Love Thine Enemy Read Free

he held the door open. Her trembling was probably due to shock and not the freezing temperature, but he wasn’t helping. Easing onto the slanting front seat, he closed the door. The interior light shut off, and the only illumination came from the headlights reflecting off the snow outside. He began to unknot the bandanna at his throat. “Where are you hurt?”
    “I’m going to be so late,” she muttered and closed her eyes.
    Fright and cold made his fingers clumsy. With a jerk, the bandanna finally came loose. He pressed it to her bleeding temple. “Late for your own funeral, maybe. You’re crazy to be driving so fast in this weather.”
    She pushed his hand away and turned a fierce scowl in his direction. “I’m not the crazy one here! You were riding a horse in the middle of a highway—at night—in a snowstorm! Do you have a death wish?” she shouted, then winced.
    “Lady, I wasn’t in the middle of the highway. I was on the shoulder when you came barreling at me. Theroad curves here, but I guess you didn’t notice. You were over the center line and speeding toward the ditch. I just happened to be in your way.”
    She stared at him a long moment. “Oh.”
    “Yeah, oh!”
    “Well, I missed you, didn’t I?”
    The last of his tension evaporated. “You did. You and the good Lord have my sincere thanks for that.”
    “I don’t think He did me any favors.”
    “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. If you’d gone off the other side of this curve at the speed you were traveling you might be dead now. There’s a steep drop and a stone wall on that side.”
    He offered the bandanna again. “Are you hurt anywhere besides that cut on your forehead?”
    “I’m not sure.” Taking the cloth from him, she held it to her head and gave a hiss of pain. After a second, she focused on him again. Sudden tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. Are you sure you’re okay? Is your horse all right?”
    “Dusty and I are fine, honest.”
    “It all happened so fast. I almost killed you.” A sob escaped as a tear slipped down her pale cheek.
    “Almost doesn’t count except in horseshoes and hand grenades. Hey, yelling I can take, but tears—don’t even go there,” he warned.
    She managed a trembling half smile. “I’ll try.”
    Sam shot a quick look at the windshield. The wipers had stopped with the engine, and snow already covered the glass.
    “We need to get out of this weather, and this car isn’t going anywhere. My ranch isn’t far, but we should get going before this storm gets any worse. Can you move?”
    “I think so.” She shifted in the seat, then gave a sharp cry as she grabbed her left thigh with both hands.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “My foot is caught,” she answered through clenched teeth.
    He saw a tremor race through her body. The temperature inside the car was dropping rapidly. He needed to get her someplace warm and soon.
    “Here, take my coat while I have a look.” He shrugged out of his sheepskin jacket and tucked it around her shoulders. They felt slender and fragile under his large, work-hardened hands. Her hair swept across the back of his wrist in a soft whisper stirring an unexpected awareness of her as a woman. He forced the thought to the back of his mind. He needed to concentrate on getting her out of here.
    She bit her lip as she tried again to move. “My foot’s wedged under something. I can’t move it, and it hurts when I try.”
    Reaching over the steering column, he turned on the interior light. “Hold still while I check it out.” Leaning down, he peered under the dash. “I’m Sam Hardin, by the way.”
    Cheryl’s breath caught in a sharp gasp of surprise. He was one of the high-and-mighty Hardins. Her pulse began to pound. Feelings of shame and guilt rose like bile in the back of her throat. This couldn’t be happening. Not now, not after all this time.
    She glanced fearfully at the man beside her. Did he know who she was? Had he seen her family’s