“I’ll text Brody,” Lila said.
“I’ll call Jimmy—that’s Maribel’s daddy, Carlene—and tell him he’s in charge of the ranch for the weekend,” Valerie said.
“And you’ll let us know if you need anything at all, Carlene?” Kasey began to gather up her kids.
“I’ll be over first thing in the morning to help Jimmy,” Nash said.
“And I’ll be there to do whatever needs done,” Hope said.
Family.
Supporting one another was what it was all about and what she’d wanted for Tilly when she moved to Happy, but seeing it all come together put tears in Carlene’s eyes. Her insides were still all aquiver at the thought of losing Jace and she could hardly sit still. Knowing that he was all right didn’t calm it instantly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The doors opened again and a nurse brought Jace out in a wheelchair. He caught Carlene’s eye and said, “We got a family reunion goin’ on out here? Where’s the fried chicken?”
“We’ll get it on the way home,” Tilly told him. “You want chicken strips or chicken on the bone?”
“I’d rather have your mama’s fried chicken and it can wait until dinner tomorrow but I would like a double-meat cheeseburger and some fries,” Jace answered. “But since they’ve cut one of my boots all to pieces, we’ll have to use the drive-through window.”
“I suppose we can manage that.” Carlene wanted to rush to his side, push that tall dark-haired nurse to the side, and smother Jace with kisses. She wanted to tell him that she’d been scared out of her mind when he didn’t get up and then again when she saw blood on his face and all over his shirt. But she couldn’t, not with his whole family surrounding him.
“If whoever is takin’ him home will bring their vehicle to the doors, I’ll roll him out to it,” the nurse said. “Who do I give all these instructions to?”
“I’ll take them.” Carlene reached out. “And I’ll be driving him home.”
“Okay, then, he’s to stay off the foot and ice it for the next four days. Ice packs should stay on it twenty minutes at a time several times a day,” she said. “Doctor Jim says to call for an appointment if you have any trouble.”
“Thank you,” Carlene said. “We’ll be sure he follows the directions.”
Hope draped an arm around Carlene’s shoulder and whispered, “If you need me, I’ll postpone my trip to Florida. But right now you go on and get your van and I’ll wait right here with Tilly.”
Carlene had managed to put on a cool, calm, and collected front in the waiting room. But that all ended the second she slammed the door and reached for her seat belt. What if he’d been killed and she was pregnant again? What if she’d never gotten to say she still loved him and probably always would? Just thinking about him lying in a casket sent tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Get a hold of yourself.” She slapped the steering wheel. “You’re no good to anyone acting like a big baby.”
She took a deep breath, dried her eyes, and started the engine. She drove up to the doors and the nurse got Jace settled into the passenger seat while Tilly strapped herself into the backseat. The nurse slid a pair of crutches into the minivan, laid the paperwork in Jace’s lap, and slammed the door.
“What a night,” Jace said when they were under way. “I was serious about the cheeseburger, though. I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Tilly said.
“You really scared me,” Carlene said.
“I forgot to look at the moon and about the time I realized it, I remembered you saying that we needed to talk and I lost all concentration. What do we need to talk about?”
“Later,” she said.
“BC?” he asked.
“Something like that,” she answered.
“What’s BC?” Tilly asked from the backseat.
“Bull crap,” Jace answered quickly.
“So can I spell bad words, like SOB?”
“No, you can’t,” Carlene answered.
“Grown-ups don’t play fair.” Tilly put the buds to her MP3 player in her ears and looked out the side window.
“She called me daddy more than once,” Jace whispered.
“I think everyone in the stands heard her the first time.” Carlene pulled into the drive-through at Sonic and rolled down the window. “So a double cheeseburger basket?”
He nodded. “And a chocolate milkshake.”
Tilly pulled out one earbud. “I want the chicken strip meal deal and a strawberry shake.”
Carlene made the order, including only a milkshake for herself. There was no way she’d be able to swallow food or keep it down. She got like that after every single big incident. She managed to keep up a rock-solid front but when it was over, she felt as if her whole insides were shaking for hours.
“Not hungry?” Jace asked.
“Still a little bit jittery,” she answered honestly.
“I’m okay,” he whispered.
“I know that now, but when you didn’t get up and then I saw the blood…” She took a deep breath. “That was the second longest drive of my life and it was only fifteen miles.” She reached for her purse, but he quickly pulled a credit card from his shirt pocket and handed it to her.
“Got a little blood on it but I don’t reckon that will show up when you scan it.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Don’t tease, Jace. You could have been killed.”
He laid a hand on her knee. “But I wasn’t. If I’d looked at the moon, I woulda been fine. I’ll never make that mistake again. Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m fine.”
“This time,” she muttered.
“Want me to stop ridin’?” he asked.
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t ask you to quit something that you like to do,” she answered.
“Ask me how much I like it tomorrow when every joint in my body aches. Right now my ribs are tellin’ me that they did not appreciate bein’ abused. And we won’t talk about my poor hand that got hung up in that rope or my ankle or the scar that is liable to ruin my looks forever.”
“Humph,” she snorted. “As if one little scratch could have that kind of power.”
“So you think I’m good-lookin’?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Does it matter what I think?”
“Honey, you’ll never know how much it matters. And here’s our food.”
“Did I hear food?” Tilly said from the backseat.
Removing the paper from his burger, Jace asked, “What was the longest ride that you ever had? You said that was the second longest and it’s only fifteen miles.”
“From here to Georgia ten years ago,” she answered.
With the help of the crutches, Jace made it inside the house, but maneuvering the porch steps was not an easy task. He’d just gotten that pair of boots broken in well and every step reminded him that when his ankle healed, he’d have absolutely no use for one boot.
“Might as well have thrown away my money,” he grumbled.
“You still carryin’ on about the boots, aren’t you? You still got one. Look at it like this. If you keep ridin’, it could come in handy later on down the line. Or maybe you ought to learn to ride in your bare feet.” Carlene unlocked the door and held it open for him.
“Sassy piece of baggage, aren’t you?” He grimaced when he accidentally set the foot down.
“Always have been and don’t intend to change now,” she told him. “I’ll get you some pajama pants from your room and you can use the downstairs bathroom for showers over the weekend.”
“I can go up the stairs to my bedroom,” he declared. He wasn’t an invalid and those steps couldn’t be a bit worse than what he’d already been through that night.
“Are you crazy?” Tilly popped her hands on her hips and did a head wiggle. “If you fall backwards, you could kill yourself. Climbing those steps with crutches is BC.”
“BC?” Jace caught Carlene’s gaze over the top of Tilly’s head.
“Bull crap and don’t fuss, Mama, it is,” she said.
“Okay, then, Miz Prissy Butt, what do you think I should do?”
“Sleep in the recliner. It’ll keep your foot propped up and we can put pillows around you. We had to do that when Aunt Bee sprained her ankle when she was doin’ obstacle courses,” Tilly answered. “And I’m not a prissy butt. I’m going up to get a shower and go to bed now. Mama, can I have the phone to call Aunt Bee? I told her I’d call her after the bull ridin’.”
Carlene handed over the phone and Tilly raced up the stairs.
“Man, she uses big words,” Jace said as he made his way slowly to the recliner.
“She’s spent her whole life with adults,” Carlene said. “I’ll get your loungin’ pants and then help you get into them.”
Jace wiggled both eyebrows at her. “But first you have to get me out of these clothes and help me take a shower. Or maybe we’ll just both get naked and shower together.”
“I don’t think so, cowboy. I can help you get undressed but you can manage the shower all by yourself. Remember this next time you try to stay on a bull’s back for eight seconds. I’m going to get a couple of ice packs ready for you.”
“Hey!” He started for the bathroom. “I hung on for a lot longer than that. I just wasn’t on his back the whole time. I’ll be waiting for you. If you change your mind, just come on in wearin’ a smile and a robe.”
“You got a condom?” she asked.
His gray eyes widened. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
“Got a whole box yesterday.” He lowered his voice. “They’re in my nightstand. Bring as many as you think we’ll need. I’m so sorry about Sunday. I shouldn’t have…”
“Get well and then we’ll talk about whether they’ll go out of date before they get used.” She bounced up the steps, blond ponytail flipping to one side and then the other.
Yep, that was his Carlene, the girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago and had never gotten out of his mind or his heart.
Chapter Eighteen
Jace felt fine on Saturday morning—until he moved or inhaled deeply to get a whiff of bacon and coffee that floated in from the kitchen. He popped the recliner footrest down and picked up his crutches. It was exactly two miles across the floor and foyer to the bathroom, or so it seemed that morning with every bone in his body whining at every step. Even the leg that hadn’t been hurt ached, and all the hangovers he’d ever had couldn’t compare to the pounding in his head.
He felt better after he’d brushed his teeth, but he was totally exhausted when he made it back to his recliner. His blanket had been folded and stacked with the pillows in the corner of the room. A mug full of coffee and two white pills waited for him on a side table. He swallowed them with a sip of coffee and propped his crutches on the back of the sofa before he eased down on the recliner with a groan.
Carlene brought in a tray of food and he groaned louder. “I can’t chew. Brushing my teeth was a chore with this cut on my cheek.”
“I imagine standing on one leg to do anything in the bathroom wasn’t easy, but you’ve got to have food with those pain pills. I figured you’d have trouble eating for a couple of days, so you’ve got a glass of chocolate instant breakfast and a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and maple syrup this morning.” She set the tray over his lap and tucked a big white napkin into the neck of his muscle shirt.
“I’m reduced to wearing a bib,” he fussed.
“It’s either that or raising your arms up to get the shirt off when you get something on it. Your choice, cowboy,” she said.
“Thank you for breakfast and for sleeping on the sofa last night. You didn’t have to do that,” he said.
“And what would have happened if you’d fallen and really broken a bone or two? I’ll be on that sofa until you can make it up the stairs to your bedroom.” She pointed at her folded bedding at the end. “And I imagine Tilly will be on that one.” She pointed the other direction where the child was still sleeping. “It’s only for a few days and until then these are very comfortable.”
He tasted the oatmeal. “This isn’t instant.”
“Tilly gags on the instant kind so I quit making it years ago.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “We should talk about the real BC stuff while she’s asleep.”
“I apologize again. I just assumed you were on the pill and I shouldn’t have,” he said between bites.
“And I was too taken up in the moment to think about that,” she said. “So you don’t get to carry the whole burden. We’ll know in another day or two for sure but I think that”—she lowered her voice even more—“ovulation was over by then.”
“If you are, we can do it right this time and get married.” Hope fluttered in his belly that she would be so that she would marry him.
“No, I will not marry you, Jace.”
“But…,” he started to argue.
“That’s not an excuse for marriage and neither is a daughter that you didn’t know you had.”
“We are a great team. We can be great partners and we’re Tilly’s parents,” he said.
“There’s more to it than that, Jace, and you know it.”
“Well, we’re damn good at sex.” He chuckled.
She swatted him on the arm. “There is no excuse for marriage and there’s only one reason,” she told him.
“And that is?”
“You figure it out and we’ll have another discussion later. I see a little girl starting to wiggle over there.”
“Before she opens her eyes, a kiss would go a long way in healing this poor old broken-down cowboy,” he teased.
Carlene propped her hands on the arms of the chair, leaned over the breakfast tray, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek that didn’t have strips on it. Before she could straighten up, he cupped the back of her head with one hand and tipped her chin up with the other one. Then his lips closed on hers in a searing-hot kiss that burned out any thoughts of pain.
“See, I’m better already. I’ll be ready to do chores by tomorrow mornin’ if you’ll repeat that process about once an hour.”
Sparks were still floating around the room when she took a couple of steps back.
“You can’t tell me that you don’t feel the electricity every time we’re close to each other,” he said.
“Honey, there was never a doubt that we had chemistry or that it will ever disappear. But we have to ask ourselves if it’s a lasting thing or a flash in the pan. We’ve both proven that we can live without each other.”
“But were we happy doing it?” he asked.
“We survived,” she answered. “Or at least I did.”
“Survival and happiness are two very different things, darlin’,” he said.
“Do I smell bacon, Mama?” Tilly sat up and yawned.
“Yep, you do, and oatmeal just the way you like it.” Carlene moved across the room and started folding the bedding that Tilly had used. “Food is all on the stove. Juice is in the fridge. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Tilly rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her knuckles and stared at Jace. “Are you okay? I mean really, really okay? You didn’t try to go up the stairs, did you?”
“It’d take more than that sorry old cranky bull to kill me. I’m tough and I listened to you and slept in the chair. It wasn’t so bad,” Jace told her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yep.” She jumped off the sofa and quickly helped Carlene get the rest of the bedding folded. “What are we doin’ today?”
“What would you be doin’ if you were still in Florida?” Jace asked.
“This is Saturday, so me and Mama would do our chores, then go to the beach,” she said wistfully. “I miss the beach, Mama.”
“We’ll go back someday for a vacation. Maybe we’ll meet Aunt Bee there for a week this summer,” Carlene said.
“And Jace can go with us and maybe we’ll find a big shell and we can have a picnic and…”
Hi
s heart fell when she didn’t call him Daddy, but he pasted on a smile when she invited him to go to the beach with them. “That sounds like fun, but what about crutches in the sand?”
“You’ll be well by then and ridin’ bulls and broncs but if this happens again, you can’t never ride no more, so you better be careful,” Tilly said seriously.
“Yes, ma’am.” He winked at Carlene.
It was going to be a long, long day for Hope. She’d gotten up an hour earlier than usual and made two batches of banana nut muffins before the sun even came up. She’d take two dozen to Kasey and a dozen to Lila and the last twelve over to Prairie Rose. She’d start with telling Carlene her plans. Once she said them out loud, then she’d have the courage to tell the rest of the family.
She was so glad to see the kitchen lights showing through the window when she parked in the backyard that she almost forgot to pick up the muffins when she got out of her truck. Tilly was sitting at the table when she breezed into the house and set the basket on the table.
“Banana,” Tilly squealed. “My favorite. Can I have one now?”
“Sure. Where’s your mama?”
“In the living room with Jace. They were talkin’ grown-up stuff when I woke up, Granny, but I pretended to still be asleep so I could listen. Mama said she wouldn’t marry him and something about him bein’ my daddy wasn’t a good enough excuse,” she said.
“Oh, really.” Hope pulled out a chair and sat down.
“They thought I was still asleep. I used to keep my eyes shut when Mama and Aunt Bee had coffee on Saturday mornings so I could listen to big people talk,” Tilly whispered.
“Hey, when did you get here?” Carlene carried a tray to the cabinet, refilled a coffee cup, and eyed the muffins. “Are those banana nut?”
“Yep, and they’re still warm,” Tilly said.
Carlene put four on the tray, along with two cups of coffee. “Well, thank you, Granny. They look scrumptious. Want me to add a third mug?”
“No, I’m good, but I’ll join y’all so I can see how Jace is doing,” she said.
“Hey, Granny, thanks for the muffins,” Jace said when Hope walked into the living room.
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