and dropped to his knees. “Hey, girl.” His quiet soothing continued as he reached into the foot space of the desk and gently maneuvered a beautiful black-and-brown dog out into the light.
The dog’s breathing seemed labored, and scratches marred her nose and face, including one eye that looked almost swollen shut.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure.” Cash ran his hands over the animal. “What happened, Cocoa?”
She answered with a high-pitched whine.
Olivia sank to the cement floor next to Cash, stomach churning when he swiped over the dog’s shoulder and his hands came away covered in bright red blood.
“She must have gotten into a tussle with something. She’ll be all right. I just need to clean her up and then wrap up that spot on her shoulder.”
“You’re going to do it yourself?”
When Cash grabbed a rag from one of the cupboards above them and wiped his bloodstained hands on it, Olivia pressed her lips together and looked away.
“Yep.” He looked at her, amused. “But that doesn’t mean you have to stay.”
Cocoa whimpered and scooted over, depositing her head in Olivia’s lap. Any reservations Olivia had about staying were forgotten. She took over for Cash’s soothing, running her fingers over the soft fur behind Cocoa’s ears and along her back—anyplace she didn’t seem injured. “If you’re staying, I’m staying.”
Cash disappeared into the other part of the barn, coming back with a handful of supplies. He cleaned the wound on the dog’s shoulder first.
“See? It’s not very big. I think I can wrap it up tight instead of doing stitches.”
Olivia slammed her eyelids shut when Cash attempted to show her what he was doing.
He chuckled. “Not much for blood?”
“You could say that.” Again. Olivia continued to soothe Cocoa as Cash applied topical anesthetic and then ointment to each of the scratches across the dog’s face. Cocoa didn’t flinch or move at Cash’s gentle and efficient movements. But when he moved to the open wound, she whimpered and looked up at Olivia with one good eye, pain evident.
“It’s okay, sweet girl. In no time at all you’ll be running around again. He’s almost done.” Olivia glanced at Cash. “Aren’t you?”
Cash continued his ministrations. “Yep, but if you keep up all that sweet talk, Cocoa’s going to milk this thing some more and find a few more injuries to complain about.”
Olivia ignored the warmth cascading through her at Cash’s words and his close proximity, instead focusing on the beautiful animal in her lap.
After wrapping a bandage around Cocoa’s shoulder, Cash secured it with medical tape. “There. All done. Now we just have to make sure she keeps the thing on.” Cash rubbed Cocoa behind the ears. “Do you hear me, girl? No chewing.”
The world tilted. Olivia threw a hand out to the cool cement floor, hoping to steady herself. Surely she wouldn’t faint now.
Cocoa moved her head to the floor as if she could sense Olivia’s unease.
“Olivia?” Cash knelt in front of her, studying her much like he had Cocoa only minutes before. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She forced a smile to her voice and her face. “You have two heads, but other than that, I’m good.”
She needed to get out of this barn and find some fresh air. Olivia popped up and the walls swirled and spun. She imagined shoving her feet down through the cement floor in order to steady her swaying body, but instead, two warm arms wrapped around her. She let her face rest against Cash’s soft T-shirt and rock-hard shoulder as the scent of that soap surrounded her.
How many times could she end up in this man’s arms by accident?
She was afraid the answer to that question was not nearly enough.
* * *
Cash should let go. Olivia seemed better, but his own pulse raced as though he’d just run across miles of ranch land. What was it about this woman that messed with him? He’d been attracted before, but not like this. It unnerved him the way she seemed all soft and sweet one second and then toed up to his sister in attitude the next.
Wanting to comfort, Cash allowed himself to slide a hand down her satin hair one time, releasing the scent of her mint shampoo.
“Doing better?” He ducked to look into her face.
She nodded, not meeting his gaze, then stepped away. He clenched his fists to keep from reaching for her again.
“I need to go.” Olivia walked outside and Cash followed, turning off the lights and sliding the barn doors shut behind them.
Under the newly darkened sky sprinkled with stars, Olivia paused and took a few deep breaths. The vastness of the charcoal backdrop and the quiet night left Cash feeling as though they were the only two people in the world.
Not exactly what he needed right now.
“Thanks for dinner.” Olivia’s quiet voice interrupted his off-limits thoughts.
“Thanks for helping my sister.”
“You’re welcome.”
Cash decided she looked a little less green. “Do I need to drive you home? Or follow you?”
She laughed. “I can drive myself home and no, you don’t need to follow.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t want—”
“I’m fine.” Olivia ran a hand through her hair, sending the tips dancing across her light blue V-neck T-shirt. “It usually only takes me a few minutes to recover. I can drive. I promise.”
They walked to the house and Olivia retrieved her purse. Cash stood on the front porch and watched as she drove away, thinking the new volleyball coach had revealed something to him tonight that he’d never realized in all the years he’d lived on the ranch.
He could be jealous of his dog.
Olivia knocked on the Maddoxes’ screen door the next Thursday, the sounds and smells of dinner wafting into the evening. An afternoon thunderstorm had provided a break from the stifling heat, and she welcomed the slightly cooler air whispering across her skin. Olivia had seen Cash a few times this week—at a fund-raising event, church and last night’s game. Amazingly, she’d managed to avoid falling into the man’s arms for the past seven days. The two of them had also kept any conversations at parent-teacher level and mostly centered on Rachel. Now, if Olivia could just keep up the same track record tonight.
“Come in,” Cash called from the kitchen and Olivia let herself in, finding him taking a pan out of the oven. And no sign of Rachel. Hopefully the
