Page 12 of Rainwater
Chapter
Five
C orey woke to the soft singing of birds through the open window of the room where he lay.
The bed was soft and sweet-smelling, the sheets’ scent much better than sunshine and clean air.
They smelled like…his brain couldn’t seem to function.
He shifted restlessly. They smelled like… damn…they smelled like Jennifer.
Memories surfaced. Soft hands shaking him awake countless times. A husky voice asking if he knew his name and other equally silly questions.
His eyes cracked open and he groaned at the stabbing brightness. God, his head hurt. The back of it felt on fire, and he vaguely remembered the doctor saying that he had received a mild concussion and that he’d have to stitch his head up. “Mild, my ass,” he croaked.
He turned over and came face-to-face with a tiny black-and-white pig, whose forefeet were resting on the edge of the bed. The curious little eyes studied him, and Corey thought he was the cutest creature he’d ever seen. He smiled, reached out and let the animal smell his hand before he petted him.
“That’s Two Tone. He has the run of the house and has to know everything that’s going on, I’m afraid.”
Corey’s eyes raised and connected with Jennifer’s. Her voice was husky, as if she’d just woken up. But he knew that she had been up through the night, checking to make sure he was all right. Her concern touched him deeply and made him feel very vulnerable.
“He’s cute,” he managed to say around the pain in his midriff. Raking his hand through his hair, he grimaced and the action pulled the healing flesh of his face.
“Be careful. He uses that to his advantage.”
Corey patted the little pig again and shifted, his face contorting in pain. Jennifer’s assisting hands were instantly there, shooing Two Tone away and helping him to sit up.
“What am I doing here?”
“You called me, remember?” She cocked her eyebrows and smiled slightly.
She was pleased that he had called her. He could hear it in her voice, and in his injured state, that knowledge pleased him immensely.
“How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been hit with a baseball bat and kicked by a bunch of yahoos. Not to mention that little war going on in my head.”
Jennifer smiled wryly and settled the pillows to best support him.
Corey closed his eyes and willed away the pain.
When he opened them, she was sitting on the edge of the bed.
He wasn’t stupid. The attraction he felt for this woman was unique.
Women had come and gone in his life. Nameless, unfocused faces that jumbled into one big blur.
Jennifer stood out like a shining gem, polished to a brightness that hurt his eyes, his heart.
Oh, God, he wanted her so bad. But he could hurt her so bad and that would destroy him.
She had that small-town charm. Never turn a person away who was in need.
She had obviously been watching him while he slept, and something warm curled around his heart.
Whether it was because she was afraid for him or because her integrity demanded it, she’d done it.
Her sleepy eyes watched him with a hidden hunger burning just at the fringes and it hurt him to look into those eyes and know that she wanted him.
“You must be tired from watching me all night. Why don’t you get some rest?” His voice was hoarse, his eyes revealing the vulnerability he felt.
“I will. Later. After Ellie has gone to school. And I’m sure you’re going to be okay.”
She leaned forward and he watched the material of her shirt tauten over her breasts. She snatched a bottle off the nightstand along with a glass of water. “Here, take these. That should help the war to cool down into a skirmish.”
He remembered how sweet she had tasted yesterday and last night. He licked his dry lips, wishing for the coolness of her soft skin against them. “Are you always this kind to strangers?”
His eyes shifted to hers and he could see the banked desire in them, as well as a wariness and loneliness to match his own. He lifted his hand and accepted the aspirin, his fingers brushing hers as he took the water glass.
“No. I don’t usually get calls in the middle of the night from men who need my help.”
He thought she was lying. He could see that she would help anyone in need. Then he drank thirstily, his throat working as he swallowed the aspirin. He leaned forward to replace the glass and winced at the sharp pain in his ribs and back.
“Here, let me.” She took the glass from his hand and set it down. The brush of her hand was an electric sensation against his skin. “Where am I?” he asked.
“Upstairs in my bed.”
She tried to answer casually, but he could hear the strain in her voice.
In her bed? He was in her bed! No wonder it smelled so good and felt so good.
“You needed eight stitches. The doctor took care of stitching you up. He said your ribs would be tender for a little while. He also said that your back is bruised. It looks horrible.”
“Yeah, that’s where they hit me with the bat.”
Jennifer covered her mouth and looked away, unable to tolerate the guilt. “I’m really sorry about all this.”
He leaned forward slightly and snagged her chin, turning her face up to his.
He could barely stand the self-condemnation in her eyes.
“Why, Jennifer, you had nothing to do with this. Butler and his boys are nothing but cowards. They couldn’t even face me in the light of day, but had to slink around at night to ambush me. Don’t blame yourself, darlin’.”
“I do, and I’ll make it up to you.”
“No, you won’t.”
“I wish you had minded your own business. Jay would have probably lost interest in a day or two.”
He sat up very painfully and leaned against the headboard.
He glared at her. “And what would have been the price? A bruise on your pretty face? Who knows where he would have stopped? Bullies only get meaner.” He couldn’t bear to see her skin marred with bruises.
His mother’s face swam before his eyes. Bruised, battered, her eyes so tired and old.
No, Jay Butler would have to go through him to get to Jennifer.
But you won’t be here to protect her, an inner voice reminded him. You’re going to leave her. Leave her here with the demons .
He had to! He didn’t have a choice. He would talk to the sheriff before he left and explain what was going on. But that thought did nothing to ease the twisting of his gut.
“At the very least you could press charges,” she encouraged as she smoothed down the bedspread.
“It wouldn’t do any good, Jennifer. There are no witnesses and I didn’t even see them. They attacked me from behind.” He closed his eyes wearily as another stricken looked crossed her face.
“But your bike and—”
“My bike,” he groaned loudly. “What about my bike?”
She bit her lip and looked away, but not before he saw the same guilty look. “I had it hauled over to Gus’s garage.”
“I don’t like the sound of the word hauled .”
“He says it’s pretty much beyond repair,” she said softly.
He closed his eyes, a dark panic welling in his chest. He was trapped? Dear God! There had to be a way out of this town. Surely a bus must run through here. He couldn’t stay with her, he thought frantically. God, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her.
“What about the saddlebags?”
She got up and walked across the room and turned them out. “The clothing is being washed. The buckles are in this drawer, and your boots are near the bed. There was nothing else in them.”
“Great. So what you’re telling me is that I’m without transportation and flat broke.”
“Broke?” she squeaked.
“I had fifteen hundred dollars in those bags to tide me over for a while.”
A thoughtful look came over her face and she said in a rush, “I could use a foreman.”
His body stilled. “Jennifer, I don’t think my staying here would be a good idea.”
Her eyes flashing, she tossed the empty saddlebags back on the chair and placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you expect me to do? Let me see, you save my dignity and what can I do in return? I got it! Perhaps I can throw you out in the street bruised and battered. Hell, why don’t I throw you in the gutter and let you crawl to wherever you so desperately want to go?
” She glared at him, but he looked at her with a defiant, sardonic expression that only pushed her temper higher.
“This is all my fault!” she shouted, goaded by his attitude.
Folding her arms over her chest, she stared him down. “You’ll stay here until you’re well. I don’t want to hear anything else from you. You can make a decision about the job then.”
“Jennifer, I’m not staying here.”
“I’ll get you something to eat then. I wouldn’t dream of throwing out a wounded man into the gutter without offering him something nourishing first,” she said tartly. With a flip of her flaming hair, she strode from the room.
The woman was magnificent. Her anger and shame stood out clearly on her face.
And her green eyes crackled with suppressed fury.
What was he going to do with the bossy, pushy little thing?
He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t. Jennifer was much too tantalizing.
Much too beautiful. And he was much too needful.
He’d wanted her from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, but that had been a physical reaction. Now, now he wanted her with a desperate yearning hunger that had nothing to do with his physical needs.
He couldn’t stay here.
He was afraid of the darkness on his soul. His legacy.
He couldn’t stay here.
His demons would find him and in the process, find her. He couldn’t allow that.
He couldn’t stay here.
He didn’t deserve her.
He didn’t know who he was, where he was going. He couldn’t stop running. If he did, he would have to face his fears and the madness that hovered around them. But, God help him, he wanted to stay. He could brave the madness for her. For Jennifer.