steps to the cabin door, waiting patiently for them to let her in.
“I’ll get your bags,” Jack offered, giving her the space she needed, but keeping an eye on her just the same.
“You don’t have to do that. I can manage.”
“I’ll be surprised if you can get up those five steps to the door,” he offered with a smile to soften the frustration in his voice. He grew more disturbed with every tired movement and sigh she made.
Too tired to argue with him, he was only trying to help, and she was being stubborn.
He isn’t a threat. She repeated that to herself again. And again.
Jenna walked toward the cabin at a snail’s pace, her body rebelling against her brain’s commands. Her leg was getting worse, her back and shoulders stiff. Every move made her muscles ache. Feverish sweat broke out on her forehead and between her breasts.
Jack passed her, went up the steps and into the cabin before she made it to the first step. By the time she made it up to the third, he passed her on the way back to the car and brought up the rest of her bags and groceries. He never said a word about her slow progress, but his warm eyes remained watchful. She had no doubt if he thought she was really in trouble, he’d come to her rescue. Not such a bad feeling, she thought.
She finally made it in the door. Jack stood in the kitchen, putting her groceries in the cupboards.
“You only bought fruit and dry goods? Nothing for the refrigerator?”
“I’ll go back to town in a few days for more. I didn’t know how long it would take to get here, so I only bought essentials.”
“What’s with all the bandages? Are you hurt?” Ridiculous question. The bruises, her exhaustion, her inability to move normally proved she hurt. He needed to know how bad. All the bandages and medicine made him nervous. He didn’t think she’d give him a straight answer, but she surprised him again.
“I have a cut on my thigh. I’ll put a fresh bandage on it. It’ll be fine. No problem.”
Yeah, right, no problem. He should put her up over his shoulder and drag her to a hospital. Let a doctor get those clothes off her and see what they were hiding, find out what was hiding under that pale skin. He hoped she didn’t have any internal injuries.
Jenna ignored his penetrating scrutiny and focused on the beautiful and spacious cabin. The kitchen was off to the back of the living space. Everywhere her gaze fell on wood: wood walls, cabinets, floors, and furniture. She loved it. A large loft with a queen-sized bed framed by massive windows sat at the top of a steep set of stairs. A brown leather sofa faced the fireplace with a cream and navy blue rug under the pine coffee table. A gorgeous river-rock fireplace invited her to set a blaze and curl up in front of it for the next week. That’s just what she needed, someplace soft and warm to lie down and sleep.
Her gaze fell to the wood floor. Flashes of memories poured over her: her lying helpless, bleeding in the cottage, all the pain and destruction. She inhaled sharply. Jack stared at her with blue-gray eyes that saw far more than she wanted him to see.
She tried to cover her behavior. “The cabin is wonderful. I love it. Thanks for renting it to me.”
He frowned, not buying her false exuberance. “I’m glad you like it. It gets cold at night this time of year. I’ll build you a fire and let you get some rest. There’s plenty of wood here and more on the back porch. If you run low, just let me know.”
“I’d love a fire. Thanks.”
He took another long look at her and at the stairs leading to the bed. She wanted to sleep. He wanted her off her feet. He didn’t even want to acknowledge the little daydream he had going of undressing her and laying her out on the cool sheets upstairs and them making a fire of their own.
“Can you make it up those stairs?”
She frowned, the longing for the bed clear in her eyes. “I’ll crash on the couch for a while. Once I’ve had some sleep, I’ll be better.”
“Right. Better is probably relative in your world,” he said under his breath. Her eyes narrowed when she didn’t hear him, and he said, “I’ll help you up to the bed.”