Her Lifeline: (A Romantic Suspense)

by Chandler, Danica

  She couldn’t help but laugh. It was funny – she had been so stressed about the ranch’s financial situation that she had forgotten how great it felt to smile and laugh. Maybe Nick would be their saving grace in more ways than one. Opening the door, she let him walk in first, surprised to see the table had been set and the food was ready to be served.

  “Wow, who do I owe the thanks to?”

  “Noah helped me. Said he wanted to make it really special for our new friend,” her dad replied.

  Amelia looked at Nick who was smiling. At least that was good. She couldn’t count how many times her ex husband just shoveled the food in and made his exit. He wasn’t one for family and she quickly had to shove the thought of the asshole out of her mind. He wasn’t here and he wasn’t near as great as Nick had been even though it had only been one day. Hopefully this wasn’t an act. Hopefully he truly was the gentleman she was getting the good vibes off of. With a face like that, how could he be anything less?”

  “Are you gonna introduce us?” her father said, pulling her from her daydream. She felt her cheeks heat up. Had she been standing there grinning like an idiot?

  “Sure. Nick, this is my father, Russell Tucker. Dad, this is Nick Miller, our new ranch hand. And of course, you’ve met Noah.”

  Nick extended his hand for her dad to shake. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Tucker. Thanks for this opportunity.”

  Her dad returned the gesture. “Call me Russell, Mr. Miller. It’s nice to have you here. Lots of work to be done, but don’t let my age fool you. I’ll be able to help out where I can.”

  “You can call me Nick, sir.”

  He called him sir? Amelia found that so cute. “Okay, lets eat before it gets cold. I hope you like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.” She sat across from Nick and tried hard not to stare. He dug into his food like he hadn’t eaten in days, but maybe he hadn’t. He mentioned how he was running out of money and didn’t have much to pay for things.

  “So, Amelia tells me that you were in the army.” Here it went. All the questions she had warned him about. She slid her foot under the table to nudge Nick and grabbed his attention, flashing him an ‘I told you so’ smirk.

  “Yes sir, I was.”

  “That’s great. I served as well, but was in the navy. On behalf of us here in the Tucker family, we thank you for your service. Where all did you go?”

  Nick looked back at Amelia and she could tell he was fighting the urge to smile back at her. The edges of his eyes squinted and his lips pursed. “All over. Served in Germany, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did several tours there.”

  Her dad nodded and picked at some skin on his chicken leg. “God bless you, son. I won’t get into a political debate, but that’s some hard work you’re all having to do over there.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Daddy, I took him to the barn where that stallion is. You know how he rarely lets us reach in and pet him? He let Nick do it. Was a little unsteady, but allowed more contact than I’ve ever seen.”

  Russell arched his eyebrow. “Yeah? You work with horses?”

  “No sir, not officially. Just was around some for a little while as a kid. One of the… A family I was around had them and I used to do some riding and things.”

  Amelia sat back and observed the conversation. She caught on to how he mentioned living with a foster family, but how he omitted that information to her dad. She watched as his green eyes lit up at the mention of possibly working with the horse as one of the job duties. And his smile? Forget about it. She couldn’t even finish her food. One thing was for certain – she was glad that he was getting along so well with her father. He didn’t just answer his millions of questions, he elaborated. Her ex never would’ve done that.

  Standing up, she began to clear some of the empty plates and platters, stopping at the kitchen to look out the window over the sink. She had to stop comparing Nick to him. It was two separate types of relationships. Nick was a ranch hand. Her ex was on a romantic level with her at one point. They had a child together. It was apples and oranges.

  “Need any help with the dishes?”

  His velvety voice pulled her back to real life again, and she turned on her heel to face him. Nick came through the door with a stack of dishes and a towel draped over his shoulder. How could something as simple as that be so damn attractive?

  “No, I’m fine. You can stay in there and talk to my dad if you want. That is, if he’s not driving you insane yet.”

  Nick crinkled his brow and set the dishes in the sink, his body close to hers, as he brushed past. “I don’t mind either way. You cooked this huge meal. It’s only fair that someone else do the dishes for you.”

  “You wash dishes too? Is there anything you can’t do?”

  Looking down at her, he smiled. “Cook. I can’t cook.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right. You told me you couldn’t even boil water. That’s pretty serious.”

  “I’ve got plenty of experience washing dishes, believe it or not.” He opened the dishwasher and began to rinse the plates. “Didn’t ever have a fancy dishwasher though. You might have to show me how to run it.”

  “And where’d you pick up this dishwashing experience from? You didn’t mention this during our interview.” Amelia winked as he handed her stuff to load inside it.

  “Believe it or not, the army. Nice disciplinary tool for us.”

  “So you’re telling me that Nick Miller was a trouble maker?”

  Shrugging, he leaned past her to put a knife in the silverware holder. No. She ducked any racy thought that almost came into her mind.

  “Trouble maker? Me? Never.” He patted his hand on his chest and his face grew serious. “Seriously though. Dinner was great. Thanks so much for the food. I can’t remember having a meal that good.”

  “Not a problem at all. Oh, I forgot to tell you. There’s a truck out by the bunkhouse. It’s not fancy at all, just an old Silverado, but it’s yours to use. I don’t expect you to stay on the ranch twenty-four hours a day. If you need to go into town or anything, it’s no problem. I’ll give you the set of keys.”

  “I can’t think of any reason why I’d need to go anywhere, except if you needed me to get anything, or for supplies. Appreciate it. Room and board, and a truck? Best job I’ve ever had.”

  Was he being sarcastic? Amelia couldn’t tell. Walking to the key rack, she grabbed the key. “She’s old but she still runs better than most new vehicles. You have any problems with it, let me know. We’ll get it fixed soon.”

  Nick twirled the key ring on his finger. “No problem. Thanks so much, Amelia. I can’t wait to get started on everything.”

  Chapter Six

  Nick grumbled when he heard the alarm clock blaring on the night stand by his bed. He had set it for six AM so he could get up and get started before it got hot. Turning on his side, he slammed the snooze button with his palm and burrowed back in the covers. He had an amazing night sleep and the early morning hour came too fast. Stretching out, he rubbed his eyes and forced himself to kick his legs over the side of the bed.

  Hobbling to the bathroom, he paused at the window. It was still somewhat dark out, but he noticed someone on the back porch of Amelia’s house, rocking in the swing. Was that her? Squinting, he tried to clear his vision. The houses weren’t that far apart, but enough that he couldn’t make out who it was. Leaning his forehead on the glass, he watched closer. It was definitely her. She flung her dark hair over her shoulder and leaned back, hoisting a mug up to her lips.

  Nick’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. She was still in her baggy pajamas and somehow still managed to pull his attention completely on her. Closing his eyes, he pushed past the thought. She was a damn fine woman, but the inappropriateness of the entire situation made him resist, though it was hard.

  After a luke-warm shower and some coffee of his own, Nick went to the barn to begin work. He’d leave Amelia alone for now. He didn’t want to be a nagging employee, always asking
what he needed to do. It was obvious from his tour yesterday that there was plenty to do; it was just a matter of digging in and getting started.

  First on his list was repairing the well house roof. He vaguely remembered Amelia mentioning that a storm a few months back had come through and tore it up. Gathering the roofing supplies into the back of the old pickup, he kneeled down to pet the shepherd mix dog that ran figure eights through his legs. The dog licked his hands and whimpered.

  “What’s your name, pal?” Nick scratched behind his ears. “Who do you belong to?”

  The dog barked as if he was responding to the question, and Nick invited him to jump up into the bed of the truck. Driving out to well house, he already felt the Texas sun beating down on him. Adjusting his baseball cap, he swiped some sweat on his forehead and went to work, pulling the old, damaged boards from the roof. The heavy humidity made his shirt stick to him, so he quickly peeled it off and tossed it to the ground.

  “You thirsty?”

  Nick looked down to see Amelia standing near the truck, a pitcher of tea and a glass in her hand. She shielded her face from the sun. She had her dark hair tied back, appearing as if she had been doing some work of her own.

  Jumping down, he tossed the hammer to the side, picked his shirt up out of the grass, and gladly accepted the beverage. “Thanks. I didn’t realize I had been out here this long.” Should he put the shirt back on? He suddenly felt modest in front of her.

  “You’re about halfway done with the well house. How bad was it?”

  Nick walked to the far side. “Had to replace this whole wall before I could start putting the ceiling panels up. I think you might have termites along with the damage from the storm.”

  “Oh no, that’s not good news.”

  “The other three walls are okay and the well itself is fine. I’ll go into town and get some termite poison. If you’ve got them here, they’re probably elsewhere too.” The dog ran back up, leaning into Nick’s legs. “Oh, and I made a friend. This one of Noah’s dogs?”

  “No, I’ve never seen him before. He’s cute!”

  “He’s been helping me, I guess you could say.” He lifted his hat again, feeling his hair matted to his forehead.

  “I’m about to go make lunch. If you’re hungry, come take a break. I’ll have it all ready in about thirty minutes, okay?” She went back to the horse, pulling up onto the saddle. “Good work, Nick. Remind me to get you some sunscreen too. You’re cooking out here.”

  The mention of it made him feel the sunburn. A cool lake and a beer sounded good. Maybe the Tucker ranch had both. He watched her ride off, noticing her breasts as they rose and fell with the galloping of the horse. Even in her work clothes, she was perfect. Yeah, Nick definitely needed that cool lake. How was he going to keep a professional relationship with her when every time she came around, he couldn’t keep his mind off of her?

  Pulling his shirt on, he felt the sting of the cloth against his skin. Wincing, he gathered the tools and threw them in the truck. The dog watched from afar and he patted his leg. “C’mon, boy. Let’s get you some water.”

  Amelia was waiting for him on the porch as he pulled in. Holding out a sandwich, Nick took it as if it were a gourmet meal. Between bites he asked, “Where’s Noah and your dad?”

  “I sent them to get the termite poison. They were complaining that I never gave them any work to do, so I figured I’d delegate that onto them. Why don’t you come sit down? I’ve got some aloe-vera lotion that we can put on.”

  Nick sat at the kitchen table and started on his second sandwich. He washed it down with more tea, amazed at how hungry he was. Amelia came back into the kitchen with a green bottle.

  “Sorry it’s just sandwiches. Why don’t you take your shirt off so I can put this on your back while you eat?”

  Was she kidding? How was he supposed to respond? Taking another long gulp of tea, he hesitated. “You sure? I can do it.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. There’s no way you can reach back here. You’re gonna be wishing for it later.” Grabbing his shirt tale, she helped guide it over his head. “I’m not asking for you to get completely naked. You didn’t seem too timid when we were out at the well house.”

  If she only knew the affect it would have on him. Sitting up, he tried to control his breathing as he felt her massage the lotion, first into his shoulders and then down to his shoulder blades. Her hands were so soft and inviting, and he continued to nibble on the sandwich to control himself. The cool feel of the lotion instantly alleviated the burning. She smoothed it down to the middle of his back and back up. He felt himself relax in the chair and he closed his eyes, letting out a low moan as she rubbed on his skin.

  A part of him wanted to stand up and get away. It was nothing but harmless lotion on a sunburn, but in his mind, he was turning it into a more thrilling experience that he was certain Amelia wasn’t meaning it to be. She’d be mortified if she could see inside his mind at that moment. The other part of him was winning. He rested his head on the table as she continued.

  “Does that feel better?”

  “You have no idea,” he replied, scooting up farther to help her reach him.

  Amelia couldn’t believe she had the bravery to do this. Asking her new ranch hand to take his shirt off? What was she thinking? And here she was, rubbing the lotion into his back. His strong, muscled back that would soon be even tanner than it was after the sunburn healed. He did need it. The poor guy was really sun burned and there was no way he could rub it all in on his own. But still, where was this coming from? She had never been this bold before.

  “I forgot to give you some sunscreen. I feel so bad.”

  “Don’t. It’s not my first sunburn. I used to live in the Middle East, remember?”

  His voice vibrated on her hands and she continued to massage into his muscles. She squirted a little more into her hand, promising herself this would be the last bit she’d do before she had him put his shirt back on. She admired every ripple in his back and how taut his skin was. She looked at the cuts in his biceps and the ridge on his shoulders. He definitely worked out and she could get used to the eye candy around the ranch.

  Pushing away, she had to force herself to stop. If she let it continue, it’d seem like more than just someone helping another put lotion on. “Okay, is that better?”

  Sitting up, Nick nodded. “Thanks, Amelia. You didn’t have to do that.”

  She wanted to. Still shocked with herself, she went to the sink and loaded up the dishwasher again. “It’s no problem. There’s sunscreen in the bathroom down the hallway. Help yourself to it, and I’d advise slathering it on before you go back out to work in the sun.”

  “That’s good advice. Usually I know better.”

  Nick walked down the hallway and she took a deep breath, shaking her head. Too bad sunburns were bad for people. She could use more excuses to do that again. Coming back in the kitchen, he held out the bottle and smiled as his eyebrows danced.

  "Care to help me put this on?"

  His charm was overwhelming, and Amelia laughed out loud. "I'd love to."

  ***

  That evening, Nick was having a hard time sleeping. The sunburn he had acquired earlier in the day wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be, but then again, maybe Amelia's smooth palms and lotion helped. Rolling on his side, he let out a deep breath. Why was sleep so hard to come by? He had worked hard and physically he was spent. If he could just get his mind to slow down, maybe he could get a few hours of rest.

  He thought about too much, but mainly Amelia. What was this all about? Regardless of how many times he reminded himself that she was his boss, he still couldn't get his mind off of things. There was something about her that made his pulse race and excited him. He liked to think that if a woman was off limits that he could just move on. That's how it usually worked in the military. But not Amelia.

  Kicking his legs off the side of the bed, he walked back to the window that faced her house. It was dark, but
the yard light in between their places gave enough view of her back porch where he had seen her early that morning on the swing. Resting his arm on the glass, he leaned his head against it, squinting toward it. Was she outside again? The swing was rocking. It had to have been her. Her father would've never been dressed in a flowing nightgown.

  Grabbing his t-shirt and jeans, he quickly put them on. The smell of aloe vera was strong on the fabric, but at least it overpowered the fact that it was the same clothes he had worked in all day. Maybe he should've grabbed clean clothes, but why did it matter? He probably shouldn't have been going there anyway.

  To Nick's surprise, the night air was cool and refreshing compared to how the day was. The shepherd mix dog met him halfway, his tail wagging as he reached down to pet him.

  "Hey there, boy. I guess you're here to stay."

  Looking up, Nick saw Amelia standing on the edge of the porch, her robe pulled tight around her midsection. Her dark hair was blowing in the wind and a small smile parted her lips. "I figured you'd be dead to the world at this time of night," she said.

  "Normally I would be. Can't sleep for some reason. Figured you'd be passed out too." Nick walked up the steps and followed her to the swing, but didn't sit down beside her. He leaned against the railing, not wanting to seem too bold.

  Amelia nodded. "Just a lot on my mind." She bit her lip and looked out into the pasture. "Your family know you're working here on this ranch?"

  The word family was like nails on a chalkboard to Nick. The only family he had really had were his brothers in the army. Just like everything else, they were ripped away from him. "Don't really have much family to tell it to." He didn't want to burden her with his problems. It seemed she had something of her own going on, but he wasn't sure what else to say.

  She looked at him, her eyes widening. "No? I'm sorry. Sometimes I can say the dumbest things, Nick." She patted the swing beside her. "Why don't you sit down? You're making me nervous with your pacing."

  Was he pacing? He didn't even realize it until she had mentioned it. Sitting down, he smelled her scent - floral mixed in with the fresh air. It was relaxing. "You didn't say anything dumb, Amelia. It's just a fact of life I have to face. If you ever wanna know anything, ask away. I don't want to be this man of mystery who is around your kid. That's gotta be uncomfortable."