and began to hobble toward the door.
She stepped directly into his path, hands on her hips. “Trying to do it on your own will only hinder your healing.”
“Your concern is touching, Miss O’Malley.” He smirked, and his torn lip smarted.
Her ire sparked. “Will you accept my help or not, Mr. Parker?”
“I don’t have a chance against your stubbornness, do I?”
Rolling her eyes, she moved close to his side and anchored her arm around his waist. Grant curved his arm about her shoulders, her softness and warmth a shock to his equanimity. Their progression proved awkward. Her head knocked into his chin several times. He was trying not to lean on her too much, which served to pull at his stitches. It was a relief to reach the yard.
The main cabin, barn and outbuildings inhabited a small clearing in what amounted to a massive mountainous forest. The tips of the mountains, arrayed in vibrant autumn attire, were visible above the treetops. To their left, a rutted dirt lane merged with a wider one in the distance. A sizable vegetable garden boasted fat orange pumpkins and yellow squash, broccoli and cabbages. Chickens strutted near their coop. A rural paradise.
Removing his arm, he said, “Can I ask you something?”
Jessica retreated a safe distance away. “You can ask. I may not answer.”
“Were you and Sheriff Timmons a couple?”
She gave a huff of disbelieving laughter. “What? No! He’s at least a decade older than me. He’s not the type of man I’d be interested in. What gave you that idea?”
“I got the impression you weren’t comfortable having him around. I thought maybe you and he...”
Her jaw snapped shut, and the shadows returned. “That’s not the case.”
“What’s wrong with the sheriff, then?”
“We are not discussing my preferences.”
He didn’t heed the warning in her expression. Scraping his fingers along the itchy stubble lining his cheek, he admitted, “I heard you crying last night.”
Consternation flushed her cheeks a bright apple red. Shame and raw anguish passed over her features.
“Your mother mentioned—”
Jessica gasped. Splotches of hot color crept up her neck. “She talked to you about me? What did she say?”
Wrong move. Wrong words. Should’ve kept his big mouth shut.
He held his palms up. “Nothing specific. She said you’d experienced some difficulties. That’s all.”
Her thick auburn lashes swept down, shutting him out. “That was not her place.” Mortification laced her tone. “What could she have been thinking? You’re a stranger.”
“True. And I have no past experiences to draw on that would help you whatsoever. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Stranger or not, amnesia or not, you can’t help me. No one can. I got myself into a mess, all right? The ramifications are mine to deal with alone.”
“You sure it has to be that way?”
“I appreciate your concern, Grant. I do. But you’re not gonna be here long enough to matter.”
* * *
Jessica watched him limp across the yard and disappear around the corner of the cabin. No wonder he’d flat out dismissed her offer of assistance. She’d been rude.
Humiliation had spurred the hasty words. That and outrage. Knowing her mother and Grant had discussed her spectacular mistakes made her burn with embarrassment. That she hadn’t divulged specifics didn’t matter. Grant hadn’t earned their trust. He was a stranger in their home.
A handsome stranger whose presence made her evaluate her current circumstances and the sad fact that she was alone. Helping him outside in what had amounted to an awkward side embrace, she’d been overwhelmed by his latent strength, the power coiled in those honed muscles. His heat and earthy scent had taunted her, reminding her of what she might never have—someone special who meant more to her than everyone else on earth, someone worthy of her trust and admiration.
The longing for love and romance scared her. Under absolutely no circumstances could she be attracted to this man. He was the worst possible person to reawaken long-buried dreams. If she ever decided to reenter the world of courting and suitors, she would take the safe route. A pity the reverend was triple her age and happily married.
Several riders entered the lane behind her. Swinging around, she registered her cousins’ approach with mixed feelings. Josh, Nathan and Caleb were more like brothers than cousins. Having grown up on neighboring farms, they’d shared meals and holidays, gotten into mischief together, stuck up for one another. And while she loved them dearly, she didn’t appreciate it when they stuck their collective noses into her business.
Josh was the first to dismount and approach. The oldest brother, he wore his wheat-colored hair short. A trim mustache and goatee framed his mouth. The quiet, intelligent type, he looked to be on a slow simmer.
“We heard about your visitor,” he said, grip on his waistband tightening.
Nathan joined him, his silver eyes stormy beneath his hat’s brim. “What were you thinking, Jess? Will came home this morning spinning wild tales. Are they true?”
Raven-haired Caleb stalked over, the angry scar around his eye more pinched than usual. He didn’t have to say a word. All it took was one imperious glare for her to guess his thoughts.
Jessica squared off against the trio. “First of all, he isn’t my visitor. So all this protective outrage is wasted on me.” She made a circling motion in the air. “Grant is Ma’s project. Take your complaints up with her. Second, he’s suffering from several wounds, not to mention memory loss, so leave him alone.”
Caleb’s mouth twisted into a cynical slash. “You believe his story?”
“I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
Grant’s sincerity seemed awfully authentic, and she found herself leaning toward belief. But resistance lingered. Look at how Lee had convinced her he was a run-of-the-mill farmer, when right under her nose he’d been cooking up moonshine to distribute across the state and beyond.
Their expressions turned frosty. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Grant register their animosity and come to a halt. Caleb made to move past her. Slapping her hand again his chest, she inserted steel into her voice. “He’s injured.”
“So?”
“So take it easy.”
“Relax, cuz. I’m just gonna talk to the man.”
Trailing behind them, praying for a peaceful outcome, she studied Grant’s busted-up face. Wariness was notable in his stiff shoulders and stance, but the determined set of his jaw said he wasn’t going to back down. The cabin wall behind him providing support, he didn’t waver beneath
