All he could think about was Lori. Although Maria and Geoffrey had been barricaded from returning to the ranch by flooded roads, Maria had learned that Lori had been looking for one of the campers for hours. Now Virginia feared that Lori was lost, too.

Jackson ’s stomach churned with remorse. He should have been there with her instead of focusing on this real-estate development deal. His pride had been mortally wounded when she’d insisted she didn’t want her family to know she’d married him. Determined to make her proud of him, he’d worked night and day to pull this deal together.

She’d been the biggest headache of his life, and now she was the biggest heartache. His hands clammy as he clenched the steering wheel, he held on to a scrap of hope that her training had come back to her.

Lord help him, though, the woman was vulnerable. Her father had kept her wrapped in a cocoon, unprepared for life, let alone riding around on a horse in the middle of the night looking for a lost child.

Turning on the road to the ranch, he stepped on the gas. He would be there soon. The ranch was just three miles away. Just three miles. He saw the shiny puddle, or was it a lake stretching across the road? Swearing, he slowed. He didn’t have time for this. Damn this rain. Damn the flooded roads. Damn it all.

Jackson swerved, but the engine gulped too much water and stalled. He tried to restart the SUV. It coughed and sputtered and died. Thumping his fist against the steering wheel, he swore again. Getting out of the car, he pushed it to the side of the road and started running. Two and a half miles to go. He had to get to Lori.

Twenty-five minutes later, he jogged toward the barn. He’d spent the last mile alternately praying and swearing. The chorus of voices and whistles he heard gave him hope. Brushing the rain from his face, he sped up his pace and ran to the far side of the barn that led into the paddock.

He stopped dead in his tracks. A small figure, covered in a hooded raincoat, rode Lady, the large, gentle mare, and held a small child peeking out from the raincoat. “One, two, three, I see you,” the child called. “You are it.”

The small group of people let out yells of praise. A volunteer stepped forward, reached up to the child, a boy, and carried him down off the horse.

“Lori, you’re drenched,” Virginia said.

The small woman on the horse was Lori. His heart racing, he ran to the horse’s side and held out his arms.

“I tried to call you,” she said in a croaky voice.

Lifting her foot from one stirrup, she slid down into his arms. “Sorry I’m so wet,” she whispered, shivering.

Jackson held her close, so relieved that she was safe.

“She’s been out in that rain for hours,” Virginia said. “We should get her inside.”

Jackson picked Lori up and headed for the house. “I’m so wet,” Lori said.

“We’ll get you dry,” he said.

She lifted her hands to his face. “You’re wet, too. What happened?”

“Another story,” he said, still worried about her.

She coughed. “My throat hurts. I yelled and yelled and yelled,” she whispered.

“You did good,” he said. “You rescued that little boy. You’re a hero.”

She met his gaze from beneath the hood of her raincoat and smiled. “Me? A hero?”

His heart turned inside out. “Yeah, baby. You.”

“Don’t tell Virginia, but I was afraid I was going to throw up right before I mounted Lady.”

“But you did it anyway.”

“Yeah, I kept pretending that you were there talking to me. You kept saying, you can do anything you want.”

“I would have given anything to do this for you,” he said.

“I rode a horse again,” she whispered as if she still couldn’t quite believe it. “All by myself.” She cleared her throat and winced. “My throat hurts.”

“Be quiet,” he said and carried her up the stairs into the house. He took her directly into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. He helped her strip off her clothes and dried her wet, shivering body with a towel before he ushered her into the tub.

She sighed as she relaxed in the warm water. “I could go to sleep right this minute.”

“Not yet,” he said. “I just want to get you warmed up.”

Lori felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience. So weary she could barely stay awake, she felt herself drowning in Jackson ’s tenderness.

“Am I dreaming this?” she asked him, the warm water surrounding her, his concerned gaze latched on to her. “Are you really being this nice to me?”

He chuckled. “I guess.”

She sighed. “Do you know how much I’ve missed you?” she asked. “I want you around even if you’re fussing at me.”

“Is that so?” he asked, his lips lifting in a half smile. He pushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek. “Why is that?”

Dizzy from stress, she shook her head. “I don’t know. I just know I want to be with you all the time,” she confessed. “Twenty-four seven. I’m crazy, aren’t I?” She paused, wondering if she should have said all that. “I’m so tired. I must be half-dreaming.”

“You’ve earned it, sweetheart,” he said. “Time for bed.” He coaxed her from the tub and dried her again, wrapping her in a big fluffy towel. He carried her to her room, and Maria appeared with a nightgown.

Everything blurred together after that.

“I’m sorry for every bad thing I’ve said to you,” Maria said, her eyes wide with regret.

“’s okay,” Lori said as she snuggled under the covers.

“Go to sleep,” Jackson said, and she felt his lips on her forehead.

Drifting off, she whispered, “Love you…”

Or did she?

When she woke up the following afternoon, she immediately looked for Jackson. “Jackson?”

Maria gently squeezed her arm. “He had to go back to Dallas, but he promised he’ll be back soon. How are you feeling, sweetie?”

Disappointed that Jackson had left, she closed her eyes. “My throat hurts,” she said in a husky voice.

“ Virginia has some medicine that will make you feel better,” Maria said. “I’ll go get her.”

Lori shook her head. “No, not now.”

“Why not?”

Lori just shook her head. It required too much energy to do more at the moment. She drifted off again.

Sometime later, she awakened again. Her room was dark and Maria was curled up on a chair beside her bed. “Is Reese okay?” she asked.

“Reese is fine,” Maria said. “Here, drink some water.”

Lori lifted her head and sipped the cool water through a straw. “Why is it dark?” she asked in her croaky voice.

Maria laughed. “Because it’s midnight.”

Lori shook her head. “So late. Where’s Jackson?”

“He’s gone to Dallas, but he’ll be back soon. He’s called several times to check on you.”

Lori sighed and closed her eyes.

“Drink some more before you go back to sleep,” Maria coaxed.

Lori lifted her head and took several sips. “Did I dream that you apologized for being mean to me?”

A long silence passed. “No,” Maria said. “You didn’t dream it. I was very worried about you. You spent too much time in the rain. When I heard Virginia had sent you out to look for Reese, I was afraid you wouldn’t survive.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” Lori said.

Maria laughed softly. “Yes, you are. Now you should take some of the medicine Virginia has for your throat.”

Lori shook her head.

“You must take it. It will make you better,” Maria said in a stern voice.

Woozy, but mostly cognizant, Lori recounted the days since her last period. She was late. “I need you to get something from the drugstore for me.”

“No problem,” Maria said. “I will stay with you, and Geoffrey will get it.”

Lori shook her head again. “No. You. I need a pregnancy test.”

“Dios,” Maria said.

“Yeah. I could use His help, too,” Lori said and closed her eyes.

When Lori awakened the next morning, a plastic bag waited in the chair where Maria had previously sat. She reached for the bottle of water on the nightstand beside her and drank half of it in no time.

She glanced at the plastic bag again, knowing what it held. She wasn’t that late, and her body hadn’t always operated like a Swiss watch when it came to her period. Her lateness could be due to stress. Getting married, falling in love, being apart from her husband, staying out all night in the rain…

Okay, enough of the procrastination. She rose from bed and felt reasonably stable. Amazing what more than twenty-four hours of sleep could do for a person. Grabbing the bag and a robe, she padded down the hall to the bathroom.

She read and followed the instructions for the test, pacing the small bathroom as she waited. When she saw the results, she took another test and waited. Same result.

“Dios,” she whispered.


***

It took several moments to collect herself, but she finally managed it and took a shower. Wrapping herself in the cozy terry-cloth robe, she returned to her bedroom and found Jackson waiting for her.

“Well, hello,” she said, her stomach jumping at the sight of him. Her voice still held a tinge of huskiness, but she no longer needed to whisper.

Jackson looked bone weary but gorgeous to her. Dressed in a dark business suit, he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

“Are you okay? Maria said you had to go back to Dallas. It sounded urgent.”

“I had to take care of the SUV first. I left it on the side of the road because I couldn’t get through the temporary river in the middle of the road.”

She patted her hair dry with a towel. “Is it okay?”

He nodded. “How are you?”

“Much better.”

“You sound better. You had me worried.”

“Sorry for the scare,” she said, sitting opposite him on the bed.

“I have something to tell you,” he said.

“I have something to tell you, too,” she said.