Part 6 (1/2)
”To hang a bunch of sheets,” Zac explained.
”Concentrate on your cards and let me talk to Daisy,” Tyler said, his temper beginning to rise.
Zac hunched a shoulder.
”Now what is this about hanging sheets?” Tyler asked.
Daisy blushed. Tyler hadn't realized how endearing a blush could be on a female with a handful of freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. Not even the bandage could lessen its effect. He felt some of his irritation drain away and sympathy take its place. The closest he'd ever come to being in a similar situation was when Rose came to live with them on the ranch in Texas. He could still remember how out of place he felt even though Rose and George had done everything they could to make him feel it was his home as much as theirs.
It must be ten times as hard for Daisy.
”I need some privacy,” she finally managed to blurt out. ”I thought if I could hang some sheets across that corner . . . ”
Tyler didn't know why he hadn't thought of it himself. It was ridiculous to expect a woman to feel comfortable with two strange men staring at her all the time. He guessed he'd have known that if he'd ever had a sister. Rose had a parlor just to get away from the family she loved. She said it didn't matter everybody invaded it all the time as long as she knew she could close the door when she needed.
Tyler regretted Daisy's need to hide from him. It was the same as pus.h.i.+ng him away. He didn't like being rejected. That's why he closed people out first. He had hoped Daisy was different.
Tyler went to the shelf, picked up a hammer and two nails. ”I'll hang a line across the end of the room. Do you think that'll be enough?”
”I don't need that much. Just enough s.p.a.ce for my mattress.”
”We can move the bunk to the back wall,” Tyler said. He pushed the chest of drawers up against the shelves then picked up the trunk and moved it across the room next to the chest of drawers. ”Give me a hand with the bunk,” he said to Zac.
”I'll break open my wound.”
”Not if you bend at the knees rather than the waist.”
”I can help,” Daisy offered.
”You ought to be sitting down instead of standing up,” Tyler said.
”But it's okay for me to be dragging furniture about the cabin,” Zac complained.
Tyler was tempted to lock Zac outside. Nearly every word out of the brat's mouth made Daisy feel worse about being here. He hadn't done a lot better himself, but he was trying. He lifted the bunk and practically dragged Zac across the floor behind it.
”If I'd known you wanted to race, I'd have told you to harness up one of the mules,” Zac said, staggering back to his chair, his hand clutched dramatically to his side.
”You're stubborn as one. I guess I got confused.”
”I've a good mind to leave as soon as the snow melts.”
”I'm counting on it,” Tyler said. Choosing a spot behind the door, he drove a nail into the log wall. It would leave a hole, but he could fix that later. He drove a second nail across the room to match. ”How many sheets do you think you'll need?”
”I'm sure two will be enough.”
Tyler measured the distance in his mind. ”Make it three.” He pulled three sheets from a pile on one of the top shelves.
Daisy stooped down to pick up her mattress. Almost immediately Tyler saw her stagger and reach out to steady herself. He caught her before she fell. The effect on him was everything he'd spent the morning outside to avoid.
Daisy fit his arms perfectly, like she'd been made just for him. She looked up at him with startled eyes, a little fear mingled with surprise, chagrin, and some of the hot excitement that rushed though him like a flash flood down a narrow canyon. He couldn't move.
Holding her didn't feel strange or uncomfortable anymore. It seemed natural, as natural as wanting to kiss her. He'd never really noticed her mouth before. Most likely it was like many other mouths, but it seemed special to him. Her lips were slightly apart, her expression one of tense expectation. Her eyes were opened wide, their deep brown almost a mirror of his own.
Tyler felt himself lean forward, his arms drawing Daisy closer. She watched him with a look of disbelief. As their lips grew closer, he felt her body tense.
”You going to lay her down or stand her up?” Zac asked. The sound of his voice broke the spell, its gossamer threads vanis.h.i.+ng as if they never had existed.
”I said you were too weak to be up,” Tyler said as he helped Daisy to her feet. He felt a little shaken. When he tried to steer her toward the bed, she balked.
”It was just bending down so suddenly,” she insisted. ”I'll know better next time.”
”Next time you need something tell me or Zac.” Acutely conscious his arms were still around Daisy, Tyler guided her over to a chair at the table and made her sit down. For a change she didn't argue with him.
”I'm sorry to be so much trouble.”
”It's not that. It's just Zac and I aren't used to taking care of a woman. We don't mind doing things. We just don't know what we ought to do.”
And he didn't. At first he had looked on her as something to keep him from his work, but she had added a new dimension to his feeling for women. He recognized he would never again be satisfied with his old ways of thinking about them. He picked up the mattress and laid it in the corner. ”Is that where you want it?”
”Yes.”
He looked at the thin mattress. She couldn't possibly be comfortable on that. He got his own mattress from the bunk and put it beneath her mattress.
She looked at the bare boards that were all that was left of his bed. ”What will you sleep on?”
”I'll fold up some blankets.”
”But that will be hard.”
”Not nearly as hard as sleeping on the ground. How do you want me to hang these sheets?”
Tyler knew Daisy didn't want him to do everything for her, so he let her help. She got to her feet slowly. He watched closely, but the dizziness didn't return. She picked up the top sheet from the pile on the table and unfolded it. He helped her adjust it so the hem barely brushed the floor. The other two sheets went into place just as easily.
He watched her breathe a sigh of relief. With a smile of satisfaction, she stepped behind the sheets and pulled the barrier closed. He knew she must feel better. The smile told him she did.
He felt cut off.
”You're not done yet,” Zac said. ”She wants a bath now.”
Daisy decided then and there that one day Zac would die by torture.
She expected Tyler to refuse, but he didn't say a word. He simply opened the stove door and put in more wood. He was going to heat water for her bath!
”The creek's frozen. Where are you going to get that much water?” Zac asked.
”There's snow. Give me a hand.”
”I don't want a bath.”