The Heiress and the Sheriff by Stella Bagwell Page B

the courtyard.
    Gabrielle turned and watched the muscles of his shoulders flex as he folded his arms against his chest. He was dressed as she’d seen him last: in jeans and a khaki shirt with short sleeves. The sheriff’s badge was hidden beneath his arm, but she instinctively knew it was there. She figured he rarely took it off. Even when he went to bed, he probably pinned it to his shorts. But then maybe he didn’t wear shorts—maybe he slept in the raw. The idea of his long bronze body without a thing on it stung every inch of her with heat.
    â€œI had some business to attend to with Matthew and hisfamily,” he said. “I thought I’d check on you while I was here. You weren’t feeling well the last time I saw you.”
    â€œYou surprise me, Wyatt. I thought you believed my blurry vision wasn’t real. That I was faking it…along with my memory loss.”
    â€œI considered it.”
    â€œI’m sure you did.”
    Irked by his brutal honesty, she walked over to where he stood by the windows. When his eyes slanted down to her upturned face, she felt everything inside her begin to shake. Not with hostility, but from the simple excitement of being near him.
    â€œIf you really want to know, I’m feeling stronger,” she told him. “But I still lose my vision without any warning.”
    â€œSo that means Matthew doesn’t want you traveling yet.”
    He said it as a statement, but she answered it as a question. “No. He doesn’t. So now I guess you’re thinking I’m faking the headaches and blurry vision so I can continue to live here in luxury?”
    He turned slightly so that he was facing her head-on. His expression was smooth—neither accusing nor believing. “I think Matthew is a doctor with a kind heart. And right now, well, he’s in no condition to make judgments.”
    Gabrielle frowned at him. “What does that mean?”
    â€œThe man has been through hell, and I’ve just handed him another plate of trouble to digest.”
    Forgetting to hold the robe, her hand dropped to her side. “What sort of trouble? Have you found his baby son?”
    His eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze away from her and out to the darkened courtyard. “No,” he said grimly.
    â€œThen—”
    â€œI had to tell him and Claudia that none of the womenwho’d requested his sperm at the fertility clinic is the mother of Taylor.”
    Gabrielle gasped at the realization as to what that meant. Yet she refused to believe Matthew had committed adultery. The sordid behavior didn’t fit the man at all.
    â€œOh, dear. How did they take it?”
    He slanted her a sardonic look. “How do you think? Claudia is furious. She’s taking Taylor and moving out.”
    â€œOh, no! That isn’t going to help matters.” Gabrielle spoke her thoughts out loud.
    The twist to Wyatt’s lips deepened. “No. I don’t expect it will. I don’t know what the hell Claudia is thinking. If she can’t trust her husband more than this, I’m not so sure Matthew needs her.”
    Gabrielle’s mouth fell open as indignation poured through her. “Trust! You of all people are going to condemn Claudia for not having enough faith in her husband? He’s fathered a baby somehow, yet you expect her to believe in his innocence? If you can be so open-minded about Matthew, why do you treat me like a felon? I haven’t done anything wrong either.”
    His face hardened, his nostrils flared. He’d seen too much pain tonight. And he’d heard too many lies from too many women in the past to take Gabrielle’s accusations lightly.
    â€œGet this straight, Gabrielle. I will never trust any woman. Especially you.”
    Like a black cloud, rage blinded her to everything but the moment and the provoking expression on his face. Before she could stop herself, her palm cracked solidly against his