Still holding hands, the girls backed toward the house, then turned and ran up the steps. When the screen door slammed behind them, Hannah had to swallow the emotion rising in her. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if this stranger hadn’t come along when he had. What she needed to focus on was that Maddie was fine, and the man who’d saved her needed attention.
“I’m sorry about your bike,” Hannah said. “I’ll cover any expenses for repairs, plus medical bills and any other costs incurred to you.”
Of course, she had no idea how she would do that, but she’d deal with that later.
“Forget about it.” He started to rise again, then swayed slightly. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not fine,” Hannah insisted. “Now lie back down.”
Seth didn’t want to lie back down. He wanted to get on his bike and get the hell out of this town before any more disasters befell him. But he wasn’t so stupid as not to realize that it was his head spinning, not the ground underneath him.
Dammit, anyway.
He just needed a minute, that was all, he told himself. Maybe two or three, before his equilibrium settled back down again.
He looked at the woman kneeling beside him. She was slender, with a wild mass of blond curls tumbling around her porcelain-smooth, heart-shaped face. Her eyes were as big and blue as the sky overhead, her lashes thick and dark.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. Wide, curved at the corners, inviting.
Damn.
Then his gaze dropped lower, over the pink T-shirt she wore and he saw the blood. He frowned. “Is that mine?”
She glanced down. “Your head is bleeding. You really shouldn’t move until the doctor gets here.”
“I don’t need a doctor.” He attempted to stand, hesitated when the ground tilted, then pushed himself up onto his feet.
And immediately felt his legs buckle.
The woman’s arms circled him, steadied him even as the world around him swirled. He had to hold on or bring both of them down. He wrapped his arms around her, blinked several times and sucked in a breath at the rocket of pain shooting up his left leg.
“That’s gotta hurt,” the woman—Hannah—said impatiently. “Now are you going to lie back down, or do I have to get tough?”
If his leg weren’t hurting so badly, Seth might have laughed at Hannah’s threat. Since she weighed nearly half what he did and was probably six or seven inches shorter than him, he couldn’t imagine this woman getting tough.
But as she held him close against her, as the feel of her soft breasts pressed against his chest registered through the haze of pain, Seth began to imagine other things. His body responded to her closeness and the faint scent of her floral perfume. Though he was certain he didn’t need her assistance, he let her hold him for a moment, let himself enjoy her arms circling his chest and the feel of her slender curves pressed against him. He might be injured, but he certainly wasn’t dead.
“I really think you should lie down now,” she persisted.
In a different scenario, one where they were both naked, those words would have been music to his ears and he would have readily agreed. In this case, unfortunately, he simply wanted to gain his balance back and get the hell out of town.
He stepped away from the woman, wobbled a bit, then looked at his bike. He could see the front rim was twisted. Not good, he thought with a frown.
At the sound of a close, low growl, Seth whipped his head back around, which made the earth spin again.
Definitely not good.
Seth watched helplessly as a German shepherd the size of a pony came tearing at him.
Two
“Beau! Down!”
The animal stopped instantly at the woman’s command and went into a crouch. Seth released the breath he’d been holding.
Good God, he thought. What next? A swarm of killer bees would rain down on him or maybe a meteor would fall out of the sky and he’d be right in its path?
“Good boy,” Hannah said sweetly to the dog. “Stay.”
Beau wagged his tail and obeyed Hannah’s command, but his black eyes quickly darted back to the stranger.
“Nice dog you’ve got there.” Seth kept a close eye on the animal.
“He belongs to Mrs. Peterson, but he’s sort of adopted me and the girls. He’ll be fine now.” Hannah turned back around. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Did I say I was worried?” Seth said irritably. “I crash my motorcycle through fences, fall out of trees and face ferocious dogs all the time. Just another day in the life.”
Hannah raised a brow. “You must have a very interesting life, Mr—”
“Granger. Seth Granger.”
“Well, Mr. Granger,” she said. “Since you’re so determined to be up, why don’t we get you inside? The doctor should be here shortly and he can take a look at that head of yours.”
“There’s nothing to look at,” Seth insisted, then frowned when the woman smiled. “I mean, I’m fine.”
“Maybe so, but it wouldn’t hurt to—”
“Look.” He brushed grass off his shirt. “I appreciate your concern, and I’m glad your little girl is all right. I’ll just stop by a repair shop in town and have my bike checked, then be on my way.”
Seth wasn’t certain exactly what happened next. He’d taken a step toward his bike and his leg just went out from under him. Hannah gasped and made a lunge at him, but as her arms came around him, intended to stop his fall, she went down, too.
Because he couldn’t stop it, he held her tight and brought her down on top of him, rather than underneath him.
Damn. This was the second time he’d found himself holding this woman close. She felt even better this time, with her body snug against his, lying on top of him. The heat of her skin seeped through his T-shirt and the feel of her long legs stretched out over his made the pain in his leg and the pounding in his head secondary.
At the sound of a low growl, Seth closed his eyes, then sighed heavily.
“All right,” he said through clenched teeth. “You and Killer here win. I’ll wait for the doc.”
“You’re a lucky man.” Dr. Lansky, dressed in a blue plaid shirt and beige fisherman shorts, pushed his glasses up his nose as he stared at his patient’s leg. “Looks like you’ve got just a nasty sprain instead of a break.”
Since the doctor and Hannah had brought Seth into the house and settled him on the sofa, then stripped off his torn
