The doctor grinned and shook Francine's hand. "If there's anything you need my number will be in the release paperwork."
"Thank you, Doctor."
He turned and walked out of the room.
For a moment they all looked at each other.
"He's not going to like the therapy," Chad warned. "He'll be stomping' and hissin'."
Lora looked at him in surprise. "Garrett will?"
Brock barked out a laugh. "Oh, yeah. You've never seen Dad when he's angry or frustrated. It’s not for the faint of heart."
All of the siblings nodded their heads.
"It takes him a while to get angry," Francine added. "But when he does, the entire ranch knows it."
Chad could tell by the look on her face that Lora was surprised. "He just gets… grumpy when things don't go his way."
Cheyenne snorted and Emily murmured, “That’s one way to put it.”
"Now that he's out of surgery I'm heading back," Brock told them. "I've got a massive amount of work to do. Keep me updated, Mama."
Brock leaned into his mother for a kiss on the cheek and pulled away. He looked at Cheyenne. "Can you get her home?"
Cheyenne nodded. "Of course."
With a tip of his head Brock left the waiting room. With a look at Lora he followed his brother, but didn't catch him until he had to stop to wait for the lumbering elevator.
"Hey, Brock."
His brother looked at him from beneath the brim of his black hat, impatient. "Yeah?"
"I know it's spring round-up. Need another set of hands? Or maybe just one good one?" Chad held up his good strong hand and wiggled the fingers.
Brock propped his hands on his hips. "Don't you have a regular job to get back to?"
Chad shrugged. "I have a bit of flexibility in a situation like this. The rest of the guys will cover for me if I'm more needed here."
Brock pinched the bridge of his nose before nodding, reluctantly. The elevator door dinged and slid open. Brock reached his long arm out to hold it. "I do. I have to admit it's hell without Dad, and even without Mama to provide occasional meals. That's just one more thing the men have to do themselves. If you can get time off, I'll absolutely use you."
Chad grinned, his gut warming with appreciation. He and Brock hadn't always gotten along, but they were family. If the ranch needed something they would pull together to do it. "I'm a partner in LNF," Chad told him. "I can get time off. As soon as I can I'll be out. I think Lora and Mercy will go back to Denver."
"Well, you better be ready to work."
Then he stepped onto the elevator.
Chad laughed lightly to himself, wondering what he'd just gotten himself into. He and Brock working together could be very bad, or very good. He was hoping for good this time around.
* * *
Chad's earlier words proved so very true. Once Garrett woke from the surgery, he was a bear. Lora only saw him a few minutes before Chad pulled her aside and walked her to the waiting room.
"Brock told me he needs help at the ranch, so we need to think about some things. Are you okay driving back to Denver alone?"
She frowned at him. "Why on earth would I do that?"
He looked confused, tipping his ball cap back on his head. "Well, I didn't think you'd want to stay down here. I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay. It might be a few days or a week, maybe two weeks, as long as they need me." He made a motion to the hallways around them. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time. The calves need brought in from the pastures now to be inoculated and cut. Branded. Some of the older cows need to be culled and readied for shipment to the stockyards. It's one of the most hectic times on the ranch and it's been planned for weeks, I'm sure. We have to schedule the time so that neighbors can help."
Lora crossed her arms, thinking about the logistics of what she had going on. "So, do you want me to stay or go home?"
Chad looked surprised. "There's no question— I want you with me, of course. I love you, any time I spend with you is good time. But I don't want to put you out any more than you already have been because of my family. You didn't sign on to be a rancher's wi- uh, fiancée."
She let the flub pass. "No, but I'm here for you. And I'm here for the family. I don't retreat to my cave when the going gets rough. I'll talk to my professors and I can talk to William from here just as easily as Denver. I'll call Heather and have her go over and water the plants and stuff. Mercy's almost on summer break anyway, so I can email her teachers and see if there's anything mandatory she has to be there for, but I think they'll just let her go when they hear the extenuating circumstances."
A soft look entered his bright eyes. "I would love to have you there, and I think it would be fun to show Mercy how I grew up. Visits are one thing, but actually working gives you a completely different perspective."
Lora laughed. "I have a feeling she's going to be all over the ranch. More than she normally is. Better tell Jackson he's going to have a shadow again."
"But it's safer than in the city," he told her. "It will be family and friends helping with the roundup. And Jackson won't mind. He loves Mercy. Everyone on the ranch does, and they'll watch out for her. I'm not sure how far along they are on the drive but it may require me sleeping out a couple nights."
She frowned, trying not to be upset by that. Even as they'd passed in the night he'd been home. Close by. "I can deal with it," she promised.
He gave her a smile that totally made her heart stutter. "I know you can, baby. I never had a doubt."
"And besides, your mother will probably need help when your dad comes home. And I assume they need food for the round-up?"
He cocked his head. "You would help her with Dad? That's really something. And yes, they always need food for the round-up workers. Many times the wives of the men working it pull the meals together. But there is usually an expectation that the host family supplies the meat."
She nodded. "That makes sense. It's not fair to the people helping to be put out financially."
Chad seemed a little overwhelmed by her willingness to help out, and she was definitely overwhelmed. There was a need for people to pitch in, though, and she would do her part.
It would definitely take some schedule finagling. She was supposed to go to New York in two weeks for a board meeting, but William could stand in for her. Her business classes were almost done for the summer. She had a paper due for one class and a pretty big test for the other. Well, if they weren't willing to work with her maybe she could get an extension to the next quarter or something.
Mercy's homeroom teacher's number was in her phone and her email on the laptop. She would call her later on today to get Mercy’s absence from school straightened out.
Lora cringed as she thought about what they had brought with them. A few changes of clothes. That was it. She hadn't expected to stay in Texas very long.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, we're not really packed for life on the ranch. I didn't expect to go out there. I'm going to need some things."
Chad nodded. "Maybe Cheyenne can run you around? She knows Amarillo pretty well. I'm going to go ahead and go out. It'll take me a while to get back into the hang of things, too."
Lora nodded, her heart thudding with excitement. Or was it anxiety? Probably both.
"Okay. I love you," she told him firmly. "Go do what you need to do."
"Let's make sure Cheyenne can do all this. I'm not sure what Emily is going to do."
Cheyenne seemed surprised then delighted with the plan. "Of course I can take you shopping. We'll do that on the way out. I think Emily is going to meet us out there. She took a week off to help as well and has a rental. We might just pull all this off," she laughed.
Lora wished she had some of her enthusiasm, but she nodded anyway.
Chad said his goodbyes to his mother and Mercy. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and gave him a hound dog look, complete with sad puppy eyes. "Why do I have to go shopping? Why can't I go with you?"<
br />
Chad laughed and knelt on the floor in front of her. "Well, darlin', I'm gonna have to work as soon as I get there. It's going to be a tough, dirty job, and until you learn to ride a little better you're going to have to stick close to the ranch and your mother. When we get the cattle into the lots you can come out and help. That's where Cheyenne's girls will come out to help as well."
Mercy pouted, but nodded her head. "Okay. I love you."
She gave him the biggest hug she could, and he reciprocated, tucking a couple of packs of Smarties into her pants pocket. Mercy grinned and bopped the bill of his cap, making him mock growl at her.
Then it was Lora's turn. Looping her arms around his neck she held him tight for a long minute, kissing the side of his neck. "Be careful out there."
"You know I will, baby," he leaned back to grin at her, his white teeth flashing. Leaning down, he kissed her well enough that she wanted to head back to the hotel, but he pulled away with an even bigger grin. "I'll probably see you tonight."
* * *
Garrett was out of it most of the morning, so the three of them took off by noon. Lora hugged Francine tight before she left, promising to do what she could when she got to the ranch.
"I'm going to stay a few more hours until he rouses completely, then I'll drive out."
“I’ll wait here and drive her out when she’s ready,” Emily told them. “Or maybe catch a ride with Cheyenne when they release Daddy.”
Cheyenne hugged her sister tight. "I'm so glad to see you. I hate that it took Daddy being sick for us to see you. I've missed you squirt."
Emily's pale blue eyes shimmered with tears but she gave her sister a smile. "I've missed you too, Trouble."
Cheyenne laughed. "Seems like you were the trouble one."
Emily shook her head adamantly. "You know I wasn't. It was always you."
Giggling, Cheyenne nodded. "You may be right about that. Love ya, little chicken."
"Love you too."
"Don't hide out here too long," Cheyenne warned. "I bet Jackson would like to see you, too."
Emily's chin jerked up and her smile suddenly looked forced. But she nodded. “We’ll see.”
Then Cheyenne turned and guided them out of the hospital. They headed to the hotel to check Lora and Mercy out. It only took them a few minutes to pack their bags, and they were on the go again, the bags stored in the back of Cheyenne's pretty gray Jeep Grand Cherokee. She drove them to a shopping area that seemed to have a large selection of higher end stores. Lora felt bad in thinking they were going to be in the sticks when they went to Texas. The state had the same amenities as any other state, it just had longer expanses of space between them.
"You need jeans and shirts. Did you bring enough underwear and bras?"
Lora looked at her from the corner of her eye. "Your mother has a washer and dryer doesn't she?"
"Of course, but you can always do with new bras."
Chad's energetic sister grinned and pulled into a mall. Lora cringed when she read the sign. Malls meant screaming kids and too many people, and Mercy didn't need to be subjected to that. Before she could say anything, though, Cheyenne and Mercy had both jumped out and were heading for the entrance, their clasped hands swinging between them. Lora stared at her daughter, surprised at the lack of fear.
Hurrying, grabbing her purse, she slammed her own door and jogged after them.
Chapter 10
The mall actually wasn't that crowded, but Lora was still on edge. There were too many people that insisted upon walking close to her. More than once she shifted out of the line of traffic and paused at the wall as she waited for the wave to pass. Cheyenne didn't say anything about her strange behavior, just paused and waited with her.
"Sorry," Lora muttered, feeling her skin color.
"No worries. I completely understand."
Lora looked at the other woman standing tall and beautiful and confident. She hadn't forgotten what Cheyenne had said the night they met. She'd been in an abusive relationship as well. "How- how did you get over it?"
Cheyenne's smile turned sad. "I realized that I was wallowing in my own pity and allowing him to win, and I had three little girls depending upon me. They had started to take on my fears, and I didn't want that for them. It was hard to take those first few steps but I made myself do it. The fear would have swallowed me under if I allowed it."
Lora nodded. "I feel that. It's close. Most of what I do is indoors and solitary. When I get out into crowds like this I freeze up."
"Why?" Cheyenne asked. "What are they going to do to you? They don't know you, have no idea what you've been through or how much money you're worth. They couldn’t care less about who you are. And you have just as much right to be here as they do."
Cheyenne reached out and grabbed a passing older woman. "Excuse me, ma'am. Did you know this was Lora O'Neil?"
The woman seemed a little taken aback at Cheyenne's grip, but she smiled at Lora and waved a hand. "Hi, Lora." She tugged on Cheyenne's restraining hand. "I'm sorry, Miss, but I really have to go."
Cheyenne opened her fingers and the woman merged into the flow of foot traffic.
Lora glowered at Cheyenne. "I can't believe you did that," she hissed.
Mercy covered her mouth and giggled, then moved close to hug her mother. "It's okay, Mama."
Clamping her jaw, she looked around the moving throng of people. Nobody spared them a second glance, but overcoming years of fear wasn't going to happen in an afternoon.
Taking several deep breaths she straightened her spine. "Okay, let's go."
The mall didn't have the store that she usually shopped at, but Cheyenne knew where to get good sturdy jeans and shirts for Mercy. "And you're about the same size as my Grace, so you'll be able to wear her clothes too, if you'd like. I'm sure she'd share with her cousin."
Mercy beamed at the words. "I would love to share with her. It would almost be like having a sister." She looked around the racks of clothing before her. "But maybe I could get a couple new things? I've never been in this store before."
Lora felt humbled by her daughter’s easy-going excitement in their shopping trip. Here she was feeling defensive again, but no one was blaming her for anything. They had enough money in the bank to buy the mall itself, probably, but Mercy never asked for more than she received. Lora was used to a few small stores near their home. That was where she shopped for everything, but even she had to admit that they were limited. She glanced around the brightly colored racks. She'd never seen clothes like these either.
Cheyenne was more than happy to spend Lora's money and by the time they walked out of the store they'd gotten Mercy enough clothes for the next year, or until the next big growth spurt hit. But her little girl was grinning, insisting she haul the bags herself. She wore one of the new outfits and Lora could tell she felt good.
Next they went to a store with women's clothes in it.
"What are you, like a six?"
Lora's eyes widened. "No, a ten."
Cheyenne looked her up and down. "That may be the size you're wearing, but it's not the size you actually are. Try these on."
Lora took the handful of clothing. There were bright colors and sleeveless things, and even some glittery things like Mercy had gotten. "I don't know about these, Cheyenne."
"Just humor me, Lora, please. I've been wanting to do this with you for a long time."
Biting her tongue, she went into the changing room. Glancing around, she bit her lip. No escape from Cheyenne. She had to do this or the woman would never let her out.
The jeans Cheyenne had picked out had bling on the back pockets, but they fit fairly well. They were a little tight. She picked a shirt from the pile on the chair and changed into it, snapping up the pearl buttons.
Cheyenne's eyes widened when Lora walked out of the dressing room and Mercy gasped. "Mama," she breathed, moving around her. "You look like a cowgirl."
Cheyenne circled Lora. "Yes, you do. Those jeans fit you like they
were made for you."
"They're too tight," Lora complained.
Fitting three fingers into Lora’s waistband just like she'd done to Mercy when she'd been trying on clothes, Cheyenne shook her head. "No, they fit you like they're supposed to," she corrected. "You have a nice body hiding under all those long sleeves and baggy khakis. Great boobs. I know Chad loves you no matter what you wear, but wouldn't you like to dress up for him sometimes?"
Lora looked down at the outfit. The jeans were feminine and pretty, but the shirt was almost just like one he had at home, blue plaid with pearl snaps; only this one was feminine with capped sleeves. Lora decided she looked very country. Chad would love to see her in this.
"Okay. I'll get it."
She also got three more pairs of jeans, five more shirts and blouses and a pretty flowered dress with a flirty hi-lo skirt. "You are such a bad influence on me," she grumbled to Cheyenne as she handed the checkout clerk her card. She still wore the last outfit she’d tried on. Cheyenne hadn't allowed her to change back into her khakis.
"No, I'm not. You love it and you know it."
"You did great, Mama," Mercy said, squeezing her hand. "That was very brave of you."
Lora was suddenly fighting away tears. She looked away for a moment to gather her control. "Thank you, baby."
The clerk had her sign a slip then handed her the receipt. Lora glanced at the bottom but forced herself not to react to the amount.
"Come on," Cheyenne told her. "We've got one more place to go."
She led them to a busy store full of lotions and shower gels and candles. Lora had brought Mercy to a store in the same chain once before and the girl had lost herself in smelling all the little votive candles on the far wall.
"Mercy, you stay here for a bit, 'kay?” Cheyenne told her. “We'll be next door getting your mom bras and panties."
"Okay." She waved but it was very distracted.
Forget Me Not Page 7
