Free Her Texan Temptation by Shirley Rogers

removed the ice pack so he could see, then winced as she ran her hand over the injury.
    “That’s good.” He bent down to inspect it. Actually, she was right. It did look better. The swelling was down and the bruising had faded a little.
    “What time is it?” she asked, looking up at him as he examined her ankle.
    “Almost six.” His gaze traveled up the length of her leg, slowly over her body and stopped at her face. Just looking at her made him want to touch her.
    She frowned at his shirt, smeared with black smudges of grease, then at his greasy hands. “You’ve been working on my truck all this time?”
    “Not exactly. I needed a part for it, so I ran into town. I finished just as it started to rain.” He decided not to mention that he’d picked up the supplies she’d needed. That bit of information could wait. Right now she wasn’t mad at him. Not knowing how long that would last, Deke wanted to just enjoy being with her.
    Fat drops began pelting the roof. Mary Beth jumped at a sharp clap of thunder. “Which part?”
    Deke watched her comb her hair into place with her hands. “The alternator. Your truck’s running now, but you really should replace the battery before the weather turns cold. And it wouldn’t hurt to get an oil change, either.”
    Mary Beth’s face grew hot. She’d meant to take care of the maintenance on the truck, but she hadn’t wanted to spare the money. Not yet. Not until she’d paid her mortgage. “I know it’s overdue. I haven’t had time to get to it.”
    Deke straightened and stepped away from her, afraid he’d do something totally stupid like reach for her. Leaning his shoulder against the wall, he said casually, “Don’t put it off too long. And I added a quart of oil. That’ll hold you for a while. Better yet, why don’t you replace that death trap?”
    Mary Beth stiffened. She just couldn’t admit she was holding on to the ranch by a thread. “I like that old truck,”she lied, hoping he wouldn’t see through her deception. “I’m not ready to get rid of it.”
    Deke studied her expression, noticed the red splotches on her cheeks and neck. He didn’t believe her for a minute, but he let it go. “It’s your decision,” he said with a shrug.
    She nodded, then swung her feet to the floor. “I appreciate your working on it, though. How much do I owe you?” she asked, and held her breath.
    Deke gave her a crooked smile. Despite knowing he was begging for trouble, he suggested, “Feed me dinner and we’ll call it even.”
    Wary, Mary Beth studied him, irritated at the way her heart did a little flip-flop at the thought of being with him for a while longer. But she didn’t want his charity. “I can pay you.”
    “I didn’t say you couldn’t.” He moved away from the wall and toward her, close enough to smell her scent, far enough to resist the temptation of kissing her. “So how about dinner? Sounds like it’s raining pretty hard now, so I thought I’d wait around until it slacks off before I go.” It was a thin excuse to stay with her.
    “I don’t know what I have,” she answered honestly, then mentally ran through her cupboards. Unable to afford much more than the bare essentials, she hadn’t been to the grocery store this week.
    Deke shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not picky. Would you mind if I took a quick shower?” Before she could protest, he whipped off his dirty shirt.
    Mary Beth’s mouth went dry at the sight of him half-naked. His skin was tanned, his shoulders strong and hard muscled, his chest lightly sprinkled with fine, dark blond hair. Her gaze devoured him, slipping down his flat stomach, stopping momentarily at his belt, then drifting dangerously lower to his hips.
    She caught her breath. Long ago on the night they’d made love, she’d had the freedom to touch him intimately, to run her hands all over his body. Oh, my, she wished she could touch him now.
    “Um, no, of course not,” she said in a rush, diverting her