"Once Brock saw he was out of surgery and doing okay he headed back to the Blue Star. We've had a few late calves that haven't done well and need some extra care. As well as a couple of hands that chose now to take vacation. Well, one is helping his mama move, I'll give him that, and it was planned. But the other won him some money on a scratch off ticket and headed for Mexico." Mama shook her head. "It's been a crazy week and it's barely started."
Ranching was hard work. Chad remembered those never ending days. Being bloody and as foul as it was possible for a human to be, then moving on to the next calf. So saddle-sore your balls were chapped. But even with all the nastiness, seeing bright-eyed calves on the ground or nursing mama cow almost made it worth the aggravation.
They had enough money to pay men to do it now, but Chad knew that his brother Brock loved to be in control of everything. He would be on the range every moment he could be, or at the very least in the paddocks with his prized Quarter horses.
Chad could almost envy him his simple lifestyle.
Looking at his dad, though, he found himself worrying about the ranch.
* * *
Brock looked at the lit phone screen. Payton.
Unplugging the charger he swiped the screen and lifted it to his ear. “Hey.”
“Hey. Are you guys all right? I haven’t heard from Cheyenne in a while.”
He sighed, sinking into the truck seat. He’d been getting a little drowsy driving back to the ranch, so he was kind of glad she’d called, though it was a little strange. They would probably be considered friends, though she very rarely called him. These were extenuating circumstances, though. “Everyone is fine. Dad is out of surgery and seems to be improving already. His arm will be worked on in a couple days. Mama is a little frantic but controlling it well. Cheyenne is a bit of a basket case.”
“And how are you doing,” she asked softly.
That question kind of stalled him out, and the silence lengthened. Very few people had ever asked him how he was doing. They just assumed that if he was working he was fine.
Brock wasn’t sure if it was the dark of the night and the lonely road or what, or some faint connection he had with Payton, but he wanted a little reassurance. “I’m okay, I think. I’ll admit watching him go down was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”
The sequence of events replayed in his mind as if it were a movie playing right in front of his eyes. Dad had taken off after a calf, his dark bay surging strongly beneath him. He’d lifted the rope to snag him, but the shot went wild as his father clutched at his chest. Brock had seen the fear in his father’s eyes, the shock, as he lost his balance and rolled off the horse, landing heavily on the ground. Dad had made no effort to break his fall.
The few seconds it had taken Brock to bolt across the yards separating them, leap from his own horse and bend over his father had seemed like years. Rolling him over, he’d seen the unnatural way Dad’s arm had bent, and he’d had to fight nausea.
“I think you did everything perfectly,” Payton told him. “If he’d been alone chasing that calf we would have had a very different outcome.”
Yes, Brock had thought about that too, and it downright terrified him.
“I did what they told us in that damn first aid and CPR class you made us sit through.”
Payton laughed on the other end of the line. “I don’t think you can call it that any more considering it just saved your father’s life.”
Brock sighed as he maneuvered around a slow-moving semi. “Yeah, I guess not.”
“I’m very thankful you were there, Brock. Garrett is as much of a father figure to me as my own, and if something had happened to him it would have been devastating. For everyone. You just never know when your time is up, you know?”
“Yeah.”
That was very true.
He hung up from Payton feeling a little more relaxed about what had happened. Initially, when she’d suggested that they needed to update their first aid certifications, he’d shrugged her off. But she’d persisted, telling him that her supervisor would come out any time to train them. The brat had finally worn him down, and he was glad she had. He, Jackson and ten of the hands had only been certified for a few months. And now this had happened.
Her parting words stayed with him. Time was passing so fast.
Chapter 6
There was a hotel directly across the street from the hospital, visible from the waiting room. Lora called and asked what they had available. The young woman described several rooms, then the suites. Lora booked them a suite with two bedrooms and a sitting room, as well as a small kitchenette. She doubted she would be cooking any gourmet meals or anything, but it might be nice to have the setup just in case. The fridge would come in handy if nothing else.
Cheyenne had already rented a room in the same hotel, just so Francine could have a place to go when she needed to. Their mother didn't want to leave Garrett right now, but she would eventually.
"I just can't believe he did this," Cheyenne murmured again.
Lora reached over and squeezed her hand, something she'd done a couple of times already. Cheyenne was one of the strongest women she knew in real life, but seeing her father knocked down so hard was shocking.
Lora could empathize. Garrett had always seemed to be one of the strongest men she'd known as well, next to Chad.
"It's not like he had a choice in the matter, Cheyenne. Nobody chooses to have a heart attack."
Chad's sister grimaced. "I know. He's just been such a bull for so long."
"And he'll be a bull about his recovery as well. You have to have faith that he will."
Cheyenne nodded, leaning her shoulder into Lora's for a moment. "So, how is conquering the business world coming along?"
Lora grimaced. "Not so great. We've had some growth issues recently."
Cheyenne tilted her head, her smart eyes focusing on Lora's expression. "Like what?"
She struggled with what to say. Cheyenne seemed so put together. Even raising her three girls and working full time as a teacher, she seemed to have all her ducks in a row. "I'm struggling with splitting family time and work time. Right now, school and learning from William is really taking my focus. So much so that we had a security issue yesterday."
Lora told her what had happened. Cheyenne listened carefully, then shrugged. "Stuff like that happens. It was an accident. Nobody was hurt or even really in danger."
Yes, that was true to an extent. "Dean responded to the alarm and he was great, but I could tell Chad was pissed."
Cheyenne pulled back. "Chad pissed? No way!"
Lora nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "Not screaming mad, just ... quietly steaming. He's losing patience with me."
Cheyenne sighed, reaching for Lora's hand. "Chad is the epitome of patience, you know that. Heck, it's been more than a year since he asked you to marry him, and I never thought he'd wait for anyone this long. I might have thought once that he’d sweep you off your feet and straight to Vegas in no time but that wouldn’t be right for you, either one of you. He has the willpower to wait for you forever, because he loves you. But maybe if he's not getting any acknowledgement for what he's doing, it might make him a little frustrated."
Lora's mouth slackened. Had it actually been more than a year since he'd proposed to her and Mercy? Holy smokes, it had— how did a year just go by so fast? Her weighty guilt gained more heft. They’d been together even longer.
Then she thought about Mercy's haircut, and the strange pair of shoes she'd been wearing the other day. Chad had done those things for her, as a father should. He'd been stepping up the entire time, but Cheyenne was right. Lora hadn't let him know enough she'd seen him, and what he was doing for the family.
She ran a hand over her face, realizing as she did so that she hadn't even looked at herself recently. She probably had old makeup beneath her eyes. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she glanced at Cheyenne, who looked beautiful at any time of night or day. Even now her
dark auburn hair was twisted into some kind of casual bun that looked more perfect than anything Lora could have tried to do. And her pale skin was so flawless. Lora wasn't sure how she kept it so creamy in the Texas dryness. In spite of the late hour, her blue eyes were bright and only appeared a little tired. Cheyenne always looked like she was ready to go on a date or teach a class.
Lora looked down at the gray sweater she wore and the maroon-colored long-sleeved t-shirt beneath it. Definitely casual. Too casual. But this was what she wore every day, every single day. Ugh, she was in a rut.
Did Chad wished she was as made up as Cheyenne?
It didn't matter. They had other things to think about right now.
"Do the doctors have any idea when your dad might get out?"
Cheyenne shook her head. "No, but they said at least a few days, if not more depending upon how he does. Daddy is sixty this year. He may think he can still ride and wrestle like these younger kids, but he's starting to slow down. Brock said he'd been roping calves with the rest of them when this happened." She winced, looking at Lora out of the corner of her eyes. "I hate to say it, but maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it will slow him down a little and make him take a step back. He should enjoy life rather than work all the time. Brock has been dying to take control of the ranch. He has some wonderful ideas, but Daddy hasn't given in. Mama would love for him to slow down too. I know she's always wanted to travel, but Daddy was always anchored down with the ranch."
"Where would your mother go if she had the chance?" Lora asked, curious.
Cheyenne looked at her in surprise. "Oh, you haven't figured it out? She would love to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, wander the romantic streets, drink coffee in a little bistro. It's been a dream of hers her entire life. Have you ever been in their bedroom?"
Lora shook her head, intrigued.
"Oh, it's decorated like a Paris boutique hotel. Gauzy drapes and table skirts. Her winter bedspread is a beautiful heavy red brocade. She has the Eiffel Tower on her wallpaper. Daddy always complained about it being too frou-frou, but he loves Mama and he decorated it for her like that. He found a news article she'd cut out about places to stay, or something, and he did it up for her. Made her bawl like a baby. He's promised her Paris for years, but they've never gotten around to it."
That was very sweet. The two of them loved each other very much. Maybe Cheyenne was right. Perhaps they would be able to slow down now for a while.
Hopefully she and Chad would have a long-lived marriage like that.
They just needed to get married first.
Something else to feel guilty about. They'd postponed it because of her schedule. Her never-ending, being-tugged-in-nine-million-directions schedule.
That wasn't really an excuse though. If she could make time to talk to William on the phone about a personnel issue, she should certainly be able to see to the needs of her family. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she refused to look at the accumulating demands. London was five hours ahead of New York, so they’d already started work at the London branch of Malone. As soon as the New York office opened it would be buzzing even more. At some point she needed to check in and tell William what was going on.
Mercy snuffled in her sleep and shifted. She'd curled up on a little padded bench, with her jacket over top of her and her head resting on Lora's purse. Her blonde hair was over her face a little and Lora wanted to go over and brush it away, but it would be better to just let her sleep while she could. Blinking, she widened her own eyes, trying to fight her own tiredness. It wasn't working.
Chad had to be worn out, too. After working all day, running home for Mercy, then driving all night, he had to be wearing down. As if her thoughts had conjured him from the air, he walked into the room, looking tall and gorgeous in spite of the hour. He took off his tan cowboy hat and when he sat down, dropped it into the seat beside him.
Lora waited, knowing that he would fill her in as soon as possible.
"He's sleeping, but he did wake enough to look at me and squeeze my hand. Mom refuses to leave until he rouses completely, and I think that's best. If he wakes up and she's not there he's going to worry, and he doesn't need that right now."
"No, he doesn't," she agreed.
"Cheyenne, if you want, why don't you go get some sleep at the hotel? And when you come back in a few hours we'll swap off with you, and try to get Mom to leave. There's no budging her right now, but you're the persuasive one. If you're fresh and she's not maybe it'll be easier getting her to go rest."
Cheyenne nodded, beginning to gather up her things. "I think that sounds like a fabulous idea. I haven't slept for two days. Savannah had a migraine through the night so I was up with her."
"Is she okay?" Chad asked.
Cheyenne shrugged. "I think so. She gets them sometimes when she stresses out too much. She's my little prodigy and school has been hard for her this year. She's actually having to do homework." She grinned and winked at Chad.
"I don't think I like what you're insinuating there, sister."
Cheyenne laughed and moved to give him a hug. "I'll be back by nine."
They waved her goodbye and she was gone. Lora worked her arm through his and leaned into his shoulder. "Are you going to last that long?"
Chad snorted, glancing at her. "Yeah, I can. Unfortunately, I've gotten good at catching cat naps in hospital waiting rooms."
Lora cocked her head at him. "Really?"
"I've gone with Zeke to several of his last reconstructive surgeries. And Harper. Duncan was the one most recently in the chop shop."
Lora grimaced at the slang, even though it was a little appropriate.
"That's right," she murmured. "You know, you forget looking at them what all they've been through. You're a good man to go with them like that."
Chad shrugged, holding up his own scarred hand. "They've been there for me before, many times, and I'm sure they will again. I'm going to have to go get this cut again."
Lora leaned forward to look into his face. "Are you really?"
"Yeah. It's curling up on me too much." He pointed to a couple of spots of shiny scar tissue. "I think if I get these cut back I'll have a better range of movement. I may need to get a skin graft if it won't release correctly. I’ll talk to the plastic surgeon and see what can be done."
He flexed the hand in front of her and she could see what he meant. Over time the burn scars had thickened, but when they thickened they tightened and pulled tight, in the only direction it could— that of the bend of the wrist. Lora thought about when she had first met Chad, he had had a stronger range of movement then.
Once again, things were happening in her family and she'd been oblivious. How long had he been thinking about this? It was obvious that it had been bothering him recently, otherwise he wouldn't have brought it up.
Cupping her hand beneath his own, she ran the fingers of her opposite hand over the puckered skin. This had never repelled her. Neither had the marks on his neck. It only made her heart ache for him.
"We'll do what we need to do to get you fixed up. You know that."
One side of his mouth tipped up. "I know, darlin'." He tipped his chin toward Mercy, whose head was now hanging off the bench. "Think she's comfortable like that?"
Wincing, Lora shook her head. "I doubt it."
Pushing to his feet Chad crossed the room to the little girl. Whispering to her softly he lifted her head to the horizontal and repositioned Lora's purse beneath her. Mercy smiled slightly and hummed something. Chad pressed a kiss to her forehead and returned to his seat, kicking his booted feet out in front of him.
Lora wished hospitals would be more considerate of their waiting families, because these chairs were not made for sitting for any length of time.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, nagging at her. Chad plopped his hat over his face and leaned his head back against the wall, folding his arms across his broad chest. "Go do what you need to do, babe. I'm going to catch a few winks."
Leaning over she pressed a kiss to his neck. He hadn't shaved for a while and dark stubble was growing in, but it only made him that much sexier to her. "I'll be back in a while. Can I have the truck keys? I might go get my computer."
"They're in my pocket," he told her.
Beneath the brim of his hat she could see him grinning. Taking the dare, she reached her hand into the depths of his hip pocket, making sure to fumble around like she couldn't find them. Actually, she didn't find them. Just a few wrapped mints.
"Oh, sorry," he murmured. "Other side."
Lora heard the laughter in his voice and she laughed. "You are so bad," she hissed.
"Hey, I have to get what I can get these days."
She moved around him and burrowed into his second hip pocket. The keys were there, but she took her time, first stroking his thigh, then the hardness she could feel growing beyond her fingers.
"I'm tired, baby, but not that tired. Want me to join you in the truck?"
Lora knew she was blushing at the thought, but it also excited her. "No," she laughed, but it didn't sound very firm.
They had escaped for a date on a beautiful night. Chad took her on a picnic on a mountaintop. It had been panoramic and beautiful, and they had made love beneath the stars. That was the most daring place she'd ever made love. But the thought of straddling him in the driver's seat of the blacked-out truck suddenly held more appeal than it ever had before. "If we weren't at a busy hospital for your sick father, with Mercy mere feet away, I would think about it," she admitted.
He pushed the hat up on his head, looking at her fully. His eyes had gone dark with arousal and Lora shivered. She knew that look. It meant long, slow, delicious delights she'd grown to love. Chad had taught her things about making love and her own body that she could never have dreamed of. He'd brought her out of her previous life better than she'd ever been.
She smiled at him, promising him silently that she would cash in on his offer, just not now. With a sexy wink, he tipped his head back against the wall. "Love ya, babe. You know where we'll be."
Forget Me Not Page 4
