Can't Hurry Love
Chapter 14

Josh did a pretty good job of keeping his worry in check while he thoroughly examined Beth's ankle. The rest of him proved a little more difficult to control.

He could tell by how pale she was that she was hurting, but she sat there tight-lipped while he checked for breaks or a sprain. It didn't take more than a few minutes, but he prolonged it as long as possible like a lovesick teenager. Her skin was like satin. And he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight remembering the feel of it... imagining the rest of her feeling the same... "Josh?"

Jolted back to the present and away from dangerous territory, he rummaged in his bag for a couple of painkillers. "Being the amazing physician I am, I was able to save the foot," he said as he handed her the pills and a bottle of water. She rolled her eyes but dutifully swallowed the meds. "I guess I'm lucky that you were here then," she said wryly.

"There's some slight swelling, so I'd say you've got yourself a minor sprain," he said. "The good news is you won't lose a limb any time soon." "The bad news?"

"You'll have to ice the swelling. And stay off it."

Her eyes widened in dismay, and a rogue curl fell over her cheek.

Without thinking, he reached out and smoothed it behind her ear, watching in fascination as her cheeks turned pink.

"I-I can't stay off it," she mumbled hoarsely before clearing her throat. "The speed dating thing is tonight."

"Well, I don't know how speedy you'll manage to be with a sprained ankle," Josh said, removing his hand from her before he did something stupid. "I can't not go," she said miserably.

He wanted her to stay home tonight-as a doctor and a red-blooded, jealous male. But she looked so upset that his heart twisted.

"Let's get you home," he said. "It doesn't start until eight, right? We'll see how it is in a few hours."

She smiled up at him, and he had to remind himself that smile wasn't for him. It was for some man who would be able to give her what she needed.

"Come on, invalid." He stood and gently pulled her to stand. Much as he'd like to pull a Thor and carry her all the way down the trail, he knew it was beyond his abilities. Scouting the area, he found a stick that could help hold her weight. Then he put an arm around her, and they started their slow descent. He kept her close the entire time and tried not to think about how perfect she felt beside him.

The painkillers had taken the edge off the throbbing in her ankle. Beth stared out the window as the scenery gave way to the edges of town. There was Sheraton, the hotel where Josh had been staying when he first came to town. The place he'd first kissed her and very possibly ruined her for all future men.

Remembering it made her throat ache, so she turned her head away and looked to distract herself.

"How are you liking the apartment?" she blurted for want of anything else to say.

He shrugged slightly. "It's fine," he said. "It suits for now."

"For now?"

"Yeah, I don't " He stopped abruptly and glanced at her. "I guess I haven't really thought about how long I'll be here."

Beth felt her stomach drop at his words. "You're not staying?" she asked, trying and probably failing to sound casual.

Josh sighed, his shoulders tense, his jaw clenched. "I don't know," he said. "When I made the decision to come here, I wasn't really thinking beyond getting out of Chicago. But now..." He shrugged but didn't expand.

"Now the town is growing on you?" she asked lightly. "You don't know how you'll drag yourself away?"

He looked at her again before turning his eyes back to the road. "Yeah, that's it." The tone in his voice made her heart slam. "I don't know if I'll be able to just walk away and never see the town-again."

"Oh," she said a little awkwardly. "Well, I think you'd be missed... by the town."

They rode in a silence for a while, Beth lost in her thoughts. She wondered if tonight would even be worth it. If it was going to be a room full of Johns and Geralds, she'd never be able to forget the man beside her. But more than that, she was finding it harder and harder to make herself want to forget him. The idea of him leaving made her feel sick.

"Are you going back to the ranch?” Josh broke the stilted silence. "You'll have to rest that foot."

She grimaced at his instructions. "I can think of a hundred things at the ranch that will stop me from resting," she said. "Besides, I have to get ready for later."

"Beth, you'll be going nowhere later if you don't rest now."

"Fine," she said on a long-suffering sigh. "I'll rest."

But she wouldn't, because she had work to do-prep for the bakery and some cooking for her brothers and the ranch hands.

Some of their summer staff had arrived early, and Lord knew those boys could eat! She'd been meaning to hire some extra help for the ranch, but there had never been any urgent reason for it. If nothing else, this minor injury made her realize that she really needed to get started on that. "After I've done my chores," she said stubbornly. "Right. That's it."

Before she could object, Josh swung his car around and drove back down Main Street.

"What are you doing?" Beth demanded. "Where are we going?"

"I'm making sure you do what your doctor tells you," he answered smoothly. "And we're going to my place."

"Excuse me? We are not going to your place," she said in her most authoritative tone.

Judging from his expression, he didn't seem all that impressed or cowed by it. "We're going to my place where you're going to rest, or no dates tonight. Doctor's orders."

Beth narrowed her eyes at him, but he wasn't looking at her. The tension that had been surrounding him earlier seemed to have disappeared. In fact, he seemed pretty darned pleased with himself.

"You can't just kidnap me," she tried again. "I have things to do."

"And you'll do them when you've rested," he answered, his tone annoyingly measured.

There was no use arguing. She could see it in the set of his jaw.

They pulled up outside his apartment building, and she sat there seething while he pulled out his phone and began tapping away on the screen. After a minute or two, he unclipped his seatbelt then leaned across her to do the same to hers. Beth had to stop herself from sniffing him as the masculine scent he wore flirted with her nostrils.

You can't be attracted to your kidnapper, she told herself sternly. That's Stockholm Syndrome. It's a serious condition.

"Grayson knows you're out of action, and Jenna is ok to cover the bakery, so you're all set," he said as he leaned back, and she was able to inhale before she passed out.

"What?" she demanded, hating herself for enjoying the feeling of being taken care of.

He was out of the car and around at her door before she could blink.

"Come on, invalid." He smiled that smile that made her toes curl, which was painful with a sprained ankle. "Let's see if we can keep you out of trouble."

He bent down and scooped her into his arms as though she were weightless.

Beth could do nothing but hang on to his neck and what was left of her sanity.

Keep her out of trouble? She was in more trouble than she'd ever been in her life.