Love's Bounty by Rosanne Bittner
Author:Rosanne Bittner
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: e9781682303375
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2016-04-17T16:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-four
“You sure you can ride?”
Callie limped over to where Betsy stood saddled. “I aim to try. We’ve wasted enough time.”
“Want some help getting up?”
“No.” Callie could not quite get over the embarrassment of this whole situation, getting a bit damn close to the fleshiest part of her rear end while squatting to pee, of all things! This man she still felt like she didn’t know all that well putting his lips on her to suck out the venom, undressing her, seeing her naked. He’d done and said everything he could to make her feel better about it, but she just couldn’t quite get rid of the humiliation of the whole thing. If she just would have looked before she squatted. She sure would from now on, that was sure!
She put her left foot in the stirrup, but pain tore through her right hip when she tried to mount up, and she groaned and laid her head against the saddle. The next thing she knew, strong arms came around her waist and lifted her. Chris set her in the saddle.
“When are you going to learn to ask for and accept help?” he asked. “You wouldn’t even have let me help you after that snakebite if you hadn’t been so sick.”
Callie grimaced with pain. “I didn’t ask you to come out here and nurse me along like a helpless kid. I can fend for myself.”
Chris mounted up. “I am perfectly aware of that. You’ve pulled more than your share so far, so quit worrying what I might think of your abilities. I already told you I liked the way you handled that son of a bitch back at Hole-in-the-Wall. And you ride as well as any man, know everything you need to know about horses, and you’ve camped out under the stars every night without complaining about a thing. And if I had been the one snakebit, you would have been nursing me along like I’ve been doing you. So quit trying to prove to me how well you can handle yourself, and quit apologizing for being in pain.”
“Yes, sir.”
“One more thing.”
“Yes, sir?”
“There’s a saying in these parts that takes some serious thought.”
“What’s that?”
He grinned. “Look before you squat.”
Callie blushed and looked away. Chris picked up the reins to the packhorse and mules and headed out, riding Breeze today. Still embarrassed, Callie followed, eyeing his broad, firm shoulders, remembering the way he’d held her, seeming to understand her need. What had his wife been like? She still wasn’t sure if he had a child, alive or dead. She was so full of questions but too afraid to ask them, considering his reaction the other times she’d touched on those subjects.
Riding Betsy only made her hip hurt more, but she followed silently, determined not to do any more complaining. This was the third day since her snakebite, and it was vital they reach water today, tomorrow at the latest. She’d spent most of yesterday sleeping, but once when she woke up she caught Chris reading something called Shakespeare.
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