Bachelor Father (7 page)

He smiled grimly. He’d imagined that he’d opened up his soul to her that night, that he’d allowed her to know him as nobody else ever had. Maybe he hadn’t told her all the details of his life, but he’d loved her without holding anything back. He’d never lost himself so completely in a woman, but then, he hadn’t told her so. And he certainly couldn’t tell her now.

* * *

T
HE
TRUCK
WAS
A
BEAST
, and wrestling with it gave Katherine great satisfaction. Her shoulders ached, but she was working out a lot of her frustrations, both physical and mental.

“Big rut up ahead,” Zeke warned.

“Right.” Katherine steered left, hoping to avoid it altogether, but the front tire caught the edge of the rut. Fearing they’d get stuck again, she gunned the engine. The jolt made her teeth snap together, and a searing pain shot up her right wrist. Tears pricked her eyes but she held on and kept going, determined that she wouldn’t wimp out on this task.

“What’s wrong?” Zeke asked.

She gritted her teeth as her wrist started to throb. “I’m...fine.”

“Don’t give me that. Stop the truck.”

“No. I’ll get us there.”

He reached over and turned the key. The truck lurched to a stop. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and fought tears. “Damn it, damn it, damn it! Can’t I do one little thing right for a change?”

His arm came around her shoulders in comfort, but his tone was stern. “Tell me what happened, Katherine.”

“I think... I might have sprained my wrist when we went over that big rut.”

Zeke swore softly. “Which one?”

“My right one, of course! The one I need the most to take care of Amanda! I am the biggest screwup that ever existed!”

His arm tightened around her. “Hey, stop that. If you were the biggest screwup that ever existed, Naomi Rutledge wouldn’t be asking you to take over her magazine, would she?”

“She might.” Katherine swallowed a sob. “She’s my godmother. She probably just feels sorry for me.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure. The woman I dealt with isn’t about to hand over her magazine to a screwup, not even her goddaughter. Now, let’s trade places, and I’ll get us home. Then we’ll see about your wrist.”

Katherine lifted her head and gazed at him through watery eyes. “And if I’m incapacitated, who’s going to take care of Amanda?”

“I am.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Z
EKE
DROVE
THE
TRUCK
as carefully as he could, knowing every jolt brought Katherine fresh pain. His stomach churned as he thought about her hurting, but he forced himself to stay calm. He had no problem with his own injuries, but when another creature was hurting, human or animal, he was in agony. That trait had eliminated a career in medicine, although in preparation for becoming a ranger, he’d taken some basic emergency training. He also knew from firsthand experience that once he iced her wrist and wrapped it in an elastic bandage, she’d feel better.

Amanda stayed asleep for the rest of the trip, but the rain was coming down as hard as ever by the time they reached the cabin. He opened the driver’s side door. “Stay there. I’ll help you inside.”

“No, you get Amanda inside.” She fumbled with the door handle with her left hand. “I can manage.”

“Katherine...”

She turned to him, a fierce glow in her eyes. “Get Amanda. It’s only my wrist. I can walk just fine.”

He’d seen that same glow in the eyes of wild animals protecting their young, and he knew better than to argue. “Okay. But wait and let me help you down.” He was out of the truck in seconds and splashing through puddles in his haste to get to her door. Once he opened it he held out his hand. “Let me take a look.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Gingerly she laid her hand in his.

“It’s something.” He lightly traced his finger over the delicate bone structure of her wrist. The swelling had already started. “Put your other hand on my shoulder,” he instructed. “I’ll try to lift you down without bumping your wrist. The door’s unlocked. Go in and take a bag of peas from the freezer, wrap them in a towel and put that on your wrist until I get there.”

“Zeke, I’m sorry. All I seem to do is cause you problems.”

“It’s my fault as much as yours. I knew the truck would be hard to drive. Now turn toward me so I can get you down from there.” When she complied he fit his hands around her waist. He avoided looking into her eyes as he slowly lifted her down, taking care not to jostle her wrist. God, she felt so good, so warm within his grip. Every time he touched her was like coming home. But once her feet were on the ground, he released her immediately. “I’ll meet you in there,” he said.

“Do you think you can work the strap on the carrier?”

He glanced at her. “Go on. I’ll figure out the strap.” Once he was convinced she was on her way into the cabin, he turned back to the truck cab. “Somehow.”

He climbed into the passenger seat, got to his knees and leaned over into the back seat the way he’d watched Katherine do it. Amanda was awake, waving her arms and chortling as if she found her view of the upholstery fascinating. Zeke studied the situation and figured out how she was belted in.

“Okay, kiddo, let’s spring you from that contraption.” He managed to unfasten the strap, but Amanda started kicking in excitement and got her legs tangled in it. “Great. Snafu right off the bat.” Zeke worked to free her. “Hold still, now.”

She seemed to kick and squirm even more vigorously.

Despite the chill in the air, Zeke began to sweat. He had to get her out of there so he could go inside and take care of Katherine’s wrist. And the longer he took, the more worried Katherine would be. Finally his patience snapped. “Hold
still,
Amanda!”

She went rigid, at which point he was able to extricate her from the tangled strap, but as he hauled her into the front seat, she began to cry.

“Oh, hell.” He cupped her against his chest and patted her back. “Now, stop. I can’t take you in to your mommy while you’re crying. She’s got enough to worry about.”

Amanda cried harder.

Zeke sighed and tried to think how Katherine had handled these situations. Of course if the baby was hungry, she was out of luck, but he didn’t think that was the problem. He’d scared her by talking too rough. Maybe he could fix that mistake by trying some of the nonsense talk Katherine used.

He cleared his throat. “Oh, sweet little baby girl,” he crooned. “Let’s have a smile. Give Daddy a smile. Enough of the waterworks now. We have enough water coming down outside without you adding to it. Easy does it, sweetheart. I’m here, baby girl.”

Amazingly, Amanda stopped crying.

“Thank God,” Zeke muttered. “Lord knows how long I could have kept that up.” Hunching over to shield Amanda from the rain, he climbed from the truck, grabbed the diaper bag and slogged through the mud to the porch.

Katherine was waiting at the top of the steps, shivering in her wet clothes, a bulky ice pack clutched around her wrist. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

His heart beat faster. “Do you think your wrist is broken?” He quickly climbed the steps and ducked under the porch roof. “Because if it is, I’m hiking out to the road.”

“No, I’m sure it’s just a sprain. This is still critical, though. Your electricity seems to be out.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“All?” She stared at him. “Lights, refrigeration, hot water?”

He shrugged. “We’ll build a fire, light the lanterns and keep the refrigerator door shut as much as possible. No big deal. It’ll be like camping.”

“Oh.”

He gazed down at her and suddenly was reminded of what had happened the last time they’d been in a camping situation together. His breathing quickened. “Or not.” The huskiness in his voice probably betrayed his thoughts. “Let’s go in and get your wrist taken care of.”

* * *

K
ATHERINE
DIDN
’
T
WANT
to admit how much her wrist hurt, but she took the over-the-counter pain medication Zeke offered without any argument. He’d settled Amanda in her makeshift bassinet, and she seemed to be content to lie there and suck on her fingers.

Zeke washed up at the kitchen sink and then brought a first-aid kit to the table, where Katherine sat resting her arm with the ice pack over it. Zeke pulled his chair close. “Okay, let’s take another look.” He eased the ice pack away. “Let’s make sure it’s not broken.”

Katherine flinched. “I seem to recall that involves pain.”

“Some, but I have to know. If you broke anything I’m not going to wait around for a tow truck. Breaks can get nasty if they’re not taken care of quickly.” He cradled her hand in his. “Tell me how this feels.” He rotated her hand gently to one side.

She sucked in a breath. “Like you’re shoving hot needles into my wrist.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Yeah. If your wrist was broken you’d be screaming at me to stop, not telling me how it feels.” He laid her hand carefully back on the table and took a rolled elastic bandage out of the first-aid kit. “This won’t feel wonderful, either. Try to distract yourself from what I’m doing.”

“Yeah, okay.” She looked away as he cradled her hand once again and positioned the bandage against her palm. “I notice you don’t have a television,” she said, wincing as he wound the bandage securely.

“Or a radio,” he added. “Which is lucky, because they wouldn’t be working now, anyway.”

“So how do you spend your time?” They were huddled so close that she became aware of the pattern of his breathing and the subtle scent of his body. Both were saturated with erotic memories.

“I hike.”

She glanced out the window. “I guess you won’t be doing that today.”

“Guess not.”

Damn, but it hurt to have him wrap that thing around her wrist. “So how do you spend your evenings?”

“You should know. You spent one with me.”

Her head snapped around and she stared at him, but he didn’t look up from his task. She wondered if he’d meant that to be as provocative as it sounded. Heat surged through her, and her voice was tight as she struggled to form a response. “I’d imagine that was unusual.”

“Thanks a lot.”

She’d say this for him, he’d taken her mind off her pain. “No, I mean...” What did she mean? “I didn’t mean to imply you don’t spend your evenings with women. I’m sure you—”

“Have a girl at every campsite? That’s me.”

Now that he’d broached the subject, damned if she didn’t want to know about the other women in his life and specifically if he’d been involved with anyone since...since last summer. But she didn’t know how to ask. “Okay, so you’re a wilderness Romeo,” she said, trying to sound flip about it. “But what do you do when you’re alone?”

“I read. And sometimes I just sit, stare into the fire and think.” He secured the bandage and glanced up at her.

The look in his eyes made her quiver, and she wondered if he was remembering that night by the campfire, how the conversation had grown quieter and quieter, the words further apart.

“I should probably rig up a sling for you,” he said. “But first you need to get out of those wet clothes.”

Uh-oh.
That was exactly how she’d gotten into trouble the last time she’d been with Zeke. “I don’t have a change of clothes.”

“I’ll get you something.” He left his chair and walked over to a chest of drawers positioned against the wall at the end of the bed.

Katherine wasn’t sure this was a good idea, taking off her clothes and putting on Zeke’s. Too much intimacy was implied. Still, she was cold and wet, and when he laid a green flannel shirt, black drawstring sweats and heavy wool socks on the table, they looked invitingly warm and cozy.

Then she realized he was in the same wet condition, and his clothes were spattered with mud, besides. “You should change, too,” she said.

“I will, once you and Amanda are all set. You can change in there.” He tilted his head toward the bathroom. “Be careful of that arm, though. I’ll be happier when it’s supported by a sling.”

She glanced up at him. “I don’t know about the sling, Zeke. It’ll be in the way when I nurse Amanda.”

“We’ll work around it when you’re nursing her.”

Deep inside, a coil of sexual tension tightened. Apparently he planned to be right there helping her when Amanda nursed. Her injury was knocking down the barriers between them at an alarming rate.

She stood and picked up the pile of clothes left-handed. “I should probably wash off my feet and ankles before I put on the socks. Will you be okay out here alone with Amanda while I do that?”

“Guess so.”

“I’ll hurry.”

“Don’t hurry so much you hurt yourself.”

She grimaced. “Right.” She headed for the bathroom. Once she closed the door she automatically flicked on the wall switch before remembering the electricity was out. But even in the gloom of a rainy afternoon she noticed the huge claw-foot tub that dominated the room. Decked out with a utilitarian showerhead and curtain, it still looked sinfully luxurious.

As she peeled off her damp clothes and washed up as best she could in the icy tap water, she imagined what a hot bubble bath would be like in that tub. Heaven. She wondered if Zeke ever took a hot bath. Certainly he did. Otherwise he wouldn’t have installed such a thing in his cabin. It was an intriguing picture.

She was about halfway finished when Amanda began to cry. Gritting her teeth, she began working faster.

Then Amanda’s crying stopped. She didn’t usually stop crying by herself, so either Zeke had picked her up, or something was wrong. Immediately her imagination came up with a dozen possibilities that put Amanda in peril of her life. Zeke wasn’t experienced enough to know if she was choking, or had the blanket over her nose, or...

Katherine jerked on Zeke’s shirt and sweats, tied them quickly and hurried out the door to find him quietly holding Amanda in his arms.

He glanced up, a tender look in his eyes. Then he looked at Katherine’s bare feet. By the time his gaze met hers again, all tenderness had vanished. “Didn’t think I could handle it, did you?”

“I...” She paused and grimaced. “No. And I apologize. If you could please hold her a little longer, I’ll go put on the socks.” She turned back toward the bathroom, berating herself for stepping on Zeke’s feelings at the very moment he was beginning to gain confidence around the baby. If she wanted him to form a relationship with Amanda, she’d have to back off and trust him.

* * *

Z
EKE
PACED
BACK
AND
FORTH
in front of the window, which worked off some of his frustration and seemed to keep Amanda from crying. But he didn’t kid himself that he had any talent in that direction. When Katherine sprained her wrist he’d foolishly announced he’d take care of the baby. Oh, sure. And pigs could fly. Maybe he’d done okay with the smaller boys at the ranch, but he’d never been in charge of anybody this young, or this gender.

Katherine came back out of the bathroom with socks on her feet. “Zeke, I’m really sorry I reacted like that. You obviously had the situation under control.”

As if to prove that wasn’t true, Amanda began to fuss.

“I don’t think so,” Zeke said.

“She’s probably hungry and needs to be changed.” She hesitated. “If you’re willing, I could show you how to change her.”

He didn’t think he had much choice. “Okay.” He hoped it wouldn’t be any more complicated than changing the oil in his truck. But as he glanced down at the squirming, fussy bundle in his arms, he decided it was probably more like deactivating a bomb.

He held her while Katherine used her good hand to arrange the necessary tools on the table. It all looked completely foreign to him.

“Okay, you can bring her over,” Katherine said.

He walked up to the table, where she’d put a padded mat down. She moved aside and gestured toward it.

He started to put Amanda on the mat and paused with her suspended over the table. “Does it matter which end goes north and which end goes south?”

“Yes. Depending on whether you’re right-handed or left-handed, her feet should be pointing in that direction.”

“I’m left-handed.” He turned Amanda carefully around and placed her on the mat with her head pointing right and her feet pointing left.

“You are?” Katherine glanced at him. “I didn’t know that.”

There was a lot she didn’t know about him, he thought.

“Left-handed people are supposed to be very creative,” she said. “That might be one reason you wanted to build the cabin all by yourself.”