Rescuing Lilly Read online

  Rescuing Lilly

  by

  Hallie Miller

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © January 2015 by Hallie Miller

  Published by LSF Publications

  http://www.lsfpublications.com/

  Cover design by Nathaniel Scott.

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. It includes adult spanking and some sexual scenes. Any resemblance to actual persons, places or events are purely coincidental.

  Re-evaluating her life following a failed relationship, Lilly acts on a whim - she packs her bags, gets in the car, and drives across country in the sweltering July heat of Texas. Her car breaks down on a remote stretch of the highway, and things go from bad to worse when she burns her hand and runs out of water. Her rescuer is handsome rancher Jake Hackett, a strong-willed and somewhat high-handed man who is used to being obeyed. Lilly brings out his protective side, and he insists on taking her back to his ranch when she is released from hospital so that he can look after her. But he hasn't bargained on Lilly's independent and tempestuous nature, and Lilly has never before encountered such a dominant man who needs to take control. A romance blossoms between the two, but sparks fly when Lilly realises she can't get her own way all the time - and a series of spankings follow! Learning to do as she is told is difficult for Lilly, and her defiance puts her in danger ... it is then that she realises just how much Jake means to her. Could it be that at last she has found the right man for her? And does Jake feel the same way...?

  Lilly stared down the seemingly never-ending highway ahead of her wondering how she had got herself into this situation. She always did things without completely thinking through her idea. After her parents passed in a car accident, she'd started dating a guy to fill up the void in her life, unsure whether it was love or loneliness that formed the basis of their relationship. It all seemed fine at first, but after a year or so all the excitement and joy seemed to fade. What happened to falling in love forever and till death do us part? No one seemed to stay together these days anyway, so maybe it was worth giving marriage a shot with someone who you could just deal with as opposed to someone you truly loved.

  As she glanced at the clock on the dashboard, she noticed it had been over an hour since she had seen road signs for any sort of life. She realized it would have been smarter not to drive across country in the middle of the fierce July heat, but it was necessary to get out of the relationship. Her actions were based on that moment when she realized she couldn't deal with it anymore and there just might be a possibility of something better out there - somewhere. For the past three months, she had contemplated whether or not to be honest and tell Nathan how she really felt. But it really wasn't anything that was his fault that caused the rift between them. Granted, there were little things like occasionally chewing with his mouth open and little phrases he used that would grate on her nerves, but he didn't do these things intentionally and really shouldn't be blamed. It truly was the fact that they just weren't close anymore. Morning and night they passed each other lifelessly, saying 'Goodnight' and 'Have a good day'. That was the extent of the excitement in their relationship, whereas she wanted someone who would sweep her off her feet, take care of her, protect her, and cherish her. She sighed, thinking maybe she had watched too many Disney movies as a child - they had painted a picture in her mind of the ideal man and the ideal relationship, and real life bore no comparison. Damn you, Disney.

  Sweating from the July heat, Lilly reached for the small cooler she had packed to pull out a bottle of water. "Damn!" she cursed, realizing all the bottles were empty, and began worrying about how much this trip was going to cost. Even though Nathan said he would pay the last month's rent of their lease, she still had plenty of credit card bills to pay, not to mention car insurance and a cell phone bill. She had always told herself she would take the credit cards out of her purse and keep paying a little over the amount due every month and eventually they would be fully paid; however, they never left her purse as there was always a range of tempting shoes or clothes on offer - and if she didn't buy them right then, she would never see them again. The credit card always seemed to win out in the long run.

  After she made what she thought was a right turn that would lead her to the next town, she felt the car begin to rumble, and heard a whining noise coming from the engine. Praying that it would work itself out at least to get her to the next gas station, she continued down the deserted road. Before she knew it, the car rumbled to a stop and she managed to get it onto the right shoulder. She popped the hood to release billows of grey and white smoke, and let out a string of profanity when she felt her left hand burning in the steam. As she glanced down at her hand, she saw the reddened skin and what was soon to be bulging blisters.

  "Of course I'm the dumbass that opens the hood after seeing it smoking for the last half hour!" she berated herself. After wrapping an old tank top around her hand, she began to walk around the car to see if there was any sign of life in the distance. With no luck she decided to sit on the trunk of the car and wait for the next car to come along to get some assistance.

  "There are no cell phone towers out here, and who knows if anyone even drives on this road daily," she mumbled. Two hours passed as she sat there, feeling her pale skin beginning to burn on her arms and shoulders. Wishing she had eaten a little more and brought more water, she wondered how long she could make it out here in the desert knowing she was well on the way to dehydration. Realizing she should probably get out of the sun for a little while, she sat back in the driver's seat and laid her head back.

  ---oOo---

  Jake drove along the quiet roads of Spring Branch, anxious to get home after spending the past week in San Antonio acquiring two new horses for his ranch. The paperwork for animals and the buying and selling process seemed to drag on and on, and it wasn't like him to want to spend more than one or two days in the city at a time. After he made his last turn for the ranch, he noticed a car on the side of the highway. As he pulled in behind the small blue sedan, he thought at first it was empty and abandoned, but when he stepped out of his truck, he caught sight of what he thought was a ponytail flopping over the headrest of the driver's seat.

  What kind of girl sits and sleeps in her car on the side of the highway? Doesn't she realize anyone could just pull up behind her and do God knows what? He could already feel the blood boiling under his skin with frustration and anger for someone he didn't even know. He didn't recognize the car, and as it had a Georgia license plate he had to assume she was from out of town. This girl better have a very good explanation for her situation or I'm gonna tear into her.

  He strode up next to the driver's side window and caught sight of a young girl seemingly passed out in the driver's seat. Her face was red and splotchy from the late afternoon summer heat and she barely looked like she was breathing. He threw open the door and tried to shake her awake.

  "Ma'am! Wake up! Can you hear me?" He noticed her hand was wrapped with some sort of yellow striped cotton and it looked like there were blood stains seeping through the material.

  Slowly she began to turn her head toward him. Her eyelids droopy, she mumbled, "Yeah."

  Jake ran back his truck to grab his bottle of water out of the console. If this girl has been sitting here for as long as I think she has, she has got to be extremely dehydrated, he thought to himself as he remembered how red and dry her lips were when she turned towards him. He ran back to her, lifted her chin with his hand and pulled her lips apart with his thumb. He slowly poured the water into her mouth, talking softly to her so she would sta
rt swallowing. After she was able to swallow nearly a third of the bottle, her eyelids opened enough so he could see how beautifully blue her eyes were. He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back and lifted her out of the small car. He carried her to the passenger side of his truck and gently set her down in the seat, leaning across her to buckle her seat belt. After turning the air conditioner on full blast and setting the bottle of water next to her, he gently grabbed her chin and turned her face to his.

  "You better stay right here. You understand?" She barely nodded her head, and he turned back towards her car to grab her purse and phone. "This girl has got a death wish," he mumbled as he glanced at the cooler full of empty water bottles and her small suitcase in the backseat. He yanked the suitcase out and tossed it in the back of his truck bed.

  ---oOo---

  Jake turned his vehicle around and sped toward the small hospital about 10 miles into town. He knew the girl would need some fluids and medical attention for her hand. He figured the best action was to get her to the doctor as soon as possible so they could explain what was going on with her. The way she seemed right now, an 18-wheeler could be driving over her and she would be too out of it to notice. He raced into the emergency parking area and pulled into the unloading bay. Carrying her to the front desk he hastily explained how he found her. When a nurse came around with a gurney they lifted the girl gently.

  "It's going to be okay," Jake whispered in her ear as two nurses pulled her down the hallway into a room on the far left.

  The desk attendant walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sir, I need you to fill out these forms," she said, pushing a clipboard into his hands.

  Jake stared at the now empty hall and glanced down at the clipboard. "I don't even know her. I only glanced at her license that I found in her purse. Her name is Lilly Castle and she is from Georgia I think."

  The older lady looked at the lines creasing between his eyes and could almost feel the concern emanating from him. "Honey, just fill them out the best you can. She may have an insurance card in her purse or even an emergency contact number." She glanced back at the waiting room full of people and then turned back to him. He had a somewhat blank and empty look at his face. She put a hand on his back and said, "Just have a seat over there and we will come get you when the doctor has taken a look at her, okay?"

  Jake turned toward the seating area. He took a seat in a chair in the corner and began to write down all the information he could find about this girl. He felt guilty looking through her purse and wallet but wasn't sure how else to give the hospital any information. He glanced at her license picture. She was a sweet-looking girl, 26 years-old, from Georgia. He wondered what she was doing in Texas and why she had packed up and driven across country by herself. Various questions ran through his mind and before he realized, the same desk attendant was tapping on his shoulder.

  "You can go see her now if you'd like," she said as she pointed down the hallway. "Room 118. She is still pretty groggy, but you may be able to get some answers from her in a little while. The doctor is running some IV fluids to rehydrate her and he bandaged up the burn on her left hand. It looks like she burned herself pretty badly. Do you know what happened?"

  "No. It must have happened before I got there," he said and he started toward the hall. "But I'm determined to find out exactly how she got herself into this situation."

  The desk attendant shook her head slightly and smiled to herself. "Sounds like someone might be getting more than just a lecture when she wakes up," she muttered under her breath.

  Jake entered the room to find the young lady hooked up to an IV in her right wrist and her jean shorts and tank top exchanged for a hospital gown. Her hair was a bright shade of blonde but had traces of red dirt and dust from the highway scattered on various strands. Her left hand was almost completely covered in gauze from her wrist to the tips of her fingers. Her whole face was reddened from the sun so that she seemed to be in a permanent state of blushing. Jake shook his head as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.

  "I can't believe someone just let you leave wherever you're from to drive halfway across the country and end up in a hospital," he chastised as she slept across from him. Just as he put his head in his hands, he heard, "Excuse me?" Jake glanced up the find the girl looking at him with curious eyes; those beautiful blue eyes he saw when he gave her the water in the car. He smiled. "Oh I see you are awake now. How are you feeling?"

  "Ok I suppose. Just tired," she said as she glanced around the room to take in her surroundings. "Who are you and why am I in the hospital?" she said, suddenly taking on an accusatory tone. When she tried to push herself up to sitting position, Jake pushed her back down firmly.

  "Don't worry we are going to have a long talk about all of that. You need to get some rest because you are extremely dehydrated and from the looks of it, pretty banged up as well." Jake tried to overcome his frustration with her actions and gave her a small smile. "My name is Jake by the way, and I'm the one who brought you here. I found you on the side of the road. Your car was broken down, and you were passed out inside."

  Lilly's eyes widened when she heard his explanation. She didn't remember anything about him. The last thing she was remembered was moving to sit in the car to prevent herself from getting even more sunburned. "I knew I should have eaten something for lunch," she said softly to herself.

  "You didn't eat anything?" Jake growled as he leaned over her bed.

  Lilly cowered back under the covers. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. How could a perfect stranger be so angry with her over something that was her own fault? She didn't know why but the tone in his voice almost made her apologize, but she knew it was her own fault for not eating enough, especially when she knew she was prone to low blood sugar. "Well, I... I lost track of time I guess while I was driving," she lied, trying to cover for the fact that she hadn't stopped to eat during the entire trip because she had been too nervous and overwhelmed with her thoughts.

  "Don't lie to me, young lady. You just said you knew you should have eaten so you obviously thought about it and decided against it. If you know what's good for you, you will start telling me the truth. I don't appreciate being lied to." Jake's mouth set in a hard line and glared down at her. Part of him couldn't help but think how cute it was that she scrunched more under the covers when he raised his voice, and the way she looked anywhere but his face when she lied to him about eating. He couldn't understand why she lied, but he knew if she was going to hang around, he wasn't going to let it become a habit.

  Lilly felt like running and screaming at the same time. Who did this guy think he was, turning up and acting like he owned the place, and chastising her for lying. Wait a minute, she thought, why did I even lie in the first place? This man can't bear judgment on me. He doesn't even know me. Lilly dismissed the confusion about what in his demeanor caused her to falsify her story. She was not going to be intimidated by this man, even though he was probably one of the best-looking guys she had ever seen. He had slightly shaggy dark brown wavy hair that hung down to the top of his shirt collar. His skin was the kind of tan you only get from working in the sun every day, and his chest was extremely broad and muscular. From where she was sitting, he looked to be at least 6ft 4. Hell of a male specimen, she noted. Too bad he is a dick. She moved to swing her legs off the bed.

  "Where do you think you're going?" He moved to stand directly in front of her on the side of the bed. He picked her up and placed her back in the bed as she tried to wiggle in his arms.

  "I need to get up and get out of here. I have to go get my car and get back on the road," Lilly huffed. She threw back the covers he had just placed back over her and made a move to get off the bed again. But suddenly his hands straddled her stomach and he leaned directly over her, about 10 inches from her face. She struggled to take a deep breath from his closeness. She couldn't determine if what she was feeling was fright or seduction, and her heart began to race inside her
chest.

  "If you even try to get out of this bed again, so help me God, I will put you over my knee right here in this hospital room. Your body needs to rest and rehydrate, not get back in a car anytime soon. If you don't realize that's what's important right now then you need to be under someone's care who knows what you need. Now, I'm going to go talk to the nurse to see what we need to do to get you better. Don't move until I get back." Jake pulled himself away from her shocked face and went to find the nurse.

  Lilly's jaw dropped as she watched Jake walk out of the room. He doesn't really mean that, does he? He can't touch me, much less try to spank me, she thought to herself. Even though she didn't take his threat seriously, she remained lying down in the bed until he walked back through the door a few minutes later with a young brunette nurse.

  The nurse checked over the chart she held in her hands and glanced at the remaining amount of fluids in the bag hanging next to the bed. After jotting down some notes on her chart, she finally spoke. "I think once she gets the rest of these fluids into her system, she should be ready for discharge. Her vitals look normal and have remained steady over the past two hours." The nurse smiled at Lilly and then turned to Jake. "Mr. Hackett, just make sure she gets plenty of rest and gets some food in her system. I'll go ahead and write up the discharge papers so you can get everything filled out to go home." Jake nodded and glanced back at Lilly with a faint smile.

  Lilly glared up at him. "What is she talking about? I'm not going anywhere with you. Like I said, I need to get my car and get back on the road. I don't need any handouts from you or anyone else. I appreciate you bringing me to the hospital but I really think that we should go our separate ways from here on out."