She glanced at him for a moment before turning toward the coffeepot. He wondered if he’d flustered her again, if in this setting he actually made her nervous.
“I would offer you some coffee, but you need to rest.”
“I’d rather have some decent coffee. Haven’t had any of that in a while.”
She poured two cups. “I usually sit on the front porch and watch the sunrise.”
“Sounds good to me, unless you want to be alone.”
She inclined her head toward the front of the house. “Let’s go then before we miss the show.”
As he hurried as best he could to get ahead of her, he wondered when he was going to feel normal again, well enough to resume his life. But as he opened the door for Chloe, he was glad she’d talked him into coming to her house. He still intended to find some way to pay her and her family back, but he was just so dang grateful to be out of the hospital that he let his pride take a backseat for the moment.
When they stepped outside, he heard clicking. When he looked over, two basset hounds were ambling toward them. “Who are these guys?”
“Wyatt, meet Roscoe and Cletus.” She glanced up at him with a smile. “We watched a lot of Dukes of Hazzard reruns when we were kids. My parents loved that show. Mom had a thing for Bo Duke.”
“Your mom, she’s gone?”
A sadness invaded Chloe’s eyes and she nodded. “She died in a car wreck when I was nine.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” She shifted toward a small table flanked by two rocking chairs. After placing the mugs on the table, she held the back of one of the rocking chairs steady for him.
He was so ready to be able to do whatever he wanted on his own again, but he had a sinking feeling that was going to take longer than he’d like.
Once they were both seated and sipping on the good, rich coffee, the world around the house slowly brightened as if Mother Nature were turning up a dimmer switch. Songbirds started chirping nearby, and a blond, short-haired cat darted out from underneath a pickup truck and raced for the barn.
“Must smell a breakfast mouse,” Chloe said.
The eastern horizon started shifting from pale blue to a layer of orange and then yellow. It looked like a painting he’d seen on display at a museum in Oklahoma, a place he’d visited while killing time before a rodeo a couple of years ago.
“I see why you like it here,” he said. “You’ve always lived on the ranch?”
“My whole life with the exception of when I was in college and med school.”
He wondered what that was like, to be so connected to a place that it was like a part of the family. He nearly laughed at that. With the exception of his grandparents, he’d never really had much of a family. Whenever he’d seen movies with big, traditional families, they’d always seemed odd to him, as unreal as superhero cartoons.
But even though Chloe’s mom was gone, he’d seen one of those types of families the night before. And he’d found himself wondering what it’d be like to be more than a temporary guest at their table, a part of something that seemed so strong, so real.
They settled into companionable silence, and he didn’t feel the need to fill it. Neither, evidently, did Chloe. As he watched the world wake to a new day, he tried not to think about how intoxicating this little slice of heaven could be, how it was already luring him like a very addictive drug.
Chapter Eight
By lunchtime, Chloe was so frustrated that she had to get away from the clinic for a while. So she grabbed the sandwich she’d brought to work and headed to the park by the lake. She needed the sun and fresh air, and time to not feel so helpless. Sitting on top of a picnic table and staring out across Blue Falls Lake, she tried to tell herself that she couldn’t solve everyone’s problems, the patient currently staying at her house notwithstanding.
“I thought that was you down here.”
Chloe looked up to see Skyler Bradshaw approaching from the walkway that led up to the Wildflower Inn, which Skyler owned. Her friend was so pregnant she looked as if she were going to pop.
“What are you doing toddling down here?”
“Probably same as you. Wanted to get outside and enjoy the pleasant weather for a bit. Feels nice after the rain last night.”
“Yeah.” Chloe gestured toward Skyler’s rounded belly. “How’s the wee one doing?”
“Rambunctious. Little guy is definitely his father’s child.”
Chloe smiled despite a little pang of longing. Damn that ticking clock. “Have you picked out a name?”
“Ethan Lane.”
“Sounds like a future rodeo rider to me.”
“Lord help me, I’ll be a nervous wreck if that happens. But speaking of rodeo riders, the town grapevine is abuzz with the fact that you took Wyatt Kelley home with you.”
“Yes, and I’m sure I know where that grapevine started and that Verona already has us married off with two-point-five kids.”
Skyler laughed. “You’ve got her pegged. I hate to admit it, but she does have the touch.”
“It’s just temporary, only until he’s well enough to be on his own again. Then he’ll be gone.”
“Stranger things have happened. You’re talking to the gal whose uncharacteristic one-night stand turned into true love.” She shook her head and placed her hand atop her stomach. “I still can’t believe it sometimes.”
“It was just a kindness of necessity.”
“Is he the reason you seemed a million miles away a few minutes ago?”
“No. Well, maybe partially. It’s just been one of those days when I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everything better.”
“What’s wrong?”
Chloe sighed. “Ruth Carter had another heart attack last night and isn’t doing very well. Another patient had let his diabetes get so out of control that he’s going to lose a foot. And then a teenage girl came in with pneumonia and undiagnosed asthma. When I asked her parents why they hadn’t brought her in earlier, they said it was because they were both out of work and didn’t have insurance.”
“Tough morning.”
“Yeah. Sometimes I feel helpless, as if what I do doesn’t make a dent, not for the people who really need it.”
“Are you kidding? You’re one of the most caring people I know. Who else would take a near stranger into her home just because he didn’t have anywhere else to go? I mean, it doesn’t hurt that he’s reportedly drop-dead gorgeous.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “You, too?”
Skyler shrugged. “What can I say? Happiness has brought out the sappy side of me.”
Chloe smiled at her friend, something that was normally easy to do. But now? The edges of her mouth felt heavy as she tugged them upward. She had to shake off the melancholy. Feeling down wasn’t like her at all, and she didn’t like it. Besides, she had too much to do to allow a little case of the blues to mess with her.
Chloe slid off the table and brushed at the back of her slacks. “I better get back to work. Let me give you a ride up to the inn.”
Skyler waved away the offer. “Maybe if I hoof it up the hill, this baby will decide to make an appearance.”
“As your doctor, I say he needs a few more days in the oven.”
“Said like someone who doesn’t know how miserable this is.”
Not so long ago, Chloe would have simply laughed at that comment. But today it stung, and she couldn’t muster a laugh, only a small smile that she hoped would suffice.
Chloe drove back to the clinic but didn’t immediately get out of her car. She needed to force an attitude adjustment before she went in to greet her next patient.
But despite her best efforts to be positive, her afternoon lineup didn’t help bolster her mood. It seemed this was the day for seeing
people who needed more help than she could give. By the time she headed for home, she was worn out. And her day never stopped when she left work. She just traded one set of tasks for another.
She didn’t mind, really. After all, she loved her dad and brothers. Though they might rarely say it out loud, that love had strengthened after her mom died. She was thankful for every day she had with them.
But when did she get to have time that was hers alone?
Where had that come from? She did not want to tempt fate by letting those kinds of thoughts take up residence. She had a good life and no right to complain. As she’d seen today, there were a lot of people much worse off than her.
Her thoughts were so wrapped up in the patients she’d seen throughout the day that she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten she had yet another at home. When she pulled up in front of the house, he was sitting on the front porch scratching Roscoe’s head. She smiled and felt some of the stress of the day slip from her shoulders. It was good to be home.
“Looks as if you’ve made a new friend,” she said as she got out of her car.
“I have a feeling these two like whoever feeds them.”
Chloe glanced at the dog bowls as she climbed the front steps and saw that they’d been filled. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Not like it was hard work.”
Though she needed to go in and start dinner, she plopped down into the chair next to Wyatt’s. “So, what else did you do today?”
“Nothing strenuous, if that’s what you’re worried about. Read some, slept some, had long, one-sided conversations with the dogs. How was your day?”
She was on the verge of saying “fine” when she found herself spilling the details of her frustrating day. When she was done, she glanced over at him. “Sorry you asked?”
“No.”
She could tell he meant it, and the first genuine smile of the day lifted the edges of her lips. “Thanks for listening.”
He shrugged. “Not like I’m going to get up and run away.”
She laughed. “True. I wonder why I never thought of this captive-audience thing before.” She looked out toward the barn, waved at Emmett as he left for the day. “I just wish everyone listened to what I said as much as you did.”
“I’m not the poster child for good patients.”
She glanced over at him, realizing that after only one full day at the ranch he’d gained back more color than he had the entire time he’d been in the hospital. “You are a little on the stubborn side, I’ll give you that. But some people, well, the decisions they make are sometimes out of ignorance. Others, pure stupidity.”
“You can’t make people do what they don’t want to.”
She knew that, but it still didn’t sit well with her. She believed that all problems had solutions if you could just pinpoint them.
But the solution to the medical problems of Blue Falls would have to wait. Right now, the problem of no dinner being prepared was next on her list. At least that was a problem she could fix.
* * *
WYATT DIDN’T LIKE the way fatigue and worry about her patients were weighing Chloe down. When he’d met her at the hospital, she’d seemed so chipper. But he supposed even the happiest person had problems.
She stood, though she looked as if she’d rather do anything else. “I’ll swap out your bandages after I get dinner started.”
“I already did it.”
“Oh. Did you carefully clean and dry the incisions well before you put on new bandages?”
“Yes.”
“Check for infection?”
“Yes, Doc. I did everything exactly how you did it yesterday. Stop worrying.”
“It’s my job.”
“You’re not at work anymore.” Was she ever in “off” mode?
He’d ask her if she needed help with dinner, but he knew she’d say no. Plus, he wasn’t exactly a whiz in the kitchen. Still, he waited a few seconds after she went inside then followed her. He reached the living room in time to hear her laugh.
Chloe stood next to the small table at the edge of the room that was flanked by two ladder-back chairs. She pointed at the Scrabble board he’d set up after spotting the game in a well-worn box on the bookcase in the corner.
“You remembered how the board was on the game we didn’t get to finish.”
“I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity to win.”
“Ha.” She grabbed the bag of tiles and drew out enough for her next turn. After a bit of rearranging and obvious mental calculating of scores, she played her word. She glanced at him with a satisfied grin before heading into the kitchen.
With a smile tugging at his mouth, he slowly made his way across the living room and looked down at the word and where she’d written her score. Damn if she didn’t get thirty-two points out of it.
“We should make this game more interesting with a wager,” he called out.
She popped her head around the corner. “I wouldn’t be that confident you’re going to win.”
“Too scared to bet that you will?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What were you thinking?”
“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll come up with something good.”
“I can hardly wait.” Then she disappeared back into the kitchen.
He chose his own tiles and played the only word he could come up with for a measly three points. Maybe he shouldn’t bet anything big after all.
By the time he walked into the kitchen, she had thick, juicy burgers frying atop the stove and had pulled a potato salad out of the fridge. He had no idea when she’d had time to make that.
“So, Dr. Chloe Brody, what made a girl who grew up on a cattle ranch want to become a doctor? Vet might have made more sense.”
She paused in her movements for a couple of moments before flipping the burgers. She still didn’t answer for a few more beats. “My mom used to work at the hospital when I was a kid. She was a nurse’s aide. I used to hang out with her. I was always amazed that these people in white coats knew what was wrong with a person and how to make it better.”
He had the oddest sense there was more behind her reason, but he didn’t push. He didn’t know her well enough to push. They were doctor and patient, nothing more. Although the more time he spent with her, the more he thought about what it might be like to move on to being friends, perhaps more than friends.
At that moment, the back door opening announced the arrival of her family. As if kicked out of a daydream, Chloe moved to the cabinet and pulled out plates. Without asking, he stepped to the drawer next to the sink and pulled out silverware.
“Oh, honey, I meant to call you earlier and tell you we wouldn’t need dinner tonight,” her dad said when he entered the room. “Simon is having a meeting in town tonight with the ranchers in the area about the vandals. Your brothers and I are going. We’ll grab a bite in town.”
“Okay.” Chloe sounded as if she didn’t mind having gone to the effort of cooking for no reason.
The thing was, Wyatt did mind. He might barely know her, and her dad and brothers seemed nice enough, but what little he’d seen didn’t seem fair to him. Sure, the Brody men worked hard on the ranch all day, but Chloe worked long hours, too. And then she came home and did all the cooking and cleaning, who knew what else.
But he was the stranger imposing on their hospitality. What could he say that wouldn’t be rude?
“You know, I’m pretty hungry today,” Wyatt said. “I could probably polish off two or three of those burgers myself.”
Chloe met his gaze and smiled such a sweet, grateful smile that he knew if he didn’t get out of this house soon he wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands off her. And he wasn’t the kind of man she needed in her life. He was nothing more than a wanderer, a man who barely made
ends meet most of the time, someone who started running from his past the moment he could and hadn’t stopped since. She was smart, beautiful, rooted in this land and deserved someone a lot better than him. Someone who could give her whatever she wanted.
Still, while he was her guest, he could be friendly and help in whatever small ways he could.
By the time the burgers were done, he and Chloe were the only people left on the ranch. He winced as he sat.
Chloe slid into the chair opposite him, where Owen had sat the night before. “Hurting?”
“A little. Nothing I can’t handle.” With a lot of mental cursing.
Chloe started to stand again. “I’ll get you another pain pill.”
Without thinking, he grabbed her hand to stop her. She froze and met his gaze.
He liked the feel of her soft hand beneath his, so much so that he didn’t immediately release her. “I’m okay.”
Chloe didn’t pull away, but common sense had him releasing her.
“There’s no sense in you hurting when you don’t have to,” she said.
“I’ve seen guys who’ve been injured get hooked on painkillers. I don’t want to risk it.” That wasn’t the main reason, but he would never know Chloe well enough to divulge the secret he shared with no one.
Chloe exhaled slowly but slid fully back into her seat. The fact that she wasn’t arguing the point further told him how tired she was after her long day.
Despite his earlier comment that he could down two or three burgers, he had only managed one and a single scoop of the potato salad. It had nothing to do with the taste or his hunger but rather the fact that sitting in the hard chair was making his injuries hurt even more. Even so, he couldn’t make himself go to bed. He’d lain on his back so much lately that he was getting tired of looking at ceilings. The next time he spent that much time in bed, he hoped he was having a lot more fun.
An image of Chloe beneath the sheets with him slapped him right in an area that made it necessary to stay seated at the table while Chloe put away the leftovers and placed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
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