Love in Bloom by Karen Rose Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

work.  That section of fence rotted and his cows were getting out.  So he rigged up the barbed wire temporarily.  But there must be a nest of rabbits back there."
    "Shep likes rabbits?"
    "He likes the fast movement and thinks it's a game.  I'm going to have to put up that length of fence myself so he doesn't get hurt.  He thinks he can run under it like the rabbits do."
    When Clay lifted his arm to brush loose grass from his knee, Paige saw his cut hand.  "Clay, you're hurt.  Let me see."
    He glanced at the tricklings of blood.  "It's nothing.  I must have scraped it when I took Shep down."
    She held his hand in hers and examined the top.  "You didn't scrape it.  You cut it on the barbed wire.  It looks nasty.  Have you had a tetanus shot recently?"
    "Two years ago."
    She ran her thumb over his, over the bend between it and his index finger.  There were four cuts and a few scratches below his knuckles.  "Do you have a first-aid kit?"
    When her eyes found his, the awareness there shook her.  She could feel the heat between their hands.  Clay stood immobile, a deep fire glowing in his green eyes that made her excited and afraid at the same time.
    He stared at their clasped hands then at her lips.  He drew in a breath.  "No, I don't have a first aid kit here."
    His response took a moment to register; her body felt as if it were melting under his gaze.  She knew she'd better release his hand before she stepped even closer and wanted more than a simple touch.
    "I have my bag in my car."  She started across the yard.
    While Paige fetched her bag, Clay washed his hand at the kitchen sink, amazed that he could still feel her touch under the cool water.  He could tell she didn't know her comforting little touches drove him crazy.  He'd almost kissed her.  He'd almost wrapped his arms around her....
    Dear Lord, this woman got to him in more than physical ways.  Once in a while, she used an unusual turn of phrase that showed she'd been out of the States.  And it added to her...  There was that damn word again--innocence.  She even blushed!
    Her exploration of his hand had been almost curious.  Well, the curiosity would have to stop.  So would the hot, tight ache that plagued him whenever he got too close to her.  They'd finish planning games for the Fourth of July, take a quick canoe ride, and go back to being...neighborly.
    When Paige entered the kitchen, Clay was prepared.  Her soft scent wouldn't snare him, the vulnerability in her blue eyes wouldn't touch him.  He'd set his mind to feats he'd thought were impossible.  Defying attraction he felt for one woman should be easy.
    Paige joined him at the sink, washed her hands, then opened her bag on the table.  She took a gauze pad and a bottle of peroxide from inside.  "Sit down over here.  The light's better."
    "There's really no reason why--"  The determination on her face stopped him.  He might as well get this over with, and quickly.  He parked on the chair next to hers and laid his hand on the table.
    She smiled.  "You don't have to look as if I'm going to chop it off.  I'll be as gentle as I can."
    He knew she would.  That was the problem.  He steeled himself for her touch, though her smile had almost the same effect on his nervous system.
    Paige talked as she prepared the wounds.  "I've noticed Shep listens most of the time.  Did you train him yourself?"
    The wet gauze was cold, the light caress of her fingers warm.  "Yes.  I got one of those DVD's.  It worked well."  He tried to ignore her thumb under his palm, holding his hand in the right position.
    "You have patience."
    He had more patience with others than himself.  "Shep wants to please.  It's just when a distraction or innate instincts take over that we have a problem."  In some ways, men and dogs weren't so different.
    Paige's sleek hair swung across her cheek as she leaned forward to dab at his hand with another sterile patch.  The whiff of her perfume made him lean