Sweetheart, I have no intention of trying anything with you. You look like a drowned rat and youre covered in mud. Youre about as appealing as a pig. Less so. I could at least eat a pig. He shuffled around the cabin, bumping into things.
Sophia stood close to the door, debating how to make her escape. The bellow of thunder and the rain pounding the roof intensified, making her think again.
Something rattled to her left, then a scraping sound rasped in the darkness and a match flared. The cowboy held it up and stared at the potbellied stove. Here, make yourself useful. He handed her a box of matches. Light one.
She took the box from him as the match he held flickered out. Hands shaking, she removed a match from the box and scraped it on the side. The blaze from the match circled her and the cowboy in an intimate glow.
He grabbed a candle from the mantel and held it to the match, then stuck it in a tin holder. That will do for a start, but its cold, were wet and well need a fire or well have a really bad night of it. He lifted the lid off a box beside the stove and grunted. Nice. Several logs lay in the bottom, along with old newspapers. Hank knows how to stock a cabin, he muttered as he lifted the logs out and stacked them in the stove.
Sophias heart skipped several beats. Hank?
The man wadded up newspaper and jammed it beneath the logs before responding. Yeah, youre trespassing on the Raging Bull Ranch. I take it you were the one to cut the fence? He shot a narrowed glance behind him. Illegal alien?
She refused to be intimidated by his glare. I am an American citizen.
Even American citizens dont have the right to destroy other peoples property or trespass. You can take it up with the law in the morning.
Could it be shed found her way to Hank Derringers land? Hope rose inside her. Id rather take it up with this man Hank.
The cowboy shrugged. Suit yourself, lady. I dont care. He held out his hand. Ill take those matches now.
She handed him the box and stood back.
He got the paper burning and the dry wood caught soon after, crackling and popping. He left the door to the stove open, the blaze lighting the interior of the tiny cabin in a soft, cozy glow.
The heat didnt extend beyond a few feet from the stove.
Still leery about the cowboys intentions, Sophia remained outside his reach, her arms clutched around her body, her teeth chattering.
The big man stood, holding his hands to the fire. Sure is warm over here. He cast a glance at her and shook his head. Good grief, woman, youre freezing. Get closer before you catch your death.
Im f-fine, she insisted, her gaze on the flames, mesmerized by the thought of warmth.
The cowboy unbuttoned his soaked shirt and peeled it off his shoulders.
Sophia gasped and backed even farther away until the backs of her knees ran into the side of the bed and she almost fell. What are you doing?
Getting out of my wet clothes. I dont plan on freezing all night. He scooped her backpack off the floor and opened it. Do you have any dry clothes in here?
She darted forward and snatched at the backpack. Thats mine.
He held on to the strap, his eyes narrowing. Seeing as we have to share this cabin for a night, Id like to know youre not hiding a knife or another gun in here that you plan on using on me in my sleep. He peeled her fingers off the other strap and dumped the contents of the backpack on the closest of the twin beds.
Foil-wrapped tortillas, a can of frijoles pinto and two bottles of water fell out on the bed. Enough food for two people for a single day. Beside them, a flashlight, fifty dollars of American money and one extra T-shirt was all she had to her name.
Not much to go cross-country on.
I was backpacking in the canyon. I didnt plan on staying, she lied.
He dug in one of the side pockets of the backpack and brought out the wire cutters. Something you carry on hikes?
She shrugged. A girl never knows what tools shell need.
Anyone ever tell you its not safe to travel alone in this area? Especially if youre a woman.
Sophia swallowed hard on the lump forming in her throat. She hadnt planned on traveling alone. Hector was to guide and protect her until she found Hank Derringer. Now Hector lay dead back in the canyon. With no one to help her, she had to rely on herself. She lifted her chin. I dont need a man to protect me. Especially one who wanted to control her and keep her locked away from the world.
Glad to know that. I didnt plan on signing up for the job. He lifted the blanket shed tossed on the bed earlier. Since you have a dry T-shirt, Ill use the blanket until my jeans dry. He nodded toward the bed and the pile of supplies. Get out of your wet clothes. Getting sick will do you no good. He reached for the button on his jeans.
Sophias eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. What are you doing?
He shook his head and spoke slowly, as if to a dense child. I told you, Im getting out of my wet clothes. You can watch...or not. He flicked the button open and ran the zipper down in one fluid movement.
Sophia gasped and spun away from him. I dont even know you.
Its not like Im going to make love to you. I prefer my women willing, dry and preferably not covered in mud.
All the more reason to remain in my wet clothing.
Suit yourself. He tossed the jeans over a chair beside her. If itll help, Ill turn my back while you strip out of those muddy things. I might even be convinced to take them out in the rain and rinse them for you so that youll have something semiclean to wear in the morning.
She did feel gritty and cold. The dirt she could handle, but the cold couldnt be good for her baby. Fine. She turned toward him, happy to note hed wrapped his naked body in the blanket. Turn around.
Shed been raised in Monterrey by her Mexican father and her American mother, but the proprieties of life in Mexico demanded she didnt strip naked in front of a stranger.
Granted, proprieties had gone by the wayside when shed chosen to move in with Antonio, despite her parents objections. Theyd begged her to wait until she had the ring on her finger before committing to such a drastic move. But Antonio had been eager to have her to himself, and Sophia had been young and stupid in love.
Look, Ill turn my back, the man said. But you have to promise not to stab me in it while I do.
Sophia snorted. I dont have a knife, and you took my gun.
* * *
THORN KEPT HIS back to her, watching her movements through his peripheral vision and the movement of her shadow.
She eased along the wall toward the stove, wary of him and as skittish as a wild cat. If she didnt get out of the muddy clothes, they wouldnt dry by morning and shed possibly get sick or suffer hypothermia from being cold all night.
Thorn didnt relish the idea of hauling a sick woman back to the ranch. Especially if they were going to have to ride double on the motorcycle shed hidden beneath the lean-to.
Since well be sharing this cabin until the storm abates, it might help to know your name. Im Thorn Drennan.
She didnt answer for a long time.
When he turned to see if shed somehow slipped by him and left, his chest tightened.