The Gentrys: Cal. Linda Conrad

Ranch alone. It just didn’t add up.

      She’d been busy, giving Kaydie some of the children’s Tylenol after the bath. Then she’d dressed the baby up in soft nightclothes, still too busy to adequately answer his questions. But she seemed to know exactly what she was doing with a sick baby, so he shut up and let her attend to things.

      Cal peeked into the little room off the kitchen that he’d planned to make into the nanny’s bedroom and where he’d set up Kaydie’s things last night. Bella bent over the crib, laying a soft baby blanket lightly across Kaydie’s feet.

      After she’d finished, she sat down on the single bed by the baby’s portable crib, watching Kaydie sleep as the dim shadows of twilight darkened the room.

      “Is she better?” he whispered.

      Bella got up and crept toward him as he stood in the doorway. “Sí. The fever has subsided.”

      He backed away to let her come into the kitchen.

      The minute she’d partially closed the door behind her, Bella drew a deep breath. “I think perhaps Kaydie’s father also needs his sleep. You look as though it’s been a very rough day, señor. I noticed the bed in the baby’s room. You’d better sleep there tonight in case she needs you.”

      She sighed and tried to stifle an obvious yawn. “If I may be permitted some water for my journey and perhaps a few directions to the border, I should be on my way.”

      “You’re leaving?” That thought hadn’t occurred to him.

      In fact, Cal had been quite relieved to think she would be here all night in case Kaydie awoke in trouble. And besides, they still needed to talk. He wanted to find out all about her. He wanted to talk to her. Tomorrow. When he could get a better grip on things.

      Couldn’t she see he and Kaydie needed help? But more than that, couldn’t she feel the same draw he felt when he looked at her? There was something… something…

      Well, maybe it was just lust, but it felt deeper, more fundamental somehow. Cal was not about to let her out of here until he had a chance to explore what was happening between them.

      Tired and irritable, he knew he couldn’t cope with Kaydie any more tonight, either. Tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep, everything would seem easier and clearer.

      “You cannot leave tonight. You’ll sleep here,” he commanded. “I’ll bring your things.”

      Two

      “Me perdona?” Bella questioned Cal’s words in a deliberately hushed voice because she didn’t want to wake the baby.

      But she also narrowed her eyes at the demanding and arrogant gringo. Perhaps her English was rustier than she’d thought. Certainly, he had not just commanded her to sleep with him.

      Because she was so tired, Bella felt sure her ears had played tricks on her. He’d simply meant that she spend the night, nothing more sinister than that. Obviously her hunger was playing games with her mind.

      Still, she knew an order when she heard one. Whether he’d been demanding that she sleep with him or ordering her to spend the night for safety’s sake, he was in for a fight.

      She lifted her chin in defiance, but her empty stomach betrayed her. Its rumbling complaint could be heard throughout the house. She folded her arms across her waist and tightly held herself together in the middle.

      If she remained still, maybe Cal would ignore the noisy reminder that she hadn’t eaten. He might even help her to be on her way. She was still worried that the men who chased her would be closing in, so she needed to leave this cabin and find a place to hide soon—before her presence put the baby and her injured father in grave danger.

      But no such luck. He’d definitely heard her stomach’s grumble. It would’ve been hard to ignore. The stern and commanding expression on his face melted into a cocky but utterly disarming smile. The jaunty ladies’ man was back. Even with his disability, he gave the impression of being strong and virile—yet still tender and giving.

      “You are pardoned, sugar. But it’s not hard to tell you’re hungry. Where are my manners?” He took her elbow with his free hand and gingerly guided them both back into the kitchen. “Let me get you something to eat. And I’ll make us some coffee.”

      Bella allowed him to lead her back to the kitchen table. To tell the truth, the weakness from hunger had already begun to show up in her lack of stamina and the silly wanderings of her mind. But she was grateful for his charity. She knew she wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

      She’d decided to accept his hospitality, but also made the decision that he would not make demands on her just because she was a woman alone in the wilderness. If she chose to stay for the night, it would be because she wanted a safe place to sleep—not because he’d insisted.

      All these months on the open range, working with families of migrants, had taught her to watch out for herself. She would not be coerced by force—or by charm.

      But goodness, when he smiled and that warm glow in his eyes focused on her, the attractive and tempting Cal Gentry was certainly a joy to behold. Not only did he look good enough to eat, his scent drove her to distraction. And his voice washed over her like rich Mexican chocolate. Dark, deep and sensual.

      Bella knew he was in pain, she could see the fine lines of it around his eyes, but he still seemed to need to be the host. “I can do this myself,” she told him. “I’m a good cook. Just sit and tell me where things are.”

      “No, thanks. You’re my guest, and you helped with the baby. I can handle it.” Trying to keep the slight irritation out of his voice, Cal took the water pitcher from the refrigerator and showed Bella where the drinking glasses were kept.

      Exceedingly grateful that the kitchen in this cabin was compact and efficient, he knew his disjointed movements might be slow, but he figured he could get the job done with everything so easily accessible. And maybe, with a little coffee, he’d be able to think clearly enough to ask a couple of his questions.

      While he brewed coffee, she drank two big glasses of water, then sat down quietly at the tiny table with the yellow-checked plastic cover. He wondered who she really was and what she might have been going through before she showed up at his door. She looked half-starved and exhausted, but her natural beauty and her passion for life shone brilliantly through bright, clear eyes.

      “Will you tell me now how you came to be at our door this afternoon, Bella?” He struck a casual pose as he continued fixing her coffee and a sandwich. “What’s a practical nurse doing alone on Gentry ranchland?”

      When she turned her deep-set, brown eyes to stare up at him, their depths seemed to contain more mysteries than answers. “I did not realize I was on your ranch, señor. I have been walking for slightly less than two days, searching for a safe way back across the border to my home.”

      “The Mexican border? You’re a long way from any normal crossing point here.” Cal tried to ignore the inexplicable tug in his gut whenever he looked at her. “In fact, we’re about 250 miles from Lake Amistad, and that’s as close as the Rio Grande comes to the ranch. You’re really lost, aren’t you?”

      She heaved a huge sigh. “Sí, I suppose I am. That was the reason I decided to risk stopping here. I was out of choices.”

      “But how did you get onto the Gentry Ranch? What are you doing walking across the range alone?” The questions poured from his mouth. “And how did you come across the border in the first place?” He set the sandwich he’d made down on the table in front of her and reached above the counter for a couple of coffee mugs for them both.

      Before she answered any of his questions, she daintily picked up the turkey sandwich and took a bite. Her eyes closed as she swallowed the food, and the passionate expression on her face looked as if this was the best meal she’d ever eaten. Cal knew his cooking abilities left a lot to be desired and the sandwich fixings had been rather plain