and shut his eyes. A vision of Bria standing on the front porch with tears streaming down her face immediately flashed behind his closed eyes, then in a matter of seconds it disappeared along with the headache.
His eyes snapped open. Could that have actually happened during the past several months? A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. In all their years together, he could never remember seeing Bria look so unhappy, so filled with sadness. What could have possibly caused her to look as if her heart was breaking?
Over the past year or two, she had let it be known on more than one occasion that she would like him to be home with her more. But of all their arguments about the time he spent out on the road with the rodeo company, he could never remember her being that miserable. Had things between them escalated to that point? Or had something else happened to cause her such heartache and he just couldn’t remember?
Lost in his disturbing thoughts, it took a moment for Sam to realize Bria was standing beside his chair with her hand on his arm. “Sam, are you all right?”
“I … uh, yeah,” he said, not sure if the image had been a fragment of recovered memory or his imagination working overtime. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her down to sit on his lap. “I’m fine.”
“This isn’t a good idea, Sam.” She placed her hand on his chest as if she intended to get up, then stopped abruptly. “Something is wrong. Your heart is racing.”
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed the tip of her nose. “You know that always happens when I’m close to you, sweetheart.”
He didn’t want to ask her about the vision just yet. Just the thought of Bria actually experiencing that kind of emotional pain was gut-wrenching.
“Do you feel like coming into the kitchen for dinner or would you rather I bring a tray in here for you?” she asked, her gaze not quite meeting his.
“What’s wrong, Bria?” he asked. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ I know you well enough to tell when something is bothering you.”
“I … guess I’m just worried,” she said slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.
Bringing his hand up, he gently brushed a strand of auburn hair from her soft cheek. “I’m here. My muscles are still a little sore, but I’m okay—we’re okay. And once I convince the doctor to release me to go back to work, everything will be back to normal.”
Lowering his head, he started to cover her mouth with his, but to his surprise she pulled away from him and stood up. “Of course, everything will go back to the way it was. Why wouldn’t it?” Her eyes sparkled with anger. “You’ll go back to traveling from one rodeo to another with the livestock and I’ll—” She stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, then to his utter bewilderment, she smiled. “I’ll be just fine. Now, do you feel like coming into the kitchen to eat or do you want me to bring your supper to you in here?”
Sam frowned. “Bria, what’s going on?”
He had never known her to switch gears quite that fast. If he didn’t know her better, he would swear she was trying to hide something from him. But that didn’t make any sense. Their relationship had always been based on honesty and sharing whatever was on their minds. With the exception of his life before he and Nate entered the foster care system—a life filled with mistakes he never intended to share with her or anyone else—they knew everything about each other. There wasn’t a single thing he could think of that she might feel the need to keep from him.
“Don’t mind me. It’s been a long day and I’m tired, that’s all.” She motioned toward the kitchen. “But I do need to know where you want to eat. If you’d like to finish watching the news—”
“Kitchen,” he interrupted, slowly rising to his feet. “I wasn’t paying much attention to the news, anyway. Since I can’t remember what’s been going on in the world for the past six months, there isn’t a lot of it that makes sense right now.”
As he followed Bria, Sam couldn’t help smiling. Even after three years of marriage, he loved watching the sexy sway of her shapely backside. It never failed to cause his heart to pound and his temperature to rise. This evening she looked exceptionally appealing in her summery pink sundress with skinny little straps that kept falling off her shoulders.
His smile suddenly turned to an all-out grin. Although he wasn’t used to being idle and viewed taking off work as a complete waste, he had a feeling that his forced downtime might not be that bad after all. Bria had been after him for the past year or so to slow down and spend more time with her and he saw no reason why they couldn’t enjoy his unexpected vacation for as long as it lasted. In fact, it might be just what they needed to make the baby they had both been anticipating.
The moment Sam stepped up behind her where she stood at the sink, Bria felt a warm tingling sensation course from the top of her head all the way to her toes even before he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her back against his solid frame. The chemistry between them had always been that way. Sam just had to walk into a room and all her senses went on high alert.
“Why aren’t you putting those in the dishwasher?” he asked, nodding toward the dishes she was washing. His warm breath feathering over the side of her neck sent a wave of longing straight through her.
She would have liked nothing better than to turn in his arms and have him kiss her until her knees gave way. But falling back into old habits now was not going to help her rebuild her life once Sam regained his memory and she left Sugar Creek Ranch for good. She needed to keep that uppermost in her mind.
Concentrating on the plate she was washing to keep from doing something she knew she would later regret, Bria shrugged. “Since Rosa is visiting her sister and no one’s been here for the past few days, there really weren’t enough dishes to warrant using the dishwasher. Besides, after we hired her to do the cooking and cleaning, the only time I get to be domestic is when one of the guys has a birthday and I make a celebratory dinner. I’ve missed doing things like cooking and washing a few dishes. It makes me feel useful and needed.”
“I can think of something a lot more fun for an after-dinner activity that will make you feel just as needed,” he said, his tone low and intimate. He brushed her long hair aside to slowly nibble kisses from just below her ear, down her neck to her bare shoulder. “Why don’t you put the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and go upstairs with me. I can’t remember the last time I made love to you, but it feels like it’s been a while.”
She wasn’t certain if it was the temptation of once again being loved by Sam, of experiencing his tenderness and the mastery of his touch, or the fear that she wouldn’t be able to resist him, but Bria’s heart skipped erratically, then took off beating as if she had run a marathon. “I don’t think that would be in either of our best interests,” she said truthfully, pulling the thin strap of her sundress back on top of her shoulder.
He stopped his sensual assault and turned her to face him. “You want to explain that?”
The frown on his handsome face was a good indication that whatever explanation she came up with needed to be reasonable and something that he would have no trouble accepting. Thinking quickly, she smiled. “The doctor told both of us that you need to take it easy for a few more days. I’m going to see to it that’s exactly what you do.”
“Okay,” he said, his grin wicked. “I’ll just lie there and let you make love to me.”
Staring up at him, she was reminded of how things had been during the early days of their marriage—the playfulness, the inability to keep their hands off each other. That had been before the Sugar Creek Rodeo Company had become a resounding success and Sam had become obsessed with making it bigger and better than any of his competitors.
“I’ve got a better idea,” she said, turning back to the sink when he started to lower his head for a kiss. “Why don’t I finish the dishes and then we can go out onto the porch and watch the sunset together.”
“Seriously?” She could