McKettricks of Texas: Austin by Linda Lael Miller Page B

weak. “Do I look to you like a man who can walk?”
    She started to giggle, nervously at first, still holding on to his arm. “Well, can you at least stand up straight?”
    â€œ No, I freakin’ cannot stand up straight!”
    â€œTake it easy,” Paige urged, rubbing his back with one small hand. “It’s probably just a spasm, like a charley horse. You’ll be all right in a minute.”
    â€œDo you have any idea how much this hurts? And you stand there laughing— ”
    Paige’s giggle turned to a chuckle, followed by a half-swallowed guffaw. Out of the corner of his eye, Austin saw her slap her free hand over her mouth. “I’m—really—sorry—” Another peal of mirth escaped her. “It’s just that this whole situation—it’s so—”
    Bracing his hands on his thighs, he glared at her, sidelong. “Funny?” he supplied.
    She laughed again. “I must be hysterical,” she said, dashing away tears with the back of her hand. “Austin, I’m sorry. Really. I don’t mean—”
    The ache seemed to be slacking off a little, but he was a long way from okay. Plus, he felt like a damn fool, standing there, bent like a twist in the road.
    â€œWill you just—go back in the house or something?” he said.
    She blinked, shook her head. “And leave you like this?”
    â€œI hate to say it,” Austin ground out, “but you’re not really helping all that much by sticking around.”
    â€œDon’t be such a big baby,” Paige said. Her mouth was twitching, and she still had that twinkle in her eyes. “You’re not the first person whose back ever went out, you know.”
    He managed to hitch up a little more, but he felt as though his spine were about to split like a piece of cord-wood under the blade of an ax. “I know that,” he said, catching his breath after another twinge of pure agony rocked his world.
    â€œMaybe I should get Garrett, though,” Paige speculated, looking genuinely concerned now. It was about time she showed some sympathy, by Austin’s reckoning, but he didn’t care for the direction her thoughts were headed.
    Austin spoke through his teeth. “Don’t you dare bring Garrett out here.”
    â€œTake it easy,” Paige told him. Her voice was gentler now, and she was rubbing his back again. “I just thought you might need his help, that’s all.”
    It was almost worth all that suffering, having her rub his back like that.
    Almost, but not quite.
    Slowly, by increments, Austin cranked himself upright.
    â€œJust so you know,” Paige informed him, linking her arm through his, “you’re not sleeping in this barn. Let’s get you into the house.”
    â€œI’m not going anywhere,” Austin told her. He flung a hand in Molly’s direction. “This horse—”
    She raised her eyebrows, spoke in a deliberateand moderate tone. “Yes, you are going somewhere, McKettrick. Molly will be fine without you playing mother hen. Besides, you can’t stay out here alone, not in the shape you’re in, and I’m not sharing that sleeping bag with you. It’s too damn cold for that.”
    â€œYou’d do it otherwise?” he asked hoarsely, amazed. “Share the sleeping bag with me? If it wasn’t cold, I mean?”
    Paige blushed.
    All around them, sleepy horses looked over stall gates, probably wondering what all the fuss was about.
    â€œI was speaking—advisedly,” Paige said.
    â€œAdvisedly?” Austin repeated, amused. Carefully, he folded his arms. “Here’s the thing, Paige,” he went on. “If we were both stuffed into the same sleeping bag, we’d be sharing each other’s body heat, so it’s unlikely we’d be cold.”
    Her face burned even brighter.
    He’d forgotten how sexy she was when she was mad as