Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Heat burned at Kat’s back. Something heavy was draped over her waist. Her lids refused to open, and every muscle of her body seemed to ache. Her head pounded as if she’d gotten black-out drunk, but that didn’t make sense because she didn’t like to drink.
The sound of rain hitting the roof stirred memories from the night before and all at once it came back to her.
She stiffened when she heard a low grumbling sound behind her.
Her eyes flew open and she shifted, only to find that Leo’s arm was what pinned her against him.
His hot breath beat against the back of her neck.
Barely any light filtered into the room, but she could make out that she was on the bed. They were both on the bed.
A barely contained squeak of surprise slipped from her lips as she did her best to scramble out from beneath Leo’s embrace. She scooted to the edge of the bed and pulled her legs over the side before glancing back at Leo.
His hair was mussed in the most adorable way. The scruff around his jaw made him look even more enticing. His features were relaxed. Gone were the hard lines and judgmental stares she had grown to expect from him.
Her heart fluttered wildly as she took him in. He hadn’t stirred when she’d slipped away from him which gave her the chance to ease off the bed and limp toward the fireplace. There was a chill in the air, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been last night when her hair had still been wet.
How had she gotten to bed? She couldn’t recall much once it got really late.
Maybe something had passed between them when he’d come to her rescue. Or had they agreed on a truce that she didn’t remember?
Either way, they weren’t going to be at odds with each other and for some strange reason, that idea sent waves of warmth through her body that she couldn’t control. Goosebumps appeared all over her arms and legs and she stifled a soft laugh.
Despite her headache, she could tell today would be a good day.
After starting the fire back up, Kat hobbled over to the propane stove in the corner of the room.
She grabbed a jug of water from the shelf near the kitchen area and poured it into a kettle.
Then she started up the propane stove and set the kettle on top.
While she waited, she stared out the window.
Kat could still smell Leo. When she brought her shirt to her nose, his distinct scent mingled with the smell of the rain outside and the crackling fire in the hearth. She closed her eyes and breathed it in, reveling in how it made her feel.
There wasn’t any power in the cabin. That was one of the things Leo had mentioned last night among other things.
She’d have to limp out to the outhouse if she needed to relieve herself.
That idea was less than ideal seeing as her boots were still wet and the idea of heading back out into the inclement weather made her body go cold all over again.
While the water on the stove heated, she rummaged through the cupboards. It didn’t look like anyone had been in the cabin for a while. There were coffee grounds and crackers. Nothing else.
It was as good a breakfast as they were going to get. With another look out at the drizzling rain, she pondered if they’d be able to head back at all today or if they were stuck for another night.
Kat brought her shirt to her nose again, not quite ready to admit to herself that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she were to sleep beside Leo one more time.
They’d both been fully clothed, using each other for body heat.
There had been nothing sensual about the exchange, and yet her tattered soul seemed to heal just knowing Leo cared enough to get her into bed.
It was crazy, this truce of theirs. She knew the second they got back to the ranch that Leo would end up returning to his usual brusque self. All she could hope for was that they’d be able to enjoy each other’s company while they were here.
“Morning,” a deep, low voice echoed through the small cabin.
She startled, whirling around to face the intrusion. Leo leaned against the wall nearest the fire. His arms were folded, and his hair was still adorably sticking up at odd angles. And yet he was as gorgeous as ever. She blinked wildly. “What… when did you get up?” she rasped.
He frowned, pushing off the wall and coming closer. He didn’t stop until he ate up the space between them. If she could have, she would have backed away from him. As it was, the stove behind her prevented such an escape.
Leo’s gentle hands cupped her face. The action was almost too intimate and she sucked in a surprised breath.
“Are you sick?” He moved his hand to brush the back of his fingertips across her forehead and it all made sense.
He was touching her not out of affection, but to see if she had a temperature.
She ducked away from his touch and put some distance between them. The movement was far from graceful seeing as she still limped on her bad ankle. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice still scratchy. “It’s not from the rain. Or it might be, but I don’t think so. I yelled for you when I got stuck.”
Guilt emanated from his entire body. His shoulders slumped and his eyes searched hers.
For a moment she thought he might apologize, but they’d already done enough of that last night.
They stared at each other for longer than she was comfortable with—long enough that she had to force her eyes away from him.
“I heated some water for coffee. There’s not much else in the cupboards besides crackers. ”
When he didn’t respond, she looked up to find his eyes still trained on her.
Kat fidgeted. “What?”
Still, he didn’t speak. His eyes flicked to the window and his jaw tensed. “If this doesn’t let up, we might be stuck for another day.”
She almost asked him if that would be so bad, but she held her tongue.
Instead, she pulled some paper plates from the cupboard and split the crackers.
Leo grabbed the coffee grounds and filter before pouring them each a cup.
When they were settled on the floor in front of the fire like they had been the night before, Kat offered him the plate.
Their truce felt strange—foreign even. She didn’t know how to behave with him when he stared at her like she might be someone he could start to like.
Heck, she didn’t want to add another person to the growing list of people she would miss when she left here.
So, as he took the plate from her hand, she murmured, “I still hate you.”
He chuckled. It was low and warm. It filled her with a different kind of joy she hadn’t thought possible. And dang it, his chuckle was infectious. The corners of her lips quirked upward and she allowed herself to meet his gaze.
“And you’re still infuriating, Princess,” he murmured before popping a cracker into his mouth.
The rain let up a little after lunch. They’d taken a detour, in an attempt, to locate her phone but the mud was too hard to traipse through and she called it a lost cause.
When they reached the ranch, they were bombarded by people. Bo, Jane, and Noah were at the front of the fray, their relieved glances telling her everything she needed to know.
“Thank the Lord you’re okay,” Jane called out, running toward them. “Are you hurt?”
“Just my ankle,” Kat grimaced. “I fell when we… were hiking.” She exchanged a glance with Leo, but his expression remained stoic. “I’ll be fine. Just need to take it easy.”
Leo hopped off his horse and started toward her, but Noah stepped in his path, reaching for her. She cut a look in Leo’ s direction but still couldn’t get a read on him as Noah’s strong grasp wrapped around her waist and deposited her on her feet.
“We were minutes away from sending out a search party,” Bo grumbled, his warning stare locking with Leo. “I lost count how many times your mother tried to reach you, but it went to voicemail.”
“I tried your phone, too,” Jane reached for Kat and pulled her in for a hug. “It started going to voicemail a couple hours after the storm hit.”
Kat made a face. “I lost it on the hike. I’m guessing its buried beneath mud by now.”
“I’ll take you to town tomorrow to get you a replacement,” Jane offered.
“I can take her.”
Kat stilled then glanced over her shoulder to Leo. He wasn’t looking at her and she wasn’t even sure if she heard him correctly. Maybe it had been someone else who spoke.
But no, she would have recognized Leo’s voice anywhere after last night. Her face flushed and she turned a bright grin to Jane. “There you have it.”
Jane frowned. “You sound hoarse. Are you getting sick?”
“Got caught in the rain is all. I might be coming down with something, but I’ll just make sure to drink lots of fluids.” She gave Jane another hug. “Really, I’m fine.”
A couple of the other cowboys she recognized but couldn’t put names to faces yet nudged each other and chuckled. “That’s good to hear. We were hedging bets on who would kill who first.”
All the muscles in Kat’s body seemed to go tight at once.
They weren’t far off. Had Leo not come to her rescue, she might have still wanted to ring the man’s neck.
But now? One look was all it took for her to accept that something had definitely changed between them.
Only, she wasn’t going to let any of them know.
“I hope you bet on me, otherwise you would have lost all your money.”
Leo scoffed.
Kat shot him a dirty look. “I might be small, but I’m vicious.”
“Oh, no arguing with you there,” he muttered, taking the reins of the horses in his hands. “But don’t forget you’re still just a princess who’s playing pretend. If you think you could survive me, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Something about his words had heat crawling up the back of her neck all over again. He wasn’t talking about going head-to-head anymore. That shift between them had been noted by them both. The way he’d held her while they’d slept said more than words ever could.
Before she could come up with a witty comeback, Jane had her arm around Kat’s waist. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. You look like you got in a fight with a tornado out there.”
Kat frowned and reached up to touch her once tame locks. The straight style had definitely seen better days. She had a natural wave when her hair was wet and since she hadn’t been able to do a thing with it when they were at the cabin, she probably looked a sight.
Leo hadn’t uttered a word on her appearance. He didn’t crack a joke. Didn’t point out that she resembled a monster from the bog.
The man was going soft.