Randy felt his heart stop. He blinked and looked over at Lewis. Then they pushed to their feet and headed toward the front door.
“Hang on, we’re coming with you,” Jesse called out.
“Then follow us,” Lewis said. “We know where the clinic is.”
By the time they got outside, they were running. Lewis got behind the wheel of their truck. It didn’t take more than a breath’s amount of time to start the thing and head toward town. Neither of them talked, and though he knew the distance they had to go would take them well under ten minutes, the drive seemed interminable.
They pulled in behind the EMT vehicle in front of the clinic. The sound of screeching tires and then pounding footsteps behind them let them know they weren’t alone.
Neither of them had ever been inside the clinic, but they’d met Jillian and her husbands, who were the current Doctors Jessop. Standing by the desk were more people he recognized, Michaela’s friend Tammy and her partner, Charlie, both of whom were paramedics.
Jillian looked at him and said only, “Room one.”
He and Lewis both stopped in the doorway of the exam room. There, sitting on the stretcher, tears streaming, was Michaela.
Randy knew what had happened the moment he saw her still gloved hand, the piece of wood beneath it, and the nail sticking up. “Damn, baby.”
Lewis let go a low curse then, with him, moved into the room. Neither of them cared if Robert Jessop liked it or not. They were going to stay with their woman.
“Ah, good, you guys made excellent time. I was just asking Michaela what sort of nail gun she has.”
Lewis stepped up to her and ran his hand down her hair to her back. “Hang in there, baby girl. Doc needs to know if the nails you use have barbs on them.”
“No. No, they’re smooth.”
Robert Jessop nodded.
Michaela’s lip quivered. “I’m glad you guys are here. It really hurts.”
“We’re going to take care of that, sweetheart,” Doc Jessop said. “I just want us to get an x-ray first. You gentlemen feel free to accompany us. We’ll take the stretcher.”
Randy and Lewis eased her down on the stretcher, and they helped the doctor move her down the hall. To Randy’s untrained eye, it appeared this clinic was very well equipped. It didn’t take long to snap the images the doc needed. He had a look at a computer that was in the corner and then smiled.
“You must drink a lot of milk,” he said to Michaela.
She seemed a bit calmer, and Randy felt confident that his and Lewis’s presence had something to do with that.
“Milk?” Lewis asked as they rolled her stretcher down the hall back to room one.
“The nail didn’t shatter the bone of her finger. It makes what has to happen next a lot easier for us both.”
Once they were back in the exam room, Robert Jessop wasted no time. He inserted an IV needle into Michaela’s right hand and hooked up some saline. Less than a minute later, he injected something into the tube.
Within a couple of minutes, Michaela sighed. “That’s better. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. While I get ready to separate you from the nail and the small piece of wood, why don’t you tell us what happened?”
Randy listened as she recited her day, including her call with Tammy earlier. She sounded almost tipsy, but he figured that was the result of the drugs the doc had just given her.
“After the nail gun jumped and nailed me, I screamed. It was all I could do to pull my cell phone out of my pocket with my right hand. I just hit redial and called last person I’d spoken to—Tammy.”
It didn’t take the doctor long to pull the nail out. He peeled off Michaela’s glove and examined the wound. The puncture in her finger looked obscene on her pretty hand. Fortunately, with no broken bone, the puncture itself needed only basic care—cleaning and antibiotics—and of course, time to heal.
Before long, Robert had her hand dressed, and she was almost dozing off. They sat quietly while he explained he’d added a shot of antibiotics to ensure infection had no chance to even start.
“She shouldn’t be alone tonight.”
Michaela blinked her eyes open. “I have to go to work.”
“Not tonight, you don’t,” Robert said. “By now, Jillian will have called Angela.”
Michaela frowned at him, and Randy had to work hard not to laugh. She looked so cute, trying to look fierce, because with the pain medication inside her, she really was a little loopy and looked it.
“She won’t be alone, Doc,” Lewis said.
Michaela swiveled her head to look at him and Lewis. Side by side, they were on her left. Robert Jessop, sitting on her right, nodded.
“Good.” He turned his attention to Michaela. “One bit of good news. You’re up to date on your tetanus shots, so we don’t have to do that.”
“I stay up to date on them.”
“Most women do. It’s the men who get the butt shot—which I now perform in honor of my father, Adam, who’s mostly retired. I want to see you tomorrow, about this time. I’ll change the dressing and check for infection. In the meantime, rest tonight, and don’t get it wet. Along with some antibiotics, I’ll give you a few pain pills to get you through the night. I also want you to take a few days off work.”
The Doc left them for a moment, and Randy scooted over to take his spot. She still looked disgruntled with the doctor’s orders. “Scared us, baby,” he said to her. “We just got a call that you’d had an accident and were headed here. Scared the living hell out of us both.”
“I wasn’t scared. Just mad at myself for letting that stupid nail gun jump and nail me.”
“It’s happened to more cowboys around here than you know,” Robert said.
“That’s how he knew to ask about the nails,” Lewis said.
Doc Jessop handed Randy two plastic bottles—one that contained eight pain pills and one that held antibiotics. He pocketed them and continued to hold her hand. She closed her eyes for a bit, only opening them, minutes later, when Robert disconnected the IV. When the doc nodded, he and Lewis helped her to sit up.
She held up her hand. “Aside from not being able to work, this is going to put me behind schedule on my renovations.”
“No, it won’t. You sit and point and tell us what needs to get done, and we’ll take care of it for you.”
“No, that’s okay. I can do it myself.”
“You can, but you’re not going to, not anymore,” Lewis said. “Deal with it.”
“What he just said,” Randy said.
Michaela gave them both a dirty look and opened her mouth to rebut that. Then a sound erupted, coming from just outside the open exam room door—from the waiting area—that shut her mouth and increased her frown.
It was the sound of applause, and it was a message that Randy hoped she understood was one filled with love.
Chapter Seven
“We all love you,” Jenny Benedict said. “And we all want to see you succeed.”
As soon as Michaela emerged from the exam room, her left hand bandaged, she’d been greeted by the sight of a throng people who’d come here—for her. Tammy had hugged her, promised to drop in the next day, and headed back to the firehouse. Jenny and Shar had stepped forward and hugged her, too. Since everyone else hung back, she guessed the two had been chosen as spokespeople.
“We know you’ve been determined to do everything yourself.” Dr. Charlotta Benedict looked around the room, and because she did, Michaela took a moment to do the same. Standing within the embrace of Lewis Benedict, with his cousin and best friend, Randy, at her back, she took in the Benedicts, Kendalls, and even a few of the Jessops she’d met and counted as friends who filled the waiting room.
“We even know why you felt that way,” Shar said. “But no one here questions your right, as a Powell, to lay down your roots in the soil of your family’s homestead. No one here doubts that you belong, nor do any of us doubt your ability to do what needs to be done. Yo
u’re a strong woman, one of the strongest I’ve ever known. But, girlfriend, no one was meant to do it all, all by themselves.”
It was an enlightening moment. These were the people who’d overheard and then applauded when Lewis had delivered that no-nonsense edict in the exam room. Looking now at so many who had come here to support her when they’d heard she’d been injured, she understood that she was surrounded not just by friends and not just by Lewis and Randy’s family.
These people, this town, had declared her to be one of them. They were letting her know they were her family, too.
“Thank you. I mean that. I let hateful words that were said in a moment of fear affect me more than I should have.” Then she inhaled deeply and just let it go. “So thank you, all of you. If y’all are willing, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“I’ll make up a schedule!” Laci Benedict stepped forward, a smile on her face. “So y’all get in touch with me, and we’ll set it up.” Then she stepped closer and hugged Michaela. “Go home and rest. Let these guys do the heavy lifting for a bit. Angela says you don’t come back until Dr. Jessop clears you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They didn’t all move in close as Lewis and Randy escorted her through the crowd. But they smiled and patted her right arm, and a couple of people she hadn’t realized were even there—Grandma Kate and Samantha Kendall—gave her gentle but strong hugs. Then they were outside, headed to the first pickup parked at the curb.
Lewis’s truck had a bench seat. Randy lifted her up onto it, and she slid over to the middle. She let him buckle her in and then sighed as Lewis slid behind the wheel and started the engine.
“You’ll have to give us directions, baby girl,” Lewis said.
“Wow. I just realized how much of a hardass I’ve been. I’m sorry. Really.” Lewis’s reasonable request helped her to realize, as not even her girlfriends and their husbands had, how rigid she’d been. I’m ready to take these men as lovers, and they don’t even know where I live.
“Hey.” Randy turned her face to look at him. He had a tissue in his hand and used it to blot the dampness she hadn’t known was there. “None of that, now. We’re not judging you, and we don’t want you to judge yourself either, okay?”
“Okay.” It was a straightforward route from the clinic to her home, so once she’d given the directions, she closed her eyes. The ride passed in silence, but it was a good, comforting kind of silence. Randy held her right hand, and Lewis’s hand rested on her left thigh. She felt surrounded by them, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt completely safe.
“Is this your driveway?”
Michaela opened her eyes and blinked. “It is. It’s a bit long and a little bit curved. You’ll see the house in a moment.”
“Nice trees,” Randy said.
“Thanks, though I can’t take any credit. Jonas Powell, my great-great-grandfather, planted these live oaks when he established his homestead. He didn’t just plant them along the driveway, either. He put several in around the property, including a special one my grandfather dubbed the Legacy Tree. I’ve always loved that tree. It’s…special.”
When the lane dipped, the house came into view. Lewis whistled. She guessed it did look impressive, even for those accustomed to rural living. The barn had been built, aligned with the house, but several hundred feet to the south of it. The lane ran in front of the house and ended at the barn. She parked her car where her father had always parked, in front of the barn. Lewis stopped just shy of being in front of the house.
Randy helped her out of the truck and waited for Lewis to join them. She caught a look between them. When they turned their gazes on her, she knew they liked what they’d seen so far.
“We both can see why you’re determined to stay, sweetheart. This is…this is very nice.” Randy’s words pleased her.
“I felt that way my first day back. I stepped out on the porch to greet the morning sun, and I whimsically imagined the ranch was glad I was here.”
“I don’t think that’s whimsical at all,” Lewis said. “Let’s get you inside. No offense, but you look like you could use a nap.”
“I’m not offended. I could use a nap. I don’t know when I’ve ever felt so draggy.”
“Your body’s had a shock, and you’ve got meds in you,” Randy said.
The guys were so sweet. They were nearly at the door when they stopped. “You did a good job on this porch, Michaela,” Lewis said. “It looks ready to paint.”
“I wanted to paint the house first then see about some stain for it.”
“That works,” he said.
She wasn’t used to having anyone in her house—well, anyone of the male variety of people. Jenny, Bailey, and Tammy had dropped in from time to time. And last night, after the dance, Jesse and Barry had insisted on coming in and making sure the place was secure.
Was that only last night?
She tended to be neat, so she hadn’t been worried about anyone seeing a mess. In fact, right at the moment, she didn’t know what she’d been afraid of.
“Where’s your bedroom?” Randy gave her a mock leer, and she chuckled.
“Down the hall. The door on the right.”
The door stood open. “Well, now.”
She knew those two words from Lewis referred to her bed. She had completely forgotten about them seeing her bed.
“You can blame Bailey,” she said. “After Dad passed, Bailey came out to give me a hand and then told me the spring-supported, two-inch-thick single-sized mattress that passed as a bed that I had been using in here was against the law. Something about a torture device and the Geneva Convention. So she and Jenny brought this. I don’t even know what size it is, but it’s similar to the ones they have, so…” Michaela shrugged.
“We owe Bailey some flowers, at the very least,” Randy said.
“Because now we know where we’re bunking tonight.” Lewis lifted her face and gave her a sweet kiss. “No, we won’t be naked, and neither will you. You’ll be under the sheet, and we’ll be on top, but at least we’ll know how you’re doing through the night, and our inner cavemen will know you’re safe.”
“You really were scared,” Michaela said. Randy had said so, but she hadn’t understood that they’d really been fearful, for her.
“All we knew was you were on your way by ambulance to the clinic. I’m still waiting for my heart to settle down.”
Lewis ensured that Randy had his arm around her, and then he pulled the blankets down. They sat her on the bed and removed her shoes.
“Jeans on or off?”
Her face heated. “Off, please.” They’d gotten dusty as she’d worked, and she didn’t want them on her sheets.
They both helped her up, and then Lewis made quick work of stripping the denim off her. She told herself that her panties were just like shorts.
“Now, let’s get you comfy. Sleep, baby girl. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
“’Kay.” Lying down, the covers drawn up and her head on her feather pillow, Michaela felt herself drop.
* * * *
Lewis wasn’t the least bit surprised that Michaela had fallen asleep so fast. He looked over at Randy and then nodded toward the door. They crept out of the room, though he didn’t think she’d wake up easily. Leaving her door open, they began to explore the downstairs and, seeing the back door in the kitchen, opened it. A screen door revealed another, smaller porch. They both stepped out onto it and took in the view of the fields and trees beyond. He knew he was looking at a good-sized ranch, if all that he was looking at was her land.
“Bet that’s her Legacy Tree,” Randy said. He pointed, and Lewis saw it immediately. His breath caught. It was special.
And a large one, that was for sure. Maybe a half-mile from the house, it rose above the others, as, with them, it appeared to form a line that he bet delineated one pasture from the next.
His hands on his hips, he scanned the view, his rancher’s eye taking in every s
ingle detail, just drinking it in. “Holy hell, Randy.”
“I know. The feeling is exactly what I’d imagined it would be. I just didn’t think it would be here.”
Lewis shook his head. “Yeah. I’m gonna have to think on this some.” Think on the fact that the moment I drove down her laneway, I knew.
“Me, too.” His best friend huffed out a breath. “I’ll have a look in the kitchen, see if I can get some soup or something out for her. And see if there’s any coffee to be had. I could sure use a cup.”
“I’m going to go clean up her tools in the front, there.”
He headed back toward the living room, taking a short detour for a moment to look in on Michaela. He didn’t think she’d moved, and that was good. At this point, sleep was the best medicine for her.
Lewis picked up the nail gun, which was, he guessed, more or less where Michaela had dropped it. His belly clutched, and he knew a moment of wishing for a sledgehammer. The only thing that saved the tool was the lack of blood on it.
Having caught one of his own fingers once with a nail gun, he could attest there’d been no blood—until the nail had been removed.
Shoving aside seeing Michaela’s wounded finger bleed as Doc Jessop had cared for it, he turned his attention to the doorframe she’d been in the process of mending.
“I just had a quick look.” Randy came to stand beside him. He, too, looked down at the nail gun then at the gap in the frame. “Coffee’s on. The cupboards are a little on the bare side, though. I think I’ll head to the grocery in Lusty, grab a few things. Won’t be long.”
“Good thinking.” He handed over the keys and then put the nail gun on the old-fashioned TV table Michaela had set up.
The house didn’t need him doing a thing to make it tidy, because it was already there. Instead, Lewis decided to take advantage and shamelessly snooped. The other bedroom downstairs likely had been her dad’s. The bed was a double and stripped of sheets and pillows. The room had a closed-up feel to it. He exited and shut the door. The door beside that bedroom was open and revealed the bathroom, which felt fresh and clean compared to the bedroom next door.
Love Under Two Mavericks Page 7
