Promises Linger (Promise Series) (37 page)

“Yeah.”

“If you’re not going with the truth, what are you planning on telling her by way of explanation?”

“I’m going to tell her I fell off my horse.”

If Cougar’s previous chuckle had been irritating, his full blown laugh was pure insulting.

Holding his ribs, Asa nudged Shameless in Buck’s wake. As soon as his ribs healed, he and his neighbor were going to have to get some things settled. If a little dust flew, so much the better.

Chapter Seventeen

“You fell off your horse?” Elizabeth stared at Asa where he lay on the bed, his upper torso wrapped tighter than a corseted spinster. Hoof marks were clearly visible on his shoulder. Blood seeped through one of the bandages on his side.

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” Asa muttered in response to her disbelief.

“That whopper is another thing you’d best not be proud of.” His head snapped up. She shook her head. “I am not a stupid woman, Asa.” She jerked off her leather gloves. “Why you persist in treating me as one, I fail to understand.”

She wanted to examine Asa’s wounds, but she’d come straight from the stable. She needed to clean up. She went to the wash basin beside the bed.

“Don’t get prissy on me, Elizabeth.”

“Then don’t go telling me you fell off your horse when it’s as plain as the nose on your face you were trampled.” She poured water into the bowl and scrubbed her hands with lye soap.

“What are you doing?” He was eyeing her suspiciously.

“I intend to see how badly you’re hurt.”

“I’ve just got some busted-up ribs.”

“Good.” She dried her hands on the towel. “Then this won’t take long.”

Behind her, she heard Cougar chuckle.

Asa tried to scoot up. No doubt in an effort to intimidate her. His glare was ruined by the moan of pain his action elicited.

She flicked the sheets and blankets down. He tried to grab them back, but the stiffness from his injuries pulled him up short. She bit back a smile as he made another stab at dissuading her. “Cougar tended to everything. There’s no need.”

She worked the knot of the highest bandage. “Not more than an hour ago, you were reminding me of my duties. I wouldn’t be much of a wife if I didn’t see to your health.”

“Seems you’re mighty choosy about when you’re wifely.”

“I disagree. I’m always wifely.”

“But not very obedient.”

She shrugged. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You never forbade me to work with the horses,” she pointed out as she eased the bandage away from his chest.

“Because I wasn’t aware there was a need.”

“You’re right,” she countered, not one bit intimidated by his scowl. “There wasn’t a need.”

“That’s where we need to blow off the smoke.”

She gently urged him forward so she could unwrap the bandage. His breath hissed between his teeth, but he didn’t let on by anything else the agony he had to be in. She wanted to kiss his forehead in comfort. She didn’t. Instead, she gave him something he’d appreciate more. A distraction.

“There’s nothing to clear. I like to train horses. I’ve been doing it for ten years. I’m darned good at it and I won’t be forbidden to do it.”

“You won’t?”

She recognized the plan to argue in his low drawl. She took it into full consideration in the second it took to answer. “No.”

“What if I see this differently?” he asked.

She unwrapped the last layer of bandage and knew his anger for bluster. The man had to be in too much pain for anything else. “Then you’re going to have to change your mind.”

“Or else?”

“There is no or else.” She winced as she peeled the cloth away from an open wound. She looked at him. “This looks like a bullet crease.”

He shook his head. “I hit a branch.”

Stubborn man. She turned to Cougar. “What happened?”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t know, ma’am. If the man says he hit a tree and fell off his horse, I’ll not be the one to call him a liar.”

“You don’t have to be. I’m calling him one.”

The smile that shadowed her neighbor’s mouth was a faint simile of a grin. “All I know is I found him like he is, struggling to get back on his horse.”

“Naturally, you did the neighborly thing and saw him home.”

He took his fixings out of his pocket. “Yup.”

“And you two didn’t talk the whole way?”

“Nope.” He pulled out a paper. “Your husband didn’t seem the talkative sort.”

And pigs flew. “If you’re going to smoke,” she interjected before he could shake tobacco onto the paper, “I’d appreciate it if you took it outside.”

“I’ll wait then.” He settled in the wing-backed chair.

“If that’s your choice.” Elizabeth looked at the deep wound again. “This is going to need stitches.”

“Like hell,” Asa growled at the same time Cougar said, “I told you so.”

To Asa, Elizabeth merely said, “Yes. It does.” To Cougar, she had a bit more to say. “You mean to tell me you bandaged him up like this, knowing he needed stitches?”

“Yup. He seemed ready to come to blows over the issue.” He shrugged. “Didn’t see any harm in it. No wife worth her salt was going to take a neighbor’s word for how her husband’s faring.”

She eyed him, the way he slouched in the chair, and wondered why she was surprised. Asa and Cougar were a lot alike. Neither wasted a lot of time arguing. Not when they could accomplish their goals through other means.

“If you’re going to stay, I suppose you can hold him down while I stitch.”

“Be happy to.”

From the broad grin across his face, Asa just bet McKinnely would. “No one needs to hold me down.”

“I’m your wife.” Elizabeth informed him in a tone he wasn’t used to hearing. “You don’t need to worry about impressing me.”

Like hell he didn’t. “No one’s going to have to hold me down because no one’s going to stick a needle in me.”

He could have been a fly on the wall for all the attention she paid him. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where you going?”

“To get the needle and silk.”

“I don’t need stitches.” He was talking to air.

“Lady says you need stitching,” Cougar said, coming over to the bed.

“You don’t have to sound so all-fired cheery about the prospect,” Asa muttered.

“Just being neighborly.”

“Uh-huh.” Asa pointed to the door. “Why don’t you try being neighborly back at your place?”

McKinnely didn’t take the hint. Instead, he rolled up his sleeves. Elizabeth came back in the room, a brown wooden box in her hand. He didn’t need to ask what was in it. Every ranch had its medical supplies. Just as no cowboy ever wanted the lid lifted.

“Elizabeth, I forbid you to come near me with that stuff.”

As if she hadn’t heard, she proceeded to pour whiskey into a cup. She handed it to him. “Drink this.”

He sniffed. Pure, unadulterated whiskey scoured his nostrils with its scent. He sniffed again. Real whiskey. Maybe even Kentucky sipping stock. He tossed the contents back and held out the glass for a refill. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cougar perking up with anticipation.

 
“That your father’s stock?” Cougar asked, as soon as Elizabeth had topped off Asa’s glass.

“I assume so.” She threaded silk through a needle, then dropped thread and all into a bowl of the whiskey. “I found it in his study after his death.”

“Just the one bottle?” McKinnely asked.

“No.” Elizabeth poured more water over her hands. She hadn’t even gotten the soap into a good lather before McKinnely was asking, “Want me to toss that for you?”

Elizabeth’s “that’s all right” had no more influence than Asa’s initial refusal of help had. McKinnely could be mule-stubborn when he had his own agenda. He poured water over Elizabeth’s hands. He didn’t stop until the basin was near to overflowing and Elizabeth was doing her best to conceal the concern for her floors. “That’s fine, thank you.”

“No problem.”

“You can just toss it out the window.”

“It’s no problem at all to take it out back.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

Elizabeth could have saved herself the breath. Asa wasn’t fooled about why McKinnely wanted the trip downstairs. A body had to pass right by the study while coming and going. His opinion of his neighbor went up another notch. It took a smart man to think on his feet.

Elizabeth pulled some white rags from the box.

“You’re not sewing me up,” he told her again.

Yes, she was. “The wound needs cleaning. There’s dirt embedded in it.”

She’d be lucky if he didn’t get an infection. Tears stung her eyes at the thought. To her astonishment, Elizabeth realized she wanted to cry. Because a man had been hurt of all things. She blinked quickly to dispel the moisture. She didn’t want Asa to see. He’d probably decide weepy women were too delicate to ride a carriage into town.

“That’s what McKinnely said,” he admitted.

“And you didn’t let him clean it?” She wanted to cuff him over the head for such stupidity.

“The man’s got the touch of a bull.”

She bent her head to hide a smile. “I’ll endeavor to be gentle.”

“Being as you’re a woman, it can’t help but be an improvement.”

She rose from the side of the bed and walked to the foot. As she opened the chest, she said, “For a man who grew up with some pretty poor examples of women, you seem to have definite opinions on their qualities.”

She grabbed a sheet and stood straight. That half smile on his lips told her he was going to make her laugh. Probably because her eyes were still stinging. As observant as he was, it was too much to hope he wouldn’t notice.

“I spent a goodly portion of my adult years studying the matter,” he informed her.

“I’m sure you did.” And she didn’t want to hear about it.

“Where is Cougar with that basin?”

“He’ll be along presently,” Asa answered. After he sampled some of that whiskey. He patted the bed beside him. “Come here.”

Elizabeth did, only because she wanted to slide the wadded sheet beneath him to catch the water from cleaning his wound. She leaned over to do just that, and he caught her wrist and tugged. By nearly twisting full around, she managed to avoid landing on his side. As it was, she plopped on the bed hard enough to jostle a groan from the man. Her apology was instantaneous. As was her anger. “What are you trying to do, kill yourself? I could have landed on you!”

“A little feather like you couldn’t make a dent on a cushion.”

“Huh!” Ladylike or not, there wasn’t anything more eloquent she could come up with in the face of such nonsense than an inelegant snort. She pushed herself straight. The effect was immediately ruined as his hand slid across her cheek. His fingers curled around the back of her head.

“I missed you, darlin’.”

“Before or after you met up with rustlers?”

He grimaced. “Not buying my story, huh?”

“A two-year-old wouldn’t buy that story.”

“It’d be real helpful if you could see your way to pretending.”

She resisted the downward pressure of his hand. “Not likely.”

He pulled harder.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Darlin’, if you don’t know I’m working on stealing a kiss, I haven’t been doing my job right.”

Heat surged into her face, but it didn’t deter her from pointing out the idiocy of the statement. “You can kiss later. Right now, you need to be sewn up.”

“I want to be kissed now.”

She was weakening, which explained how her last token protest ended with a whisper against his lips. “This really isn’t the best idea—”

He opened his mouth and she lost all thoughts. His breath, his taste, it was all so dearly familiar. She braced one hand on the other side of his body. With her free one, she cupped his cheek. Her mouth opened over his and her defenses scattered like flies. She’d come so close to losing him. One more inch and the bullet would have insured she’d be alone forever. More desperation than passion poured into the kiss.

He pulled back a fraction. “I missed you, darlin’.”

“You could have been killed.” It came out on an anguished moan.

“Nah,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes. She felt his lips graze each lid before brushing her cheeks. “I just got me a wife.” His hand cupped her belly. “Maybe even got a start on a little one.” He absorbed her start with his touch. “You can stop your fretting. I’m not going anywhere, Elizabeth.”

As irrational as it seemed, she took great comfort in his conviction. For a few precious moments, they rested forehead to forehead, hand to belly, and let time drift. He was here now, she told herself. She’d take care of him and he’d be fine. That’s all she had to do. Just take care of him.