Authors: Beth Williamson
Unbridled (21 page)
She turned to see herself in the mirror. The hat was perfect; the color highlighted the shades of her hair and the tone of her skin. She was surrounded by men who knew what she needed to wear, even if she didn’t. The thought made her chuckle. If only David could see her now.
“No, nothing else.” She glanced at Denny. “Thank you for your help.”
Denny smiled and bowed in a courtly manner that made her think again of chivalrous gentlemen. “You are most welcome, my dear. Next time ditch the stiff and you and I can go have fun together.”
“Shut up, Denny.” Connor led her from the store, with Denny’s laughter following them.
Alex couldn’t remember a time she’d been so happy or content. That meant it likely wouldn’t last.
Connor felt off center, as if he were watching everything happen instead of being there. The feel of Alex’s small hand in his, however, was very real. She wore the boots and hat, looking much more like a Wyoming girl than the L.A. woman she’d been a week ago.
He hadn’t intended on not working, or, for that matter, going with her into Lobos, but he had just the same. Connor hadn’t taken a day off in eight years, not since his first day at Finley’s. Even sick as a dog with the flu, he’d worked. Now, with barely a word to the staff, he’d driven off with Alex in her fierce Camaro.
The sun was warm on his face as they walked down the strip mall toward the car. He was content, almost happy. It was an unfamiliar sensation.
“Are you hungry for lunch? It’s almost noon.”
“Hungry enough to chew on my new hat. I missed breakfast.” Alex glanced around. “Anyplace good to eat around here?”
“I forgot you haven’t been here for ten years. There’s a nice sandwich shop down at the end. They have a great club sandwich and make homemade chips.” He hadn’t been there in three years, but he’d seen the sign when they drove in.
“Sounds good to me. I’m starving.” She leaned in a little closer and her breasts brushed his arm.
Connor almost forgot he was hungry at all.
“I didn’t realize you were bringing a date for lunch.” Connor’s contentment vanished suddenly as a dark cloud named James Howard intruded. He turned to find James standing at the entrance to the sandwich shop, a nasty grin on his face.
“What are you doing, Howard? Following us?” Connor snapped.
James looked at Alex. “I thought I was meeting Miss Finley for lunch.”
Connor’s stomach flipped. Twice. He turned to her and her mouth opened and closed, yet she didn’t speak. Son of a bitch.
He backed away from her, letting her arm drop from his. “You thought it was a good idea to play us off each other, Alex?”
“No, I didn’t. James asked me if I wanted to have lunch, but I never said yes.” She didn’t sound very convincing.
And Connor was definitely not convinced. “You were on your way to town when I saw you.” He remembered that she had looked startled to see him. “In fact, you didn’t even want me to come.”
Alex’s cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t expecting you to come, but I’m glad you did.”
“Hm, Alex, you shouldn’t really have two dates for lunch.” James tsked at her. “You knew I’d be here and yet you came with Connor. I think you are playing a dangerous game, Miss Finley.”
She turned to James. “You are an asshole, you know that? I came into town to get boots. That’s all.”
“And a hat, apparently.”
“It’s none of your fucking business.” She folded her arms, pushing her breasts up, making Connor wonder whether he was losing his mind if he could be distracted so easily.
“Alex, after the date we had the other night, I’m surprised.” James moved closer to her, and Connor clenched his fists. “I thought we had a connection.”
“The only connection we had was a business one. It was not a date. I told you I didn’t want you in my pants and I meant it.” Alex turned back to Connor. “I’m not so hungry anymore. If you want a lift back to the ranch, let’s go.”
“If she’s in your bed, I think you’d do best to control that little filly before she—”
Connor didn’t remember his fist actually moving from his side, but suddenly it connected with James’s jaw and the older man went down like a sack of potatoes. Connor’s fist hurt and he likely broke a finger, but damn, that felt good.
“What the hell are you doing? Did you want to pull it out and measure it too?” Alex shouted at him from ten feet down the sidewalk. “I haven’t seen his yet, but I’m sure yours would be in the top two.” She stalked back to him, shaking her finger like a scolding teacher.
He didn’t expect James to reappear from behind him and punch him in the kidney. Pain exploded through him as he fell to his knees; then another punch landed on the side of his head.
Alex screeched and Connor saw her foot fly toward James just as his fist went toward Connor again. In a split second, she was flying over him, landing on her ass on the sidewalk with an audible thump; then her head smacked the concrete. Connor watched it as if it were a movie, not real, couldn’t be real.
Alex looked up at them as blood leaked from her split lip and her eyes were unfocused. “Did you just punch me, James?” She sounded surprised and a bit loopy. When she touched her lip, she hissed, then stared at her hand, surprised to see blood.
Connor roared and stood up, ready to beat the absolute shit out of James Howard. Yet the older man was already by Alex’s side, apologizing profusely, stuttering like the complete ass that he was.
“Get away from her.”
“I don’t think so, Matthews.” James sounded different, almost concerned about Alex. Connor refused to believe the man would care about a thing other than himself.
“You probably just gave her a concussion, broke her jaw, if not knocked out a tooth. I’m only going to tell you one more time—get the fuck away from her.” Connor didn’t recognize his own voice, nor did he understand the red-hot fury currently coursing through him. It had been so long since he’d let the dark side loose, it shook him to the core.
“Both of you, shut up. Connor, help me up.” Alex was her usual bossy self, but he simply complied since he agreed with her. Aside from that, if he said another word, he might really regret what came out of his mouth.
“Alex, I didn’t mean to—”
“I said shut up and I meant you too, James. You’re acting like a sixteen-year-old boy who can’t control himself.” She reached up to accept Connor’s help and he was dismayed to realize how much she was shaking. He didn’t know if it was because of the punch or the emotions that were running high.
James, the idiot, tried to push Connor out of the way and help her, but that backfired when Connor elbowed him. “Let me help, Matthews. You know I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“She told you to shut up, so shut the fuck up.” Connor resisted the urge to set Alex down and pound James into the concrete.
With the older man sputtering behind them, Connor simply scooped her into his arms and carried her to the Camaro. The sight of her blood made his grip tighten.
“Easy, cowboy, I think my ass is bruised enough for the day. God, and I had just gotten over being saddle sore.” She let out a shaky breath.
Connor loosened his grip, feeling like an ass. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean it. It’s just that asshole pisses me off. And what the hell did he mean, you were meeting him for lunch?”
“Did you call me ‘baby’?” Her words were slurred.
He had been beyond angry when he accused James of giving her a concussion, but judging by the way her pupils were dilated and her speech was slurred, it was likely true. Fear nudged aside fury.
“We’re going to the emergency room.”
“What? I’m fine, just need some ice and a Diet Coke. I’ll be right as rain. Oh, what a pretty rainbow.” Her head lolled against his shoulder. “You feel so good, Connor.”
He managed to get her into the passenger seat and wrangle the keys from her pants pocket. Any other time, having his hands in her tight jeans would be a much more pleasurable experience. Now he felt like he was in a panic and was slower than a slug in molasses.
The emergency room was about fifteen miles away, not too far, and the road was pretty clear between Lobos and Chilroot, where the hospital was located.
It was the most hellish ride he’d taken in two years, not since the night he’d followed the ambulance there with Grant’s broken body. The memory was not a good one to experience as he worried about Alex, particularly when she passed out two miles from the hospital.
Connor would kick James’s ass from there to the state line the next time he saw him. The son of a bitch had no self-control, no inkling of how much destruction he left in his wake. Somebody needed to teach him a lesson, and man, Connor was ready to be the one to do it.
He screeched into the parking lot, glad Alex had such a fast car. Later on he’d ask her where she got it, but for now he simply parked and ran over to her side of the car.
He’d seen her asleep before, but he’d never seen her this vulnerable. Perhaps it was the blood, or perhaps it was his heart that was getting in the way. It didn’t matter; all that mattered was getting her into the emergency room.
Connor picked her up and ran.
CHAPTER NINE
A
lex woke to find Connor standing over her, his face a picture of pure worry. Her head hurt like hell along with her tailbone. She tried to swallow but she had no spit in her mouth.
lex woke to find Connor standing over her, his face a picture of pure worry. Her head hurt like hell along with her tailbone. She tried to swallow but she had no spit in her mouth.
“Alex.” He took her hand in his clammy ones. “Thank God you’re awake.”
She croaked and pointed to her mouth. He fumbled with the pitcher beside the bed and poured her a glass. Alex was shocked to see his hand trembling.
“What happened?”
Connor slid her arm beneath her shoulders and helped her drink. The water was like the nectar of the gods, cool and sweet as it slid down her dry throat. Her lip stung and she realized her entire mouth hurt.
“James punched you.” His voice was tight like a guitar string that had been wound too tight.
She had a vague memory of running into James in town, following clear memories of buying boots and a hat. Connor was there through all of it, a solid presence beside her. She was stupidly warmed by that fact—it had been a very long time since anyone had taken care of her.
“He punched me? Why did he punch me?”
Connor helped her lie back down before he answered. “We were, uh, fighting and you jumped in to stop it, I think, and, well, his punch went wild. You got it instead of me.” His green gaze met hers. “I’m sorry.”
She tried to remember what happened but it was fuzzy. “Why can’t I remember?”
“You have a concussion.”
“He punched me so hard I got a concussion?”
“No, that happened when you hit the sidewalk.” Connor gently touched her head.
Now Alex was glad she didn’t remember. The force of a concrete sidewalk meeting her noggin sounded bad enough to make her nauseated.
She glanced around and realized she was in a curtained-off area, still wearing her clothes. That meant she hadn’t been admitted, which was a good thing.
“Can I leave?”
He frowned. “Don’t you think you should spend the night? I mean, you have a head injury.”
“I don’t have insurance, Connor. As it is, I’ll probably use up all my funds just paying for this visit.” She sat up, then swayed when the room began to tilt.
“Whoa, there.” Connor steadied her. “I’ll pay for it. You’re half owner in the ranch, so the money I spend will be yours anyway.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t want you to pay for it simply because my father died and left me half of a dude ranch.”
“It’s a guest ranch.”
“Shut up, Connor.” She swung her legs around and tried to stand, but ended up in his arms. “Dammit.”
“Don’t push yourself, Alex. It’s not worth it.”
She was suddenly very tired of Connor and his care of her. “Back off. I can take care of myself. I’ve done it for ten years without you, so don’t think you can just step in and be my sugar daddy.” She pushed his hands away.
He looked shocked, even hurt, but his expression hardened and he held up his hands, stepping back. “Fine, then. You make your own decisions; pay the bill yourself. I would suggest you let me drive you back to the ‘dude ranch,’ though, or you might drive into a tree when you pass out again.”
His sarcasm was as sharp as the pain in her head. “There’s no need to shout, Matthews. I’m only a foot away from you, for Chrissakes.” She made it to her own feet and waited until her stomach stopped flipping.
Slowly but surely Alex made her way to the nurses’ station and argued her way into signing a waiver so she could leave the hospital. Her entire body hurt, but the worst was her head. When the nurse handed her post-concussion care instructions, the first thing she noticed was not to sleep for twenty-four hours.
She fought back tears as she limped outside, her perfect day ruined by a runaway punch.
Although she wanted to argue with him, Connor had been right about driving. It took every smidge of strength she had to make it to the Camaro; she wouldn’t be able to drive it even if someone offered her everything she ever wanted in the world.
Instead she slumped down in the passenger seat and stared out at the passing scenery while he drove. Every two minutes, she’d feel him look at her.
“You’re not sleeping, are you?”
“No. Now, shut up and leave me alone.” She sounded petty, mean and childish, but she couldn’t help it. Alex was no stranger to lousy days, but the loss of that incredibly wonderful feeling she’d had with Connor, well, that just really pissed her off. It shouldn’t because she hadn’t expected it to last, but just the same, she was mad beyond reason.
Connor pulled up to the handicapped parking spaces at the ranch and hopped out. She wanted to argue with him, but she felt horrible enough to selfishly covet the space long enough to get out of the car. The parking lot was fifty yards away, certainly too far to walk when she had a concussion, or perhaps she was just being a big baby. Likely both.
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