Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Bianca blinked and then looked at him. “No. Just wet.”
“That’s fixable.”
A faint, shaky breath of a laugh left her. “So is my car?”
He snorted. “That rental’s going to need prayer and new front end. I’ll have our local mechanic come out and pick it up once the storm passes.” He eased the truck around a curve, tires biting into the slick dirt. His ranch road was up ahead, a narrow turnoff hidden behind a stand of cottonwoods.
The ranch wasn’t big. Not compared to the spreads around here. He had enough pasture to run cattle with his friends, alongside the bar income. The space suited him.
Bianca shifted in the seat as the truck bumped along the rutted lane. “Where are we going?”
“My place.”
Her brows rose. “Um, I don’t know.”
He breathed out. “That’s fair. I’d like to give you dry clothes, check out your knee, and then hand over a warmed brandy. If all is well and you don’t have to see the doctor, I’d like to talk about this movie situation. However, if you want me to take you to town right now, I will.” He didn’t want to scare her, and she was smart to be wary of any man she didn’t know.
Her shoulders rolled. “I’m fine going to your place.”
Amusement caught him. “No way in hell am I allowing a film crew anywhere near my home, pretty Bianca. So don’t be scouting the place. Also, I won’t hurt you or even make a move. But if you want me to take you to Mrs. Shiller’s, or even the doctor’s place, I will in a second.”
She chuckled and held her hands out to the heat. “What about your offer of a no strings attached affair while I’m in town?”
He liked her directness. It was actually very cute. “I’ve saved your life. Now you owe me total devotion for at least a decade. Maybe two.”
She laughed full out. “You didn’t save my life. I would’ve gotten out of that wreck somehow.”
That was probably true. “Fair enough. The offer for an affair is hereby rescinded.” It was fun teasing with her.
Her head jerked his way. “You’re rescinding?”
“Yeah,” he drawled. “You’re too much trouble. I like my affairs simple and stress-free. You just tried to kill one of my Cottonwoods and blew apart my very nice fence. You’re stress…full.”
Her shoulders moved with her laugh, but strain still showed along her eyes. Crashing had probably been frightening.
The driveway opened into the yard, and his headlights swept across the front of the house. The ranch house sat low and wide with a deep porch running the length of it, built from weathered timber that had gone silver over the years. Rain hammered the metal roof hard enough to echo across the yard.
Beyond the house the cottonwoods bent in the wind, their branches rattling together. The creek that cut through the back pasture had swollen with the storm, and even over the rain he could hear the steady rush of water moving through the rocks.
He parked close to the porch steps and killed the engine.
For a moment the silence in the cab felt heavy, broken only by the rain pounding the roof and the ticking of the cooling engine. Bianca looked at the house through the windshield. “I love your house.”
“Thanks. You’re not filming here.” He grinned and reached across her to grab his hat off the dash before opening his door. The rain hit him like a slap, cold and immediate. He moved around the front of the truck, boots sinking into the mud, and opened Bianca’s door to gently lift her out.
“I can walk,” she replied, her body already curling against his chest.
He stepped away from the truck with her in his arms. “Let’s just make sure you haven’t done any damage.”
The porch boards creaked under his boots. He kicked the screen door open and shouldered the main door wide with his elbow. Warm air rushed out to meet them, carrying the faint smell of wood and coffee and the leather of his couch.
He stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind them, moving over to deposit her gently on the sofa.
Bianca sat upright, still holding his shoulder for a second longer than necessary. Then she released him and looked around. “You don’t have a single plant in here.”
Adam shrugged out of his wet jacket and hung it on a hook by the door. Water dripped onto the mat. “I think I had a plant at one time.” What had happened to that, anyway? Huh. He dropped to his haunches, looking at her jean covered knee. No cut and no blood. That was good. Taking her hands, he gently tugged her up. “Try to put some weight on it.”
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she did so, first gingerly and then with more confidence. “It’s okay, I think.”