Leftover Love by Janet Dailey

men like you. It’s ‘dour.’ “But it didn’t seem to faze him. “Do you ever smile?”
    “When there’s reason.” He made one last adjustment.
    Half turning, she rested her weight on one elbow to closely study him, her eyes gleaming with curious speculation. “What would it take to melt that iron composure of yours? What would I have to do to coax a smile out of you?”
    His glance raked her briefly as he straightened away from the wind wheel. “You could try climbing down the windmill. I’m all finished up here.”
    With a barely concealed sigh of exasperation, Laynemaneuvered around to swing her feet onto the crossties and begin her descent. Creed followed her, keeping a cross-board empty between them so he wouldn’t accidentally step on her hands.
    When she neared the bottom, Layne started to push off to jump the last couple of feet. But the slick sole of her boot slipped on the rough edge of a board. Her feet became tangled and she fell, landing heavily on her back. The impact drove the air out of her lungs, momentarily seeming to paralyze them. For a dazed second she wasn’t quite sure what had happened to her.
    She blinked her eyes. When she opened them again, Creed was crouching over her and she was looking into his broadly lean features. She was fascinated by the concern that animated them, when they were usually so masked.
    “Layne.” He pulled off his glove and laid a callused hand along her cheek while a finger sought the pulsepoint in her neck. “Are you hurt?”
    Unable to make her lungs work to operate her voice, she could only shake her head negatively against his rough palm.
    With a frown Creed watched her labor for air. “Are you sure?”
    She nodded mutely and grabbed at his arm to try to pull herself upright. Then his hands were gently and carefully lifting her so she could sit up. Conscious of his close scrutiny and the strong, supporting arms that stayed around her, Layne knew he wasn’t convinced.
    After the first tentative gasps of air she managed to vocally assure him. “It just … knocked the wind out of … me. That’s all.”
    His features relaxed and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly at her answer. She noticed the small movement that altered the straight line of his mouth. Like a child captivatedby the thing that had charmed her, she wanted to touch it. With hands still shaky from the fall, she tugged off a glove and reached up to let her fingertips rest lightly along an indented lip corner.
    “You’re actually smiling,” she marveled.
    When she glanced up to his eyes to seek confirmation of this amazing fact, they were very dark, yet glowing with an intensely warm light. It wasn’t until then that Layne noticed how fast her heart was beating—a reaction from the fall, no doubt.
    There was a suggestion of movement toward her, a barely discernible dipping of his head closer to hers. For a second she thought he intended to kiss her. Then something changed, and he was taking hold of her hand and lowering it away from his mouth. All in one motion, his hands were gripping her clothes-padded sides to help her stand.
    “Come on. Let’s get you on your feet,” he urged with a faint gruffness.
    In her mind the actions ceased to be two separate incidents. The tilting of his head had been a preliminary movement to helping her stand up. There was no reason to attach any special significance to it. She did a haphazard job of brushing herself off while Creed stood back.
    “Hoyt’s waiting for you. You’d better get a move on,” he said and swung around to walk to the pickup and put his tools away.
    Her legs felt a little rubbery the first few steps. By the time Layne crossed the long stretch of grass to the truck and horse trailer, she had walked off most of the effects of the fall, although a few spots remained tender.
    “Took a flyer, did you?” Hoyt observed as she climbed into the cab of the truck.
    “My foot slipped.”
    “You’re just lucky you weren’t