Hot for You (8 page)

“She’s talented,” Cody said. “Her sculptures
and pencil drawings are in a Scottsdale art gallery, and she just
had a piece commissioned by a large New York City gallery.”

While they rode, Cody told her stories of his
brother and himself when they were young. “We got our butts whipped
for climbing on the roof when we were little. I almost slid
completely off the roof and was hanging from the rain gutter when
our dad came out of the house. He caught me when I slipped. He was
so mad and so relieved.”

Carilyn’s eyes widened. “He whipped you?”

“A couple of times with a belt.” Cody
shrugged. “That was how his generation grew up. Beat idiocy out of
a kid.” He shook his head. “I’d never do that to my children, but
my parents came from other times.”

“My mom used a wooden spoon.” Carilyn’s lips
twisted into a wry expression. “To this day I don’t like wooden
spoons.”

“How long have your mom and stepdad lived in
Florida?” Cody asked.

“They retired a couple of years ago.” Carilyn
gave a small sigh. “I sure miss them.”

“Do you get to see them often?” Cody
asked.

“Not often enough,” Carilyn said.
“Fortunately with my career I can travel and still work, so I go to
Florida two or three times a year. I just miss having her close. We
always did so much together.”

Cody gestured ahead to a small copse of
trees. “We’ll have lunch there.”

“Great.” She shifted in her saddle. “I’m
getting hungry.”

“Can’t have that.” He clicked his tongue and
his horse started to trot.

Molly followed suit and then Carilyn was
bouncing in her saddle as the horses trotted toward the trees.

When the reached the copse, Cody brought
Holly to a halt, and Molly stopped, too.

Carilyn leaned forward, her hands on the
pommel. “It’s pretty here.”

“I sure think so.” Cody dismounted then
walked to Carilyn and Molly. “My family moved to Arizona back in
the 1880’s. That makes me a native and I have to say I love my
state.”

“I love all of the mountains.” Carilyn looked
around her. “Where I live, it’s flat as flat can be. The mountains
are much prettier.”

Cody reached her and held up his arms. “I’ll
help you down.”

She let him help her dismount. The moment her
feet were on the ground, she found herself standing close to him,
their bodies inches away. His hands clasped her waist and her palms
rested on his shoulders. She felt the heat of his touch through her
T-shirt and beneath her hands. She swallowed as she met his gaze
and breathed in his masculine scent.

Her heart pounded as she looked up into his
warm brown eyes and his grip tightened, telling her he felt the
connection too. She longed to stroke her fingers along the day’s
growth of stubble on his square jaw, to run her palms down the hard
expanse of his chest. Her breath caught in her throat and a thought
rattled around in her head…
What am I doing?

His gaze held hers before she broke the spell
and stepped back. Her hands slid off his shoulders and he dropped
his own hands from where they had rested on her hips. It seemed
like he’d held her several minutes, but it was probably just a
matter of seconds.

Feeling awkward with Cody for the first time
that day, she looked away and concentrated on looking at bird
scuttling across the ground. “That must be a quail,” she said as
Cody grabbed the saddlebags off of Holly.

“We have a lot of quail out here,” he said as
it scuttled under a bush. “My mom loved them and we even raised
some at one time.”

He opened one of the saddlebags and pulled
out a plaid blanket. She took it from him to spread it out on a
clear place on the ground beneath the trees. They both sat on the
blanket and he began taking their lunch out of the saddlebags and
placing them on the blanket. He handed her a paper plate.

She took an egg salad sandwich from him and
removed it from its plastic baggie. After she took a bite, chewed,
and swallowed, she smiled at him. “This has got to be the best egg
salad sandwich ever.”

He gave an amused smile. “It’s the country
air. Makes everything taste better.”

“I’ll say.” She slipped her hand into the
corn chips, pulled out a handful, and placed them on her paper
plate. “Is this the ranch you grew up on?”

He nodded. “From the time I was born. My
brother and I inherited it but he signed the ranch over to me when
he got back from traveling abroad.”

“I live in a small apartment and don’t get
out of the city much.” Carilyn pulled several grapes out of a
baggie and set them on her plate. “All of this space is just
incredible to me.” She looked out at the pasture. “I can see how
this land would be inspiring. I like to go to coffee shops to get
out of the house and work on my laptop. Might do that in town.”

“There’s a great bakery in Prescott called
Sweet Things,” Cody said. “Not too long ago, one of my cousins
married the woman who owns it. She has tables and chairs that you
can sit in and a big picture window to stare out of.”

“Sounds great,” Carilyn said. “I’ll have to
check it out.”

She enjoyed talking with Cody. He was so easy
to talk with, so comfortable to be around.

Even though they’d been there well over an
hour, it seemed that they finished lunch too quickly and it was
time to pack up. She helped gather up the trash and stuffed
everything into a saddlebag, which he slung over his horse and
secured.

When he helped Carilyn mount her horse, she
felt a flurry of nervous excitement in her belly. All too soon his
hands were no longer on her and he was mounting Holly.

When they set out and Carilyn smiled at the
gentle sunny day and her enjoyment of her time with Cody.

As the horses headed back toward the ranch
house, Carilyn heard a strange noise, like the rattle of a pressure
cooker.

Molly whinnied a loud terrified sound, and
reared up on her hind legs.

Carilyn screamed as she lost her grip on the
reins.

The next thing she knew, she was flying off
the back of the horse.

She hit the ground hard, air whooshing out
from her chest. Her head struck something.

Stars blinded her and then everything went
black.

***

Cody’s heart thundered as he saw Carilyn
being thrown from her horse. At the same time, he un-holstered his
pistol and aimed it at the rattlesnake just feet from where Carilyn
landed. He pulled the trigger. The snake collapsed as Cody hit it
in the head dead-on with the snake shot.

He dismounted Holly in a rush and ran to
where Carilyn lay flat on the ground, motionless. As he reached her
a breath of relief rushed out of him when she stirred.

She groaned and started to move but put her
hand to her head and grimaced.

“Shhh.” He crouched beside her, one knee on
the ground, and touched her shoulder. “Don’t move.”

She blinked. Her pupils were dilated and she
had a dazed look about her. “What happened?” Her speech came out a
little slurred.

“A rattlesnake spooked Molly. You got thrown
and you likely have a concussion.” He saw blood on the rock behind
her head. “You also have a head wound. I’m not sure if you have any
other injuries.”

“My head hurts.” She tried to get up but he
lightly but firmly pressed her down by her shoulders.

“Relax the best you can.” He let out his
breath. “Give me a moment and I’ll get the first aid kit.”

He went to the saddlebags and from the bottom
of one he pulled out a first aid kit and a clean bandana that he
kept for working in the heat. When he turned around he frowned when
he saw that she was now sitting up. She had one knee bent and she
was resting her elbow on it, her forehead in her hand.

When he went to her, he knelt and set the kit
aside with the bandana on top of it. “I told you to relax.”

“I’m not the best patient.” She raised her
head and gave him a weak smile. “I just got the wind knocked out of
me. I’m okay.”

“I’ll determine if you’re okay.” He put the
bandana on his thigh and opened the kit. He brought out antiseptic
and a cotton pad. “Who’s the paramedic here?”

“That’s right. Firefighters usually have
paramedic training, don’t they?” she said.

“Here they do.” He took the cotton pad and
looked at the back of her head. Her red hair was dark with blood.
“I’m going to clean and wrap this before we get you home.”

She started to nod and then winced. “Yes,
sir.”

“If you can move, we’ll get you out of here.”
Where there was one rattlesnake, there could be another if its mate
was nearby.

He set about cleaning the dirt out of the
wound then put a pad over the laceration. He wrapped the bandana
around her head, holding the pad into place.

When he finished, he rested his hand on her
shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Like I just got thrown off a horse and hit
my head.” She gave a wry expression. “It hurts to talk.”

“Then talk as little as possible.” He
squeezed her shoulder. “How about the rest of you?”

“I can move.” She moved her feet and bent her
other knee, too. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“Hold on and I’ll get the thermos of water so
you can take Tylenol for the pain.” He got to his feet. “You’re
going to need it.”

After he gave her the Tylenol and had put
away the thermos and the first aid kit, he took a moment to bury
what was left of the snake’s head and its venomous fangs.

He checked her again. When he was as sure as
he could be that all she’d come away with was a laceration to her
scalp and a mild to moderate concussion, he brought her up with
him, supporting her as she got to her feet.

“You’re going to ride with me,” he said.
“When we get to the ranch, I’m going to take you to the
doctor.”

“I don’t want to go to the doctor,” she
protested. “I—I’ll be okay.”

He frowned. “You may be hurt worse than you
think you are.”

“No.” She looked like she was going to cry.
“I hate going to see doctors. Please, just let me rest at your
house.”

He didn’t answer as he raised her up and
helped her onto Holly so that she was sitting at the front of the
saddle.

“I mean it, Cody,” she said. “I’ll be okay.
Promise?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “All
right. But if you get worse, I’m taking you. Understand?”

Her chin jutted out as she looked at him
stubbornly. With a shake of his head, he boosted himself up and
swung his leg over the horse and seated himself behind Carilyn.
Their bodies were snug against each other. He whistled to Molly who
was standing a good twenty feet away. She trotted closer, but
wouldn’t go near the snake’s body.

He wrapped one arm around Carilyn’s waist and
handled the reins with his other hand. As they headed toward the
ranch house, Molly fell into stride behind Holly.

Carilyn leaned back against him and he liked
the way her body felt next to his. This wasn’t the way he’d have
wanted to get this close to her, but she felt comfortable in his
arms.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t think I’m going
to be playing Jeopardy anytime soon. Having a hard time thinking
straight.”

“All part of the concussion.” He let the
horse walk rather than trot to keep the jostling to a minimum.
“You’re not driving anywhere for at least twenty-four hours.”

“I need to set up my laptop in the morning so
that I’ll be up and running by Monday,” she said.

“Honey, you’re not going to feel like doing
anything that requires brain power.” He gripped her more tightly.
“You’re going to need to make yourself relax, no matter how hard
that seems to be.”

“I’m not a workaholic,” she said. “But I do
like to keep on a schedule.”

He barely kept himself from nuzzling her hair
as he held her. “Sometimes you’ve got to just give in to the doctor
whether you want to or not.”

She gave a soft laugh. “If you say so, Dr.
McBride.”

“I say so.” He gauged how far it was back to
the house. It was a good twenty-five minutes away from where they
were now. “Now do what I said and relax the best you can.”

As she settled more fully against him, she
sighed. Even though she was injured, his body reacted to her firm
bottom against his groin. He ground his teeth, trying to think
about something that would get his mind onto other things.

He let her rest and she didn’t seem inclined
to talk, which was expected after this kind of injury.

“Tell me about growing up on the ranch,” she
said after a while.

He told her some stories from his childhood,
which brought back memories he hadn’t thought about in a long
while.

Clint and Cody had both been into rodeo from
a young age, but Clint had been the one who excelled at it and had
gone on to be a champion when they were out of their teens. Clint
had left at the height of his career. Cody had focused on ranching
before he decided to go to college to get a degree and get on with
the Prescott Fire Department.

“Why did you choose to go into that field?”
she asked.

“I always admired firefighters,” he said.
“When I was just a kid I remember firefighters coming to my school
and telling us about their jobs. I guess that’s when the seed was
planted. I went into ranching to start with because that’s what my
family did. I enjoy it, but it wasn’t as fulfilling as serving the
community as a firefighter.” He thought about those days. “But I
love ranching, too, so I have the best of both worlds.”

“It sounds like you do,” she said softly.

They reached the ranch and rode straight up
to the house. He dismounted then helped her get off the horse and
left Holly and Molly waiting outside. Carilyn still seemed
uninjured with the exception of the concussion and head wound.

Inside he had her lie on the couch. “How’s
the pain?” he asked.