“You’re a surprise,” she said, meeting his gaze.
“Yeah? How so?”
“I’ve never had a man pick me up and run me to safety before,” she said.
“A guy does what he has to do,” he said, a smile flickering at his lips. “Getting you into my arms wasn’t such a hardship.”
“You’re flirting,” she said with a low laugh.
“Cut me some slack. We could have died out there.”
“What would you have done if the wolves hadn’t backed down?” she asked.
“Died?” He laughed softly. “You aren’t supposed to run—that piques their instinct to chase. But I had to get you closer to the truck. When I turned on them, I did what you’re supposed to do—face them, make noise, look big.”
“And shoot,” she added.
“If you can. I had one shell left—we got out of there alive because of God. I didn’t have enough time to reload.”
Ember believed that, too. Their prayers had been answered, but she’d still watched that man stare death in the face in order to protect her. If he’d left her behind, he could have gotten to safety much more easily—but somehow she knew that had never been an option for him.
Casey put a hand on her wrapped ankle. “How much does it hurt?”
She shrugged weakly. “It’ll heal.”
“I guess you got a real, up close view of this land today,” he said.
“It’s not what I thought.” She heaved a sigh. “I figured I could handle it—whatever dangers might lurk on this land. I didn’t expect...that.”
“Yeah, well...there are ways to deal with the dangers, but they never actually go away. We’re just careful. We know what dangers lurk, and we’re prepared. I know it’s overwhelming right now, and telling you that you could still do this goes directly against my best interests at the moment, but it’s the truth. You could learn all of this, too—figure out how to really be prepared.”
“You think I could actually turn this land into my therapy center?” she asked dubiously.
“I’m saying you could survive it,” he said with a short laugh.
Casey pulled a stool up and sat down, his hand still resting protectively on her ankle.
“I didn’t expect you to say that,” she said softly.
“I’m an honest guy,” he said, and she saw the sadness in his gaze as he said it.
“I’m not buying this land unless I’m sure it’s the Harper homestead,” she said quietly. “I’m no country woman. I don’t know how to deal with all the dangers of land this wild. It would be foolhardy for me to even try without a really good reason—”
“I’m not trying to scare you,” he said earnestly. “I need you to know that.”
“Those wolves—that was scare enough,” she replied with a rueful shake of her head. “I’m not blaming you, Casey. You can’t help it if you were right.”
Casey’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he froze. He pressed his lips together into a line, then rose to his feet, pulling the phone from his pocket. Whatever he’d been about to say, he’d decided against it.
“Hey, Bert,” Casey said into his phone, and he walked a few steps away. “Yeah. Okay... Where?”
Ember finished her sandwich, and as she chewed the last bite, she leaned forward to gingerly touch her bandaged ankle. It was a bad sprain, but the tight bandage was helping to support her joint. Casey was a good emergency medic, and if he could soften up toward her, he’d be a good manager of what remained of the ranch if she did buy the place. She was fast realizing that there would be few others she could possibly trust the way she trusted this man, and if she did open her therapy center here, she would feel safer, more confident, maybe even happier with him at her side.
Except he’d been clear that she’d never be his boss. If she bought this land then he wouldn’t be staying. Whatever they were starting to feel between them—it couldn’t last.
“I’ll be there soon,” Casey said, then hung up the call. He looked over at her, his expression conflicted.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“There’s a cow having trouble delivering in the south pasture. The cowboys doing patrol don’t have the equipment with them to help the cow, so I’ll have to head on out there. I don’t want to just leave you like this, and the babies—” He glanced toward the sleeping infants in the cradles.
Ember gingerly lifted her foot to the ground. She could stand up if she put her weight on the good leg only.
“It’s a sprained ankle. I’m not exactly out of commission,” she said.
“Hold on a second.” Casey disappeared up the stairs, and she could hear his footfalls overhead. There was a rustle against the floor, a thump, and then his steps came back down the stairs once more. He emerged into the living room holding a single crutch.
“You just had that hanging around?” she asked with a soft laugh.
“What can I say—I’m ready for emergencies. It’s part of the job.”
“That will help enormously.” She accepted the crutch, and he held out a hand, helping her to stand on her good foot. Then he adjusted the crutch for her height.
“There you go.” He sounded satisfied, and with the crutch’s support, she did feel a lot more mobile. “Would you watch the babies while I go take care of this?”
“Sure.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay? I know this is really hard for you, and I don’t want to add to it. I probably never should have asked for you to help out with the babies to begin with, but—”
“Casey.” She put a hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine.”
Casey looked down at her—and she was struck again by just how big this man was. Tall, broad, strong, and those dark eyes were fixed on her with an expression so complex she couldn’t read it. But she didn’t need to read his thoughts to know what kind of man he
