by Leigh Riker
“Thank you, Ted.” She kissed his cheek again. “Let me see what I can do.”
* * *
SAWYER LED CYCLONE back to the barn. On his way he glanced down the driveway, able to see as far as the Circle H arch and the turnoff from the road, but Olivia’s car didn’t appear. After one last searching gaze, he went on.
Sawyer hadn’t seen her since she’d said, “You’re going back,” and she hadn’t brought Nick to ride Hero again or worked with Cyclone herself.
Maybe, although she’d brought it up, he shouldn’t have talked about Kedar, which had only led to Olivia’s blunt statement. I wouldn’t think of taking Nick there. Until then, had she entertained the notion? He doubted it. Her opinion wouldn’t sway his, anyway. Even if she wanted to go, he had to admit Kedar wasn’t her kind of environment just now. He couldn’t ask her. They were nowhere near making that sort of decision. Probably never would be.
Still, the idea teased his mind. If he went back, and she came with him, he might not feel as torn as he did now. The only things he’d be leaving behind would be the Circle H. Sam. And Logan. Unfinished business there, too. It wouldn’t work.
In the muted light that dappled the aisle, he groomed Cyclone before putting him back in his stall. The colt had made good progress. Olivia had promised to help, and yet she seemed to have given up. On the horse...on him?
He hung the lunge line on a hook in the tack room then sat on one of the trunks along the wall, pulling out his phone to compose a text. He’d tried calling Charlie yesterday but there had been no answer. The call didn’t even go to voice mail, which bothered Sawyer. Communications should have been fully restored in Kedar by now. Had some other disaster befallen the area? He wished he knew exactly what to say other than to avoid his and Charlie’s rift.
Hey, partner. Haven’t heard from you. Any progress on the infirmary’s rebuild? Sent a big box of medical supplies. Hi to Piper and the family.
Sawyer hit Send, praying his message would get through. If it didn’t...
Willy and Tobias clumped into the room, then proceeded to rummage around for something. Finally, Willy hauled a saddle blanket from another trunk. “Who put my favorite pad in here?”
Sawyer suppressed a guilty twinge. He wasn’t responsible, but in the weeks he’d been at the Circle H, the two cowboys had continued to shun him and Sawyer had kept out of their way. “Not me,” he said. His guilt must be linked to Charlie instead. Sawyer glanced down at his phone. No response.
Tobias studied him. “That colt’s lookin’ good, Doc.” His tone seemed grudging.
“Yeah. He is.”
Being called Doc—Cyrus Baxter’s nickname—sounded foreign to Sawyer. But it reminded him that he had a late-afternoon appointment at Doc’s office with Fred Miller. Oh, and that toddler’s mom was bringing him in while Sawyer was there. The child’s raw throat was back. Sawyer would test him again for strep.
The requests for his help—or rather, Doc’s—kept coming in and he kept answering them. Sawyer preferred to stay at the ranch, where the work was no less dangerous than his job overseas, but at least there were no patients here other than the occasional bison from Sam’s herd—and only when the vet couldn’t get there right away.
Sawyer had to admit he’d been feeling good, though, ever since he’d saved Everett Wilson from choking to death. He didn’t always mess up and kill someone.
Tobias gestured at Sawyer’s phone. “You busy?”
“Not very. What can I do for you?” Maybe Tobias had a wound that didn’t show. On such a hot day, he wore a long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs buttoned and a red bandana around his neck to guard against sunburn.
“Me and Willy are huntin’ down an ornery cow. Sam went into town, and the part-timers aren’t here today. We could use another hand.”
Surprised, Sawyer looked up. Were they serious? This was unexpected. He glanced at his phone. There was still no answer from Charlie.
He was getting worried again, yet there was nothing more he could do except give it time. Charlie might be at the construction site or with patients, and Sawyer had a few free hours before he was scheduled to meet Miller. “Sure, why not? I’ll saddle Sundance. Be right with you.”
He enjoyed ranch work. He’d done enough of it, solo, in his time here. Willy and Tobias were loyal to Sam, and so were the other cowhands that came and went as needed. But it was possible Sawyer’s extended stay at the Circle H had finally softened Tobias and Willy’s obvious resentment of him for leaving long ago. Maybe he was getting somewhere with Sam’s men. Sam was another matter.
Sawyer rode back to the barn a few hours later, sweating from the midday heat, every muscle in his body aching from so much time and action in the saddle. There was no message waiting for him from Charlie. Yet he was grinning as he put Sundance away.
It had felt good—no, great—to chase that cow all over the place, then herd her back to the others. Then, of course, they’d discovered a section of broken fence that had to be fixed. Sawyer had remembered how to do that, his movements almost automatic until, finally, the other two men had stepped back to let him finish.
Along the way, he’d shared a few laughs with Willy and Tobias. What if things continued to improve with them? What if he stayed here instead of going back to Kedar, as Olivia assumed he would? Could he find some way to truly connect with her again, then see just where they could go?
He’d try to make a start after he saw Fred Miller.
* * *
SAWYER HAD TO ADMIT, he’d gotten used to holding office hours at Doc’s clinic twice a week. Several times he’d even conferred with Max Garrett, who ran the walk-in place around the corner on Main, enjoying their interaction as they consulted about one of Doc’s patients, the first being Fred Miller.
Sawyer had changed his first impression of Max; he was actually pretty good. And he gave himself high marks now for having taken charge of Miller’s follow-up care rather than sending him back to the clinic.
Sawyer examined Miller’s stitches, but there was no sign of infection and the man was on track to regain full use of the limb. The skin was knitting together nicely.
Miller’s troubles with the local law were apparently another matter. From the minute he’d walked in, Miller had been complaining about Finn Donovan, but Sawyer said nothing. In spite of his first inclination to avoid the sheriff, he’d gotten into the habit of meeting Finn for coffee or a meal whenever he was in town. He’d been foolish to think the sheriff might have it in for him.
Miller scowled. “Wilson got his cattle back. He’s satisfied with that. Why Donovan has to hassle me about this, I can’t say—but I’ll be durned if I end up in a cell.”
“Maybe you need a lawyer, Fred.”
“Just because I let my nephew borrow my truck? Leave a few cows on my land for a little while?” His reasoning only seemed to highlight his guilt. Aiding and abetting, Finn might say.
Sawyer said, “Rustling is against the law.”
“Yeah, well, no tinhorn sheriff is going to put me away. If that takes a lawyer to back him off, so be it. You know any good ones?”
“No.”
“My nephew and his friend—even that other guy, Cody Jones—don’t deserve time, either. Where’s the harm? Those cattle are right where they started out.”
Sawyer raised his head. Grey had told him he hoped to help Shadow’s brother, the friend Miller had mentioned, with a job at Wilson Cattle, but that was up to him. And Finn. “I can’t interpret the law for you. But these stitches can come out today. That sound okay to you?”
Apparently pleased, Miller nodded. Ten minutes later, to Sawyer’s relief, Miller was out the door, cradling his arm and pushing past a woman coming in with a little boy, Sawyer’s next appointment. He shook his head. Miller wasn’t one of his favorite people, but that wasn’t his business. It
was Finn’s.
“Afternoon, Mrs. Gallagher.” He ushered her into an exam room. “Jesse’s throat still feeling sore?” She nodded and Sawyer touched the boy’s shoulder. “That’s no fun, is it? Let’s fix you up.”
He examined him, then took a strep kit from Doc’s cabinet. The result came up positive, and Jesse’s shoulders were slumped, his eyes red and bleary from fever. “Let me call in a prescription. He should feel better in no time.”
For a moment, after he saw them out, Sawyer gazed around the waiting room before he wandered back into Doc’s small office.
And I thought I wasn’t treating patients. That reminded him of Kedar, the lack of supplies and his unanswered message.
It would be easy enough not to go back. Charlie’s resentment might never be possible to overcome. Instead, Sawyer could settle here. Maybe with Olivia. Make peace with Sam.
He sat in Doc’s chair, leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. He studied the degrees on the wall, none of which had his name on them, but still...they could. Doc should be home by now, and would pay Sawyer for his time, yet he’d made one excuse after another. He and Ida were currently in Chicago visiting relatives they hadn’t seen in years, along with one of their sons.
It would be so easy. If he stayed, he could help Doc run this practice, maybe take over one day, perhaps sooner than he knew. He could be with Olivia, with Nick. Had Doc been trying him out? Hoping he would stay? He wouldn’t put it past him, but Doc had also put his own patients at risk.
Sawyer rapped his knuckles on the desktop.
As if the practice were his, he tidied the area, then locked up.
And went to see Olivia.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“HOME INVASION,” Sawyer announced.
Minutes after she got home from work, Olivia had opened the door to find him standing there with a smile, holding a large pizza box. His one raised eyebrow asked her to invite him in.
The mere sight of him should have made her shut him out instead. She’d had enough bad news for one day from Ted’s son, and the images of Kedar’s landslide were still making her tremble inside. A reminder that she preferred safety.
Her stomach growling, she looked at the box. She’d forgotten to eat lunch. “Is there bacon on that?”
“Everything,” he said. “I didn’t know what Nick liked.”
“As long as it’s pizza, you and I will be lucky to get one bite.”
“I was in town,” he explained, “so I thought, why drive all the way back to the ranch, then have to cook my dinner? I figured you might be ready to eat after work.”
“I’m starving.” She led the way to the kitchen. Olivia pulled plates from the cupboard, knives and forks from the drawer for those who wanted to use them, though Nick preferred his hands. She poured milk for him, red wine for her and Sawyer, while he recut the pizza because the shop he’d ordered from never cut all the way through.
Nick came running down the hall from his room.
“Did I smell...pizza!”
While they ate, they talked about Nick’s recent visit to his school, where he’d met his teacher for the upcoming fall semester. Classes wouldn’t start for a few weeks, but he said, “She seems okay,” which meant he’d given her his stamp of approval. He added, “Me and Ava are going to be across the hall from each other.”
“Ava and I,” Olivia corrected automatically, keeping her gaze on her plate.
Nick looked at Sawyer. “Why didn’t you let me come to see Hero?”
“That’s your mom’s decision.”
Olivia didn’t appreciate being thrown under the bus. He knew why she hadn’t come to the ranch. “I’ve had too much work to take time off. And—have you spoken to Grey?”
His mouth full, Sawyer shook his head.
“He and Shadow have actually set a date,” Olivia said. “Get this—they’re not having their wedding here.”
“I won’t get to be a ring boy like I was for Dad?” Nick asked, chewing.
“Ring bearer,” Olivia murmured.
She shouldn’t discuss this in front of Nick, but she certainly didn’t want to talk about Kedar again or her ongoing negotiations with Ted Anderson. “No, they’ve decided to get married in San Diego. They’re meeting Blossom and Logan there since they’re already in California. They’ll stand up as witnesses. A very small event.”
“Wow,” Sawyer murmured, having swallowed his pizza. “Guess Logan will be their best man then. Grey asked me but...” Was he glad to be off the hook?
They let the conversation die while Nick was in the room. Instead, they talked about his Lego set, which was nearly finished.
When it was time for Nick to go to bed, Sawyer went with him to see the project in the dining room on their way. When he came back, he said Nick was already half asleep.
“You know what this means.” Sawyer rubbed the nape of his neck. “I’ll have to stay at the Circle H longer if Logan and Blossom are extending their trip.” He told her about his text to Charlie. “I didn’t have firm plans to leave, in spite of what you may think, but I didn’t expect this.”
Olivia shrugged. “Neither did I. With Grey and Shadow in San Diego, planning to spend extra days there afterward, my dad has offered to run the ranch.”
“What about Ava?”
“I’m told she’s had a good time with her ‘new’ grandparents, but of course she wants to be part of the wedding. Liza will fly with her out there, then come back. Grey and Shadow have promised to throw a big party when they get home.”
He smiled. “So Ava’s along for the honeymoon.”
“It won’t be a honeymoon. They plan to take a trip later.”
“Well. At least this is a good opportunity,” Sawyer pointed out, “for you to put things right with your dad.”
You only have one father Liza had said. True, but Sawyer also had one grandfather.
“And you with Sam?”
He flinched. “We’ll see. Then there’s Logan. I was hoping he’d come home sooner.” They had bonds to repair, too. He hesitated. “I hoped you and Nick would come out to the Circle H.”
“I told you. I’ve been swamped at the shop.”
“That didn’t stop you before.”
She sighed. “No, you’re right. It didn’t, and I’m on Nick’s list for staying away. But it appears my deal with Ted Anderson won’t go through after all. I’ve been exploring other means of financing again all day—without any luck.”
“You said you wouldn’t give up.”
“And I won’t. Not yet.” She told him about paying for the Tiffany vase. But that wasn’t all. She’d also stayed away from the ranch to protect herself. “Sawyer, after we got home the last time, after you and I talked, I rewatched that video. How did anyone survive that landslide?”
Sawyer squirmed. “A lot of people didn’t. Too many,” he said. “I’d rather talk about your shop.” He hesitated. “I’ve got some money put aside... In Kedar there’s nowhere to spend it. I’d be happy to lend—”
That surprised Olivia. “I couldn’t accept that.” She returned to their previous topic. “So many people lost, including some people you loved.” For a moment she didn’t continue. She’d already said, You’re going back. During that talk, she’d glimpsed his love for those people, his guilt at leaving them. And the aftermath of that other incident.
Olivia couldn’t fault him. As a boy, Sawyer had lost his parents. Along with Sam, he and his brother had been at odds for years. Although she certainly had issues with Everett, and, by association, Liza, even with her mother at times, all her life she’d had her birth family. Sawyer didn’t. She said softly, “They’re your family now, aren’t they?”
After a long moment, he said, “I guess they are. And what have I done? Not long after that landslide, I
left. Oh, I used the pretext of Logan’s wedding—which I was late to after all—but it was more than that.”
“What was more, Sawyer?” At the same time she didn’t want to hear anything else about such a tragedy, she knew he needed to talk it through. “What happened with the child you lost?”
He stared at his hands. “Stupid,” he said, “a rookie mistake, which I told you. You really want to know the rest?” He paused to take a deep breath. “Well, then. Here it is. An hour or so before the landslide, Khalil had come to the clinic complaining that he didn’t feel well. He waited his turn and I checked him over but didn’t find anything obvious—and I was up to my elbows with other patients that morning. As I also told you, Charlie and Piper had already gone to the school. I was in the clinic alone. I decided Khalil was probably having a minor side effect from the vaccination he’d gotten before some of his classmates. I decided he was okay to go back to school.” He shook his head. “He hadn’t been gone long when that mountainside let loose.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “He was caught in the slide?”
“On his way to school, Khalil got trapped under some rubble. Not as badly as other people did because he was on the near edge of the slide, but we—some other villagers and I—didn’t reach him for quite a while. Khalil was bruised and cut up, a few of them pretty deep, but I cleaned and stitched those, and miraculously he hadn’t broken anything. By comparison to many of the people I was seeing, he looked pretty good. He stayed that night with me—his folks were still missing—but by morning he was running a fever. He really was sick and I’d missed why.”
“What was it?”
Sawyer looked into the middle distance. “For a couple of days, I kept on missing it. I was overwhelmed with other patients and Khalil still didn’t seem that bad. By the time I realized he wasn’t just dealing with vaccination side effects and with a bunch of relatively minor injuries, he was much worse. He had a hot appendix, which had already burst.”
“Oh, Sawyer. That’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
