The Jarrods: Inheritance

“Thanks.” She did as he said.

“Your sweater’s got dried blood down the back of it,” he said, after he’d eased her out of the padded material. “I don’t know how you’re going to get it over your head without causing pain.” A small pause. “I’ll have to help you off with it.”

She gulped. “You will?”

“Yes.” His voice was nothing but neutral.

She tried to appear nonchalant, too. “Trust me to wear a tight-necked sweater today,” she joked, feeling dizzy again but not from her injuries. It was the thought of him undressing her, even though it made sense to do it this way. She didn’t think she’d be able to get the sweater off without him. She had a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath to cover herself, but that had a wide neck and she could easily take it off herself.

“Right. This won’t take long.” His voice sounded tight and she wondered … “Keep still now.”

He slid her arms out of the sleeves, then she felt him touch the hem of her sweater, and almost like it was in slow motion he started to lift it upward. She could feel him move close … closer still as he inched it up higher and higher …. She could feel his breath change as he neared her breasts, though not once did he touch her in any intimate way.

“Okay, careful now,” he said, as he reached her nape, his voice huskier. “This will be a little tricky.” He moved closer …. “There. That’s it. Now let me ease it over your head.” He moved around to the front of her and eased the knit material gently up over her head, and suddenly it was off and she was sitting there, her gaze level with his belt buckle. And then she raised her eyes to his, saw him looking down at her, and she dropped her eyes to where her T-shirt had ridden up and was revealing her breasts cupped in her lacy blue bra.

She lifted her head again and their eyes locked together. Something dark flared in his, and in retaliation her breathing became practically nonexistent as she remembered their kiss. Until that moment back there on the mountain none of this had been purely about them.

Things had changed.

Now it was.

All at once he twisted jerkily toward the small table and placed the sweater on it, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll leave you to do the rest, but I’ll be back soon to check on you.” His voice sounded rough as he headed for the door. “You should get into bed.”

She realized he was trying to be a gentleman and keep it all under control because she was injured, but what if she wasn’t injured? Would he take her?

The thought was moot, she told herself, swallowing hard and concentrating on what he’d said. “I’m not staying up here all day, Blake. I can sit on the couch downstairs and do some work.” It didn’t feel right to go to bed in the middle of the day. Not unless …

He stopped at the door, his eyes firm. “I won’t let you work, but you can lie on the couch.”

“Good of you,” she joked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

He didn’t smile. He had a hard flush on his face. “I think so,” he muttered, then left her to it, shutting the door behind him and giving her some privacy.

Swallowing, she had to move or he might come back and decide to help her undress the rest of her clothes. And that wouldn’t be such a bad thing on her part, but clearly he didn’t want to right now. She appreciated that he was thinking of her, even as her body craved to be a part of his.

First, she went into her bathroom, groaning when she saw a streak of blood on her cheek and the mess of her hair. Carefully she lifted the T-shirt over her head. Unable to stop herself, she stared at her lace-clad breasts, her cheeks reddening as she thought of Blake seeing the invitation of her body like this.

Filling the sink with warm water, she grabbed a washcloth and cleaned as much of the blood out of her hair as possible, then very gently combed it into place over the cut. She was pleased with the result. If she didn’t know better, and if her head hadn’t been sore, it would be hard to believe she’d just had an accident.

But if she was going to be an invalid today, she may as well be comfortable. She changed into denim jeans and a long-sleeve blouse that buttoned up so she didn’t have to lift it over her head. Blake tapped on the door as she stepped into a pair of slides.

“Come in,” she called out, half-surprised he’d knocked, considering he’d appeared to have taken charge of her welfare.

He pushed open the door then stood there, inspecting her from the face up. “You look much better.”

“I feel better. Thanks.”

Then his gaze traveled downward and a curious look passed over his face. “I don’t remember seeing you in jeans before.”

One glance from him and she could feel how much the jeans hugged her figure. Her stomach fluttered. “I usually only wear them at home.” If they were staying at a hotel, Pine Lodge included, she wore stylish clothes even when going casual. She considered dressing right a part of her job.

“You should wear them more often,” he said, his eyes blank but his voice tight again. He stepped back. “Come on. There’s a couch waiting for you downstairs.”

She avoided his gaze as she walked forward, then went past him in the doorway, but she could feel his presence like a soft touch.

Thankfully soon she was lying on the couch with cushions behind her back and a throw over her body. Did she want a book to read, he asked. A movie on the DVD player? A magazine?

“Perhaps some magazines,” she said, though she didn’t actually feel like doing anything but lying there and being with Blake. “You don’t have to do this,” she said as he went to get them from the rack.

He came back with a selection, his mouth set. “I told you. It’s my fault you were injured in the first place. I shouldn’t have taken you with me.”

“But you were only wanting to show me the bungalow location before I left Aspen,” she said in a flood of words, then saw his mouth tighten further. She understood. She didn’t want to be reminded that she was leaving soon either. “Anyway, what’s done is done. I don’t blame you but if you want to make it up to me, then I’d love a hot drink. A hot chocolate would be nice. With marshmallows.”

“No.”

She blinked. “Why not?”

“Because you shouldn’t be drinking or eating for a few hours. It could make things worse.”

She realized he was right, but, “I’m really thirsty, Blake, and I’m feeling fine now. How about some peppermint tea? That shouldn’t hurt.” She watched him consider that.

He nodded grudgingly. “Only a very weak one, then.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

He set off for the kitchen and she could hear him moving about in there. Her family used to cosset her like this at times, and she had to admit she liked being taken care of by Blake.

He soon returned with her hot drink, then he moved to the table in the corner where they’d set up the office. For a time it remained quiet as she flipped through the magazines and sipped at her tea. Then she began feeling sleepy. Eventually she finished her drink and made herself more comfortable, being careful with her sore head as she curled up on the couch. Her eyes closed and she found herself thinking about her and Blake back on the mountain. She could still remember the feel of his lips against …

The phone woke her with a start and she heard Blake swearing as he snatched it from the handset. She sat up and tidied herself, listening to his conversation, knowing someone in his family was inquiring about her. He soon ended the call.

“Sorry about that,” he told her. “It was Guy checking to see how you were. He’d heard about the accident from Avery.”

“Oh, that’s nice of him.”

The phone rang again and Blake reached for it. “Yes, she’s fine, Gavin, but I’ll be keeping an eye on her anyway.” She saw Blake listen, then dart a look at her, before turning away. “You’re a funny guy, Gav.” Then he hung up.

Curious, she asked, “What did he say?”

“Nothing much.”

Had Gavin made a brotherly comment about keeping an eye on her? Not that she minded. It might work in her favor. “That’s good of your family to be checking on me.”

“You’re supposed to be resting. I don’t want them interrupting that.”

His comment warmed her as she glanced at the wall clock, surprised to see the time. “I must have been asleep a while.”

“An hour.”

So he’d been keeping an eye on her. “That long? I didn’t realize.”

“I did.”

The phone rang again and he muttered something low. This time it was Trevor. No sooner had he hung up than they heard car doors slam shut and Blake strode over to look out the window.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Melissa and Shane.”

She watched him start toward the front door and quickly called his name. He stopped to look at her. “You will let them in, won’t you?”

His mouth tightened. “For a short while.”

“Be nice,” she chided gently, and he shot her a look saying that was a given. “You know what I mean, Blake. I think it’s wonderful of your family to be concerned for me.”

His mouth softened a little. “Yeah, they’re pretty good when they want to be.”

Soon Blake’s sister Melissa and her new fiancé, Shane McDermott, came into the lodge, bringing a breath of crisp, fresh air.

Melissa’s long, wavy, blond hair flew behind her as she made a beeline for the couch. “Samantha! We heard you’d had an accident. Are you okay?”

Samantha was touched that they’d thought to drop by. “I’m fine, Melissa. Thank you for thinking of me.”

“She’s fine for the moment,” Blake said, standing closest to the door, as if ready to open it in a moment’s notice. “But she needs to rest as much as possible.”

Shane stood beside him but he at least smiled at her, unlike Blake. “Good to see you, Samantha,” he said, inclining his head in the cowboy way.

Samantha smiled back at the handsome man. Shane was the architect who’d designed the resort’s riding stables. He might look urban and sophisticated, but he’d been raised on a nearby ranch and his cowboy status couldn’t be disputed. “You, too, Shane.”

Melissa sank down on one of the lounge chairs and frowned at Samantha. “You do look pale. So tell me. What happened?” Without giving her time to reply, she glanced at the men. “Blake, I’d love a hot chocolate so be a dear and make me one, won’t you?” She darted a look at Samantha. “What about you, honey?”

Samantha wrinkled her nose. “Blake won’t let me.”

Melissa seemed to consider that, then darted a look at her brother before nodding at Samantha. “Yes, that’s probably best.” She looked at her fiancé. “Shane, darling, would you mind helping Blake in the kitchen? I’m not sure he knows his way around it,” she teased.

Blake eased into his first smile since they’d arrived. “You’d be surprised, Melissa.”

Melissa patted the small hump of her stomach on her slightly curvy figure. “You’d better hurry. This baby is getting hungry.” She winked at Samantha.

Samantha smiled but as the men left them alone and she looked at Blake’s sister, she felt a tug deep inside her chest. Melissa had a radiant glow about her. She’d only recently announced her pregnancy to Shane and they were soon to be married. They’d had a few ups and downs but now all was well.

Samantha was very happy for Melissa, and yet she felt sad for herself, with this inexplicable ache in the region of her heart. One day she wanted a baby and a family of her own, but she couldn’t imagine any man she wanted to father them—except for maybe Blake. That would mean he would have to marry her, but he didn’t believe in happily-ever-after, and she wasn’t ready for that either.

Still, she couldn’t shake off the thought of cuddling Blake’s baby in her arms. It was natural for a woman to think about having children with the man she was attracted to, right? Strangely, she didn’t ever remember thinking about having Carl’s children. Her notion of being married to him had merely been about them traveling the world together. It hadn’t progressed further than that. Thank the Lord!

“Are you okay, Samantha?”

She managed a smile. “Apart from a small headache, I’m fine.”

Melissa’s piercing blue eyes suddenly seemed so like Blake’s. “I hear you’re leaving us soon?”

This was why the other woman had got the men out of the way. Melissa wanted to question her.

Samantha tried to look at peace with her decision. “Yes, it’s time to move on to new pastures.”

“Blake will miss you.”

“So everyone keeps telling me,” Samantha said wryly, but was grateful that Shane came back in right then to ask Melissa a question about how hot she wanted her drink. Once he left again Samantha changed the conversation to the ranch where Shane had grown up. Melissa was more than happy to talk about her fiancé.

The other couple stayed for a while, until Blake shooed them out, reminding them that a certain person needed to rest up.

“Right,” Blake said, once they’d gone. “I’ll get some more work out of the way, then how does an omelet sound for dinner? I don’t think you should eat anything too heavy, just in case. It’s not a good thing to have a full stomach.”

She looked at him in mild amusement. “Is this Doctor Jarrod speaking?”

He didn’t seem to find that funny. “Yes, so take note.”

“I would, only you won’t let me work,” she quipped.

“Funny,” he muttered, then went back to his paperwork. She sighed. He was taking it all so seriously, and while that was sweet of him, it wasn’t necessary.

After that, Samantha was itching to get up and move around but knew it was best she take things easy. For something to do while she was waiting for Blake to finish working, she popped a movie in the DVD and began watching it with earphones so that she didn’t disturb him. It was a romantic comedy she hadn’t seen before and it made her giggle. She didn’t realize she’d been laughing loudly until suddenly she became aware of Blake standing near the couch.

She paused the movie and looked up at him as she pulled out her earbuds. “I’m sorry. Is this interrupting your work?”

“No.” He went still. “It’s good to hear you laugh. You don’t do it often enough.”

Her pulse was skipping beats. “The job isn’t exactly a laugh a minute,” she joked. Then realized how that might sound. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you meant,” he said easily enough as he leaned over and pulled the earplug cord out of the television. Picking up the remote, he turned the movie back on, only instead of going back to his work he sat down on the other chair.

She blinked in mild surprise, then tried to concentrate as he began watching the movie with her. He’d only missed about fifteen minutes of the story, so they both watched it together. It was amusing enough that she could feel herself relax, and when it was finished even Blake looked relaxed. She was glad about that. He worked too hard at times, and took his responsibilities too seriously.

Later, in spite of him telling her to stay on the couch, she followed him into the kitchen where he was going to prepare dinner. “I need to walk. My legs are getting numb.”

His brows immediately drew together on full medical alert. “They feel numb? Are you getting any pins and needles? Is it hard to walk or are—”

“Blake, I was merely trying to say I wanted to move around,” she cut across him, somewhat bemused by his agitation.

He grimaced. “Okay, so that was a mild over-reaction.”

“Mild?” she teased.

He gave a self-deprecating smile, then jerked his head toward the bench. “Go sit over there and take it easy.”

She ignored that and turned toward the cupboard. “I’ll put out the place mats and cutlery first. We can eat in here.”

He must have known it was a waste of time to argue because he nodded, then went back to preparing the omelet. It was a strange feeling watching him cook for her. It would be another memory to take away when she left.

Soon they were sitting down on the tall stools to eat and the next hour flew by as they chatted. As if they both didn’t want to ruin the moment, neither of them spoke about her leaving.

Then he mentioned Donald Jarrod in passing, and that made her think. Blake had never spoken about his father while they were in Vegas, but now they were in Aspen she’d managed to put two and two together. “Your dad was pretty hard on you, wasn’t he?”

He tensed even as he gave a light shrug. “After my mother died, he was hard on all his children.”

She considered him. “But harder on you.”

A flash of surprise crossed his face. “Yes. How did you know?”

“You were the eldest. He seems to have been a man who had set ideas about the order of things and didn’t give an inch.”

“He was. Very much so.”

“Tell me more.”

He paused and for a moment she didn’t think he would tell her. Then, “Guy was only younger by a few minutes but it could have been years in my father’s eyes. I was the oldest, so it was up to me to make sure I took responsibility for everything. None of us ever really got to play while growing up, but I suppose I got even less time than the rest.”

The thought upset her. “That’s sad.”

He shrugged. “My father actually did us a favor. We grew up being very independent. We don’t need anyone.”

She could see that. And that was even sadder, but she didn’t say so. She tilted her head. “It still would’ve been hard losing your mother like that when you were just a small boy. And then having your father distance himself would have made it far worse. Children don’t understand why love has been withdrawn. They just know.”

His expression suddenly bordered on mockery and she knew she’d touched a nerve. “And you understand the way a child’s mind works when he loses a parent, do you?”

She pulled a face. He knew very well both her parents were alive. “Well, no, but—”

“I rest my case.”

“Blake, I don’t think it’s too hard to comprehend what you must have gone through.”

Anger flashed across his face. “Enough, Samantha. I don’t want or need your sympathy for something that happened a long time ago.”

“But—”

The telephone rang and he snatched it up from the wall beside him, almost barking into it. His mouth tightened. “Hang on, Erica. I’ll put her on.” He handed the phone over to Samantha.

“I see Blake’s being his usual talkative self,” Erica mused down the line. She didn’t wait for Samantha to agree. “I heard about your accident and just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Samantha appreciated her concern. “I’m fine, thanks, Erica.” She forced herself to sound cheery. “Blake and I just had dinner. He cooked me an omelet.”

An eloquent silence came from Erica’s end. “A man of many talents,” she finally said. “I’d better let you go, then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up before Samantha could respond.

Samantha took her time placing the receiver back down, hiding her expression from him. She wouldn’t tell Blake what Erica had been thinking. That his half sister was delighted the two of them were bonding, even if Blake did sound like a grouch. “That was really nice of her to call.”

His lips twisted. “I wonder if I have any relatives left who might like to interrupt us tonight?”

Her brow creased with worry. “You really should give Erica a chance.”

“To do what?”

Anger stirred the air, though she knew it wasn’t directed at her. She tilted her head. “Do you blame Erica for your father’s affair with her mother?” she said, coming right out and saying it.

He didn’t look pleased by her comment. “I’m not blaming Erica for what my father did. I just don’t want her coming in here and splitting up the family. I’m not convinced she’ll stay in Aspen.”

She didn’t know how he could say that. Was he blind? “She and Christian are so in love. And she’s in love with everyone here at Jarrod Ridge, too. Their hearts are here, Blake. They won’t leave you.”

He swore. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if they leave or not. This isn’t about what I feel anyway. It’s about her causing problems for the family and then walking away without a care in the world.”

“I’m sure that won’t happen. Erica isn’t like that.”

One eyebrow shot up. “You know her so well, do you?”

“Do you?”

A muscle began ticking along his jaw. “Thank you for your opinion, but I don’t need it.” He pushed to his feet and began collecting the plates, taking them over to the dishwasher. “Go into the living room. I’ll bring in the coffee.”

For a few moments she didn’t move. She watched his rigid back and felt depressed by his remoteness and abruptness. She’d pushed him hard just now and she wasn’t sure why, except that she somehow felt she was fighting not just for Erica’s sake but for Blake’s, as well. If she could at least get him to relent toward Erica then maybe when she left, her time here would have been of value. Maybe then something good would have come from all this. She sighed. Or was she simply looking for something to make herself feel good about leaving Blake?

And that brought her back to what she’d said before about Erica leaving him. Was that the crux of the matter? It occurred to her then that Blake may have abandonment issues with his mother dying, and now that made it difficult for him to get close to his half sister. Or to get close to anyone, including herself.

Someone rang the doorbell and Blake swore again.

“That’ll be Joel,” Samantha reminded him. “He said he would check on me.”

“Stay there,” he muttered and strode past her to let in the other man.

A couple of seconds later Joel breezed into the kitchen. She noticed he took in the homey scene, but he was all professional while he checked her over and announced he was pleased.

Then, “We have to get you better for tomorrow night,” he teased, but she saw him dart a look at Blake and she suddenly had the feeling there was more to this. He seemed to be letting Blake know he was staking a claim.

“Tomorrow night?” Blake asked in a menacing voice.

Joel closed up his medical bag. “Samantha and I have a date for Monday night.” He winked at her. “We’re going to the movies.”

Samantha wanted to say she hadn’t actually accepted the invitation but the displeased look in Blake’s eyes kept her quiet.

“Let’s see how she feels first,” Blake said grimly, then stepped back in clear indication that the doctor should precede him to the front door.

Joel hesitated, like he wasn’t about to take orders, then he must have remembered that Blake was his boss. He inclined his head at Samantha. “I’ll call you in the morning,” he told her, picking up his bag.

He left the room and Blake saw him out, and Samantha couldn’t help but wonder once again if Blake might be jealous of Joel. The thought made her heartbeat pick up speed. Blake had certainly wanted to kiss her back there on the mountain and surely that had to mean something.

Didn’t it?

All at once she needed to know what he felt for her. “Joel finds me attractive, don’t you think?” she said dreamily as Blake came back in the kitchen looking anything but relaxed.

His eyes filled with meaning. “Sure he does,” he said cynically.

She couldn’t let him get away with that. “What does that mean?”

“Just that any woman with the right equipment can attract a man. And believe me, you’ve got the right equipment,” he drawled, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets, all at once looking very much in charge of himself, making her want to bring him down a peg or two.

“Thanks for the assumption that I’m only good for sex,” she said with faint indignation.

His hands came out of his pockets and his complacency vanished. “I didn’t say that,” he retorted, then strode over to check on the coffee. He spun back around. “Dammit, what the hell are you doing with those men anyway? You don’t need them. They’re beneath you.”

Startled, she gathered her wits about her. This was more like it. “Maybe I want them beneath me,” she joked.