him.
"Let's eat."
"Hmm, did you have any dinner yesterday?"
Will used his crutches to hobble to the stool beside Aurora.
"The last time I ate was with you in
Snyder...except for the tea and crackers last night." She peered
around as if getting her bearings. "That seems days ago."
"Seems a hell of a long time ago, doesn't
it? You had the A-1 prime example of a bad day yesterday, didn't
you?"
Will watched in fascination as she ate. She
sliced each bite of ham into precisely the same sized bite. The
neck of the over-sized pajama top she wore fell forward to reveal
perfect breasts as she leaned toward the bar. She sat with each of
her legs hooked around a leg of the bar stool, her thighs parted
slightly. If he reached out...Damn, what on earth was he
thinking?
He cursed to himself. This woman was a guest
in his home, a guest with severe injuries, someone who needed his
care and protection. He had to reign in his hormones. What made
this one woman cause those hormones to boil when other women did
not even induce a simmer?
Will hoped Aurora remained unaware of his
lecherous feelings. Get yourself under control, Harrison. Three
years of celibacy is messing with your mind and body.Already this
shaped up to be a long day. Better get Lily over here as soon as
possible.
Aurora's voice brought him back to
consciousness, "If the phone lines are down may I use your cell
phone? Mine was one of yesterday's casualties. I dropped it as I
crossed this appalling bridge with the water roaring beneath
me."
"That must have been frightening. If it's
the bridge I'm thinking of there's no railing on the bridge."
"Yes, that's the one." Aurora shuddered at
the memory. "I crawled across it on my hands and knees, trying to
hold on to my phone and the flashlight while pushing my cases ahead
of me. When something large hit the bridge’s center support, I
almost fell over the side. Unfortunately, I dropped my phone as I
tried to retain my balance."
Will lifted the receiver of the wall phone
nearby and held it to his ear. Shaking his head, he returned the
receiver to its cradle. "We also need to alert the sheriff that you
left the car in case someone sees it and starts a search for you. I
talked with my family in Lubbock last night, so apparently it's
only the local rural phone lines that are out." Will wanted
something to think and talk about to take his mind off Aurora's
appearance and her scanty costume.
Aurora sighed heavily. "I suppose my little
car is ruined, isn't it?"
Will offered sympathy. "I'm afraid it'll be
a total loss, but that's just a guess. By now, it's probably mired
in several feet of sandy mud. With any luck it beached somewhere
before it reached the Brazos River." A frown furrowed his brow. "I
hope you have full insurance coverage."
"Yes, but I guess it'll take several days to
straighten out the paperwork and get my car replaced." Aurora
became pensive as she organized the reporting process in her
mind.
He grimaced. "I hate to be the bearer of
more bad tidings after the day you had yesterday. It could only
take a few days, but if we can't locate the car to substantiate the
claim or produce the car for salvage, it could take as long as a
month."
Her eyes widened as she registered the
impact of his statement. "A month? Oh, no! Hmm, well, I suppose I
could find a temporary job nearby," she said as if to herself.
She caught Will's surprised expression and
explained, "I've been traveling for four months now. When I want to
stay for more than a couple of days in an area, I get a job through
a temporary agency or a newspaper ad. Then I can enjoy sightseeing
without depleting my funds. Of course, it's easier to find that
sort of temporary work in a more urban setting."
She paused, then resolutely squared her
shoulders. "If I'm going to be in this area as long as a month
while waiting for my insurance company to replace my car, I might
as well get a temporary job."
Will tried to imagine her as teacher, or
maybe a nurse. "What
"Let's eat."
"Hmm, did you have any dinner yesterday?"
Will used his crutches to hobble to the stool beside Aurora.
"The last time I ate was with you in
Snyder...except for the tea and crackers last night." She peered
around as if getting her bearings. "That seems days ago."
"Seems a hell of a long time ago, doesn't
it? You had the A-1 prime example of a bad day yesterday, didn't
you?"
Will watched in fascination as she ate. She
sliced each bite of ham into precisely the same sized bite. The
neck of the over-sized pajama top she wore fell forward to reveal
perfect breasts as she leaned toward the bar. She sat with each of
her legs hooked around a leg of the bar stool, her thighs parted
slightly. If he reached out...Damn, what on earth was he
thinking?
He cursed to himself. This woman was a guest
in his home, a guest with severe injuries, someone who needed his
care and protection. He had to reign in his hormones. What made
this one woman cause those hormones to boil when other women did
not even induce a simmer?
Will hoped Aurora remained unaware of his
lecherous feelings. Get yourself under control, Harrison. Three
years of celibacy is messing with your mind and body.Already this
shaped up to be a long day. Better get Lily over here as soon as
possible.
Aurora's voice brought him back to
consciousness, "If the phone lines are down may I use your cell
phone? Mine was one of yesterday's casualties. I dropped it as I
crossed this appalling bridge with the water roaring beneath
me."
"That must have been frightening. If it's
the bridge I'm thinking of there's no railing on the bridge."
"Yes, that's the one." Aurora shuddered at
the memory. "I crawled across it on my hands and knees, trying to
hold on to my phone and the flashlight while pushing my cases ahead
of me. When something large hit the bridge’s center support, I
almost fell over the side. Unfortunately, I dropped my phone as I
tried to retain my balance."
Will lifted the receiver of the wall phone
nearby and held it to his ear. Shaking his head, he returned the
receiver to its cradle. "We also need to alert the sheriff that you
left the car in case someone sees it and starts a search for you. I
talked with my family in Lubbock last night, so apparently it's
only the local rural phone lines that are out." Will wanted
something to think and talk about to take his mind off Aurora's
appearance and her scanty costume.
Aurora sighed heavily. "I suppose my little
car is ruined, isn't it?"
Will offered sympathy. "I'm afraid it'll be
a total loss, but that's just a guess. By now, it's probably mired
in several feet of sandy mud. With any luck it beached somewhere
before it reached the Brazos River." A frown furrowed his brow. "I
hope you have full insurance coverage."
"Yes, but I guess it'll take several days to
straighten out the paperwork and get my car replaced." Aurora
became pensive as she organized the reporting process in her
mind.
He grimaced. "I hate to be the bearer of
more bad tidings after the day you had yesterday. It could only
take a few days, but if we can't locate the car to substantiate the
claim or produce the car for salvage, it could take as long as a
month."
Her eyes widened as she registered the
impact of his statement. "A month? Oh, no! Hmm, well, I suppose I
could find a temporary job nearby," she said as if to herself.
She caught Will's surprised expression and
explained, "I've been traveling for four months now. When I want to
stay for more than a couple of days in an area, I get a job through
a temporary agency or a newspaper ad. Then I can enjoy sightseeing
without depleting my funds. Of course, it's easier to find that
sort of temporary work in a more urban setting."
She paused, then resolutely squared her
shoulders. "If I'm going to be in this area as long as a month
while waiting for my insurance company to replace my car, I might
as well get a temporary job."
Will tried to imagine her as teacher, or
maybe a nurse. "What
Similar Books
