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She smiled at him. The sun got brighter, and his future shone right along with it. He glanced up to see where the cloud was that had shifted away from the sun, but the sky was blue and free of any puffs of white. He blinked back at her. That smile was still on her face. Radiant. Appealing. What would those full, straight lips feel like against his own?
Okay. It was getting out of control now.
“I love horses and cowboys, but my brain function is subpar at the moment. I’ll choose you.” She winked at him then.
The ground shifted, and he wondered if an earthquake was coming. She chose him? She couldn’t mean that. She wasn’t in her right mind.
Turning, she walked toward his side-by-side vehicle, that slight limp to her gait proving that bruise on her thigh was deep and painful.
He followed like an old, well-trained Border Collie on a leash.
Who was this woman? And how could he keep her here until tomorrow and beyond? His quiet, predictable life had just been thrown upside down. He was confused but not annoyed by that. That alone shocked him. The dark-haired beauty shocked him even more.
He should want answers.
He only wanted more time around her.
Chapter
Three
She was scared, terrified truly. Not being in possession of her right mind. Her brain cloudy. The earth shifting. The sun too bright.
She couldn’t recall her own name, where in Montana she currently resided, or how she had tumbled into the handsome cowboy’s valley.
The overwhelming feeling that some lady would find her and injure the enthralling cowboy who’d been kind despite her snipping at him, hurling his phone into the lake, and then awkwardly telling him she was drawn to cowboys, was even more terrifying. The cowboy was the only solid, safe place in her spinning world.
She knew the lady, the witch. An aunt? A close neighbor? She could almost conjure piercing blue eyes and a face that looked more plastic than real. An alien? Too far-fetched. Her mind was addled and her imagination invoking horror. She shoved the witch away, not wanting those memories.
She catalogued herself. She wore running shoes and clothes, was battered and unsteady, and had awakened in the midst of this phenomenal scenery. A runner or hiker? She touched the knot on her head, a dull ache radiating from it. She was injured and panicked, afraid of some weird-faced lady. She went back to checking what she had on her person. No identification, no phone, no lip balm even.
Wait. Why did she not have a phone in her possession?
She patted her running pocket. Empty. Relief washed over her. Phones meant you were being monitored. Phones put her and a handsome cowboy stranger in danger.
How did she know that, if she didn’t know her own name?
She glanced askance at the cowboy, Cade, as they rode slowly in an open-air utility vehicle on a path around a beautiful lake. They were in the high mountains. The morning air had a crispness to it even with the sun brightly shining. The trees cascading down the gloriously tall mountains were exquisite.
Not as exquisite as the tall, ruggedly handsome, brawny tough man driving her to his home. He must assume she was addled in her mind. She’d thrown his phone into the lake, flirted with him, been standoffish with him, revealed how terrified she was of ‘the witch’, and more.
The witch. She could hear a boy’s voice calling the terrifying lady a witch and they’d both laughed about it. Quietly. If the witch overheard them laughing, she’d injure the boy. The witch hurt her by hurting the boy. Who was the boy? He was sad, but brave. He took the pain stoically. Why couldn’t she see his face?
Would this cowboy take her away from this safe spot? She didn’t want to vacate this quiet valley. These mountains surrounding her and this strong cowboy with a gun on his hip could protect her. Unless the witch tortured him like she had the boy. She closed her eyes. A memory was there, but she nudged it away. She couldn’t cope with those memories. They were heart-wrenching.
The vehicle stopped next to a two-story, rich-brown wood cabin. A nice stretch of lawn surrounded the cabin with a few shade trees and bushes. The wood pavilion on the side lawn was a nice touch, an outdoor kitchen counter and barbecue grill and outdoor couches under that shade. A large barn and corrals were beyond that.
The cowboy jumped out and hurried around, swinging her half-door open. His warm, firm hand underneath her arm supported her out of the vehicle.
“Careful there,” he cautioned, his deep voice thrilling her as much as his touch.
She glanced up into his green eyes. “Green like the forest of trees,” she murmured.
He arched an eyebrow, looking dangerously handsome under that cowboy hat. Had she really knocked it off his head? Between that, her snipping at him when he asked her name, and a cell phone that didn’t float, she was shocked he was willingly helping her and not at the base level annoyed. She’d only wanted to see those perfect eyes.
“Blue like the mountain lake,” he said back, gazing into her eyes.
“I apologize for throwing your phone,” she started with. All she wanted to do was gaze into his green eyes while he returned the favor.
