“I’m sorry, darlin’.”
“It’s not a big deal. She contacted me several years ago wanting to be a part of my life, but I wouldn’t. I found out she had a drug problem and wanted money. She figured if she got all cozy with me, I would give her some, I guess. I have my dad. That’s all I need.”
“Well, I’m sure my mother will become the mother you didn’t have. She’s like that.”
Her fingers swirled in the hair on his chest, entwining them together like their hearts belong there. “I’d be more than happy to have your mom become a surrogate mother for me. I love your mom.”
“I do too. She’s great and now that they are financially secure, their life will get so much better, I think.”
“Financially secure?”
“Yeah. I’ve been investing for them. They have quite a bit of money in the bank now so they don’t have to work anymore if they don’t want to, but I can’t see them doing that. They love this ranch more than any of us. It’s their life.”
“I bet, but I’m glad they are doing so well.” She sifted her fingers through the hair on his chest. “You should be investing for yourself too, since you are so good at it.” He grinned, but didn’t reply, making her wonder what he might be hiding. She studied his expression for a moment before sitting up on the bed. “I hate to fuck and run, but I should be getting home. I have to work in the morning.”
“All right.”
He moved to grab his clothes as she stood by the side of the bed to locate her own. After she slipped on her dress without her bra, and nylons, she shoved her feet into her shoes and proclaimed herself ready to go as she grabbed her wrap off the chair where it had landed when they stumbled inside the cabin.
Once he managed to shove his feet into his boots, he grabbed his keys and hat. “Let’s get you home then.”
* * * *
The next morning Jeremiah peeled open his gritty eyelids to the early sunrise. He had some work to do on the finances this morning before he went into San Antonio to see his mom. Hopefully by the time he got there they would have removed the breathing tube so she could sit up and talk to him. He didn’t want to see her like she’d been a few nights ago.
When he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood, he stumbled, leaning to the left. He grabbed the bedpost to steady himself. His left leg felt numb from the hip down like he’d slept on it. “Okay, this is getting crazy. I really need to call the doctor.”
He shook out his leg until the feeling came back and he could walk on it again without falling. This isn’t normal. People my age don’t have these kinds of things happen. It’s probably a pinched nerve or something.
After he managed to get dressed, he heard the breakfast bell ring as he grabbed his wallet, hat and truck keys from his nightstand. He glanced back at the bed with a smile, remembering the night before. Callie took his breath away, spread out like a virgin for the offering. Damn, I have it bad for her and I like it.
Tugging on the handle, he opened the door. A small group of people were headed to the main lodge for breakfast from the cabin just up the way. A couple of little kids were laughing and pushing each other like he and his brothers used to do when they were young.
“Hey mister, are you a real cowboy?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you ride horses?”
“All the time. I’ve even ridden a few who weren’t very tame.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“I want to ride a horse.”
“Well, tell your mom and dad we have horses available for everyone to ride. My brother Joey will take good care of you if you want to learn to ride. He’s a great cowboy.”
“How many brothers do you have?” the boy asked as they opened the door to the lodge.
“Eight.”
“Wow. I only have one and he’s a pain in the ass.”
“Aaron Jefferson. I will not have you talking like that!” his mother yelled and Jeremiah smiled.
“Sorry, Mom.” The kid grinned at Jeremiah and then took his place in line for food as Jeremiah headed for the coffee in the corner.
Jeff came around the corner with Terri and their boys. He left Terri at the table to grab some coffee himself. “Did you hear from Dad this morning? Have they taken the tube out?”
“He hasn’t called. I figured nothing has changed yet.”
“I plan to go into town to see her later. I’m hoping she’s awake and talking.”
Jeff leaned in to talk softly. “Dad told me what you’ve done with the finances.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He glanced at Terri as he smiled. “Can you help me do some investing?”
“Sure.”
After a minute, he whispered, “Are there really millions in the bank?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. How the hell did you do that?”
“Smart investments.”
“I would say so.” He clapped Jeremiah on the shoulder before he headed to the table to sit next to his girl and their boys.
Jeremiah was glad his brother trusted him enough to ask for financial advice. It meant a lot to him to have a close relationship to his family.
After breakfast, he went into his office to go over the bills and income from the last month at the ranch to see how much more he could safely take to put into investments for his parents. He didn’t want to bleed the ranch dry.
The computer screen blurred, making him rub his eyes to bring it back into focus. That’s it. I’m calling the doctor. He grabbed the office phone from the receiver, pulled out the rolodex of cards he kept and then dialed Dr. Evans’ number.
“Dr. Evans’ office. How may I help you?”
“Hi. This is Jeremiah Young. I need to make an appointment with Dr. Evans.”
“Can I ask what this is concerning?”
“I’m not sick or I don’t think so, but I’ve been having some blurry vision, numbness and tingling in my hands and legs. I fell off a horse about two weeks ago and I want to make sure I didn’t pinch a nerve or something in my back since I landed pretty hard.”
Once the receptionist made him an appointment for two days later, he hung up the phone so he could go back to work on the financials. He had to get the bills straight this afternoon before leaving to visit his mom.
When he walked into the hospital room several hours later, he was delighted to see his mother sitting up in bed eating some Jello. “You look a lot better than when I saw you a few days ago.” He leaned in a kissed her on the cheek. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been kicked by a horse.”
“I’m sure.” He took a seat in a chair near the side of the bed. “Are they going to move you to a regular room soon?”
“Yes, later today. I have to have surgery on the leg tomorrow.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“How are things at home?”
“They are fine, Mom. Don’t worry. We’ve got it.”
She patted his hand and then squeezed his fingers. “I know you do, Jeremiah. I’m not worried.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, just a little, but you know me. I can’t not worry.”
“Jeff is handling the daily things. The rest of us are doing what needs to be done. You just get better.”
“Have you heard anything about the man who hit me?”
“Other than he’s still in jail, no. He’ll be charged with drunk driving at least, but that doesn’t carry a lot of weight anymore. He’ll probably get probation or some shit.” She looked at him with that mom look. “Sorry.” He squeezed her fingers. “Where is Dad?”
“Out flirting with the nurses, I’m sure. They all know him by name and wave every time he comes into my room.”
“He’s a personable guy.”
“He’s a flirt, but I love him anyway.” She took another bite of her food before she set the spoon down. “What’s happening between you and Callie? Something good, I hope.”
“We
’ve come to an understanding that we love each other.”
“Fantastic, Jeremiah! I’m so happy for you. You two will be very good for each other, I think.”
“I think so too.” He rubbed his hand where the fingers had gone numb again.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been having some numbness and tingling in my hands and legs as well as some blurry vision.”
“Didn’t you fall off a horse a few weeks ago?”
“Yeah.” He held up his hand. “Don’t say it. I’ve already made an appointment with the doctor for in a couple of days. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Well, to be safe you need to get checked out.”
“I know.” He glanced at his watch. “I should go,” he said, climbing to his feet. “I know they only allow you five minutes in here.”
“So soon?”
“Yeah. I want to drop by Callie’s and let her know how you are doing. She was worried.”
“Tell her hello for me.” She kissed him on the cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. “I love you, Jeremiah.”
“I love you too, Mom. I’m sure everything will be fine with the surgery. We’ll get you home in a couple of days with some physical therapy and you’ll be good as new in a few weeks.”
“Grr,” she grumbled. “I hate being laid up.”
“I know, but at least you’re alive.”
“Yes. Thank God for watching out for me.”
“I’ll try to come by again in a couple of days if they haven’t let you out by then to give my brothers a chance to visit.”
“The nurses have been doing a complete double take with each of you. I think they aren’t going to let me leave just because they want the man candy that keeps coming in to see me.”
He laughed. “I’ll tell everyone to behave themselves.”
“You do that.”
“See you soon.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.”
He drove back to Bandera with lots of things on his mind—from the problems with his visions to his love for Callie. He couldn’t wait to bring her into the family even though she seemed reluctant to do it just yet. Fear and uncertainty probably had something to do with it. Really, this had all happened rather quickly so he couldn’t blame her at all.
When he pulled into the garage, he parked his truck next to the building and then went around to the open bays where they worked on cars. “Hey, babe!”
“Jeremiah?”
“Yeah, who else calls you babe?”
She laughed as she came out from under the hood of an old Chrysler. “No one, but you I would hope.” She gave him a smooch on the lips. “Did you visit your mom?”
“Yes. She’s looking a lot better. They’ll be doing surgery on her leg tomorrow and she’ll have to stay in the hospital a couple of more days, but then she’ll be home with rehab, I’m sure.”
“Sounds awesome. I’m so glad she’s doing better.”
“Me too.” He leaned in as she twisted a wrench on something under the hood. “Do you want to get some dinner?”
“I can’t tonight. I promised my dad I would be home. He hasn’t been feeling well.”
“Okay.” He moved around behind her, kissing her neck before he ran his tongue around her ear. “I’m going to miss you.”
She shivered, but tipped her head to the side so he could do more. “I’ll miss you too.”
“How about tomorrow? We can have dinner and maybe do a movie in town?”
“I can’t. I have plans with Mandy, Peyton and Paige. We planned a girl’s night out.”
“All right, day after tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” She turned around in his arms and looped hers around his neck. “Did you make a doctor appointment?”
“Yeah. Day after tomorrow, so we’ll go out after my appointment.”
“Good. It’s important for you to find out what’s wrong.”
“I know.” He moved around to kiss her on the lips. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I love you. I’m going to worry.”
“Then I’ll have to kiss you until you forget to worry.” He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips until she opened for him on a moan. As their tongues tangled, he lost himself in her kiss, totally forgetting where they were until someone honked from outside. “Sorry.”
She giggled, actually giggled. He thought it was cute. “I’d better get back to work.”
With a smack on her butt, he said he’d see her later and headed to his truck.
Man, I love that girl.
Chapter Thirteen
Jeremiah didn’t like the look on the doctor’s face. He seemed worried. When the doctor worried, he needed to worry too. “We’ll need to do some x-rays and tests, Jeremiah. I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but I don’t think it’s a pinched nerve.”
“What could it be?”
“There are several things I won’t go into right now because I don’t want you getting on Google to look up the different diseases. I won’t know until next week after we get a CAT scan of your head, do some nerve tests, and get some x-rays of your back just to make sure you don’t have a disc out or something. I don’t think that’s what it is because you don’t have pain in your back. You’ve told me your vision blurs. Those kinds of symptoms along with the numbness and tingling are something we need to look at more closely.”
“Thanks, Doc, but you’re scaring the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry, but until I know more, I can’t give you any more information on things.” He patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll be okay until we get the tests done. You can get the CAT scan today at the hospital in San Antonio. I’ve already called to schedule you an appointment. They had a cancellation, so they could get to you in about an hour if you can get there.”
“I’ll get there, besides, I want to check on my mom. They were supposed to be releasing her today. I haven’t heard from my dad.”
“I’m glad she wasn’t hurt too badly. A broken leg heals. Other more terrifying injuries don’t.”
“I know what you mean. She was lucky.”
“Yes, she was.” Jeremiah stood. “Now, go get the CAT scan, make an appointment for the other tests and get those done, then make an appointment to see me next week so we can go over them.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“You’re welcome, my boy. Tell your family hello for me. Remind them to get their checkups. I know how you boys are about coming in to see me.”
“Yeah, only for broken bones and such.”
After he thanked the doctor again, he paid his tab before he headed out to his truck. He didn’t like thinking about this for another week, but he didn’t have a choice, he guessed. At least tonight he could lose himself in Callie for a few hours.
* * * *
When he pulled up to her house two hours and forty-five minutes later, he smiled. Spending the evening with her would erase all the bad thoughts from his mind and heart, leaving only her to fill the void. He climbed out and walked up to the door.
With a quick rap of his knuckles, he heard Callie call out that she’d get it before she opened the door. Damn. She looked pretty even in something as simple as a sweater and jeans. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She pushed open the screen for him as she stepped back. “Come in.”
“Thanks.” He shut the door behind him before he slipped an arm around her waist and dragged her in for a quick kiss. “You taste amazing.”
“It’s dinner. I thought I’d cook.”
“What’d you make?”
“Lasagna with French bread and salad.” She stepped back. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Good. How about a beer? I have some in the fridge.”
“Sounds good to me.” He checked out her butt in those jeans as she walked back into the kitchen. What a nice ass! She returned a few minutes later with a bottle of beer and a kiss before she went back into the kitchen to finish getting dinner
ready.
“How did the doctor go?”
“He didn’t tell me much. Just scheduled some tests.”
“Like what?” she asked, setting the table with plates.
“CAT scan, blood work, x-rays. You know, the normal stuff.”
“Did he say what he thought might be the problem?”
“Not really. He wouldn’t tell me his thoughts.” He took a sip of the beer in his hand. “He didn’t want me looking stuff up on the web and self-diagnosing.”
“Smart man.”
He chuckled and took another sip. “Yeah. He knows our family well.”
Her father came out of the bedroom, limping slightly on his left foot.
“Are you okay, Daddy?”
“Yeah, just my MS acting up again.”
“MS?” Jeremiah asked, not sure what that was.
“Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve had it for years. Makes my limbs go numb so I have to walk with a cane sometimes. It’s a bitch of a disease, but I get by.”
Jeremiah startled when her father described his symptoms. It sounded just like what he’d been going through. “When were you diagnosed?”
“About fifteen years ago. I take a medication daily to keep the symptoms at bay, but it’s hard to manage some days. Today was one of those days.” He smiled at Callie. “Thank God for Callie at the garage. She handles the stuff I can’t on bad days.”
“Wait. Don’t you have some of the numbness stuff too, Jeremiah?”
“Yeah, but don’t you go telling me I have Multiple Sclerosis. I can’t be laid up in a wheelchair or something for the rest of my life. Besides, the doctor didn’t mention that. I’m sure if he thought it might be some disease, he would have said something.”
She put both her hands on his cheeks. “Just stop. You fell from a horse. We know how that can mess with a person. Don’t jump to conclusions just because my dad has some of the same symptoms you’ve been experiencing.” She kissed him and then stepped back but not far enough he’d lose touch with her body. “I love you. It doesn’t matter what it is. We’ll deal with whatever it turns out to be.”
He took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t be sick. He didn’t feel sick. He felt fine except for the symptoms. “What if it is?”
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