No, he decided, he would not take the chance on what else her wardrobe might contain. It was still early. He would have plenty of time to take care of this. If he was quick, he might even get back before she woke up, and she wouldn't even have a moment of apprehension. As an afterthought, he reached down and picked up her shoes, too, from where she had set them neatly beside the dress. Pulling the door shut carefully behind him, Josh grinned to himself. This would make her happy.
It never occurred to him to wonder why that should matter to him.
Felicity sat bolt-upright on the bed, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, every muscle strained for flight. But the wolves were gone and the night had turned to day and the cramped interior of the wagon was now a spacious bedroom. Her body sagging with relief, Felicity whispered a prayer of thanks that her fears had only been phantoms in a dream, and that she was, at least for the moment, safe.
As her heartbeat and her breathing settled back down to normal, Felicity glanced around the cheerful room and considered her situation. She need no longer fear wild animals or starvation, but her father had taught her that civilization held its own set of dangers. As kind as everyone at this ranch had been to her so far, they were still all strangers to her. She could not plan on their generosity for much longer. Soon she would have to make her own way in the world, but the thought filled her with a nameless dread. If she left this place, where could she go? And how? The sad truth was that she didn't even know where she was to begin with, and had no idea where she might go.
Sighing with frustration, she threw back the covers and swung her feet to the floor. She should be counting her blessings instead of worrying herself to death, she decided. For the first time in weeks she had a place to stay and food to eat and people-nice people-to take care of her. The terror that she had felt at being alone was gone, and the terror of facing what lay ahead was something she need not consider just yet. For this time, at least, she was safe. She would be grateful for that.
Determined not to let her fears spoil this glorious day, Felicity climbed out of the big bed and rose unsteadily to her feet. She had to wait a minute for her head to clear from having risen so suddenly, but when it had, she felt remarkably strong and alive. Drawn by the irresistible lure of the sunlight, she moved over to the window and pulled the curtain back a bit to peer out. What she saw pleased her very much.
Mr. Logan certainly knew how to run a ranch. The buildings, from her vantage point at least, appeared to be in good repair, and the corral fences were strong and straight. Felicity had seen enough ranches where the buildings were tumbling down and the fences were patched and held together with spit and rawhide to know a well-run operation when she saw one. This was the kind of ranch she and her father loved to come across because the owners took pride in their possessions and were both willing and eager to have them immortalized in photographs. Not only would a ranch like this provide enough work to support her and her father for weeks, but the owners would usually insist that the Storms stay around for a few days as guests. That meant good food, free food, a real blessing for folks whose only home was a wagon.
Maybe Mr. Logan would like for her to take some photographs of his ranch. She would be happy to, and she wouldn't even charge him, except maybe for the chemicals. That would be a way to thank him for all he had done for her.
Josh glanced back over his shoulder as he reentered the house and tried to judge the hour by the position of the sun. If his estimate was correct, he had made the trip to town and back in record time. He had left a lathered horse at the corral for one of the men to cool down for him, and he was carrying a rather large package.
He paused in the front doorway, prepared to do battle with Candace, but she was nowhere to be seen. Just as well, he told himself. He would simply place the package inside the girl's door and let her find it when she woke up. He walked quietly across to her bedroom.
Yes, Felicity decided, she should be concerned with other things besides selfishly worrying about herself. She reached up and ran her fingers through her long blond hair and shook it free down her back. Sighing again, this time with determination, she stretched her arms wide as if to embrace the vision of the Rocking L Ranch.
"Christ Almighty."
Gasping with surprise, Felicity whirled around to find Josh Logan gaping at her from the doorway. For a second she just stood there, too stunned to move or even lower her arms, but then she remembered what she was wearing, or rather, not wearing. With a cry of alarm, she raced back to the bed and dove under the covers.
Josh discovered his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it with a snap. He felt like he'd been kicked by a mule.
She had been standing in front of the window with her golden hair tumbling down and her arms stretched wide and the rest of her… God, the rest of her was just there, those long, shapely legs that went on and on up under his shirt until they joined those curving hips that gave way to that slender waist… And he had seen it all. The sunlight coming through the shirt had outlined everything quite clearly.
Josh tried to swallow but found that his mouth had gone very, very dry.
Felicity stared at him in complete mortification, clutching the bedclothes to her chin. "Don't you know you're supposed to knock before you come in here?" she demanded to cover her confusion. She was blushing furiously, and those azure eyes were flashing sparks of mingled anger and embarrassment.
Well, he was embarrassed, too, but there was no use in admitting it. That would only make things worse. "I just wanted to be sure you were all right," he said. "But you're right, I should have knocked." He didn't know whether he was glad or sorry that he hadn't, but never mind that. "I listened at the door, and when I didn't hear anything, I figured you were still asleep. I didn't want to wake you, so I was just going to set this inside the door for you." He held up the parcel he was still holding.
Felicity glanced at the package. "What is it?" she asked warily.
Josh shrugged. "Some things I thought you'd need. Here." He walked over to the bed and offered the paper-wrapped bundle to her.
Felicity fought down the surge of excitement his words had caused. "I… I can't take a present from you, Mr. Logan. You've already done enough for me." She clutched the bedclothes more tightly in an effort to avoid the temptation of reaching for the package.
Josh set the package in her lap. "Well, there's nothing in here that'll be of any use to me, so if you don't take it, it'll go to waste."
"Please, Mr. Logan, don't you know that a lady cannot accept gifts from-"
"It's not a gift," he said, annoyed.
"What is it, then?"
"Open it and see."
Carefully tucking the blanket under each of her arms so she would still be modestly covered, Felicity reached for the parcel and began to untie the string. Going slowly so as to savor every second of this delicious experience, she peeled away the paper to reveal the contents of Mr. Logan's surprise.
"Oh!" Felicity blinked back the tears that sprang to her eyes. She was silly to cry, but she couldn't seem to help it. She'd never had anything so pretty in her whole life. Reverently, she touched the blue gingham dress, marveling at its softness.
"There's two of them," Josh told her gruffly.
Wide-eyed and openmouthed, Felicity lifted her gaze to him for one disbelieving moment, but then lowered it quickly when she saw the look on his face. Mr. Logan was very displeased with her, and he probably had every right to be. She must be behaving very rudely. How many times had her father warned her that a lady should always be courteous, meek, and gentle-spoken, the way her mother had been? She should have refused the gift-and it was a gift, no matter what he said-in a more gracious manner. She would do so in just a moment, too, but first she had to see the other dress.