Rachel awoke with every muscle in her body screaming in pain. She gently touched her eye and winced. But more frightening was how she was nestled next to Rusty as if they had every right to lie in bed together. They were both curled up on their sides like a couple of spoons in a drawer. He had his arm wrapped snugly around her waist, a bare few inches from her breast. His warm, soft breath teased the hair at her nape, causing shivers to race down her back.
Her mind flashed back to the previous evening and the horror of what had almost happened. And what had happened. Thank God for Rusty. If he hadn’t arrived she would have been raped and possibly murdered. Her breathing sped up as flashes of the attack raced through her mind.
“Are you all right?” She jerked at Rusty’s gruff morning voice, a jolt of panic rising through her.
“Yes.” She licked her dry lips. “I’m a bit sore, but . . . all right.” She turned onto her back, and Rusty released his hold on her. She edged away, putting distance between them until she felt her back hit the wall. “Why are you in bed with me?”
His deep green eyes studied her for a moment, something there she couldn’t quite identify. He scrubbed his hands down his face and said, “You fell asleep in my arms. I sat in the chair for a while, but you began to thrash around, crying out in your sleep. You settled down once I held you again.”
Heat rose to her face at the image of him climbing into bed to comfort her in the dark hours of the night. The intimacy of the vision made her heart speed up, and her nipples to stiffen and tingle. This was not good. Nothing could come of these feelings. She was not the sort of woman to carry on with a man for pure pleasure, and she was definitely not in the market for another husband. Although, had she been, Rusty had all the necessary parts. That thought brought another flush to her already heated skin.
“Honey, you sure look like you took a beating.” He gingerly touched her eye. “Your eye isn’t swollen anymore, but it’s really black and blue.”
“What am I going to tell Will and Amelia?” There was no way she would let the children know what had happened to her. The ugliness of life was better kept from them. They had all their adult years to come to grips with how cruel some people could be.
“The same thing I told them and Mac last night. You fell out of the wagon and bruised your eye.” He paused to brush the hair from her fo
rehead. “I think you should go into town and report what happened.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I had a friend years ago who reported a rape and when all was said and done she came out looking like a harlot. They turned it around that it was her idea and the ‘poor man,’ as they called him, was unjustly accused. No. I won’t do that.”
Rachel moved to get up and fell back down. “Oh, dang, I’m sore. How am I going to work?”
“You’re not going to work.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So the men will go hungry all day?”
“No. Mac can take over for a day or two. And I think Amelia could be quite a help to him. You, sweetheart, will stay in bed for a couple of days.”
She bristled and her brows climbed higher at his high-handedness. “I know you’re the foreman, but to my recollection, the foreman was not the cook’s boss.”
His lips moved in that lazy smile that set her body to thrumming again. “As the foreman, it’s my job to make sure the ranch runs well. One of those responsibilities is to see the men are fed. You, darlin’, are in no shape to cook proper meals.”
When had she granted him permission to call her by honey, darlin’, and sweetheart? It seemed he believed his rescue gave him familiar rights. Or perhaps it was them spending the night together in the same bed. Once more, heat rose to her cheeks.
As much as she hated to allow Rusty to win one over on her, she knew he was right. It would be impossible for her to cook three meals today with how she felt. “Since breakfast should have already been started, you need to—”
“Ma? Where are you?” Will’s voice had Rusty jumping from the bed, his eyes quickly roaming over himself, patting himself down.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure everything is covered.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Why wouldn’t everything be covered?”
“Just making sure, darlin’.”
Well, that certainly wasn’t comforting. Then remembering what her face looked like, she pulled the sheet up over her head. “I don’t want Will to see me.”
“It appears you don’t have a choice.”
Will barreled into the room, his energy a palpable thing. “Ma?”
“Yes, honey.”