by Hope Navarre
Ellie wiped her hands on her jeans as she crossed the back patio, wondering if it was George touching base. Or—speak of the devil—Angela. It turned out to be Kate, checking up on her.
“Are you dying of boredom out there in the wilderness?” she asked.
“I’m doing better, but it was touch and go for the first few weeks,” Ellie replied with a smile, going to sit on a leather chair.
“I envy you being there,” Kate said. “The location, not the circumstances that sent you there,” she clarified.
Kate always had liked the outdoors. “Someday you’ll have to visit,” Ellie said.
“Are you staying there?” Kate asked, horrified.
“I’m looking for a job,” she said simply. “I know it might take a while and I know I’m not going to get any smaller as time goes by, but I have to give it a shot.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Me, too. I just...needed some time to accept the reality of my situation. Work through some issues. I think I’m there and now I know what I have to do.”
“You are sounding more like yourself.... Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Keep your ears open.”
“You know I will.”
Ellie hung up a few minutes later and headed out to the garden, where she continued to work outside until the sun went behind the mountains and the air grew chilly. If she went back to apartment life, which was a given until she’d reestablished a career, she wouldn’t have much opportunity to get her hands dirty, and she was going to indulge while she had the chance.
Ellie snapped on the lights as she walked into the house, then went to the kitchen to dig out something frozen to eat. George’s truck was still gone...and Walt’s was still there.
Ellie frowned. It was late for Walt to still be there.
Probably just doing ranch stuff she was unfamiliar with. The chores changed with the days and the seasons. But as it began to grown darker, Ellie’s concern also grew. The guy was a total jerk toward her, but he was getting up in years and Ryan cared for him.
Ellie, knowing how quickly it could change from cool to freezing, pulled on a sweatshirt and a coat, then headed out the door. One of the barn cats trotted out from the tall grass, then crossed over to meet Ellie, who bent to stroke his orange-striped back before walking on to the pasture gate and staring off across the field in the direction that Walt had disappeared.
She had a bad feeling about this. Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she dialed Francisco and got no answer. Okay. She was on her own.
Ellie headed around the barn to the ranch truck and, as she’d hoped, the keys were dangling from the ignition. She hated doing this, hated to think of what a hearty laugh Walt was going to get when he caught her out looking for him, but on the other hand, what if he was in trouble?
Because of the recent rain it was easy to follow the four-wheeler tracks and Ellie drove along slowly, losing the tracks every now and then, only to pick them up a little farther on. She drove past the pond where she and Ryan had rescued the goose, past the place where he’d dumped the tank on the second-to-last day they’d worked together. Shortly after that she lost the tracks.
Had he turned off somewhere? Left the property?
Ellie reversed the truck and returned to the stock tanks where the last vestiges of ATV tracks were clear. She turned off the truck and got out, standing in the growing darkness, listening. Nothing.
“Walt?” In the distance she heard a cow. “Walt!”
Still nothing.
Frustrated, she got into the truck and was about to put it into gear when she saw movement in the brush across the meadow. She popped on the headlights and a man put his arm up in front of his face to ward off the glare.
Walt. On foot, his dogs trailing behind him.
Ellie turned the lights off and got out of the vehicle, wondering if Walt was going to be stubborn and walk on past her. The thought probably crossed his mind, but as he got closer she could see that he was limping badly enough that even he had to see the benefit of being driven home.
But it had to be killing him.
He walked straight to the passenger side of the vehicle and got in, groaning as he pulled his weight onto the seat. The dogs clamored up over the sides of the back of the truck without so much as an invitation.
“What happened?” Ellie asked in alarm.
“Four-wheeler rolled.”
“Your ribs?”
He nodded, and in the dim light of the cabin she could see sweat beading on his upper lip and forehead.
Ellie didn’t say another word. She turned the headlights back on and swung into Reverse.
“Watch the stock tank,” Walt muttered.
Ellie stopped, jammed the gearshift into Park and turned toward Walt.
“You’re welcome.” Her tone was low and harsh.
“What?”
“You said, ‘Thank you for coming to look for me so I didn’t have to walk home,’ and I said, ‘You’re welcome.’” Then she threw the truck into gear and started toward the ranch, taking care, in spite of her instincts to the contrary, to miss as many ruts as possible. Walt very likely had broken or bruised ribs, and having once survived a bruised rib herself after a nasty fall from a tree, she knew what he was dealing with.
The old man sat in stony silence, staring straight ahead, or at least Ellie assumed he was because she refused to look at him. Watch the stock tank. She’d been well aware of the stock tank. She’d helped put it there!
When they got to the pasture gate, Walt made to get out and Ellie snapped, “Stay put.” With a surprised look, he acquiesced and Ellie got out to open the gate. After driving through she got out again and closed it, then drove the two hundred yards to where Walt’s truck was parked.
“Thank—hey!” he said as Ellie drove past his truck and on down the driveway. “You don’t have to take me home.”
“I know,” she said serenely. She was more than aware that she didn’t have to do anything for Walt. He didn’t want her to do anything for him. Tough.
She drove over the small hill and Walt’s and the Garcias’ places came into view. She continued on, past their driveways.
“What the hell?” Walt demanded. She cut him a sideways glance, saw the shocked and angry look on his face. And confusion. For once he was the one out of his element.
“You’re going to the doctor.”
“The hell I am.”
“The hell you are, and the ranch is footing the bill.”
“No!”
Ellie didn’t bother to respond.
“Now, listen here, Miss High and Mighty, you can’t just kidnap me and take me to the doctor.”
“Yeah. I can,” Ellie replied calmly. “You’ve been injured on Rocky View property and I’m not risking a lawsuit.”
“A law—” Walt let out a ferocious breath followed by a colorful curse—one that Ellie made a mental note to remember. Not that she would use it, but Kate would find it amusing.
Walt grabbed for the door handle. “Really?” she asked. “You’d throw yourself out onto the road?”
“No, I wouldn’t throw myself out onto the road,” Walt said, mimicking her.
“Then what are you doing?”
“I’m... I’m...” Another long exhale and then Walt tilted his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. “Pissed off!”
“I understand, but nevertheless, you’re going to see a doctor.” She glanced sideways to see that Walt’s eyes were still closed and his face was set in harsh lines from both mental and physical anguish. “I’m not doing this to piss you off and show you who’s boss. I’m doing it because I’m concerned.”
He made no response. Didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Once they hit the outskirts of Glennan, Ellie said, “A
re you going to tell me the easiest way to get to the hospital, or am I going to have to use my phone?”
It took two blocks for Walt to say, “Turn at the next stop sign.”
That was his only instruction and proved to be the only one necessary because six blocks down the street was a red-and-white sign that read Emergency Entrance.
Ellie drove into the lot. Walt tried to get out of the truck almost before she’d taken the key out of the ignition and again he groaned as his weight shifted. Ellie waited, then followed as he limped toward the entrance, bent over to keep the pressure off his damaged chest. And it occurred to her as she walked past him to open the door that if she could deal with this guy and win, maybe she did have what it took to deal with a toddler.
* * *
WALT’S HOUSE WAS dark when Ryan drove by. It wasn’t until he got to the main ranch, found Walt’s truck by the barn, the ranch rig gone and all the lights off in the house that was usually all lit up, that he suspected something was off.
He unloaded PJ, turned the big gelding loose then pulled the phone out of his pocket and tried to call Francisco. Nothing. He called the bar. They hadn’t seen Walt, knew nothing—not that he’d expected them to, with Walt’s truck still being there. Then he noticed that the four-wheeler was also gone. None of this made sense, because he was pretty certain that Walt and Ellie hadn’t gone four-wheeling in the dark.
But what if...
He dialed the hospital, which was easy, since Jessie had insisted he put the number on speed dial when she was pregnant with the twins.
“Hi, this is Ryan Madison. I was just wondering if Walt Feldman might have checked in.”
“Hey, Ryan.” Whoever was on the other end obviously knew him, but Ryan wasn’t asking for names. “Walt was here, but he’s on his way home now.”
“Was he alone?” Ryan asked.
“Nope. Good-looking woman with him. He got all snarly with her when she handed over a credit card to cover the bill, but she just ignored him.”
“Thanks,” Ryan said, not bothering to ask why Walt had been at the hospital. If he’d left, he was ambulatory. He pocketed the phone and then set about parking the trailer and unhitching it, his movements automatic. He hadn’t eaten since lunch and had planned to get something in his stomach as soon as he got home, but he wasn’t hungry now. Once the trailer was taken care of, he got into his truck and drove down to Walt’s house, getting there only a few minutes before headlights appeared from the opposite direction.
Ellie pulled the truck to a stop close to the front of the house. She got out as the dogs scrambled from the back and came around, probably to open the door for Walt, who pushed his door open, almost hitting her, and then painfully eased himself out of the truck.
“What kind of wreck did you have?” Ryan asked, startling both of them.
“Rolled the four-wheeler, cracked some ribs,” Walt muttered, heading for the steps—steps he was going to have a hard time negotiating with cracked ribs.
Ellie stayed where she was next to the rig, her eyes first on Ryan and then on Walt who grimaced as he raised his foot to the first step. Ryan knew better than to offer help. Once Walt was on the top step, his breathing shallow, Ryan opened the door and snapped on the lights.
“Thanks,” the old man muttered as he shuffled past. Ryan looked past him, waiting for Ellie to follow, but she’d already gotten back into the truck and through the evening shadows he couldn’t see her. A second later the truck was in gear and heading off down the road.
Ah, Walt.
“What happened?” he asked, turning his attention back to Walt.
“I lost control on the side hill just past the granite knob.”
“What were you doing out there?”
“Looking for the blasted cows,” Walt grumbled, ripping into a white paper pharmacy bag.
“I told you, those cows are long gone. We’ll find them with someone else’s herd in the fall if they haven’t been stolen.”
“Whatever,” Walt muttered, shaking out a couple pills. Ryan took the bottle and read it, then handed it back, ignoring the look of outrage on Walt’s face. “I’m not some kind of kid. I can take my own medication.”
“How did Ellie come into this? Did you ask her to drive you to the hospital?”
“She found me.”
“Found you? Like...came looking for you?”
“I guess. I don’t know why else she’d be driving around the pastures at night.”
“You owe her,” Ryan said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah. I know. Probably thousands of dollars for this little visit and follow-up.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Walt just shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He raised pain-filled eyes to Ryan. “This stuff is supposed to knock me out, so if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take care of some business, then settle into my chair for the night.”
Ryan knew better than to ask if Walt wanted him to stay. “I’ll check in with you in the morning.”
Walt grunted and slowly made his way down the hall to the bathroom. Ryan waited until he came back and slowly settled into the recliner. Gently he raised the footrest. Walt grimaced, then seemed to relax. The drugs were taking effect. Fast.
“Call if you need anything.”
Walt raised a hand off his lap in what was probably supposed to be a wave without opening his eyes. It fell limply back to his lap. Ryan turned on a lamp near the door, then turned off the overhead light. By the time he’d shut the door behind him, Walt was probably asleep.
And he should probably have gone directly into his house after getting back home. He was hungry and exhausted. It was the sane thing to do. But there were a couple lights on in Ellie’s house, so he did the opposite of sane and started up the flagstone path to the front door.
* * *
ELLIE FROZE AT the sound of the knock, her stomach doing a small flip-flop. Ryan, of course, wanting to know the story about what had happened with his surly mentor. She started to pull her hair back with an elastic, then stopped and came out of the bathroom to answer the door. Ryan had only knocked once and by the time she opened the door, he was halfway down the front walk.
He stopped, turned back. Without thinking, she pulled the door open wider and he started back to the house. Neither of them said a word until Ellie quietly closed the door behind him.
“You rescued Walt?” he asked.
“Somebody had to,” she muttered, eyeing him warily, as if afraid that he was going to take up where they’d left off the last time.
“Do you have any idea what happened? If it rolled over him or what?”
“Walt doesn’t talk to me.”
“But you went looking for him.”
Ellie crossed over to the counter. When she turned back toward him, she felt a wash of exhaustion. Walt was enough to exhaust anyone when he was being stubborn. “Again,” she said softly, “someone had to. It was getting dark and he hadn’t come back, so I drove to the stock tanks and he came out of the brush just before I was about to leave.”
“I wonder how far he walked.”
“Don’t know. Enough to weaken him to the point that I was able to get him to the hospital. It was a bit touch and go, though. For a minute I thought he was going to throw himself out of the truck.”
Ryan’s eyebrows went up. “He didn’t ask to go to the hospital?”
“Are you kidding?” Ellie blew out a derisive huff of breath. “And when I paid, I thought he was going to have a stroke.” She turned a frowning glance his way. “Does he not understand insurance?”
“He said you used your credit card.”
“Deductible. Walt didn’t have his wallet on him.”
Ryan slowly nodded. “You don’t have to pay when you go in.”
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“I wanted to take care of matters right then.”
She felt him walk around her, closed her eyes, listened to the tread of his feet, wondered why he made her feel so grounded. He came to the opposite side of the counter, leaned his arms on it. “I know he was probably an ungrateful bastard, and I’ll apologize for him—” his gray eyes held hers “—and I’ll thank you from me. I’ve worried about him getting hurt while I’m gone, but figured that Lonnie or Francisco would be there.”
“They weren’t,” Ellie said, unable to tear her gaze away from his.
“But you were and you went looking for him.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “What can I say? I’m a masochist.”
He smiled, just enough to curve his perfect lips, making them look more perfect.
Pretty faces. What have you learned about pretty faces?
Except Ryan also had substance. He was steady. Dependable. Father material.
Ellie took a mental step back as the thought slammed into her. She was not trolling for father material.
“Something wrong?” Ryan asked.
“It’s been a day,” Ellie said casually. “Or rather, a night.” She rubbed a hand over the side of her neck, surprised at how stiff her muscles were. “How’d you do at the rodeo?”
“One step closer to finals.” Although he felt none of the excitement he’d felt last year at this time.
“What are we going to do about Walt?”
“Maybe we can keep him sedated,” he said, making Ellie smile.
“Maybe we can slip a little to George, too.”
Ryan laughed and Ellie felt her insides go liquid at the low, sexy sound.
She swallowed. “It’s getting late.”
Ryan’s gaze didn’t waver as he said, “Totally late.” He pushed off from the counter and started for the door, Ellie trailing behind him, her hormones crying, “No, don’t let him go....”
She held the edge of the door as he walked outside. He turned, his expression half smiling yet intense.
“Thank you for rescuing Walt.”
“Anytime,” she said lightly. And then it took everything Ellie had to close the door behind him.
