Under the Cowboy's Control (11 page)

Now he knew he couldn't do that. No way could he trust himself to strip her. He was already on such a tight rope, that any wrong move would set him off.

His heart rate slowly came down. He let the grace of her movements calm him.

She was so dainty, so graceful, always in the background, never letting him get too close. It dawned on him that as innocent as she was, she knew what she was doing. She didn't stay away from him every day because she was mad at him. She didn't refuse to eat with him because she was full. She was staying out of his way solely because of the sexual tension between them. Because she couldn't control it either. The knowledge didn't help. If anything, it was just one more nail in his coffin.

He slid away from the wall. "I'm going to go unpack the boxes."

Selena let out of sigh of relief when he finally left the room. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She finished up in the kitchen, and heard him banging around in the living room. When she couldn't put it off any longer, she walked through the living room toward her bedroom.

"Goodnight," she tossed out as she slipped by.

"Selena, wait." His voice stopped her in her tracks with the deep order.

She halted, facing away from him, and briefly closed her eyes. Escape wasn't going to be so easy. If she could just learn to obey his commands, maybe he wouldn't lose his temper so quickly and move to grab her. The grabbing led to kissing, and the kissing led to things that couldn't happen. But it was so difficult. He was arrogant and conceited, and he set off her temper with his constant demands.

He spoke to her now in that tone of voice that brooked no denial. "Come over here and see what you've got."

Her shoulders stiffened and she turned back into the room. He was in front of the couch, with neat stacks of clothes sitting there in different colors and designs.

Pure feminine curiosity had her moving closer. She wasn't going to wear them, but she could at least look.

"A week's worth of clothing. I think I remembered everything you're going to need, but if not, just tell me." His voice was firm, implacable.

A vision of what would happen if she flatly refused swept across her mind. The argument, the struggle, him physically touching her. It was too dangerous to contemplate.

She gritted her teeth. She walked over to the couch and ran her hands over the stacks of jeans, shorts, tops, and nightwear. There were also swimsuits and underwear. A deep blush slashed across her cheeks when she thought about him ordering them for her. They looked to be exactly her size, and how he knew that knocked her off balance. She didn't want to think about him going into her room and looking over the single change of clothing she owned. Equally distressing was the idea of him sizing her up in his head, thinking about the width of her hips and the size of her breasts.

Travis held himself immobile and waited to see how this was going to play out. He had already decided that he wouldn't lay one finger on her. But she didn't know that. Their eyes met and she nodded her head, once.

"
Gracias
, Travis." Her voice was soft.

He immediately noticed the small rebellion. She purposely spoke the Spanish word to maintain some control. He decided to let it pass, if she accepted the clothes.

She did.

She scooped her arms around the stack of underwear and swimsuits first and headed to her room.

He grabbed the rest and followed her down the hallway. She moved to the chest of drawers and opened the top drawer and dumped her armful in. He dropped the articles he held on top of the bed.

"Let me know if you need anything else," he drawled, and turned away to make his escape.

Selena went through the clothes and quickly calculated in her mind the amount of work she had done for him. From this, she subtracted room and board. There wasn't much left. She would wear one article of clothing.

The weather was beginning to scorch every day. She knew she would be outside a lot to visit the little animals in the barn. She picked out a pair of low-rise shorts.

She didn't have much choice. All the shorts were low-rise, short shorts. She knew American girls wore them all the time. But she had never worn anything quite as revealing. She picked out a pair with deep pockets and in a dark tan color. They looked sturdy enough to handle life on the ranch. If she got red dirt on them, it should wash out and not leave stains.

She locked her door and tried them on. They slipped over her hips with no problem. The zipper slid up and she snapped the single button. They fit perfectly.

Not too tight, but not loose at all. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was momentarily taken aback. Her legs were slim and white. She wondered what his reaction would be. There was no use dwelling on it.

She loved the shorts and as he didn't pay her any money, she had earned them.

Travis didn't see Selena again until after supper the next evening. All three meals of the day had been waiting for him on the table as if by magic, and she was, of course, not to be seen.

After supper, he had had enough of her disappearances. He looked around for her, but she wasn't on the porch or in the house.

He went out the back door and made his way to the implement barn. He pushed the door open and made his way over to the old mama cat. His eyes hadn't completely adjusted to the darkness inside the building, but he knew he would find Selena there.

He came up behind where she was sitting cross-legged on the barn floor. "How're they doing?" He kept his voice low.

He came down on his haunches beside her and twirled a piece of straw between his fingers. She answered him in a whisper. "Fine. The little eyes are opening, see?" They both were quiet and looked at the baby skunks that were so tiny their eyes were not fully opened yet. The little kittens were about a week older and a bit more lively.

"Yeah, that old barn cat took to those new babies, quick fast. Just like a mama."

For the first time, he noticed what she was wearing. The shorts were small, and somehow made her look even younger. She was so incredibly tiny.

He took the piece of straw from his mouth and reached over and flicked her on the nose with it. "Supper was good. Thank you, Selena."

Selena rubbed her damp palms down her thighs and legs in agitation. "You are welcome, Travis. And thank you for my new shorts."

"Stand up and let me see." He paused and waited.

"You cannot see like this?"

"Nah. I want to see if the fit is right." His voice subtly flirted with her.

"It is right." Selena stood to her feet beside him. "But I have to go, anyway. Good night." She turned and dashed back to the house while he got only a glimpse of her legs in the darkened barn.

He sighed with frustration and stuck the straw back in his mouth.

****

It took Travis three days to realize the only new article of clothing she was wearing were those damn tan shorts. She rotated her original three shirts every day, and every day he was mesmerized by her gorgeous legs. Slender and toned, the last thing on his mind was the lack of variety in her apparel.

"Those shorts look good on you, Selena. But I'd kind of like to see you wear something else for a change."

Selena stiffened as she cleaned up after supper. Best to just appease him with an agreement and worry about it tomorrow. "Okay." Technically she wasn't lying, because tomorrow she would just put on a pair of her old jeans and that would be
something else
.

He grunted at her answer and didn't push it. They had slipped into an easy rhythm the last few days, and he didn't feel like screwing with the balance of things.

Every night she would slip out of the kitchen and head to the barn. Every night he would follow her, and they would watch the little skunks as they grew. The evenings were pleasant and companionable, and it had been days since they had fought.

He wanted to keep it that way.

****

The next morning Travis walked into an empty kitchen. It was empty a lot of mornings, but his breakfast was always on the table, and the signs of her occupation were everywhere. This morning the kitchen didn't look like it had been touched since the night before.

He walked out on the front porch but she wasn't there. He started to go look in the barn, but he thought he might as well check her room first. Her door was shut.

He knocked, but received no response. He knocked harder. "Selena, are you in there?"

A deep moan was accompanied by a weak, "Go away."

"Is something wrong?" Travis was alarmed and his voice was deeper than usual.

The moan got worse.

"Selena, I'm coming in." He pushed the door open and walked over to the bed and what he saw there had his heart skipping a beat. She lay curled on her side in a fetal position, and her face was streaked with tears. "Jesus Christ, are you okay?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed and she let out a wail at the movement to her body.

Travis jumped off the bed. "What is it? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?" His mind ran over the possibilities. He reached down to stroke her hip and she wailed again. His hand jerked back in automatic response. He watched her holding her stomach in pain.

"I'm calling an ambulance." He changed his mind immediately. "Shit, no. That will take too long. I need to get you to a hospital now."

Selena opened her eyes and focused on him. "No. I'm fine. Just leave,
por favor
."

"Selena, Angel, I can't leave you like this. You've probably got acute appendicitis.

You might die."

"I d-don't have appen--I don't have that." She wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes again.

Travis wasn't going to sit here wasting time arguing with her. She wouldn't wear the clothes he bought her, so she probably didn't want to use his money on a hospital. He pulled his cell from his pocket and flipped it open. "Juan. Get the black truck and bring it around to the back of the house. I've got to get Selena to the hospital. Something's wrong with her." He paused to listen. "Yeah. Hurry."

He saw she was wearing one of the two damn shirts she originally owned and probably nothing else but panties.
Goddamnit
! He had bought her at least four nightgowns. She was, without a doubt, the most stubborn female he had ever met.

And the only one who didn't
want to spend his money
. The sheet was covering her up to the waist. He moved to the chest of drawers and started pulling out clothes.

She was going to need some things if she had to stay in the hospital awhile.

The mudroom door slammed and seconds later, Juan walked into the room and handed him the keys. "It's out back, ready and waiting. What's wrong with her?"

Juan walked over to Selena and laid a grandfatherly hand to her forehead.

"Probably acute appendicitis. We've got to go now." He was stacking clothes on the dresser.

Selena grabbed Juan's hand and started babbling in semi-hysterical Spanish.

Juan patted her on the cheek with his wizened old hand and said, "Shh..Shh..
si
,
si,
Senorita
."

Juan straightened his back and stepped away from the bed. "Boss, I need to speak to you in the hallway." He walked over to the door and stood waiting.

"Not now Juan. Shit. We've got to go."

Juan raised his voice to get the other man's attention. "Travis. Young man, I want a moment,
now
."

That got Travis's attention and he looked up sharply at Juan. He glanced back at Selena who was silently writhing on the bed. A scowl crossed his face and he slammed out of the room and focused his attention on Juan.

"This had better be good, old man." Irritation dripped from his voice.

"She doesn't have appendicitis." Juan got right to the point. "She has menstrual cramping."

Travis tried to wrap his brain around what Juan was telling him. He was totally floored. He stared at Juan with his mouth open. "No way. No
Goddamn
way she could be hurting like that."

Juan put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "It is so. She told me it is so.

Sometimes it happens like that. Nature is not always kind to women. Some never have a twinge. Some go through agony every twenty-eight days. She is one of the unlucky ones. Please don't make this any worse on her by threatening her with doctors and hospitals and truck rides over dirt roads. She is in too much pain for that."

Travis closed his eyes and hung his head. "Shit. Okay."

Juan nodded once and opened the bedroom door and walked into the room again.

He began talking to Selena in a low, soothing voice. She answered him back the same way, never opening her eyes.

The Spanish was too advanced for Travis to follow. He only understood maybe a fifth of what they were saying.

"She needs a couple of more pillows. Do you have extras in the house?"

Travis nodded and walked to the hall closet where the linens were kept. He brought two large pillows back to the bed. Selena mumbled her thanks and spoke another few low words in Spanish.

Juan came up and tucked the two pillows as closely to the base of her spine as he could get them to go. Again, she mumbled her thanks.

Travis was horrified that she could be experiencing this kind of pain. He had never heard of anything like this in his life. He had heard some of the girl's way back in high school whispering about the cramps, but he never imagined it could be like this. This was almost like what the animals went through when they were in labor.

His mind rebelled at the thought of her having to go through this every month.

Juan spoke again. "Do you have a heating pad or a hot water bottle?"

Travis didn't.

Juan said, "Okay. I'm going to go to town and pick up a heating pad and some supplies for her. I will be back as soon as I can." Juan turned to Selena and asked her a question in Spanish.

She let out a soft whimper and put her arm across her face to hide it.

Juan gentled his voice. "
Senorita
, I need to know this information."

Selena whispered her answer in Spanish.