LITMIR.BIZ

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then it happened. He caught his left foot on something and a sharp pain in the vicinity of his ankle drove him to his knees.

      Chapter Five

      Sadie’s heart thudded in her chest as she dropped to her knees beside him. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?” Please God, let it just be a stumble.

      His expression was contorted, a sure sign he was in pain, but he still tried to get up. “The snake. Where—”

      “Gone.” She placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. “But like I tried to tell you, it was just a harm less king snake.”

      He went very still, his expression closing off. Then he nodded stiffly. “My apologies for the overreaction. It seems I made a bit of a fool of myself.”

      Sounded like it was his pride that was injured. Growing up with two older brothers, she’d dealt with her fair share of that ailment over the years and knew how prickly it could make a fella. “I’m sure the snakes in this part of the country look different than those do where you come from.” She offered a reassuring smile. “And when in doubt it’s always wise to give the critters a wide berth.”

      Her words didn’t seem to ease his stiffness any. Ah well, he’d get over his wounded pride soon enough. Right now they had other things to worry about.

      “Can you walk? ’Cause we probably ought to get a move on. Collecting that honey took a little longer than I expected and from the looks of those clouds up there the rain is going to come in sooner than we expected.”

      He glanced up toward the sky and nodded.

      Sadie bit her lip as she studied him. He seemed to be okay but the fact that he’d made no move yet to stand was making her uneasy.

      She could almost see him gather his strength before he started to push himself up, and her stomach knotted.

      “You are hurt.” It wasn’t a question.

      “I think I twisted my ankle,” he admitted. “I’ll be fine once I get back to the buggy. If you can find me a stout stick to use for leverage—”

      “Take my arm and I’ll help you up.”

      His look was dismissive. “I appreciate the offer, but you can’t support my weight.” Now he did sound like her brothers. “I’m stronger than I look.”

      She saw the stubborn glint in his eye—probably that pride thing again. Before he could protest further she gave him a stern look of her own. “Look, I don’t see any stout sticks nearby and I sure don’t intend to waste time looking for one while we wait for the bottom to fall out of those clouds. So just take my arm.”

      His irritation was plain, but after a second he nodded. “Very well.” He took the arm she offered and gingerly stood, while carefully avoiding putting any weight on his left foot.

      She gave him a minute to steady himself. “Okay. Now put your arm around my shoulder and we’ll get you to the buggy.”

      Without a word, Mr. Reynolds set his hand gingerly on her nearest shoulder.

      The man was exasperating. “That’ll never work. I assure you I won’t break and I won’t swoon. For the next few minutes I will simply think of you as one of my brothers and you are free to think of me as a sister. Now, put your arm around me to my other shoulder so you can get proper support and we can get out of here.”

      His lips compressed, but he did as she’d commanded.

      As they picked their way along the overgrown trail, Sadie was acutely aware of his arm around her, of his weight against her—warm, heavy, vital.

      So much for thinking of him like a brother.

      By the time they finally made it back to the road, the first drops of rain had begun to fall. It was intermittent, but the fat drops, suddenly darkened sky and oppressive air promised worse to come.

      Once at the wagon, he released her and used the frame of the buggy to leverage himself up onto the seat. At least they’d made it to the relative shelter of the buggy before the worst of the weather blew in.

      “I apologize for not being able to hand you up,” he said as he settled in, “but—”

      “Don’t give it another thought.” She resisted the urge to rub away the tingle that lingered where his arm had been.

      “If I can impose on you to untether the horse, we’ll get on our way.”

      She could tell that simple request had not been easy for him. “Of course. Just as soon as I fetch that pail of honey.”

      “But the rain—”

      “Oh, a little rain never hurt anyone. After all the trouble we put into collecting it, I don’t intend to leave even a drop behind if I can help it.”

      Before he could protest further, she hiked her skirts up to her ankles and dashed back into the thicket. She grabbed both the honey and the supplies just as the rain began to fall in earnest. Encumbered by her bulky burdens, she made slower progress on the return trip and by the time she was ready to scramble onto the seat beside him she was more than a little damp.

      But it had been worth it.

      She ignored Mr. Reynolds’s censoring glance and laughed as she tried to shake some of the water from her skirts. “I haven’t played in the rain since I was a schoolgirl—I’d forgotten how fun it was.”

      Of course, it would be a lot more fun if her companion wasn’t so stodgy. She wished there was some way she could get him to relax and see the joy in the little things.

      Eli resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How could she make light of her sodden state? She had to be uncomfortable. And even on this warm May day, there was a real chance of her catching a cold if she didn’t find something dry to change into soon. He had to get her back to town.

      Then she sat up straighter. “Would you like me to take the reins?”

      Some of his sympathy evaporated as he gritted his teeth and released the brake. “It’s my ankle that’s hurt, not my hands.” Just because he’d overreacted when he spied the snake was no reason for her to try to mollycoddle him.

      Using the small clearing in front of the ramshackle cabin, he turned the wagon around and headed back the way they’d come.

      There, that should show her he could still handle the buggy. He gave her a sideways glance. “Given the weather and the condition of my ankle, I think it best we return to town rather than proceed to your brother’s ranch.”

      “Yes, of course. We need to get the doctor to look at your ankle as soon as possible.” She rubbed her hand over her arm as she stared out at the downpour.

      Had she already taken a chill? He shrugged out of his relatively dry jacket. “Here, put this on.”

      “But—”

      “No arguments. You’re soaked through and the last thing we need is for you to get sick.” He tried gentling his tone. “After all, Mrs. Collins is counting on you.”

      She chewed her lip a moment as he held her gaze and slowly nodded. “Thank you.”

      His coat swallowed her up, making her appear even smaller than normal. Several tendrils had escaped the confines of their pins and hung, damp and forlorn, down her neck. His hand moved, almost of its own accord, to brush her cheek in reassurance. At the last moment he came to his senses and flicked the reins instead, hoping she hadn’t noticed his lapse of control.

      They rode along in silence for a while as he tried to maneuver the overgrown trail in the rain. The throbbing in his ankle was getting worse and his mood was going downhill with it as a bright flash of lightning lit the sky just then, almost immediately followed by a much-too-close clap of thunder. His companion jumped, but Eli had no time to reassure her. It took all of his focus to steady the horse. Even so, he couldn’t

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