rachel’s sister from Cheyenne. She has a deep cut that needs attention.”
The woman nodded. “Nice to meet you, Daisy. Sorry about your hand. Go ahead and take her back to a room, Oliver. I’ll grab insurance forms and give the good doctor a call.”
“Come on.” Oliver assisted her down the hallway and into an exam room. “Doc only lives five minutes away. You won’t have to wait long.”
****
Doc Beckham tsked as he washed her finger with a sterile solution. Daisy had expected an older person like Maxine. Instead, the doctor was in his early thirties, she’d guess, with dark brown hair and a pair of amber-colored eyes that put her immediately at ease.
“That’s quite the cut, Daisy.” His hands seemed so much larger than hers. “A couple of stitches should fix it.”
Daisy squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment as she exhaled a deep breath. “Is it going to hurt?”
“I’ll numb it up first so you won’t feel as much pain.” He glanced at Oliver and then nodded toward the door. “Maxine can keep you company while you wait.”
She would have to face this alone? “Can’t he stay?”
“That’s up to you. He’s not family, so I’m not going to assume you want him in the room.”
Daisy held out her free hand and Oliver took it. “I’d like you to stay if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course.” He gave a soft snort. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”
She shifted her gaze to the doctor as he worked at the counter behind him, and then he turned with a needle in hand.
“It’s going to sting at first,” he said.
She nodded.
“Look at me,” Oliver said.
Daisy turned to him and tried to lose herself in his gentle smile. Slight scruff covered his jawline, and he had the most incredible eyes—
She winced and squeezed Oliver’s hand as the needle pierced her skin.
“All done,” Doc said as a slight stinging sensation spread through her finger. A few seconds later, most of the pain disappeared.
Daisy glanced at her numb hand as the doctor wiped away more blood with a piece of gauze.
“Are you going to watch?” the doctor asked when he was ready to begin stitching.
She blew out a breath. “No, I don’t think so.” As it was, she could now see the gaping slash. Even though she couldn’t feel anything, she didn’t want to remember the sight of the needle going through her flesh.
Oliver squeezed her hand again, reassuring her. She could have done this on her own, but she was so glad she didn’t have to.
“You’re here visiting your sister?” the doctor asked as he worked.
“Yeah. I’m visiting for a few months before I move to New York.”
“New York? Why would you want to live in a big city like that?” The sound of his voice told her he was teasing.
“That’s what I said,” Oliver added. “People get lost there.”
She chuckled. “Only if they want to. Personally, I like all the hustle and bustle.” Though Moose Meadows was beginning to grow on her, especially people like Doc Beckham.
“What do you plan to do once you’re there?”
“Finish my psychology degree and then find a job.” She wanted to peek at her finger.
“What kind of job are you looking for?” Doc continued.
“Maybe counseling couples and families. Or…I don’t know. I have a few ideas floating around in my head.” She finally dared a quick glance at the doctor’s work.
He’d finished with the stitches and was wrapping her finger with gauze. He glanced at her, catching her watching him work. “If you wanted to stay in Moose Meadows, you might find a job as a counselor at the high school. Or, I know Cattle Creek has possible opportunities. Even Cody isn’t that far away.”
She glanced at Oliver who held her gaze without blinking.
“Thanks, but I have my heart set on New York,” she said and then felt like a traitor when Oliver shifted his gaze toward the door.
“Well, whatever you do, I wish you luck.” He patted her knee and then stood. “All finished.”
Daisy surveyed her hand, glad that the worst of it was over.
After they left, Oliver drove the short distance down the street to the pharmacy.
“Are you going to be okay going in by yourself?” Oliver asked as he helped her from the car. “I’d grab your prescription for you, but they’ll want your I.D. since they don’t know you. I figured while you’re in there, I’d pick up fencing repair parts.”
“Oh, no problem. I’ll be fine.” Her finger no longer hurt, and she only had to contend with the inconvenience of a thick, white bandage.
“Great. This will take me five minutes. I’ll probably be done before you are.” He walked with her to the front door of the pharmacy and opened it for her before he jogged across the street.
She glanced around the drugstore, trying to get her bearings and found the pharmacy counter was in the back. She dropped off her prescription and then perused the store while she waited. She was happy to find they carried her favorite line of lipsticks.
The sound of someone coughing drew her attention. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised to find the last person she wanted to see. Karla stood behind her with a small shopping basket in her hand and a calculating smile on her face.
Chapter Twelve
“Daisy, isn’t it?” Karla blinked long lashes as she regarded her. Her pink lipstick complimented her bright green eyes, and the cut of her shorts and pretty top with thin straps gave her a simple, yet classic look. Daisy would kill to have legs that long and shapely. No wonder Oliver had been happy to see her. He’d said they were only friends, but maybe that was her choice and not his.
“Yes. Daisy Halsted. Rachel’s sister.” Daisy extended her hand, and the woman shook it. “And you’re Karla.”
Her smile showed perfectly white teeth. “Oliver must have been talking about me.”
Daisy nodded, trying to keep the smile on her face. “Yes. He did.”
“I love that guy. He’s the best, don’t you think? I mean those eyes and that ass, not to
mention that sexy southern drawl. Couldn’t get much hotter.”
She chuckled. “If you say so.”
Karla lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“I suppose he’s cute,” she conceded, but only because it was true. “I guess I haven’t thought about him much.” Which, on the other hand, was a lie.
She shifted her weight and glanced at Daisy’s hand. “What on earth did you do to deserve such a big bandage?”
Deserve? Wow. Daisy couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Karla that bothered her, but some passive-aggressive vibes couldn’t be ignored. “Cut my finger. Needed a couple of stitches. Nothing major.”
“Hmm… Well, I hope you heal quickly. You’re not much good on a ranch with a bum finger.” She narrowed her eyes though she continued to smile. “I should probably be on my way. I need hairspray and a box of condoms, and then I’m done. It was very nice to meet you, Daisy.”
“Same,” she said as the beautiful woman walk away. Condoms? Really? Karla couldn’t have been more blatant if she’d tried.
Part of Daisy wanted to flirt with Oliver even more to piss off the annoying woman. But every time she did, their interaction dredged unwanted feelings. As it was, each time Oliver smiled at her, the longing deep in her soul opened wider.
Several minutes later, Daisy was back in her car with Oliver in the driver’s seat. The pain medication waned, and she wanted to be home. Rachel and Caleb would be back soon, and she needed to beat them to the house so she could clean up her mess. Otherwise, Rachel would surely freak out.
“Doing okay?” Oliver asked when they were back on the main road.
“Yeah. I’m good.” She rested her head against the seat. “Thank you for going with me. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem at all. Why didn’t you come find me after it happened? I’m always available if you need help.” He flicked his gaze between her and the road.
She focused on the pretty landscape around them instead of his interrogating eyes. Talking about the white elephant in the room was the last thing on her list right now. “I guess I didn’t think about it.”
