She blushed as she realized she’d been staring at him. He hadn’t moved. He simply watched her back. She needed to say something. Maybe ask him who he was or how she’d come to be here. Was this his cabin? Did he live here alone? Was he some kind of mountain man? Yep, she had a hundred questions. She just didn’t know where to start. She opened her mouth.
“Hi.”
Wow. Well done, Ellie. In high school, she’d gotten into trouble repeatedly for not being able to keep quiet and all she had to say was hi.
His lips twitched. Great. She’d amused him. Woo hoo.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked, putting three fingers up a few inches in front of her eyes.
“Ten,” she answered without thinking.
His eyes widened, alarm filling his face.
“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I’ve got a weird sense of humor sometimes. It was three.”
He frowned. “Your health isn’t a joke, little miss.”
A shiver of what felt suspiciously like desire went through her. She didn’t find that low, gravelly voice arousing, did she?
Nope. Not her. She w
as not looking for a man. Certainly not a dominant one. She wanted to be on her own. Make her own decisions. Her own plans. She did not want to be stuck dancing to someone else’s tune.
She cleared her throat. “Umm, sorry. I will try not to joke about my health in the future. Unless I’m dying then all bets are out the window.”
He scowled. All right. He really didn’t appreciate her attempt at humor.
“I’m Ellie.”
He inclined his head. Why did she feel like he already knew that?
“Hi Ellie, I’m Bear Macall.”
“Bear? Really? That’s your name? That’s cool, I like it,” she said quickly. She didn’t want to insult him. Was it his real name? His lips twitched. Okay, she was back to being funny.
“Your driver’s license says your name is Eleanor Margaret Bantler. You prefer Ellie, though?”
The only people who called her Eleanor were her parents. She didn’t want to be called Eleanor anymore. She wanted a fresh start.
“My name is Ellie,” she said firmly. Then she stiffened, a slight frisson of fear going through her. “How do you know what my driver’s license says? Did you go through my wallet?”
What about her money? Had he taken it? It wasn’t much, but it was all she had.
And you probably owe him that and more for rescuing you, Ellie. Shit.
“I did. I wanted to see if there was any information about your health in your bags that I might need to know to take care of you properly. You banged your head against the steering wheel when you crashed your car. Don’t know how long you were sitting there before I found you, but when I arrived your car was out of gas.” He gave her a look filled with disapproval. “And your skin was cold. Much longer and hypothermia would have gotten you.”
“Oh. Well. Thank you. Umm and you brought me back here? To your place?” She tried to surreptiously feel around to see if she was still dressed. Her hand brushed against her jeggings and she had to hold back a sigh of relief. He seemed like a nice guy but you could never be too careful. Ellie knew she wasn’t the best judge of character. She was too trusting.
“This ain’t my place. It’s a cabin my boss owns. I live on a ranch about an hour from here.”
“Oh. Right. Were you on your way there when you came across me? You couldn’t get through because of that tree either?”
“Already decided to head here. Snow was coming down too hard. Still is.” He turned and looked out the window. She couldn’t see much in this position so she attempted to lean up on her elbow, groaning as her head protested.
He turned swiftly back to her, standing and looming over her in such a way that she gasped and fell back against the bed with a cry of pain.
“Jesus, little one. Don’t move like that. You’ll hurt yourself.”