LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter Two

      Exhausted and fighting tears, Julie stood on the sidewalk beside Tony and contemplated the steps leading to her front door.

      They reminded her of Mount Everest.

      He had a firm grip on the upper part of her left arm. At least he was no longer hauling her around by the back of her pants.

      “Thank you. For everything.” She tried to pull away from his big warm hand. She wanted to get in the house before she fell apart. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him.

      Tony didn’t let go. “Let’s get you in the house.”

      She looked up at the dark windows. “Thanks, but I’ve taken enough of your time.”

      He ignored her and urged her up the stairs. “I’ll help you get settled.”

      She didn’t want to be rude after he had rescued her, but she needed to be alone. She never let anyone see her cry.

      Through the haze of medication that didn’t quite block the pain, she was beginning to realize she wouldn’t be able to work on the house for quite a while. The doctor had trussed her up like a Thanksgiving turkey, with her arm in a sling strapped to her chest to immobilize her broken collarbone.

      She couldn’t finish fixing up the house on her summer vacation.

      The utter frustration of her situation overwhelmed her and she groaned. At least her anger at herself helped overcome the urge to cry.

      Tony dipped down until his face was level with hers. “Julie? What’s wrong?”

      If she’d had a good hand, she would have smacked him. What wasn’t wrong?

      She shook her head. This experience had turned her into a shrew. “Let’s just get in the house.”

      Tony opened the door, flipped on the light in the foyer and led her across the threshold.

      She needed to get him out of the house. She just wanted to go to bed and wallow in misery for a while. Tomorrow she’d think about what she was going to do.

      “I really appreciate everything you’ve done. I’d like to pay you for your time.”

      He looked amazed at her comment, then his mouth thinned into a grim line. “Pay me? You’re not in L.A., lady. Folks in small towns help each other.”

      His angry attitude took her by surprise. She didn’t need to be reminded she wasn’t in L.A. Stiffly she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it as an insult.”

      She just wanted him out of the house so she could fall apart. “I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

      “My time isn’t your problem. Come on, I told you I’m staying until you’re settled.” Gently, his touch a contrast to his voice, he grasped her arm and started toward the stairs.

      Immediately she stiffened up, anger catching up with distress. Getting rid of him was starting to look as tough as getting gum off the bottom of a shoe. Digging in her heels, she decided to be direct. Hinting hadn’t worked. “I’m fine. You don’t need to stay.”

      Tony dropped her arm and studied her for a moment. “So, you’re fine, huh?”

      She nodded. “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.

      “How are you going to get undressed?”

      Julie hadn’t thought about that. Her chin came up. “I’ll manage.”

      He took off his hat and tossed it onto the knob on top of the banister. “How are you going to get your bra off?”

      Good question, she thought, feeling slightly embarrassed. How was she going to get undressed? One arm was strapped to her chest and she couldn’t bend the other at the elbow because of the stitches.

      He threw her a smug look that irritated her. “Do you have any female friends in town?”

      She hadn’t made close friends except for Lynn, and she lived in New York now. When she’d been sent to live with her grandmother after her parents died, she’d resented being yanked from her home and friends in L.A. and been pretty much of a loner all through high school.

      The only person who came to mind was Betty, Lynn’s mother. She’d heard Betty was off visiting her son in New Mexico.

      “No.” Darn him. At least now she was so angry she no longer felt like crying.

      “Come on,” he said briskly, urging her up the stairs. “Things are going to look much better when you get a little sleep.”

      Julie didn’t think she had ever met a guy who seemed to relish being in control the way Tony did. It rankled. She was used to taking care of herself.

      Most of the time.

      A little voice in her head reminded her she wasn’t doing such a good job.

      Her collarbone ached and her stitches burned. Lacking the energy to fight him any longer, she gave in and let him lead her into her old bedroom.

      The chair lay there on its side, surrounded by the ledgers.

      “What do you sleep in?” he asked matter-of-factly, ignoring the mess.

      “There’s a nightshirt in the top dresser drawer.”

      He left her side to rummage through the drawer and came up with a pink flannel nightshirt with the words Uppity Woman scrawled across the front in red. “This?”

      She nodded and he laid the shirt over his arm and came back to stand in front of her. With sure fingers he unbuckled the strap around her middle that held the sling close to her body.

      “I’m going to take the sling off. I need you to do nothing. Concentrate on keeping your arm perfectly still, okay?”

      Julie nodded. That shouldn’t be hard. It hurt when she moved even a little.

      He slipped the sling off. “You doing okay?”

      “Yes.” For all his muscles he had a gentle touch.

      “Now I’m going to unbutton your shirt.” His big hands were quick with the buttons.

      For the second time today he had his hands inside her blouse, she thought. It was getting to be a habit.

      He slid the shirt off her left shoulder and eased it over her left arm, past the wide elastic bandage covering her stitches.

      “Now, let me do all the work here. You just think about holding still.” He slid the shirt off her right shoulder and eased it down her arm.

      She sighed when he had it off. He had such warm, careful hands. Slick as a whistle, he hadn’t hurt her at all. She glanced down to see her nipples puckering through the blue satin of her bra. She wanted to be as cool about this as he was, but her body wasn’t cooperating.

      Keeping his eyes on her face as if he couldn’t be bothered to look at all the skin he’d just uncovered he said, “Turn around.”

      His voice sounded low and husky.

      He wasn’t quite as detached after undressing her as he’d like her to believe. Good, because she wasn’t detached at all. Obediently she turned.

      He stood so close behind her she could feel the heat of his body on her bare back.

      He

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