Her Kind of Hero - Cindy Kirk Page 0,46

got some WD-40 out of his truck and sprayed the areas where we were stung.”

Mitzi had heard of the folk remedy but had never known anyone who’d used it. “I wondered about the oily substance on your arm.”

“It sounded weird to me,” Keenan said with a sheepish grin. “When Bill said his granny swore by it, we decided to give it a try.”

“Well, the home remedy appears to have worked.” Mitzi smiled and gently repositioned the ice bag.

“You have good hands.”

When she looked up, her gaze met his. Memories flooded back. A cozy room. Rain pitter-pattering on the roof. The feel of Keenan’s warm flesh against her...

“I’m not the only one. You have good hands, too,” she murmured in a low tone.

His lips quirked in a grin and she basked in the warmth of his smile.

They’d shared so much. In the short time she’d known him, Mitzi had come to consider Keenan a close friend. She thought she knew everything there was to know about him. Today had shown her she’d been wrong. “I didn’t realize you were a runner.”

“I’m not.” He shrugged. “Stone Craft is one of the sponsors. Joel thought it was important we participate. I thought it’d be fun. I didn’t count on hornets making an appearance.”

“What are you doing this evening—?” she impulsively began.

“Keenan.” Gabe paused at the entrance of the tent. “Joel and I aren’t about to let a few oversized wasps keep us down. We’re going to finish the race. You coming?”

“You bet.” Keenan rose, gave Mitzi’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Yeah,” Mitzi managed to mumble. “I’ll see you around.”

“Wow,” one of the nurses said to Mitzi as Keenan strode out. “He sure is hot. Who is he?”

Keenan disappeared from view and Mitzi resisted the urge to sigh. “A friend. A good friend.”

On Sunday, Keenan dressed for church and told himself he’d done the right thing by keeping his distance from Mitzi. Though he’d accepted her apology and she seemed to enjoy riding horses with him, during the evening at the Randall ranch he’d sensed her distancing herself from him. Keenan got the feeling if he pushed for more closeness, she’d pull all the way back.

That he wouldn’t allow to occur. While he might not be looking for anything serious—and she’d made it perfectly clear she sure as heck wasn’t—he didn’t want her to break all ties. So he was giving her breathing room, time to realize she wasn’t the only one committed to keeping things light.

Yet, every night when five o’clock rolled around, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from lingering just a little longer than everyone else, hoping to run into her.

Having their paths cross in the medical tent at the race had been a stroke of good luck. It had been an extra bonus that she’d been the one to tend to his wounds.

Her touch had been gentle, her eyes filled with such compassion, he’d been tempted to ask if he could buy her dinner as a gesture of thanks. But wariness still lurked in those blue depths, so he’d kept his mouth shut.

He paused at the stoplight several blocks from the church and gazed down at the brown pants and the cream-colored shirt he’d picked up at the big-box store where he and Mitzi had once “shopped” for samples.

Betsy had urged him to come to church today, told him she missed seeing him. How could he refuse?

He’d already agreed when she mentioned going out for breakfast after the service. Apparently Sunday breakfast at The Coffee Pot was practically a tradition among their group of friends.

Is Mitzi part of the group that meets? he wanted to ask, but kept his mouth shut. Though he didn’t like keeping things from his sister and her husband—who was one of his closest friends—neither did he want them speculating about his relationship with Mitzi.

He and Mitzi didn’t have a relationship. They were simply friends.

Friends who’d slept together.

The sex had exceeded his wildest expectations. Of course, because he’d been celibate for the past three years, any sex might seem phenomenal. Keenan suspected it had been so extraordinary because of the connection he and Mitzi shared. Though he wasn’t about to put his heart out there to get stomped on, he liked knowing he was capable of feeling close to someone.

By the time Keenan parked and entered the small white church, everyone was standing for the first hymn. He glanced over the crowd but couldn’t pick out Betsy and Ryan. For a