The Cowboy's Troublemaker by April Murdock

Author:April Murdock [Murdock, April]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sweet River Publishing

Chapter 15

Slightly cold and aching, Renata stretched her arms above her and yawned. The sound of birds chirping, water running somewhere, and other foreign sounds caused her eyes to pop open.

Looking at the clouds above and smelling the wild scent of nature, Renata sat up, and her shoulders slumped. Somehow during the night, she had forgotten about her plight. She hadn’t recalled that she had spent the night outside underneath the gorgeous sky with an equally gorgeous man.

Whipping her head around quickly, Renata’s heart began to race inside of her chest. Where was Chase? Had he left her alone? Renata looked around and spotted Chase further off in the distance, surveying their surroundings.

Scooting onto her knees, Renata prepared to stand. But the excruciating pain that shot through her ankle and up to her knee buckled her.

“Oh mio, Dio!” she cried out, rubbing her ankle.

Just as she’d forgotten about her outdoor overnight excursion, apparently she had forgotten about twisting her ankle, as well. Looking down at it, she realized it had swollen even more overnight. How could she have been so careless as to wear high-heeled shoes on a journey?

Granted, she had not known that they would be stranded. But any sensible person would have made sure they were prepared for comfort if nothing else. Not only had she ruined the expensive heel, but she had injured herself in the process. Renata knew it would be a long time before she would be able to wear heels again.

Chase came running back to her. “Are you okay?” he asked, a worried look darkening his typically light green eyes.

“I tried to stand, but I can’t,” she said, still rubbing her ankle.

He kneeled beside her. “Here, let me take a look at that,” he said, grasping her ankle gently in his hands.

She flinched at the touch of his gentle fingers on her swollen ankle.

“Be careful. It hurts really bad.”

“I know. I just want to take a look at it,” Chase said, smoothing his fingers over her ankle and lightly applying pressure at different points. “Does this hurt?”

“Not so bad right there,” she said, watching as he moved around her ankle.

The proximity of Chase near her was making her dizzy. His natural scent, the heat from his body, and the touch of his fingers were in collusion to drive her crazy. She had to push those thoughts away.

“What about—”

“Ouch!” she screamed out as he touched the inner portion of her ankle while applying pressure to her instep.

“I’m sorry about that. It’s far worse than I originally thought,” Chase reasoned. “I should have had you prop it up overnight to help keep the swelling down, but I didn’t think of that.”

“How do you plan to get back home, Chase? I mean, if there’s no truck and I obviously can’t walk… are you… are you planning to leave me alone again?” she asked, trying to tamp down the rising fear within, but failing miserably.

The compassion in his eyes touched her heart.

“I have to figure something out,” Chase said, pulling his hand down his face and smoothing the hairs of his stubble.

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