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if he wasn’t holding her prisoner and
dragging her across the yard at breakneck speed.
    “I’m
warning you right now, if you don’t slow down, I’m going to have an accident.”
    “I
won’t let you fall.”
    “I’m
not talking about that kind of accident.”
    His
fingers tightened on her arm and just as quickly relaxed. He glanced at the
eastern sky. His mouth, so like Caleb’s generous one with the same well-defined
totally masculine shape, flattened to a straight line of disapproval, but he
slowed.
    Well,
that was one bit of useful information. They probably weren’t planning on
killing her, seeing as how they were worried about her peeing her pants.
    “There
are facilities inside,” he finally said.
    Her
“Good to know” was a bit breathless. She really was going to have to get
serious about getting into shape when she got home. She risked a glance up as
they reached the wide porch. That might have been a smile on the man’s mouth,
but just that quick it was gone.
    Jared
didn’t let her go as they climbed the steps, just kept that steady,
uncompromising grip on her arm.
    “Where
are you taking me?” she asked as he half shoved, half escorted her through the
front door.
    “To
the facilities.” He leaned over her to open a door on the right. She never felt
him touch her bonds, but her arms suddenly fell to her sides.
    “Be
quick.”
    Easier
said than done. Her arms, so long confined, refused to listen to a thing her
brain had to say.
    Jared
took his hat off, revealing a head of thick chestnut hair. The family
resemblance to Caleb was even stronger without his hat. Same square face,
well-defined cheekbones, large slightly slanted hazel eyes that leaned more
toward green than blue, finished off by one stubborn-looking chin.
    “What
are you waiting for?”
    “Feeling
to return to my arms.”
    He
frowned down at her and then brusquely started massaging her arms. When his
fingers ran over her wrists through her shirt, raw pain made her cry out. She
jerked out of his reach.
    Something—regret
maybe?—flashed in his hazel eyes as he looked at the blood on his fingers
before his expression reverted to emotionless.
    “Be
quick.”
    He
didn’t have to worry. Her bladder wasn’t going to let her be anything else. If
she hadn’t been in such a hurry, she might have paused before using what looked
like an indoor outhouse from yesteryear, but bursting women could not be picky,
and this was definitely an any-hole-in-a-pinch moment. It only took two seconds
to determine there was no escape from the room. The door she’d entered was the
only exit. The only light came from a small round window up high. There wasn’t
any toilet paper and only a crude basin for washing her hands. There also
wasn’t any water with which to fill the basin.
    Her
bladder relieved, tissue from her pocket substituted for toilet paper, she
began to think of other things. Like how to get out of this mess. Clearly, she
couldn’t sneak out of the room. The tiny window wouldn’t fit her foot, let
alone her hips. Which meant she couldn’t escape, but that didn’t mean she
couldn’t stall. There was a bolt on the door. She carefully slid it home,
wincing at the slight metallic grate as it worked into place.
    “Hurry
up,” Jared called from the other side.
    “Just
trying to figure out how to flush this thing.”
    Which
was only half a lie. She didn’t have a clue as to how the monstrosity worked.
    “Pull
the chain.”
    She
did, stalling for time. It snapped off its rusted hook and fell across her arm.
    “Thanks,”
she called with false cheerfulness, dropping the thin chain in the basin. A
quick glance at the walls revealed nothing in the way of a weapon. Getting down
on her hands and knees, she checked under the cabinet. Maybe someone had lost a
wrench or something over the years.
    The
door she’d locked swung open and two scuffed brown cowboy boots came into her
line of vision a second before that familiar hand reattached itself