He opened his eyes to see if he could find something in his hotel room to jog his memory. But he wasn’t in a hotel room. He was in a small room with rounded silver walls and windows with curtains that had little cowboys wielding six-shooters. The curtains were swaying in a way that made Sawyer feel nauseous. At first, he thought it was the breeze coming in through the windows that made the curtains move, but then he realized the entire room was moving.
He sat up too quickly and had to close his eyes to regain his balance. When he opened them, he discovered he was in a trailer. A moving trailer. He pushed back the curtains of the closest window and looked out at the side of a semi-truck that was passing. When it was gone, he saw landscape he was familiar with. He was still in Texas.
Tossing off the covers, he swung his feet to the floor and stood. He wore a hospital gown. Which was curious. He had never left a hospital wearing a gown. Using the walls to keep his balance, he made his way to the bathroom. Once he had relieved himself, he searched for his clothes. He found his duffel bag in a small closet. It had been packed haphazardly, but everything seemed to be there.
As he was pulling on a pair of boxers, the trailer took a sudden turn and he landed on his butt on the floor. His head swam and his stomach lurched. He was still sitting there trying to get his equilibrium when the door swung open and Maisy Sweeney stepped in.
His memory came back in the form of emotions. Consuming desire as he filled his palms with two firm, sweet butt cheeks. Startled shock when he realized who the fine ass belonged to. Guilt and self-loathing at betraying a friend. Cold fear when he discovered the condom in his wallet. A surge of protectiveness when he watched Maisy go flying over Maytag’s head.
“So you’re alive,” she said as she stepped into the trailer. She wore a pair of gray sweats and hot pink flip-flops. The clothes were baggy and hid any outline of womanly curves. And yet, his brain wouldn’t erase what those curves had looked like naked.
He closed his eyes for a minute to block out the image, but it only made it worse. He got to his feet. “Barely alive.” He glanced at the sling on her arm. “You okay?”
“Hell, no, I’m not okay. I have a busted clavicle and will be out of rodeo for the rest of the season—which will probably lose me a sponsorship from Cord Evans. And now I’m saddled with a stubborn cowboy who doesn’t know how to follow the doc’s orders. You should still be in the hospital.”
“I’m fine.” He pulled on his jeans.
“Suffering your third concussion is not fine.”
He stopped buttoning his jeans and stared at her. “Who told you that?”
“I just happened to be in the curtained cubicle right next to yours and overheard the doc talking to you.” She paused. “He seemed to be worried about chronic traumatic encephalopathy and recommended that you quit saddle bronc riding. Which was when you cussed him out and left in nothing but your backless nightie.” Her gaze lowered. “The nurses all agreed that you have a nice butt, by the way.”
He cringed as he sat down on the bench next to the table and pulled on his socks. “Thanks for letting me walk out of the hospital with my ass showing.”
“Hey, I tried to stop you. You should be happy I talked you into letting me drive you back to your hotel. You were planning to walk and half of Houston would’ve gotten a peek at your cheeks.”
He must’ve really gotten his bell rung. He glanced around. “Why am I not at the hotel?”
“Because I couldn’t leave you there when you didn’t know who you were. I mentioned calling your family, but you were pretty adamant about not doing that. And I get it. I have no intention of telling my mom about my busted collarbone either. So I brought you along with me to Simple.”
“Simple? We’re headed to Simple?”
“It’s close and I thought it was a good place for both of us to recuperate. We’re about fifty miles away.”
Since it was too late to argue, he nodded. “Where are my boots?”
Maisy stood on her tiptoes and reached above the table to open a cabinet. As she did, her shirt lifted and he found himself staring at a flat stomach and an inny belly button that was so close he could’ve licked it. He looked away until she had his boots in hand. As he took them, her gaze locked with his.
“You didn’t have to come to my rescue, Sawyer. I could’ve gotten out of the way.”
So that was why she had followed him out of the hospital and taken care of him. She thought she owed him. “You don’t owe me anything, Maisy. I would’ve helped any injured rider.”
She arched an eyebrow. “By throwing your body over them?”
She had a point. He had helped other hurt riders out of the arena, but never at the risk of his own life. He hadn’t even thought when he’d seen her get bucked off. He’d just reacted. Some of his protectiveness came from years of being taught by his daddy that it was a man’s job to protect women. Some of it came from wanting to make up for breaking Lincoln’s trust. And most of it came from the possibility that his child could be taking root inside of her even as they spoke.
At the thought, he suddenly felt lightheaded. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. A cool hand rested on his forehead, and he opened his eyes to see Maisy standing there, looking concerned.
“You okay?”
Nope. He wasn’t okay. He was freaked out and had been ever since seeing the condom in his wallet. He reached behind him and touched the lump on the back of his head. “Did the doc give me any painkillers?”
“He might’ve if you’d stayed longer. But I’ve got some ibuprofen.” She opened a cabinet above the sink and took out a bottle of Advil. She handed it to him, then filled a glass with water. Once he’d taken three, she held out her hand. “Give me a couple.”
He set down the glass of water and tapped two tablets into her hand. “You shouldn’t be driving with a busted collarbone.”
She popped the ibuprofen into her mouth and then picked up the glass and downed the rest of the water before she replied. “And you shouldn’t be walking around with a busted head. But there you have it. We’re just a couple of stubborn rodeo bums who don’t know what’s good for us. Now I’m going to finish getting gas and get back on the road. You need to lie down.”
“My stomach can’t take riding in the back of this swaying trailer.”
She studied him for a second and must’ve seen that he wasn’t going to relent. “Fine. Come on then.”
He pulled on a t-shirt and followed her out of the trailer. He was more than a little surprised to see his old Ford pickup hitched to the back. He wasn’t so sure it was legal to double-tow, but he was damned happy Maisy hadn’t left old Belle behind. It had been his granddaddy’s. And even though it broke down every other month, it held a special place in his heart.
Although towing a trailer and a vehicle made the fifty-mile trip to Simple slow going. They didn’t pull under the entrance sign of the Double Diamond ranch until well after dark. Before they reached the ranch house, Sawyer figured there was something they needed to discuss.
“I guess you should probably take a pregnancy test,” he said. “Or can you take them this soon?” God, he hoped so. He couldn’t deal with the guillotine hanging over his head for much longer.