Taming a Texas Rascal (Bad Boy Ranch #6) - Katie Lane Page 0,9
had never left a hospital wearing a gown. Using the walls to keep his balance, he made his way to the bathroom. Once he had relieved himself, he searched for his clothes. He found his duffel bag in a small closet. It had been packed haphazardly, but everything seemed to be there.
As he was pulling on a pair of boxers, the trailer took a sudden turn and he landed on his butt on the floor. His head swam and his stomach lurched. He was still sitting there trying to get his equilibrium when the door swung open and Maisy Sweeney stepped in.
His memory came back in the form of emotions. Consuming desire as he filled his palms with two firm, sweet butt cheeks. Startled shock when he realized who the fine ass belonged to. Guilt and self-loathing at betraying a friend. Cold fear when he discovered the condom in his wallet. A surge of protectiveness when he watched Maisy go flying over Maytag’s head.
“So you’re alive,” she said as she stepped into the trailer. She wore a pair of gray sweats and hot pink flip-flops. The clothes were baggy and hid any outline of womanly curves. And yet, his brain wouldn’t erase what those curves had looked like naked.
He closed his eyes for a minute to block out the image, but it only made it worse. He got to his feet. “Barely alive.” He glanced at the sling on her arm. “You okay?”
“Hell, no, I’m not okay. I have a busted clavicle and will be out of rodeo for the rest of the season—which will probably lose me a sponsorship from Cord Evans. And now I’m saddled with a stubborn cowboy who doesn’t know how to follow the doc’s orders. You should still be in the hospital.”
“I’m fine.” He pulled on his jeans.
“Suffering your third concussion is not fine.”
He stopped buttoning his jeans and stared at her. “Who told you that?”
“I just happened to be in the curtained cubicle right next to yours and overheard the doc talking to you.” She paused. “He seemed to be worried about chronic traumatic encephalopathy and recommended that you quit saddle bronc riding. Which was when you cussed him out and left in nothing but your backless nightie.” Her gaze lowered. “The nurses all agreed that you have a nice butt, by the way.”
He cringed as he sat down on the bench next to the table and pulled on his socks. “Thanks for letting me walk out of the hospital with my ass showing.”
“Hey, I tried to stop you. You should be happy I talked you into letting me drive you back to your hotel. You were planning to walk and half of Houston would’ve gotten a peek at your cheeks.”
He must’ve really gotten his bell rung. He glanced around. “Why am I not at the hotel?”
“Because I couldn’t leave you there when you didn’t know who you were. I mentioned calling your family, but you were pretty adamant about not doing that. And I get it. I have no intention of telling my mom about my busted collarbone either. So I brought you along with me to Simple.”
“Simple? We’re headed to Simple?”
“It’s close and I thought it was a good place for both of us to recuperate. We’re about fifty miles away.”
Since it was too late to argue, he nodded. “Where are my boots?”
Maisy stood on her tiptoes and reached above the table to open a cabinet. As she did, her shirt lifted and he found himself staring at a flat stomach and an inny belly button that was so close he could’ve licked it. He looked away until she had his boots in hand. As he took them, her gaze locked with his.
“You didn’t have to come to my rescue, Sawyer. I could’ve gotten out of the way.”
So that was why she had followed him out of the hospital and taken care of him. She thought she owed him. “You don’t owe me anything, Maisy. I would’ve helped any injured rider.”
She arched an eyebrow. “By throwing your body over them?”
She had a point. He had helped other hurt riders out of the arena, but never at the risk of his own life. He hadn’t even thought when he’d seen her get bucked off. He’d just reacted. Some of his protectiveness came from years of being taught by his daddy that it was a man’s job to protect women. Some of it came from wanting to make up for breaking Lincoln’s trust. And