Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (4 page)

Sarah
hated the feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control. She wanted to cry
and quickly blinked back tears.

Sage
said gently, "Are you hurting, Sarah?"

She
shook her head, her eyes glued to his. He stayed crouched a moment longer, then
stood. "I'll have Newt deliver supper here from the dorm."

Sarah
heard a timid knock and rolled over to face the door. Sharp pain shot up her
leg and reminded her of the previous day's nightmare. First, cows and winding
roads, followed by azure eyes, airhead sisters, a grizzled old cowboy, a
white-haired doctor, a sweet teenage girl, and that horrible feeling of
helplessness.
Oh, God, why me?
She turned her head into her pillow when
she heard the door creak open. The thought of Sage seeing her at her worst made
her push her face deeper into it. She heard Julie's voice.

"Um,
good morning Miss Sarah. My ride to school will be here in a few minutes. Is
there anything I can get for you?"

Sarah
shook her head still crammed into her pillow. She heard the door close and
peeked toward the sound of shuffling feet.

Julie
slowly approached, biting her lower lip. Sarah lifted her head from the pillow
to look at her. The girl was biting so hard Sarah thought her lip might bleed.

Timidly,
Julie said, "Can I ask you something?"

Sarah
nodded.

In
a rush, she asked, "Are you Mims Murphy?"

Crap!
Sarah slowly nodded
again and Julie hastened to the side of the bed. She started to say something
else, and then ran across the room to grab the stool in front of the vanity.
She carried it back to the bed and sat down.

"O…M…G!
I can't believe it. I
love
your books and I can't wait for
Dream
Kisses
to be released. When my dad said he posed for the cover, I couldn't
believe it. He won't let me read grown-up romance books cause he still thinks
of me as a little girl. I get your books from my friend Tooty. I've read all of
them. You're my favorite author. This is so cool—Mims Murphy is staying at my
house! I can't wait to tell Tooty!" The one-sided conversation spewed from
Julie like a volcano.

"No,"
Sarah croaked. "Please don't tell anyone I'm here. I…I…don't feel up to
meeting anyone."

Julie
scrunched her forehead, "Not even Tooty? She won't tell. I'll make her
swear."

Sarah
reached and placed her hand on top of Julie's. "Let's keep it our secret
for now."

Julie
looked at Sarah's hand on top of hers and then smiled. "Okay. I won't tell
anyone. It'll be kinda mysterious with only you, me, and Dad knowing. He said I
shouldn't tell anyone either. I don't always listen to what he says cause…well…cause
he's my dad and too old-fashioned."

Sarah
almost choked.
Sage Tanner, the gorgeous model of women's fantasies is too
old fashioned? Give me a break.
When Sarah thought about Sage, a fresh wave
of anger washed over her. Even though he'd been nice throughout her ordeal, he
was still a patronizing jerk.

"My
dad said I needed to help you go to the bathroom." At the mention of
bathroom, Sarah's bladder felt like it was going to burst. Slowly she attempted
to sit up with Julie eagerly assisting. When she sat on the side of the bed
with her feet barely touching the floor, Julie placed a crutch on either side
of her. Sarah put all of her weight on her good leg and pulled herself up with
the crutches. The pain in her sprained ankle shot to the top of her head. A
little yelp escaped.

"Do
you want me to get my dad?" Julie's anxious voice penetrated her pain fog.

"No!
No! I can do this with your help."

With
Julie hovering, Sarah crutched her way to the bathroom. Once they were there,
Julie said, "I really need to help you sit. I promise I won't look. I'll
look at the wall."

Sarah
wanted to shriek with laughter; the way her bladder felt, Newt could join Julie
and she wouldn't care.

While
Sarah accomplished her business, Julie asked if she wanted anything from her
suitcases. Sarah described her small carry case and Julie rushed to retrieve
it.

A
car horn beeped. "That's Tooty and her mom." Julie set the travel
case on the edge of the tub.

"You
run along. I'm fine."

"You
sure?"

"Of
course. Have a great day at school and thanks for your help."

Julie
smiled. "I can't wait to talk some more! When I get home, I'll help you
unpack your things. See ya later." Before closing the bathroom door, she
gave Sarah a brilliant smile.

Sarah
smiled back. She liked Julie. Too bad she couldn't stand her father.

Sighing,
she reached for her crutches and got off the pot.

Sarah
did the best she could washing herself with a washcloth. There was no way she
could manage a shower or bath with her ankle wrapped tight. Pulling a brush
through tangled hair and then dabbing on some blush, eyebrow pencil, and pale
lipstick, she looked at her sorry reflection and sighed.

Crutching
back to the bedroom, she went to her suitcase on the cedar chest at the end of
the bed and grabbed an ankle length Levi skirt and a white button-down blouse.
Sitting on the edge of the chest, she laboriously changed into fresh underwear
and the skirt and blouse. She had just buttoned the last button when she heard
another knock on her door. She couldn't decide whether to say "come
in" or crutch to the door and open it. A jab of pain made the decision for
her. "Come in," she croaked.

The
door opened slightly and Sage poked his head around it. Looking irritated, he
said, "You're not supposed to be on that foot for a few days."

Sarah
pursed her lips.

He
opened the door all the way and walked in. "Look Sarah, do you think we
can call a truce? I'm sorry about your sprain and I'm doing my best to make you
comfortable."

A
sudden blast of pain made her wince.

Sage
studied her expression. "Would you like to rest on the bed or the couch?
There's a selection of movies in the living room. I'll have breakfast here
shortly." He waited for her response.

Sucking
in her pride, she said, "I'll rest on the couch," and then pushed
herself up with her crutches.

* * *

Sage
watched Mims slowly move toward the bedroom door. From her expression, he could
see she'd taken a hit to her pride. He wanted to cover the distance between
them, scoop her into his arms, and carry her to the couch, but gut instinct
told him that would be the worst thing he could do. She already resented him
for his heavy-handedness the day before and the Java Junction debacle. As
difficult as it was, he turned and walked away, allowing her to make a painful
exit to the living room.

Hovering
just inside the kitchen doorway, he waited until she was seated before letting
himself out the back door and heading to the dorm. Curley would be cooking a
country breakfast for the greenhorns. Three more had arrived the previous
night, a married couple and their teenage son—Jerry and Ann Hackstetter and
Jacob. Because Sage always met with the "dudes" and
"dudettes" their first night to show himself friendly, he'd learned
that Mr. Hackstetter, a husky man with thick black hair, designed game software
for a popular company, and Mrs. Hackstetter, a short, slim woman with muddy
blond hair, was a stay-at-home mom. Mr. Hackstetter had grumbled about not
having cell phone service and his wife had given Sage an apologetic look. Their
son, a handsome kid with a sullen attitude who looked to be about sixteen, had
almost tripped over his backpack when Mindy and Mandy had walked into the room.
All Sage needed was for someone else to get hurt.

He
reached the dorm and instead of entering through the front door, he slipped to
the back and entered through the kitchen. Curley had a Hank William's tune
blaring through the Bose speakers he'd insisted on installing, and a stack of flapjacks
already piled high. Using one hand, the old cook cracked eggs into an iron
skillet and flipped flapjacks with the other on the commercial stove's center
griddle. Sage turned the volume down on the CD player.

Curley
reached for another egg. "Yo boss, how many more greenhorns we got comin'
today?"

"Just
two—an elderly couple—Mr. and Mrs. Tully."

"Okay,
so we got…uh…eight for next week?"

"Yep.
Actually, the next two weeks."

"Newt
said there's a dudette laid up at the house with a broken leg."

"Not
broken, just a bad sprain. Dish me up some breakfast so I can take it to her.
Then I'll come back to greet everyone and get the day's activities rolling."

"Right-o,
boss."

Curley
loaded a tray with scrambled eggs, hash browns, flapjacks, and homemade
biscuits. On the side he added syrup, salsa, butter, strawberry jam, and honey.
"Do you want me to add coffee?"

"No,
I've got some brewed at the house." Sage picked up the tray and started
back outside. "Thanks, Curley. I'll need you to make up a tray at lunch
and supper, too."

Curley
nodded and turned the music back up to sing along with Hank.
"Your
cheatin' heart, will make you weep, you'll cry and cry…"

Back
at the house, Sage set the tray on the kitchen counter and went to check on
Mims. She was lying stretched out with a pillow under her head and another one
propped under her ankle. She obviously hadn't heard him enter because her eyes
were closed. He studied her features, guessing her age to be somewhere around
forty. She actually looked much younger when she wasn't scowling at him. Some
wisps of shoulder length light brown hair had escaped the band at the back of
her neck and now framed her face. She had a nice average face, with a cute
little nose sprinkled with freckles. He remembered how her chocolate eyes had
flashed when she'd argued with him. Something made her smile and the change in
her countenance almost made her pretty. He wondered what she was thinking.

Instead
of startling her, he tiptoed back to the kitchen and made some noise. Pouring a
cup of coffee and setting it on the tray Curley had prepared, he remembered her
fancy order at Java Junction. He poured cream into a glass in case she wanted
it in her coffee. He also found some packets of sugar and tossed them next to
the cup.

Balancing
the tray on his palm, he returned to the living room and grabbed a TV table
with his free hand. Mims was sitting up and smoothing her hair back. Placing
the table in front of her, he set the tray on it. When he lifted the cover from
the plate, she gasped. "I can't eat all that food!"

Sage
chuckled, "I won't tell Curley you said that." At her questioning
gaze, he explained, "Curley's the cook for the Lazy M. He's from West
Texas and has no idea what small portions are."

"Well,
Mr. Tanner, why don't you grab a plate and dish out about three-fourths for
yourself?"

Sage
started to decline, but changed his mind. Maybe he could have an intelligent
conversation with the woman and appease her anger. "Okay. I'll be right
back." Before going to the kitchen, he opened another TV table and set it
in front of his recliner. When he returned with his plate and utensils and a
steaming cup of black coffee, Mims was pouring cream into hers. He watched her
sip the brew with closed eyes and a look of bliss.

"So,
you're a coffee lover? I remember you ordered a fancy drink at Java
Junction." The minute he said the words, he wished he could take them
back. Her eyes narrowed and she started to look angry all over again. He walked
to stand in front of her and dish food from her plate onto his.

When
he started to step back, she said tightly. "Please take all the pancakes.
I'm not much of a pancake eater."

Rather
than act the nice guy and refuse, he shrugged and relieved her plate of all the
flapjacks, most of the butter, and all of the syrup. He walked back to his
recliner and settled into it, adjusting the TV table.

After
eating for several minutes in silence, with Mims picking at her eggs and hash
browns, he decided to clear the air. "Look Mims
–"

She
narrowed her eyes.

"Look
Sarah, I think we should start fresh. I want you to enjoy your stay here and
anything I can do to help with your research, just let me know. As for what
happened at Java Junction, I'm truly sorry. I was just playing the game your
boss started. If I'd known it would upset you, I would have kept my foot out of
my mouth. So, like I said earlier, can we call a truce?"

Sage
watched Sarah sip her coffee and then cradle the cup in her hands. "I'd
like to ask you something, Mr. Tanner."

Sage
held her gaze. "Shoot."

"Did
you actually think I would be flattered by your attention?"

"I
didn't think about it one way or the other. Like I said, I was playing along
with the charade."