RESCUED BY THE RANCHER (3 page)

Jake shook his head, as if doing so would take
the thoughts away that he was trying so hard to repress, and walked back in the
direction he’d just come from.

He had a woman in his kitchen in need of
warmth, shelter and comfort, and right now that was all he needed to think
about.

Oh.

“I hope you don’t mind but I found some hot
chocolate and thought you might like the same?”

The smile that greeted him when he walked into
his kitchen threatened to send him running in the opposite direction.
“Ah, no.
That’s fine. Good choice.”

“I didn’t think coffee would be the best
option, given that we’re both running on little more than adrenaline right
now.”

The look he gave her must have made her think
otherwise.

“Or at least I am. Sorry. I shouldn’t have made
assumptions.”

She was talking quickly, nervously. The woman
he’d met earlier had been as quiet as could be and this woman? She was babbling
like her life depended on filling the silence.

“Are you okay?” he asked, moving around to
stand beside her, not sure what to do. Did he touch her or leave her be? Sling
his arm around her shoulders to give her comfort or back the hell away to give
her space?

Faith bit down hard on her bottom lip, nodding
her head almost too vigorously. She gripped onto the side of the kitchen
counter, her knuckles bright white as she held on too hard.

Shit
. “Come here.” Jake held his arms out, touched
her gently to draw her in,
pulled
her carefully
against his chest. He held on tight, holding her as her shoulders fell, as her
fingers unclenched and sought out the fabric of his shirt instead. “
Shhh
, you’re going to be fine. You’re safe here, but right
now you’re in shock.”

He felt her grip him tighter in response, but she
didn’t say anything. Jake didn’t mind, he wasn’t great with words, hadn’t been
in a long while, and he was already way out of his depths just comforting her
like this. After so many years living alone, of dealing with animals more than
people, he was in way over his head just inviting her back here.

Jake resisted the temptation of dropping his
chin to the top of her head, feeling what he was sure would be silky, soft hair
against his skin, inhaling the aroma of … smoke. What she needed was a shower,
to get rid of the stench of smoke that clung to her hair and her skin. He was
pretty sure she’d like to erase all traces of what had happened.

“How about that hot chocolate?” he asked,
extracting himself and rubbing her arms as he stepped back.

Faith nodded, slowly this time.
“Yeah.
Sounds good.”

She shuffled to the table and sat down, and
Jake forced himself to stop staring at her and fill her mug with something hot
to comfort her. “Those socks there are for you, and
so’s
the blanket.”

Faith gave him a weak smile and took the socks
straight away.

“And this is for you, too.” He placed the
steaming hot drink in front of her as she wrapped the blanket around herself.

“Sorry about before,” she said, head down as
she cupped her hands around the mug and blew on the liquid. “I thought I was
holding it together but it all just hit me, I guess.”

Jake leaned back in his chair, eyes never
leaving her face. Even scared and apologetic, there was
a
strength
within her that he couldn’t ignore. Something there that told
him she was a fighter, that she was genuinely surprised by the fact that she’d
let her guard down.

“Do you have any idea who would do something
like that to you?” He had to ask. Thinking that she could have been killed,
along with her son, made his stomach twist and his blood run at a dangerously
high temperature.

“No,” she said, her gaze steady as she
answered. “If I knew that anyone here was capable of an attack like this, I
would never have brought my son back.”

Jake didn’t want to push her so far, not when
she was fragile and clearly in need
of
rest.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?
Anything you need?”

Faith shook her head, taking a sip of her
chocolate. He could see as she lowered the mug that her hands were shaking.
“You’ve already done so much. Thanks, Jake.
For everything.”

Now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable.
“It’s nothing, really. This house is too big for me anyway, so it’s not like I
don’t have the space for guests.”

“Just you and your dog, huh?” she asked, the
corners of her mouth turning up into a smile that made him give her one
straight back.

“Yeah, just me and Sam.”
He looked around, realizing his dog wasn’t
curled up at his feet like he usually was. “That’s weird.”

Faith’s head tilted slightly. “What is?”

“Nothing, just my dog.
He doesn’t usually leave my side, but I
haven’t seen him since I told him to leave the bedroom before.”

Jake rose to look for him and he heard Faith
behind him, shuffling along with the blanket still around her.

“Sam?” He called out softly, not wanting to
wake the boy. “Sammy?”

Jake walked silently down the hall, stopping
outside the spare bedroom door and nudging it open. Light from the hallway
filtered in, casting a light over the bed.
And
illuminating the large black Labrador lying beside the boy, tucked tight up
against his body.

“Now isn’t that’s gorgeous?” Faith was standing
beside him in the doorway, eyes trained on the bed. “Like he knew there was
someone in here who needed comforting.”

Her son had his arm slung around the dog in his
sleep.

“You don’t mind?” Jake asked, embarrassed that
his usually well-trained canine was flaunting the rules so badly.

“Not at all,” she said, looking up at him.
Their eyes met and Jake struggled to look away. He could see
nothing
in her gaze besides kindness, still couldn’t imagine how someone could have
wanted to hurt her so bad
. “Sometimes the best thing in the world is
comfort from an animal, don’t you think?”

Jake nodded. When he’d lost Rachel, the only
thing that had gotten him through had been Sam. Barely more than a puppy, he’d
snuggled him whenever he needed it, which was almost every moment of the day.
He’d sat with him when he’d stood in the nursery, painted and ready for their
baby, wanting nothing more than to trash it so he’d never have to see it again.
And he’d given him a reason to get up when all he’d wanted to do was stay
curled into a ball in bed and never leave.

“He won’t be scared when he wakes up, with a
dog on the bed?” Jake glared at his pet but received only a contented look
followed by shut eyes in return.

“I’d say he’ll be over the moon,” Faith said,
smiling as she watched them. “So long as I can fit in there too, we’ll be
fine.”

Jake nodded. “Bathroom’s the second door on the
right down there,” he pointed, “and
help
yourself to
towels and whatever you need. Same with the kitchen, just make yourself at home
if you need anything.”

He touched his palm to Faith’s back before
walking away and heading for his room, ready to hit the pillow for at least a
couple of hours.

Jake
just had no idea how it was he was going to bed alone, and his dog had managed
to wind up snuggled between two warm bodies for the rest of the night…

FAITH stood in the kitchen doorway for a
moment, watching the man who’d come to her rescue. He was bent over his
breakfast, head down, with a paper opened out on the table in front of him.

She
was a mess
. She’d showered,
borrowed a brush she’d found to try to do something with her hair, but she had
nothing of her own. Not her handbag, not her make-up – nothing. Add to that the
fact she was cold, and it wasn’t the best start she’d had to a day.

“Morning,” she said, walking in.

Jake looked up. His smile was genuine but she
could tell from the flicker of his eyes from her pajamas and back to his bowl
again that he was about as comfortable as she was. Her drawstring pants weren’t
so bad, but in broad daylight her skimpy tank did little to conceal her body.

“Did you, ah, sleep okay?” he asked.

Faith ignored the heat in her cheeks.
She was lucky to be alive
. There was no
point stressing over anything else, except for the fact that whoever had lit
the fire could have killed her son.
And her.

“I thought I would have lain awake for hours,
but I slept like a baby.”

He smiled, collecting his bowl and walking it
to the sink.

“Well, actually not like a baby. I’ve never
understood that saying, given that most babies keep their parents up half the
night.”

Faith followed him a few steps, her stomach
growling. When he turned, there was a sadness in his gaze that hadn’t been
there before, his smile erased.

“I know I said it last night already, but thank
you for taking us in. It means a lot to me,” she paused. “The last few years
have been kind of tough, and I thought that coming here would change that.
Clearly I was wrong.”

Jake rinsed his dishes and turned around again,
hands on the counter behind him as he leaned back. He was quieter this morning
than he’d been last night, more reserved, and she wasn’t sure if she was the
reason or if it was something else.

“Do you want me to take you anywhere today? Buy
any supplies, that kind of thing?”

His question was innocent, but it made Faith’s
cheeks burn again. The cold wasn’t doing her any favors, and if she knew men,
then the poor guy was probably having a hard time ignoring the hard nipples
pointing in his direction through her cotton top.

“My car is back at the house – it was parked on
the street, thankfully.” Faith sighed. “But of course the keys were
inside,
so it’s not exactly any good to
me.” She wouldn’t cry, refused to spill any tears, because she was stronger
than that. Being kicked out of her home by her dad at sixteen had more than
cured her of spontaneous emotions, and she wasn’t going to let some lowlife
arsonist tear down the life she’d fought to build.

“I’ll sort it out for you,” Jake said, not moving
as he stood watching her. “Anything you
want,
just let
me know. We can head into town today and I’ll buy whatever you need to tide you
over.”

Faith shook her head, just the barest movement
from side to side. “You don’t need to do anything for me, Jake.” It wasn’t that
she was ungrateful but … “I can’t accept any handouts, it’s just not who I am.”

He shrugged and moved past her to open what she
could see was the pantry. “Breakfast stuff is in here, there’s milk in the
fridge, and help yourself to whatever else you need.”

A noise alerted her to the fact her son was
awake, and she quickly crossed the room. “Thank you,” she said again, hoping he
did know how much she appreciated what he’d done for her.

“Hey, Faith?” he asked.

She paused and turned.

“I don’t believe in handouts, either. But you
know what?” He moved closer to her, standing less than a yard away. He towered
over her, looking down straight into her eyes. “Some asshole tried to burn you
alive in your house last night, and as far as I can tell, you’re a great mom.
So when I tell you I’ll get you anything you need, I mean it.” He ran a hand
through his hair, looking like he didn’t know quite what to do or where to
look. “You can keep a tally and pay me back if that’s what you need to do.
Either way, I just want to help, so don’t be so proud that you can’t accept
it.”

Faith heard her son again, but she took the
time to reach out to Jake.
Something was
wrong
, something within him was conflicted, she could tell from the little
lines around his eyes that creased with worry when he looked at her, from the
quiet strength that radiated from him.
 

“You’re a kind man, Jake.” She touched him,
curled her fingers around his left forearm as it hung loose at his side. “I’ll
never forget what you’ve done for us.”

He made a gruff kind of grunt and looked away,
but she didn’t release her hold until he made eye contact with her again.

“Tom’s awake,” she said, taking a step
backward, and then another. “I’ll just go get him sorted, in case he’s confused
about waking up here.”

She could feel Jake’s eyes on her back as she
headed for the bedroom, but she didn’t turn around. The last thing she needed
was to be attracted to the man who’d rescued them, or try to dig deeper and see
what made him so serious and sad. She needed to do what she was here for –
finalize her father’s estate, deal with the insurance and look at putting the
land on the market. Then she could figure out what the hell she was going to do
since her plan of moving back here and putting down roots had so obviously
soured. Maybe she’d have to take the money and run.