Here Comes Trouble (38 page)

"Something must've died back there, I'll go
check it out later," Dylan said shading his eyes to take a look
too.

"Damned lucky it wasn't me," Joel said then
griped, "Get me in the damned house, it's hot out here."

Terri groaned, because she knew his mood was
only going to get worse during this healing process. Joel was one
of those guys who was used to doing for himself and moving around.
Sitting just pissed him off. When it came time for his physical
therapy she was going to either buy a straight jacket for him, or a
case of Jack Daniels for her. Maybe both.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a terrible
patient, Joel Rhodes?" she asked lightly as she turned him
backwards and Matt helped her wrestle his wheelchair up the new
ramp the ranch hands hand installed for him.

"Those damned nurses at the hospital said it a
time or two, but they were just grumpy old bats."

"And you're such a ray of sunshine, how could
they possibly not fall in love with you," she told him in a sing
song voice then wrangled the chair until she got it through the
front door.

Joel snorted and she thought he might have
chuckled. That would be the first time in over a week, and in
Terri's mind it was a good sign.

She pushed him through the house and down the
hall to his bedroom then opened the door and forced the chair
through the opening.

"We might have to take the door off the
hinges, the clearance is about a half inch too small. You're not
going to be able to get the chair through the door without
help."

"Since I'm staying in the fucking bed, I guess
I won't have to worry about that."

"You're not staying in the bed, sugar. You're
gonna get up off of your ass and move around so you don't lose
muscle tone. If you think I'm going to wait on you hand and foot
you're mistaken. I have things to do to keep this ranch
running."

Joel grunted, but didn't argue which was a
good thing. He did need to stay mobile, or his physical therapy was
going to take longer. Getting back on his feet would take longer.
Terri was going to get him up and on crutches, or with a walker as
soon as possible.

After getting him settled into the bed, the
new bed they'd ordered and had delivered, she stood back and glared
at him. "I know how bored you get, and what kind of trouble you
cause when that happens. What kind of magazines do you want? Or you
want to watch a movie?" she asked with a tight smile.

"I wanna fucking get up and run my ranch is
what I want to do," he huffed and folded his arms over his chest.
She could see the frustration and pain in his eyes and it tore at
her heart.

Terri sat on the side of the bed and put her
hand over his. "Work hard, baby and you'll be better in no time.
Just thank God you didn't get shot, and that you didn't lose your
leg. I will every day," she told him and her lip
wobbled.

Before she knew what was going on, Joel jerked
her arm and she sprawled over his chest. With his hand strong at
the back of her skull, he pulled her head down to his and covered
her mouth in a kiss she felt all the way to her toes. The kiss went
on and on as he devoured her mouth, nipping and sucking her lips
like they were the best thing he'd ever tasted. His tongue brushed
hers then he deepened the kiss and desire shot through her. With a
moan, Terri kissed him back letting go of all the fear and worry
she'd been holding onto for days. Telling him what she hadn't had
the privacy to tell him yet, that she loved him, through the
kiss.

He finally ended the kiss and whispered
heatedly over her lips. "I thank God that you weren't shot every
day. I was so damned scared."

A whimper forced itself from her throat then
she put her lips over his and kissed him again. When she softly
ended the kiss, he held her face in his hands. "If I have to stay
in this bed, and you're asking how I'd like to be entertained,
magazines aren't what I'm thinking will do the job," he told her,
his eyes heated and needy.

"That's off the table for a while..." she
replied.

"Table, chair, bathroom floor, I'm not picky.
I'll take you anywhere and anyhow I can get you, sugar." he told
her, his eyes burning with intensity. Terri's heart rocked in her
chest and then stopped when he finished with, "I love you,
Terri...please don't ever leave me."

Tears clouded her vision and her voice shook
with emotion when she replied, "Try and get rid of me, cowboy. I'm
not going anywhere, I told you that." Terri hesitated and chewed
her lip then decided now was the time. "I love you,
Joel."

She felt a tremor pass through him, before he
pulled her to his chest and hugged her tightly. "God, I am a lucky
bastard," he mumbled against her hair. "I've done everything I
could to run you off. Thank god you're hardheaded and
stubborn."

"
I'm
hardheaded?" she repeated
incredulously then pushed up to look at him. "You are the most
confounding man I've ever met, and your timing sucks too by the
way."

"Why is that?" he lifted a brow to
ask.

"Because I could interpret you suddenly
wanting to keep me around to be directly related to you needing
someone to take care of your sorry butt."

"Is it time for my sponge bath?" he asked
hopefully, his eyes glittering with humor and passion. "I would
definitely be okay with that...I've always had this hot nurse
fantasy, now I'm living it."

Terri huffed out a breath, then slugged him in
the shoulder.

"Ouch," he said and rubbed it. "What the hell
did you do that for? I'm already hurt...some nurse you are! They
teach you to hit your patients in nursing school?"

"Only the ones who give me lip," she told him
with a snort.

"Oh, I'll give you lip alright," he told her
then pulled her down to him for another heated kiss.

Terri finally separated herself from him and
scooted off the bed before he could grab her again. "What do you
want to eat for lunch?" she asked him breathlessly, trying to
corral her galloping heart.

A slow sexy smile kicked up the corner of his
mouth in answer.

"Other than that what do you want for lunch?
Cause you're in no shape for that to be on the menu anytime soon.
Like I said your timing sucks."

"Sucking is good...that will definitely be on
the menu," he told her, then added in a sexy drawl, "My mouth isn't
broken and neither is my d--"

"Shut it!" she yelled and held up a finger.
"You keep it up and you're not gonna get lunch!"

"You're a mean woman," he said with a pout and
shook his head.

"Damn right I am, and you better not forget
it, mister," she agreed sassily and put her hand on her hip. It was
good to see he was in a better mood now, but that only made it
harder for her to keep her hands to herself. Joel in this sexy mood
was irresistible.

Especially since he finally told her he loved
her.

She knew what it had taken him to get to say
it, knew it hadn't been easy. Even though he said the words though,
it didn't mean he was ready for a relationship and all it entailed.
They'd have to take it one step at a time. His admission was the
first step. Like Curly suggested, she'd give him time, and see how
things played out.

Joel watched Terri's cute ass as she sashayed
out of the room to go fix lunch. He had finally said it to her,
told her he loved her. He was kind of proud of himself.

The thing that blew him away was that she had
said the same thing back to him. He knew he'd come damned close to
running her off with his stupidity.

Now, if he could keep the faith that those
words meant something coming from her, like he thought they did,
he'd be good. All he had to do was put Karen from his mind and stop
comparing every woman to her. Judging their motivations by her way
of thinking. Stop expecting Terri to be just like her. Terri wasn't
anything like his ex-wife.

With Karen he had just made a bad choice
before, he wasn't making one now. Loving Terri, letting himself
love her, was the smartest thing he'd done recently.

Joel looked up and saw Dylan standing in the
door, his face a sickly shade of green. Concern flared inside of
Joel, all he needed was another problem. "What's wrong
man?"

"I found the guy who was doing the shooting,"
he said then swallowed hard.

Joel sat up in the bed and pain shot through
his leg. Gritting his teeth he said, "Where the hell is
he?"

"Buzzard bait...that's what they were
circling. I rode out to see and that's what it was. I called the
police, and they're on their way out here."

"Oh, good Lord," Joel said and swallowed a
couple of times himself to force down the bile the mental imagery
called forth.

"What?" Terri asked and pushed by Dylan to
walk inside with a tray in her hands.

"Dylan found the guy who was shooting at
us...or at least what's left of him. I don't think I'll be needing
that lunch, darlin'." Joel told her and laid back against the
pillows then shut his eyes.

"Was it your partner?" she asked and sat the
tray on the dresser.

"Don't know yet, but it probably was," he told
her, then added with a frustrated groan, "The police are on their
way. Maybe they should just give up and open a station out
here."

Joel's cell phone rang on the nightstand and
he leaned over and picked it up. It was Ronnie Winters, probably
calling to tell him he was off the hook officially. He connected
the call.

"Hey Shark Lady," he said with a smile in his
voice and on his face. He owed this woman a lot, and he was glad to
hear from her.

"Shark Lady, huh?" she repeated with a
snort.

"Yeah, you chew 'em up and spit 'em out,
baby," he drawled then laughed.

"Well, I called and got an update on Karen's
murder case this morning...and heard you had a little accident last
week?"

"Not an accident, baby, someone was shooting
at me...almost got me too," he told her and his smile
fled.

"I think I know why..." she informed then
asked, "I was going to stop by the ranch...you have a few minutes
to talk?"

"Sure, I always have time for you. You'll be
just in time to scare the hell out of the police. They're headed
out here now."

He heard her suck in a breath. "Really? Why's
that?"

"I think Larry was doing the shooting, and
he's buzzard bait now. They couldn't find the shooter last week,
but my mother clipped him in the woods. I guess she more than
clipped him, because one of my ranch hands just found a body out
there."

"Holy, shit! I'm on my way," she shouted with
excitement then the phone disconnected. He smiled down at it and
shook his head then put it back on the night stand.

"Who was that?" Terri asked from over by the
dresser. Her voice was quiet, but had an edge to it, and her face
had gone a little pale too.

"My attorney, she's on her way out here to
talk to me," he replied with a smile hoping to see one in return
from her. Her sexy mouth never twitched or curved upward, but her
eyes narrowed.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a
female
attorney," she said and a hard smile curved the corners of her
mouth up. "Since you called her baby...
twice...
and were
flirting with her, I thought it must be a girlfriend or something,"
Terri spat then with a heated glare she stalked out of the
room.

Dylan looked at him and shook his head, "Man,
you don't have a lick of sense sometimes, do you."

"Tell me about it. See if you can get her to
come back in here so I can talk to her," Joel asked and laid back
against the pillows.

When Terri didn't come back in the room after
a few minutes, Joel made a mental note to remove
baby
from
his vocabulary, unless he was calling
her
that.

"No, Dylan, I'm not going back in there. I
need some space," she told him and paced by the fireplace. Terri
knew she was being crazy, but she couldn't help it. Dammit, he'd
just told her he loved her a few minutes ago, and it was starting
already.

"I tried," Dylan said with a chuckle then
shrugged and turned toward the front door.

Joel calling that woman baby with that sexy
smile on his face had Terri flashing back to similar phone calls
that Craig had made in her presence. Of course, he'd explained it
away, but it had always been his current flavor. Terri had just
been too stupid to see it. Like a blind mouse, she had eaten up
everything he fed her.

She wasn't stupid anymore, but she didn't
think Joel was like Craig. He was just a friendly and charming man.
But having been with a serial cheater left her insecure. She
thought she had worked past those issues years ago, but obviously
she hadn't.

Terri definitely did not think Joel was
messing with that woman, but she was jealous of the easy way he had
talked to her. He obviously liked her, and felt comfortable around
her. Nothing about Terri and Joel's relationship was easy, and they
had known each other over a year.