“With good reason. That was a foolish stunt to pull.” He knelt down in front of her. “Don’t you pay attention to No Trespassing signs?”
“I…I didn’t see any signs.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How could you not? They’re all along the fence you climbed over.”
Climbed over?
She glanced behind her. Sure enough, there was a white board fence. She didn’t remember either seeing it or climbing over it, but she must have done so. How else could she have…?
“Hey.” Nat’s fingers squeezed her shoulder. “You’d better put your head between your knees. You look like you’re gonna pass out”
“Don’t be silly. I’ve never fa—”
Blackness swallowed her whole.
Nat lifted Shayla into his arms and strode toward the house. His gelding followed behind of his own accord.
“Flatlanders ought to stay in the city where they belong,” Nat muttered. “Right, Blue?”
The horse snorted, as if in agreement.
“Fool female.”
Again a snort of agreement.
She was easy to carry, even in a dead faint. Probably didn’t weigh more than a hundred, maybe a hundred and five pounds. And she fit nicely against him. Between carrying her or stacking hay bales, as he’d been doing all morning, he’d choose carrying Shayla Vincent any day of the week.
He glanced down at the woman in his arms. She was cute, in her own unusual fashion.
Whoa, O’Connell! Back up the buckboard.
This city gal wasn’t going to make it through one central Idaho winter. By the time the snow was five feet deep outside the front door of that cabin, the little mystery writer would have hightailed it back to Oregon. And that was as it should be.
Besides, he didn’t care how cute his neighbor was. When he got interested in a female again, it was going to be with one who wanted to spend the rest of her days in this valley, living and working right alongside him, one who didn’t mind being snowbound for several months each winter, one who wanted the same things he wanted, including one who shared his newfound Christian faith.
The trouble was how to find a woman like that. He’d thought Joanne fit the bill. He’d thought they wanted the same things—this ranch, a houseful of kids, a simple way of life. But he’d been wrong. Painfully wrong.
He shook off the unpleasant memories as he climbed the steps to the veranda.
After entering the house, he carried Shayla into the great room. She started to come around as he laid her on the couch.
“What happened?” she asked softly, looking up at him with confused eyes.
“You fainted.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I think those were your exact words before you passed out.”
She pushed herself upright.
“I suppose you don’t remember your close encounter with Samson, either.”
“Samson?” Her eyes widened, then she lay down with a groan. “Oh, yes. I remember.” The color drained from her face a second time. Her eyes fluttered closed.
“Hey. Stay with me.” He took hold of her hand. “Miss Vincent. Look at me.”
She obeyed with obvious effort. “You shouldn’t keep such a dangerous creature. Somebody could get hurt.”
“Seems to me that’s why I put up those signs you didn’t see. Besides, this is a cattle ranch. What did you expect to find? Little lambs?”
“You’re right.” She groaned again. “Guilty as charged.”
He stifled a grin. “You still look a bit green around the gills. Lie quiet while I get you a glass of water. Maybe it’ll help.”
As he walked away, he heard her feeble, “Thanks.”
Shayla wished she could disappear. She’d never fainted in her life. In her not-so-humble opinion, swooning females were an embarrassment to their gender. She could imagine what her hunk of a cowboy neighbor thought of her now. Not that it should matter to her.
The image of that angry, snorting, pawing bull returned in a rush. She could almost feel its hot breath on her skin. She could almost feel those horns piercing her flesh.
The blood drained from her head, and she closed her eyes again.
“Here you go,” she heard Nat say as he returned to the room.
“He would have killed me, wouldn’t he? That bull.” She opened her eyes.
“He might have tried.” He held out the glass of water. “He’s plenty mean. I probably should haul him off to market, but he’s the best bull Paradise ever had. Just can’t make myself get rid of him now that he’s past his prime.”
Slowly she sat up. When it seemed she was going to stay upright this time, she took the glass from him. “How big is he? He looked enormous.”
“He weighs in at about twenty-two hundred pounds. About the max for a Hereford.”
She gulped, envisioning the bull’s horns and evil eyes.
“Never been on a working ranch before, have you?”
“Not really.” She took a sip of water. “No.”
“Well, then, there’s a few things you probably oughta know.” He sat on a nearby chair. “First lesson, read what’s posted. Think of the signs you find on fences and gates like traffic signs at a busy intersection. Run a stop sign and you’re likely to get hit by something coming the other direction.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Good.” He smiled.
She forgot the old bull. She forgot what she was doing there.
“So tell me a little about your life in the city. Portland, was it?”
“Yes.” She sounded out of breath, even to herself. She took another sip of water, giving herself a moment to regroup. “What would you like to know?”
“Start with how long you lived there.”
“All my life. My parents, too.”
“How about your brothers and sisters? Do they live in Portland?”
“Yes, and three of them are still at home. Crystal’s the youngest. She’s thirteen.”
“I always wanted to be part of a big family.”
Shayla shook her head. “Believe me, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” She didn’t mean to sound sarcastic, but she knew she did.
He watched her with those intent, dark eyes of his. She wondered if he would ask more about her family and wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not when he didn’t.
“Feeling better?”
She set down the water glass and rose from the sofa. “Yes. I should start for home. By the long route this time.”
He stood, too. “You never told me what you were doing out there in the middle of that paddock. I assume you were on your way to see me about something.”
“It wasn’t important.” To be honest, she couldn’t remember why she’d come. Not with him watching her that way.
“You didn’t change your mind about working for me, did you?” He looked worried.
“No, I definitely am not changing my mind about that. I’m not about to fail this time.”
He didn’t press for further explanation. “I’ll give you a lift home.”
“Thanks, but you don’t need to.”