baby, and that was something she didn’t think she would ever be able to get past.
She jumped when Sam reached over and placed his index finger to her mouth to stop her from nibbling on her lower lip. “Sweetheart, if you don’t stop that, there won’t be anything left for me to kiss.”
Hoping to change the subject, she took a deep breath and nodded toward the house. “It looks like your brothers are here to visit with you while I go into town to pick up a few things.”
“I don’t need a damn babysitter,” he said, clearly irritated by the thought.
“This isn’t up for debate, Sam.” She shook her head. At times, his pride was one of the most infuriating things about him. “You’re not calling the shots here—I am. The doctor said someone needed to be with you at all times and that’s exactly what’s going to happen. You might as well accept that.”
“We’ll see,” he said, indicating that he wasn’t going to make things easy.
When she parked the SUV, Sam got out of the truck before she could tell him to wait until she made sure he was steady enough to make it to the house. Pointing to the five men on the back porch having a beer, he called, “Hey, grab me one of those.”
“Don’t you dare,” Bria warned them as she closed the driver’s door. “The doctor said no alcoholic beverages.” Coming around the front of the Explorer, she asked, “Do you feel all right? You aren’t dizzy, are you?”
“I’m not a hothouse flower, Bria,” he said impatiently. “Other than not being able to remember the past six months, I’m fine. I could have driven us home and I don’t see why I can’t have a beer. It doesn’t have that much alcohol in it.”
“Let me tell you something, Sam Rafferty,” she said sternly. “You’re going to do exactly what the doctor outlined in the release instructions or I swear I’ll—”
“Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you start pitching a hissy fit?” he interrupted, tenderly touching her cheek. The gesture and his wicked grin sent a tiny thrill straight up her spine, distracting her. She had missed his touch and playfulness. It wasn’t something she had seen a lot of since he started the Sugar Creek Rodeo Company right after they married. “As soon as my brothers leave I’ll show you what it does to me.”
Bria forced herself to ignore the tremendous yearning that coursed through her. Lovemaking had been the one area of their marriage that was everything it should have been—at least it had been when he wasn’t traveling from one rodeo to another. But just because Sam didn’t remember they were calling it quits was no excuse for her to forget and give in to the temptation of being held by him once again. Leaving had been hard enough the first time, making love with him now would only make it doubly so when he regained his memory and she had to leave again.
“There won’t be any of that, either,” she said as much for her own benefit as it was for his. “You’re not supposed to get overly excited or stressed.”
“Sweetheart, making love isn’t stressful,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked toward the back-porch steps. “It’s actually a great stress reliever, not to mention just plain fun.”
Her cheeks heated. “Shh. Your brothers will hear.”
“I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be all that shocked,” he teased. “I think they know married folks carry on like that.”
Sam suddenly stopped walking and she could tell that he was having a problem by the way he leaned on her for support. “Nate! I need help! Sam’s dizzy!”
Nate and the other four men were down the steps and at Sam’s side in a flash. “Let’s get you into the house, bro,” Nate said, lifting Sam’s arm to his shoulders to relieve the weight from Bria.
“I can make it on my own steam,” Sam insisted. A muscle along his jaw worked furiously, indicating that he was fighting with everything he had to will the vertigo away.
Shaking her head at his foolish pride, Bria let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m going to let you all watch him while I go to town to buy groceries and some other necessities.”
“You are coming back, aren’t you?” Nate asked a little too quickly.
“Why wouldn’t she come back?” Sam frowned. “She lives here. Where else would she go?”
“Yes, I’ll be back,” she promised, ducking from