Free Miranda And The Ranch Hand (Domestic Discipline Romance) by Coleen Singer Page A

passed out.
    When Miranda came around about an hour later she had new stitches and three very agitated men pacing her room. As the events of the morning came flooding back, she was tempted to shut her eyes again and avoid her brothers and Dylan for a little while longer—then it hit her—Dylan was back?
    “I’m sorry—I just wanted to help” was about all she could manage to get out. Her throat was so dry and raw with irritation from the smoke. She felt the biting pain in her side where she had torn open her bullet wound, and it seemed like every other muscle in her body hurt from the exertion of treating the animals. After virtually no exercise for three weeks, she’d gone well beyond overdoing it.
    Dylan was at her bedside in two swift strides. He took her hand and the anger that had been building up a head of steam since the doctor told them Miranda would be all right, simply melted away. Miranda saw only love and concern in his eyes, and he saw great relief in hers as she drank in the sight of him with the thirst of a critter left for days without water.
    “Dylan…”
    “Mandy, don’t try to talk—here drink this.” The cool water immediately soothed her raw throat, but it was the touch of the man she loved that eased her pain from her mind.
    “This is one hell of a homecoming—here I’m expecting to see you up and around, and you’re in worse shape than when I left! Geez, Mandy will you ever listen when someone tells you NO for your own good! You just don’t get it—it’s not just you that’s hurt when you put yourself at risk.”
    Tears glistened in her eyes, but before Miranda could respond, Marcus chimed in. “Dylan, that’s a message we’ve been trying to get through that thick head of hers for years! Mandy, what Dylan’s trying to say is we can’t imagine life here without your laughter and spirit. We’re not just being mean or trying to fence in your adventurous nature—we just want you to use a little common sense, and take your own safety into consideration.”
    Always the one to lighten the mood, David said with mock sternness, “Which means sis, you’re going to be tied to the bed with armed guards outside the door and window!”
    “Yeah, armed with a paddle and instructions to use it on your bare backside if you step one foot out of this room until the doc says you’re completely healed!” Marcus added.
    They all laughed, as Dylan jumped in saying, “And I’m taking the first shift—in fact I’m taking all the shifts.” Then he turned serious again, “And don’t think for one minute young lady, your condition or the fact that I’ve missed the hell out of you the last three weeks, gets you out of a very long, hard spanking for what you pulled today.”
    “Not to mention the blistered butt we still owe her Dylan, for not staying out of harm’s way during the bandits’ raid, and getting herself shot in the first place!”
    “Man oh man Mandy, when the doc says you can get up and around again, you better be sure you can stay up for a while, because it doesn’t sound like you’re going to want to sit much!” David teased.
    Now Miranda was starting to get irritated at the teasing and threatening promises of spankings. “You know guys,” she said sarcastically, “I’m really sick and tired of being treated like a naughty little girl every time I try to do what I’m trained to do. I can’t stand by when a creature is hurt or sick—I’ve got to do something. You’re no better than the other ranchers around here—nobody thinks a woman is good for anything other than cooking, cleaning and having kids!” She tried to sit up to reinforce her point, but was immediately set back by the searing pain in her side.
    Dylan reached out to support her shoulders and ease her back down on the bed. “Mandy, this is not about your ability to work miracles with hurt critters. You know damn well your brothers and I—hell everyone on this ranch—respects your vet skills. But you