“Oh, perfect,” Ben commented. “I see how it works.”
Just as Sheila looked up to see what he was talking about, all the trees in the courtyard abruptly came alive with twinkling lights. She gasped. It was as if she’d been launched back in time to the wedding reception and they were once again in the backyard of the Bar-G.
Standing up behind the planter, Ben looked pleased. “Does this remind you of anything?”
She nodded. “A million stars.” Unguarded thoughts raced through her mind as tears blurred her vision. Was he thinking the same thing? If she said any more, she knew her voice would betray her emotions, so all she could do was smile.
Slowly, he walked back around to where she sat. The latest song from the parking lot stopped and when a new one started, it was slow, perfect for the moment. He looked over his shoulder, to where the music was coming from, then turned back to her and lifted one corner of his mouth.
He held out a hand. “Would you like to dance?”
Her eyes met his and she felt the intensity of his gaze pass through her like a bolt of electricity. The force of it lifted her hand, and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Before she knew it, his fingers were on her waist and hers were on his back and they were moving to the music.
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. This was exactly what it had been like last summer, only somehow this felt even better.
As the song moved from the vocal to an instrumental section, he twirled her around and brought her back into his embrace like a wannabe Fred Astaire.
Surprised and impressed, she looked him in the eye and chuckled. “Your dancing has improved since last summer. Have you been practicing?”
“My dancing? Naw. I haven’t had time with all the roping practice.”
That brought a girlish giggle up from some deep part of her she hadn’t accessed in a very long time. “Well, if you enjoyed the reality-show experience, you’re well on your way to being eligible to audition for Dancing with the Cowboys.”
“Let me guess.” His voice sounded light and carefree. “Dancing and roping at the same time? I’ll keep that in mind.”
Her head gravitated back to his shoulder. “You already know how to reel in your partner.”
That earned her a laugh. “I don’t know, though. I think Hank was wrong.”
“Wrong about what?”
“Well, I haven’t tried to rope a cow yet, but I have a feeling that women are harder.”
She smiled. “The thing is, you only have to rope one woman, provided you get the right one.”
The silence coupled with a slight slowing of his feet made her wonder if she’d just crossed the borderline into flirtationland without getting her passport stamped.
Haltingly, he started to move his feet again. “How do I know if I’ve roped the right one?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, willing to step out on that limb. “If she doesn’t run away.”
His feet stopped again and he stepped back slightly, looking at her with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before. “Sheila...”
Her stomach buckled. “What is it?”
He took a deep breath and another step back. “I’ve been trying all week to tell you something, and I just haven’t found the right time. This might be the only chance I get.”
Her heart started to gallop. She opened her mouth to tell him to go ahead, but the sound of the door opening jerked them apart. They both looked toward the door as the prominent form of a man appeared, silhouetted against the harsh fluorescent light of the inner hallway.
Sheila gasped. “Kevin.”
Kevin’s chest broadened even more than normal as he stood in the doorway gaping at them. He took a couple of slow strides forward, allowing the door to close behind him.
“Sheila.” He held up his hands as if he might expect her to run into his arms. “Are you surprised to see me?”
“Uh...yes.” Her heart fluttered inside her chest. Surprised didn’t begin to cover it. “What are you doing here?”
Kevin stepped fully out into the courtyard, his product-perfect dark blond hair looking a little spikier than usual. “This morning when we talked, you seemed lonely, so I thought I’d surprise you.”
“I seemed lonely?” She tried to recall the conversation. “What did I say that gave you that impression?”
“Maybe lonely isn’t the right word. Bored?” He lifted his hands. “It doesn’t matter.”
His eyes fixed solidly on Ben as he took the final steps toward them and stuck out his hand. “I’m Sheila’s boyfriend. Kevin Philips. And you are...?”
Sheila’s stomach lurched. Had he really just christened himself as her boyfriend? Could he do that without her consent?
Ben looked at Kevin’s outstretched hand for a moment before slowly extending his own. “I’m Ben Jacobs.”
Pumping Ben’s arm as if it were connected to a well, Kevin looked contemplative. “Right....” He released Ben’s hand and addressed Sheila. “Isn’t he the guy you said you met last year? The one who lives in Fresno?” Without allowing time for an answer, he spoke to Ben again. “I appreciate you looking out for my girl yesterday.” He placed a firm arm around Sheila, pulling her toward him. “She told me about what happened. You rescuing her from that creek and everything.” Squeezing her shoulder, Kevin gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Sheila wanted to pull away, her attraction to Kevin seeping out of her like water being drained from a tub.
Ben looked as if he couldn’t quite keep up with what was happening. “It was—” he took a couple of steps toward the door, as if he wanted to bolt “—nice to meet you.” Without so much as a glance at Sheila, he disappeared into the building.
Sheila stood there dumbfounded, feeling as if she’d just gotten the wind knocked out of her. As if Ben had just taken a piece of her with him, but the illogic of that made her head start to hurt.
Gripping her by both shoulders, Kevin turned her to face him. “Hey, I have a really great idea.”
“What?” She lifted her hands to her chin, remembering what Ben had said about trying to say something to her all week. What was that all about?
“Why don’t we check into catching an earlier flight home?”
“What?” She stared, then shook her head in disbelief. Surely she had misheard him. “Are you kidding?”
His face took on a look of defensive surprise. “No, I’m serious. We could be home by early morning, catch a few winks and take the day off together. See some of the sights in the city I’ve been wanting to show you.”
Sights in the city? As in, her own city? “You want to leave right now? But...” She was at a loss. “That’s ridiculous. Courtney is in labor, right now. She needs me.”
“Sheila, look around.” He did so himself, as if she might need that demonstrated. “This is a hospital. She has doctors and nurses. I’m sure she has family here, right? You and I are just in the way.”
Sheila’s mouth hung open, all thoughts and feelings held in suspension while she processed what he was saying.
“Look,” he went on, “if it will make you feel any better, you can go on in there and say goodbye while I look up flight times.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pushed the button to turn it on.
“Kevin—”
“I know.” He kept his eyes fixed on the phone. “You’ll need to go back and get your stuff. I’ll be sure to allow time for that. We’re, what, twenty minutes or so from that place where you were staying?”
She felt delirious. Her head started to spin. Calmly, she collected her thoughts and spoke. “I have never in my life met anybody who’s as unbelievably narcissistic as you are.”
He looked up from his phone, his expression flicking between amusement and outrage, as though he couldn’t decide which one
he actually felt. Letting out a breath, his face landed on a compromise of patient condescension. He put a hand on her arm. “Sheila—”
“I mean it.” She pushed away his hand.
That lit a fire in his eyes. “You just need a minute to calm down.”
“You have no idea what I need. You barely even know me.”
“What is your problem?”
“What is my problem? Where do I start? My best friend is here in the hospital having a baby, which is the reason I came here, and you want me to just leave like you matter to me more than she does.”
Shaking his head, he muttered, “You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m unbelievable? Really?”
He started tapping at his phone again. “I’m finding us a flight.”
“Fine. Find a flight. The sooner, the better.”
He looked at her and smiled, as if it pleased him that she was finally submitting to his will.
All she could think about was her unfinished conversation with Ben. And that even though she didn’t understand quite how Stephanie figured into the situation, Ben was still a better man than Kevin by a country mile.
* * *
The elevator door opened on the first floor, and Ben shot out on legs that shook so much he could hardly walk straight. A boyfriend. He couldn’t get it out of his head. Sheila had a boyfriend.
His Sheila.
He should have known. How could he have been so foolish to think that a girl as amazing as Sheila wouldn’t already have somebody? Somebody more worthy than him.
The bland walls of the hallway blurred as he charged ahead, looking up just enough to avoid running headlong into a gurney being pushed by a guy in green scrubs. The antiseptic smell of the place and the faint sound of voices on an intercom calling out codes added to his sense of urgency to just get out of there.
Slowed by a man who was apparently just learning to operate the pair of crutches he wavered on unpredictably, Ben tried not to let loose with a guttural wail. If he could just get to his rental car, he’d be able to scream or hit the steering wheel or something. There had to be a way to process this onslaught of raw data without allowing it to break through to his heart.
At least he wasn’t prone to drinking or any other means of numbing himself from reality, because if he were, this would be impetus for a severely lost weekend. The only means of escapism he was vulnerable to were books and computers, but even those compulsions stayed too wholesome to register as vices.
What a loser. He couldn’t even handle his heartache in a way worthy of writing a country song about.
That thought brought a fresh crushing blow to his chest as he remembered how it had felt to hold Sheila in his arms while they danced. That had been only a few minutes ago, but already it seemed as though a lifetime had passed.
Reaching the lobby, he darted around the man on crutches, set his sights on the wall of glass doors and moved resolutely ahead. Hurt rose up in him like smoke from a campfire.
I appreciate you looking out for my girl yesterday. The words made a direct hit to his heart. This guy knew about the creek incident. When had she told him? Sometime between when Ben had rescued her and held her in his arms and later on when they’d had so much fun acting it out for his family? When he’d been so naive to think they were getting back on track? Tears stung the backs of his eyes. At least he hadn’t made a total fool of himself by telling her about the job transfer. Yeah. Or he could have moved and then found out about the bruiser with the iron grip. That would have been even worse.
He stepped onto the black mat in front of the doors, triggering them to slide open.
All he had to do was get as far away from here as possible. If that meant getting on a plane for Fresno tonight and staying there for the rest of his sad, single, solo life, then, great. That was what he would do.
Gaining on the parking garage, he took in a deep breath. How was he supposed to get into the ranch house to grab his stuff if everyone who had a key was here? He sighed. He could have his parents pack up his stuff and bring it back with them. He worked his jaw. Sure. They’d be thrilled to do that for him after he’d abandoned them at the hospital without a ride back to the ranch. After he left without meeting his new niece or nephew or even knowing how his sister was. All because of a woman he was in love with and hadn’t bothered to tell them about.
Great plan, genius.
Letting out a breath and shaking his head, he slowly turned around. His feet felt like lead as he started back toward the doors. God, why? Why can’t I just have this one thing? And if he couldn’t have Sheila, why did he have to stay there and watch her being happy with some guy who looked like David Beckham after he’d just missed a goal?
Kevin. The guy’s name was Kevin.
As he reentered the hospital and trudged back across the lobby, he seriously considered calling his dad’s cell phone and telling him he was sick and should stay downstairs, far away from anyone with a compromised or not-yet-developed immune system. Too bad he wasn’t any good at lying.
At the place where the lobby opened into the long wide hallway, Ben paused, confused. He’d been blinded by his emotions just now on his way out and couldn’t remember for the life of him which way the elevators were. The first time up he’d gotten directions, but a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that there was no one now manning the front desk. Might as well just pick. Left looked promising, and if he didn’t encounter the elevators fairly quickly, he’d just turn around and try the other way.
Slowing, he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t so bad. Things were no worse than they’d been for him before he’d met Sheila. Last summer. When she’d probably had a boyfriend already.
Ugh. That thought hurt worse than getting shot in the head. Not that he’d ever actually gotten shot in the head, but he could imagine it would hurt.
Seeing the bank of elevators down the hall, he sighed. Fine. He’d go back upstairs and wait with his parents, then be happy for his sister. He hit the elevator button. He would wait till the baby was here and his parents were ready to go to the ranch. Then he would let them know he needed to leave tomorrow. Get back to work. That wouldn’t be a lie, exactly, since that would be where he’d go. What else did he have to do, other than plan the rest of his dinner-for-one, single-bed, pathetic existence?
The elevator door opened and he waited for a patient in a wheelchair to be maneuvered out, then got in and punched the button for the third floor. As soon as the door shut, he closed his eyes. Sure, he would probably meet other women in his life, but it was hard to believe he could ever feel about anyone the way he felt about Sheila. There was a firewall around his heart that only she could disable. She was it, and he had blown it. But the worst part was that no matter how much he attempted to parse the situation, he couldn’t even really know what he had done wrong.
If he had only said the right thing last summer, would things have gone differently?
Or...had she already had Kevin then?
He pinched his eyes closed even tighter as a pain he’d never thought possible brewed in his chest. Had he just imagined that she’d felt something for him, too, even tonight when they were dancing?
The ding of the elevator jarred him out of that excruciating contemplation, and he opened his eyes. He really should be grateful. He’d been granted one more day’s worth of sweet memories of Sheila. Wasn’t that what he had asked for? He needed to be thankful for that, because it looked as if that was all he was going to get.
Stepping out of the elevator, he looked up, then stopped in his tracks. Nothing around him looked particularly familiar. At the place where he thought he remembered a nurse’s station, there was a giant aquarium and a couple of chairs. Had he really been gone long enough for them to completely redecorate? He twisted around to check the large 3 above the elevator. This was the right
floor, all right. Great. On top of everything else, he was now lost.
He started to walk, thinking that eventually he’d run into something that looked familiar or someone he could ask. Rounding a corner, he was pleased to see another nurse’s station, bigger than the one they had passed on this floor earlier in the day.
“Excuse me.” He stood in front of the counter where an older woman wearing green scrubs with blue-and-yellow cats on them sat with her eyes fixed to a computer screen.
The clacking of her keyboard ceased and she glanced up over her glasses. “Yes?”
“I’m lost.” He gave a little chuckle, hoping to elicit some sympathy. “My sister’s having a baby, and I went to the lobby and I guess I forgot to leave a trail of bread crumbs.”
“You’re in the wrong wing.” Removing her glasses, she nodded. “Happens all the time.” She pointed back the way he’d come. “You want to go down the elevator you came up in to the first floor. Then go to the bank of elevators on the other side of the hallway leading off the main lobby.”
Resisting the urge to comment on the inconvenience factor, he thanked her and turned to go.
“Or...”
He pivoted back around, his Lacava shoes squeaking on the spotless linoleum floor.
Using her glasses, she pointed past a snack machine to a hallway behind her. “You could take a shortcut through the courtyard. That’ll take you right where you want to go if you don’t mind being outside in the dark for a minute.”
The courtyard? Really?
He smiled pleasantly. “Thanks anyway, but I think I’ll go back downstairs.”
“Suit yourself.” She returned her glasses to her face. “I don’t blame you, though. It’s black as pitch out there.”
He breathed out. “Not anymore.”
“How’s that?” She looked up.
“I just said it’s not dark out there now.” His voice sounded hollow in his ears, as if it were coming from somewhere down the hall. “A million stars are shining.”
The look she gave him made him think she might just call someone from the psych ward to have him escorted from the building. He breathed out relief when all she did was shrug and return to her typing.
Rocky Mountain Romance Page 14
