A Cowboy's Kiss

by Trish Milburn

  “Hopefully your visit will help. Honestly, it seemed like her mind was somewhere else. Enough here to do the work but also a good chunk occupied by something that’s bothering her.”

  Though it was likely ascribing too much importance to his presence, he nevertheless wondered about the timing of Anna’s mood shift. Was it because he’d avoided seeing her the day before? Or was it simply hitting her that instead of going home, she still had work to do before she could be on her own?

  “Thanks for letting me know.” He headed toward where Jay indicated Anna’s room was located.

  He found her sitting in bed writing on one of the free notepads that pharmaceutical reps left at every medical facility they called on. Paige must have visited her because Anna was wearing casual athletic pants and a matching top.

  “Writing out all the ways you can break out of this joint?” he asked as he stood in the open doorway.

  Anna jumped, obviously unaware of his arrival. Almost as quickly, she flipped the notepad over. She lowered her gaze in the next breath, perhaps realizing how guilty that had made her look.

  “No, just making some notes to myself. What are you doing here?”

  Jay hadn’t been wrong. There was something off about Anna. But his gut told him that he’d get nowhere if he addressed it directly. Instead, he lifted his hands, which held the book and poster.

  “I come bearing gifts you left behind.”

  She nodded toward the book in his right hand. “I’m done with that. I should have had Paige pick it up when she was in town earlier.”

  “I’ll drop it off. I’m headed to Logan Springs after I leave here.”

  Something flashed across her features so fast he could almost believe he hadn’t seen it. Almost. He realized that mentioning Logan Springs had likely just made things worse. It was no secret that Anna wanted to go home. Anyone would in her situation.

  “Thanks.”

  He placed the book on a chair and rolled open the poster. “And we can’t forget about this. It’s due for another star, too, for completing your first day of rehab here.”

  “I don’t really need that,” she said.

  “Are you kidding? I poured all my artistic talent into this baby.”

  When she looked up at him, a hint of the Anna he’d come to know was evident in the crinkle between her brows. She appeared to hesitate, as if trying to decide whether to respond.

  “You know that’s kind of sad, right?”

  “Yes, well aware.”

  She lowered her gaze again, but not before he saw the hint of a smile trying to appear on her lips.

  No, don’t think about her lips.

  He turned his back toward her as he affixed the accomplishment poster to the wall. “You get one sticker for today’s rehab and another for being subjected to my lack of artistic talent.”

  When he turned around, he let himself slip just slightly into doctor mode, mainly to direct his attention away from the attraction he felt toward Anna. “I hear you’ve got a headache today.”

  She made a dismissive motion with her hand. “It’s nothing. Just didn’t sleep well last night. New bed.”

  Roman would bet a week’s pay that wasn’t the entirety of the story, but she also wasn’t acting as if the headache was related to her injuries. And Andrew had verified it was nothing to worry about. She likely was just in a down mood.

  “You sure that’s all?”

  She shook her head and didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects from doing so. “Seriously, it was just a bad night of sleep.”

  He didn’t believe her, but he didn’t think he’d get any more details by pushing.

  “Well, hopefully you’ll sleep better tonight.” A sudden thought occurred to him. “Since I’m going to Logan Springs, is there anything you’d like for me to pick up and bring back for you? More books? Something from your house?”

  “I’m good, thanks. Paige brought me some things.”

  Part of him yearned to ask her if she wanted him to stay, but she honestly didn’t seem to be in a chatty frame of mind. Maybe a good night of sleep really would improve her mood and outlook.

  Besides, his work had torpedoed family plans too many times. And after the dark period his family had gone through after his mom’s death and his dad’s subsequent falling apart, things were looking up. His dad had finally gotten himself back on track, and his older brother Justin had fallen stupid in love with the woman Roman fully expected to be his sister-in-law someday. Melody had helped his family heal, so when she said it was time for the family to get together for a meal, he wasn’t about to say no.

  For a crazy moment, he considered asking Anna if she’d like to go with him. But there were so many reasons why that wasn’t a good idea, chief among them being the fact that she was still healing and needed rest more than being dragged to a barbecue with a family she barely knew. Not to mention he wasn’t so much of a fool that he couldn’t predict how his family would react if he showed up at a family function with a woman, even if she was just someone who needed time away from institutional walls and people in scrubs.

  But there was something he could do.

  “Can I borrow your pen and a piece of that paper?”

  She gave him a curious look before ripping off a piece of paper from the back of the pad and handing it and the pen over to him. He wrote down his cell number and placed the paper and pen on the rolling table she’d been using when he came in.

  “If you think of anything you need, call me.” He paused, considering his next words before deciding he was worrying for no reason. If he ended up closer to Anna than he did to most patients who came through the hospital, so what? She wasn’t his patient, so he wasn’t doing anything unethical. “You can also use that number if you just need to talk.”

  The surprise that registered on her face made him question whether he’d made a mistake with his offer, but it didn’t feel like one. He understood the distance many doctors needed between themselves and people who were in need of care, but he’d never been good at that. And if he burned out early because of it, he’d deal with that when the time came. He could always go back to work for the family businesses.

  Anna just stared at him, and the more seconds that passed, the more awkward it became. So, he headed for the door.

  “I’ll check back in and see if I need to add any more stickers,” he said, pointing toward the poster on the wall.

  He still felt unsettled as he neared Logan Springs forty minutes later, still curious why there had been such a big difference in Anna compared to the previous time he’d seen her. Hopefully, tomorrow she’d be feeling better and he could stop fixating on the why of it.

  Before heading to the ranch, he went past the entrance and on into Logan Springs to drop off the book at the library. When he reached the small building in the middle of town, he spotted Paige locking up for the day. He parked and headed toward the book drop built into the side of the building next to the front door.

  “She finished it?” Paige asked when she saw the book in his hand.

  He nodded. “She said you came to see her this morning.”

  “Yeah, but I couldn’t stay long. Working both jobs today.”

  He thought for a moment, then remembered seeing her behind the counter of a gift store in downtown Gardiner, the gateway community to Yellowstone National Park that lay to the south of Logan Springs.

  Roman started to ask another question then stopped himself.

  “What?”

  “Did she say anything to you about something being wrong?”

  Paige averted her gaze and shifted from one foot to another before returning her attention to him. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this—it’s not your problem, after all—but she’s worried about how much everything is costing. She doesn’t tell me everything, but I know her. I know how she thinks even if she tries to hide it.”

  Even if Anna had insurance, there were still deductibles and things that weren’t covered. And she wasn’t ju
st dealing with health care costs. She’d lost so much else in the wreck and in the burglary at her house—the perfect storm of bad luck.

  “What if we could help her with that?”

  “I don’t know. You have to understand. Anna may be quiet and reserved, but she’s also very independent. She likes to do things for herself. It’s how she was raised.”

  Roman hadn’t thought about how it must have been to be raised by Helena Kenner, but it likely hadn’t been anything like being raised by his mother. He didn’t doubt Helena had provided for Anna’s basic needs, but now that he really thought about it he couldn’t imagine an abundance of affection flowing from Helena to her granddaughter. Why had he never considered that before?

  “Perhaps what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  Paige’s eyes widened a fraction. “You know, I like how you think.”

  After a few more minutes of discussing options, they’d decided to start with donation jars at the library, his family’s resort, and the café and bakery his cousins owned in downtown Logan Springs with a promise to get back in touch in a few days to talk about more options.

  “A word of warning,” Paige said. “If Anna finds out about this, I’m not sure how she’ll react.”

  “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

  As he drove up in front of his dad’s house a few minutes later, he was still considering options—ones that hopefully wouldn’t make things even more tense and awkward between him and Anna.

  “You’re here,” Melody said as he entered through the front door. She walked out from behind the kitchen island to give him a hug. “I thought you were going to stand us up again.”

  “I suppose even heroic doctors take a break every now and then,” Wes said from his perch on the couch.

  Roman casually swatted him upside the head as he walked by. “Sorry I’m late. I had to run an errand in town first. Can I help with anything?”

  Melody waved him off. “I’ve got it covered in here, and your dad is playing grill master.” She pointed toward the deck area where Roman could see smoke rising from his dad’s pride and joy.

  Justin came in from that direction, bringing the smell of grilling meat with him. “We’re almost ready. Hey, look who decided to join us.”

  “You all do know I have a job, right?”

  “Don’t listen to them,” Melody said. “I respect what you do.”

  “You’re just saying that so he’ll prescribe Redmond’s drugs,” Wes said from his comfortable-looking perch, referring to the pharmaceutical company Melody’s father started, of which she maintained a controlling ownership.

  “Careful or you might get a potato to the back of the head,” Melody teased.

  Wes just shot a mischievous grin her way.

  Roman missed not being able to be part of this family banter more often. But it made more sense for him to live in Livingston, close to his office and the hospital. And honestly, after his mom’s passing, he hadn’t wanted to be anywhere that reminded him of her. It hurt and it made him angry. After all she’d done to help him through his cancer, he hadn’t been able to save her. He hadn’t even gotten the chance.

  “Roman, you okay?”

  He looked up at Melody’s question at the same time that his dad and Marty Daniels, the young guy who had been Melody’s one-time next-door neighbor and who she’d sort of adopted as a younger brother, came in bearing plates of steaks hot off the grill. “Yeah, fine. Just some long days catching up to me.”

  Marty deposited the plates he was carrying on the end of the island. “I heard Anna woke up. How is she doing?”

  Melody had convinced Marty to give reading a try when he’d had no money to do anything else, and Anna had converted him into a devoted patron of the library. Roman suspected all these women kept taking Marty under their wing because he didn’t have anyone else, was estranged from his family for some reason.

  “She’s in a rehab facility now, getting better every day.”

  “Has she remembered anything about what happened to her?” his father asked.

  Roman shook his head. “She might never recover those memories.”

  “That’s just not right, especially if someone ran her off the road.”

  Roman suspected his dad was thinking about how that someone could have been him the previous year when his grief over losing Roman’s mom had driven him to make some poor decisions, including drinking too much and getting behind the wheel. Fortunately, no one had been hurt, and a couple of what Melody called “Come to Jesus” meetings later, his dad had left that version of himself firmly in the rearview mirror.

  “But she’s going to be okay, right?” Marty asked.

  “Everything looks good so far. Mainly she just needs to regain more of her strength and the ability to be safely on her own.” He shifted his attention to Justin. “I’d like to put a collection jar at the resort for her expenses. Paige is putting up one at the library, and I’m going to ask Lena and Dinah about having them at the café and bakery, too. She’ll likely have medical expenses not covered by insurance, not to mention her car and the fact that her house was broken into a few days ago and several things taken.”

  “I heard about that,” Justin said. “And sure, we’ll put up something at the front desk.”

  “Hey, what about the trail ride?”

  Melody’s question didn’t make sense in the context of the conversation, and it must have showed on his face.

  “We’ve been kicking around ideas for where to donate the money we make on the trail ride next month, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Anna.”

  Though he wasn’t going to be the beneficiary of said funds, Melody’s idea touched him.

  “That’s a great idea,” his dad said.

  After Justin looked around the room and saw nods from everyone else, he said, “Sounds good to me.”

  “Thanks. But maybe don’t tell her about this quite yet if you see her. Paige says she’s a bit touchy about doing things on her own.”

  “No doubt where that idea came from,” his dad said. “I can’t say Helena Kenner wasn’t a hard worker, but she’s also a hard woman.”

  “You’re the second person to say something similar today.”

  “Hard not to know a lot about people in a town this size. To her credit, Helena took that girl in when her mother ran off, but I can’t imagine growing up in that house was great for a young girl.”

  And yet Anna seemed like a really sweet person.

  “So how did Anna end up so nice if her mom abandoned her and her grandma’s a piece of work?” Marty asked, echoing Roman’s thoughts.

  “Some people are just innately good, no matter what life throws at them,” Melody said.

  “Is there anything we can do for her now?” Wes asked.

  “I don’t know.” He paused. “Actually, see if you can find out from Parker what was stolen from her house. And I’m guessing if she had a phone, it was destroyed or lost in the wreck.”

  Wes pulled out his own phone and started texting.

  “Redmond has charitable giving in place, so I’d like to help with her medical bills,” Melody said. “And if she has any objections to accepting help, let me know. I can talk to her, let her know how much she means to the community and that this is just a well-deserved thank you.”

  “You’re a good person,” Roman said. “When is my brother going to marry you?”

  Melody and Justin shared a look, and Roman realized what was coming a moment before his big brother smiled.

  “Funny you should ask,” Melody said, reaching into her pocket. When she lifted her left hand from behind the kitchen island, her ring finger was sporting a nice-size diamond. “Justin asked me last weekend.”

  “And you said yes?” Wes asked. “Damn, there went my chance.”

  “Boy, you never had a chance,” their dad said.

  He was right. The way Justin and Melody looked at each other reminded Roman of the looks of love tha
t he’d seen pass between his parents on too many occasions to count. He hoped Justin and Melody had a long life together. They’d both already been through a lot. They deserved smooth sailing from here on out.

  The quiet dissolved into a raucous round of congratulations, hugs and backslaps. Roman pulled Melody into a hug.

  “I’m so happy for you both.”

  Melody hugged him back. “Thank you.” She leaned back but didn’t release his arms. “I hope you find the same kind of happiness that Justin and I have.”

  The way his future sister-in-law looked at him made him feel as if she could see more of the conflicted feelings he kept hidden away than he was comfortable with anyone seeing.

  “That’s sweet of you, but it’s hard to find happily ever after when you don’t have time to date.”

  That wasn’t strictly true. He could find time for a date if he wanted to, but he just hadn’t wanted to. No one had captured his interest enough for him to make the effort, to be willing to set aside his concerns. Actually, he questioned if that was still the case. If nothing else, his unexpected reaction to Anna suggested he needed to get out there and enjoy some female company, if only for an occasional dinner and a movie. There wasn’t too much commitment in a casual evening out.

  But as he drove home after a few hours with his family celebrating his brother’s big news, the person with whom he kept picturing sharing that evening out was none other than the woman sitting in a rehab facility worrying about how she was going to rebuild her life.

  And the truth was he wanted to be there to help her with the rebuilding.

  Chapter Six

  “You’re going to be running the Boston Marathon before you know it.”

  Anna wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head at Jay’s assertion despite the fact she felt more of her strength coming back each day. Her cuts and deep bruises were healing, and she wasn’t experiencing much dizziness anymore.

  “Not a chance. I didn’t even like running before I managed to tumble down a hillside and knock my brain loose.”

  “That’s true,” Paige said from her seat at the edge of the room where Anna had been going through her rehab routine for the past two hours. “I think she’s actually allergic to running.”