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  Damn, he hated it when she was right.

  Maybe whatever hurt like hell wouldn’t end up being that badly injured. Maybe he’d still be able to at least get part of the pear harvest in. Although, now that he was awake a bit more, he was almost certain the beep, beep, beep sound echoing through his consciousness was a heart monitor and that didn’t bode well as far as his injuries being minor.

  “You decide to join the land of the living, Kent?” Someone said. “You’re in the hospital.”

  Evan, if he heard the voice correctly. He cracked one eye open and saw his right-hand man and business partner standing near his feet. At Evan's side stood his girlfriend, and Orson’s head of security, Kelly. He tried to wave at her but found his arm too heavy to lift, so he gave her a nod. Unfortunately, the small action made his head pound, and he closed his eyes again. Looked as if he’d remain still for the foreseeable future.

  “Don’t worry too much about moving around at the moment. We’ll let the staff know you’re awake,” another voice said. Female and familiar. With that sexy and soft Texas twang that shot straight to his groin. He lifted a quick prayer his cock would behave if the voice turned out to belong to Kiara Bowman like he thought it did. Although, what she’d be doing here, he couldn’t imagine. He risked opening one eye again and confirmed he’d been right. It was her.

  “Gabby just left,” Evan said. “She said to tell you if you decided to wake up, her words, not mine, that just because she was right and you’d almost managed to kill yourself, didn’t mean she was staying here and looking after your sorry ass, again her words, because she’d booked flights once you approved her leave.”

  Fuck. He’d forgotten she had asked for leave of absence to help her brother and his kids. Just thinking about keeping everything running for two months made his head hurt more.

  “Mr. Kent,” a cheerful voice called as they entered the room. His nurse, he assumed. “I see you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals and Dr. Horner will be in soon to discuss things with you.” She looked over to the three people standing near the foot of his bed. “If you all don’t mind waiting outside or in the waiting room, someone will come and get you when the doctor’s finished talking with him.”

  Orson almost told her he didn’t care if they stayed in the room while the doctor spoke to him. Then he realized it was probably a HIPPA or hospital requirement, and to do anything else would require a ton and a half of red tape. Not to mention the forms they’d all three have to sign, no doubt in front of a witness as well as being notarized. Instead, he kept his mouth shut while she checked his blood pressure and pulse, and waited for the doctor to arrive after she left.

  Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait. Either that or he’d dozed off again. It seemed as if only five minutes passed from when the nurse left until someone knocked on the door to his room and entered.

  “Mr. Kent.” A tall man with salt and pepper hair, stepped closer. “I’m Dr. Horner.”

  “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dr. Horner,” he replied. “I’d shake your hand, but it appears as if I’ve somehow hurt myself. I’m guessing you’re here to tell me how much.”

  Dr. Horner didn’t even chuckle. “How much do you remember about what happened?”

  Orson expected someone to ask him that sooner or later. Since he'd opened his eyes and realized where he was, he’d been trying to think back and answer that very question. “To be honest with you, not much. I know I was working in my pear tree orchard. I’d completed one section and had started on another when I realized the trees in the new section were significantly taller than the ones I’d been working with moments before.”

  The doctor nodded but otherwise gave no further communication.

  Orson continued, “I didn’t want to go back to the main barn for my taller ladder, so I rigged up the one I had, and started climbing.” He shivered. “That’s about all I can remember.”

  “That sounds consistent with what we found as far as your injuries go,” the doctor said. “From what we can determine, you climbed most of the distance up the ladder but somehow lost your footing. The ladder fell away from the tree and you fractured your left arm and a few ribs on your way down. Hitting your head on the back of your truck didn’t help your condition.” He frowned. “You’re very fortunate your foreman happened to find you when he did or else your injuries could have been worse.”

  Orson knew he wasn’t in good shape based on how much he hurt. “Sounds like my housekeeper was right,” he tried to joke. “I have no business trying to run an orchard.”

  The doctor didn’t laugh. “Especially without the proper sized ladder. Safety first.”

  “What’s the plan?” If Dr. Horner wanted to be all business, Orson could be all business.

  “Outside of the fact you’ll need help around your ranch? Not very much.”

  The ramifications of running his ranch one handed and with broken ribs, hit him all at once. Damn. This would not be fun. He wasn’t sure how to go about looking for someone to help. Even if his housekeeper had been in town, there was no way he would have asked her to wait on him twenty-four, seven. “I’ll get started on looking for someone.” Maybe Evan could help him with the search.

  The thought of any woman, it would more than likely be a woman, he supposed, in his house around the clock, made him want to vomit. Unfortunately, with his injuries, he doubted he had a choice. There was no way around it.

  Damn, he didn’t want anyone in his house. A stranger he didn’t know, around him all the time? No, thank you.

  The doctor did a quick neurological exam and paused for a second to update Orson’s chart.

  “How long do you think I'll be in here?” Orson asked.

  Dr. Horner looked up from what he was doing and leaned against the wall. “Most of that depends on you. You may go home tomorrow. I’ll redo a CT scan in the morning and if it’s clear, we’ll talk then.”

  Orson nodded. He needed to get Evan back in the room so they could talk business. “How long will I be out of commission?”

  “You’ll be in the arm cast for at least six weeks. You own a ranch which is a very physical job, with care, you should be close to normal in about three months.”

  Three months? Damn those pear trees. And he still needed to finish the harvest.

  He must have made a noise of some sort because the doctor leveled his eyes at him. “All said, Mr. Kent, you are a very fortunate man. This had the potential to be even more serious and debilitating.”

  He knew he had been damn lucky. Just as much as he’d known it was stupid as hell to try to get in the entire pear harvest by himself. Or actually, he probably would have been able to get the harvest in if he’d taken the time to get the proper ladder. That’s what he got for trying to cut corners. He’d known better.

  Kelly and Evan returned to the room as soon as Dr. Horner left. Kiara, he was pleased to discovered, followed a step behind.

  “What’s the verdict?” Evan asked.

  “I'll live,” he said. “Broken arm and some busted ribs, but that’s all.”

  “That’s all, he says.” Kelly rolled her eyes. “What about your head?”

  “He said he’d do a follow up CT scan in the morning and if it looks clear, I can go home.”

  “That’s good,” Kelly said, sharing a look with Evan.

  Orson knew that look. Whenever anyone was in a relationship, it always seemed as if they somehow developed a new unspoken language with the other person. He wondered what Kelly and Evan were discussing in their heads?

  “You'll need some help around the ranch,” Evan said.

  “Yes,” Orson replied. “I’m aware of that.”

  “I know how you feel about outsiders,” his business partner continued. “And you’ll need help inside your private residence. Especially with Gabby gone.”

  “I’m also aware of that.” Seriously, the blow to his head hadn’t been that bad.

  “I’ve started looking into help for the ranch,�
� Evan said. “If you want, I'll expand my search to include someone to work at the residence.”

  As much as Orson didn’t want a stranger in his house, it had to be done and the sooner, the better. But before he could agree and tell Evan to go for it, Kiara spoke.

  “I can do it,” she said.

  Chapter 3

  Kiara

  The weight of three sets of eyes landed on Kiara as if she’d just said she would strip down naked and walk along the hospital hallways.

  Kelly cleared her throat and spoke first. “How’s that, Kiara?”

  “I planned to tell you later, but now’s just as good.” Kiara made it a point to focus on her sister and not to look at either of the men. “The school board let me go today. It was an underhanded move, and one I’m sure Randy orchestrated.”

  “That ass,” Kelly said, an echo of her own thoughts. “Are we going to finally bring him down?”

  “I can’t prove it was Randy.”

  “Leave that part to me.” Kelly rolled her eyes. “I was a police officer for a good number of years, you do remember?”

  Of course, Kiara knew. She didn’t want Kelly to help or to get involved for several reasons, but Orson’s hospital room wasn’t where they would have the conversation. “I’m not going after him at the moment. Right now I’m saying I’m available to help Orson.” She turned to look at the man sitting in the hospital bed, who silently watched the two sisters. “I know I’m over-qualified and you don’t need a registered nurse to help you, but I’m free. Plus, I worked at the ranch this summer, so it’s not like I’d be going in blind.”

  Kiara didn’t know why she volunteered so quickly to help. Maybe it was seeing a man as tough as Orson in a hospital bed. But whatever it had been, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Being unemployed and fearful Randy would somehow keep her from getting any job she applied for wouldn’t be good for her mental state. If she allowed it, it would be far too easy to become a recluse in her house.

  Working for Orson would give her time to contemplate her next few moves while also receiving a measure of protection. Randy wasn’t stupid enough to come after her on Orson’s property. Not to mention it wouldn’t be a hardship to work with Orson. Outside of the fact that he was easy on the eyes, she remembered him being fun and easy going. It would be a complete change from the life she had living with Randy.

  Sure, Orson didn’t need a registered nurse, but really, would he turn her down for that? It was a ranch, after all. Her skills and knowledge could be helpful to have around.

  “If you can harvest pears, you’re hired,” Orson said from the bed, earning a nasty glare from Kelly.

  “I’ve picked an apple or two,” Kiara told him.

  “You were eight!” Kelly added.

  “Experience is experience,” Orson said. “You’re hired. I may need you to start as early as tomorrow.”

  “No problem.” She smiled. “I’m staying with Evan and Kelly tonight, but I’ll run home in the morning to pack up what I’ll need.”

  “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Kelly said. “Kiara, you don’t know how long he’ll need you or how much he’ll pay. And you.” She turned and directed her ire at Orson. “You better not—”

  Evan slipped his hand over Kelly’s mouth and whispered something to her. Kelly glared at him, but nodded. She remained quiet when Evan moved his hand down to her lower back.

  “Visiting hours are almost up,” Evan said. “We’re all three going to go home. I’ll be back up here first thing tomorrow.”

  Just like that, the visit with Orson ended and Kiara found herself in the hallway, walking back to Evan’s truck. Once they were all inside and on the road, Kelly broke the silence.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” she asked Evan. “I can’t believe you put your hand over my mouth like that.”

  Evan’s reply was calm, “And I can’t believe you were getting ready to lecture your boss like he was a sixteen-year-old getting ready to take your sister out for the first time.”

  “I wasn’t going…” she started and then stopped. “Okay, I was, but Kiara is—”

  “A grown woman,” Evan cut her off. “Who heard about a job, thought it might be a good match for her, and expressed interest.”

  “And is in the truck, listening to everything you’re saying,” Kiara added.

  Evan caught Kiara’s gaze in the rearview mirror and gave her a wink.

  “Why don’t you think I should work for Orson?” she asked Kelly.

  Kelly took a deep breath. “It’s not that I don’t think you should work for him, I only wanted to remind him you’re in a vulnerable situation.”

  Sure she did.

  “He’s not going to take advantage of me.” Heaven alone knew how many times she gave him the ready and willing vibe over the summer. Not once did he look interested. Hell, she didn’t recall him looking at her.

  “I know that.” Kelly sighed. “But you’re vulnerable right now, and I know how Orson is. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “You’re not worried about him taking advantage of me, but you think he might hurt me? How does that even make sense?”

  “He wouldn’t hurt you intentionally.”

  “He would hurt me unintentionally?” Kiara asked. “How? By me falling for him and for him not feeling the same? Because that’s just life being life, you can’t stop it.”

  “You’ve been through so much, is it wrong for me to want to protect you?” Kelly’s voice held a tint of guilt. Probably because she’d been living in Delaware when everything happened with Randy.

  “No,” Kiara told her sister. “It’s not wrong. But what you need to remember it was all my choice. The only wrong thing you can do is to take my choice away.”

  Understanding washed over her sister’s face. “I can live with that,” Kelly said. “But I also have to be honest and tell you that if a man you’re with ever hits you again, all bets are off.”

  Kiara forced herself to give Kelly a fake chuckle and agree, but what she really wanted to tell her was that she didn’t know shit if she thought the worst thing a man could do was hit her.

  Chapter 4

  Orson

  Orson had been around long enough to know when to stay and fight for something, and when to walk away. He knew the exact moment an opponent would give in, and when he was in over his head and should get out fast.

  Which was how he knew that at the moment, he was two hundred percent screwed.

  Technically, he knew that wasn’t possible because you couldn’t go over one hundred percent of anything. But he was so screwed, it only made sense to double the amount of shit he was in.

  Kiara Bowman was a siren the angels in heaven would find impossible to turn down, and yet somehow over the summer, he’d been able to do just that. He didn’t think he had the strength necessary to do it twice. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to try this time.

  She was an alluring mixture of contradictions. How she could be introverted in one setting, and the life of the party in another. How compassionate and gentle she was while with a patient, and a ball of fire and brimstone if someone threatened her family. She both perplexed and enticed him in equal measure. Taller than most other women, including her sister, she was still short enough to fit under his chin if he were to take her in his arms.

  He could almost feel her there.

  Orson burned for her, for her touch, and to touch her. He wanted to see her as a submissive. To discover which side of her came out. Would she be an introverted sub or would she be all that fierce energy, hot to touch and hotter to control? While she worked for him over the summer, she’d been part of the ranch medical staff, and never played. Not that he would have scened with her, but he would have watched for damn sure.

  He recalled the nights during the week when families were in residence, she’d be outside with other staff members or chatting with guests. Her laughter would float on the air around him as he walke
d by, and he’d close his eyes and get lost in the sound. Then later, alone in his bed, he’d get himself off thinking of her. It would have been so easy to slip out of the house and make his way across the property to where she roomed. But he’d controlled himself. He was known for his strict rules about refusing to date or play with employees, and if anyone had caught him walking around the staff dormitories habitually, rumors would start.

  There would be no rumors with Kiara living under his roof now. No reason to be afraid of getting caught. Nothing to keep him from walking down the hall to her room, knocking on her door, and stepping inside when she asked him to come in. He’d lock the door behind them anyway, and the two of them would finally succumb to the desire that for far too long they’d pretended didn’t exist.

  She wanted him. It wasn’t conceited of him to think that. He knew when a woman wanted him. Certainly, she knew he wanted her just as much.

  The two parts of him battled inside his body. The part begging to have her, even if it was only once, and the part that told him he was an ass and a half for contemplating any such a thing with an employee.

  He probably shouldn’t be hiring people when he was on pain meds. Even if that person was Kiara. But, he couldn’t find it in himself to regret the decision to bring her on board. He drifted off into an uneasy sleep thinking about all the things he wanted to do to her.

  Evan picked him up from the hospital the next day, shortly after one in the afternoon. Orson’s scan earlier in the morning had shown nothing, but God save them all from red tape, it took hours to sign all the necessary papers.

  “Damn. That took long enough,” Orson said as Evan pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

  “I’m just glad they released you today,” Evan said. “We have a slow week coming up and I need to work on repairing the old gate house. Which means I can leave you in charge of completing all the paperwork.”