Her Hidden Falls Doctor Cowboy

by Taylor Hart

  It’d been forever since she’d hung out with her friends at night, mostly because she was working so much. What if she really didn’t have to worry about making junior partner? The idea hit her again. What if she did quit and go with her father?

  “Did I lose you?”

  The idea of being able to spend time with her friends felt liberating. “I’m coming!” she blurted.

  “What?” McKay laughed.

  The words rushed out. “And we’re dancing all night!”

  “Hula Girls forever, baby!”

  “Hula Girls forever!” She paused. “Wait! Do you think my dad knows Kent’s coming?”

  McKay breathed heavily into the phone. “Ryan Parker’s no good for you.”

  Jewel laughed harder than she could remember laughing in a long time.

  Yes, she did want to see Kent Hardman.

  Chapter 13

  “Doctor, why does death have to happen?” Hoppy stood at Kent’s side in the small home of a local villager. They both stared at the eighteen-year-old girl holding a dead baby in her arms.

  The baby had been born breech. When Kent had seen the cord wrapped around its neck, he knew the baby had no chance. The frustrating part was that if they had been in a hospital in the States, this wouldn’t have happened; the technology there was better at dealing with all of those things.

  “We’ll be out here,” Kent told the family. He wanted to give the mother as long as she needed with her baby.

  They walked out of the small home and Kent was ticked, finding all reasons to be angry with God at this moment.

  “Doctor, why?” Hoppy was crying.

  Kent clutched a hand into a fist. “I don’t know.”

  Hoppy sniffed and wiped his eyes. “I lost Mama when I was little. Grandma has always said God is always putting us on a different path, a path that we don’t understand—but if we have faith, we will see the miracle, the joy, the light in God’s ways.” Hoppy squeezed his hand. “But we have to have faith.”

  Faith.

  Instantly, his mind went to Jewel.

  Hoppy squeezed his hand. “I will pray for the woman, the child, and you, Doctor.”

  Kent squeezed his hand back. “I will pray for you, too, Hoppy.”

  And he would pray to have as much faith as Hoppy.

  Kent stared at Jewel’s profile. It was late, but late was the only time he had in his day. He’d been grappling with the fact he would be seeing her in less than a week. It was two o’clock in the morning his time, but Sierra Leone was seven hours ahead of Denver, so it would be roughly seven p.m. her time.

  It had surprised him that he hadn’t heard anything more from her father, either. Frank had told him that he would be in touch with more questions.

  He tapped on the message screen. What should he say?

  Before he could type anything, a message from her appeared. Where do you want to go for dinner? Do you still like steak?

  His heart raced. She’d messaged him at the exact moment that he was thinking about messaging her; the timing was uncanny. He responded. I’m still a steak man. Are you still vegetarian? It was stupid, but he wanted to know. She hadn’t been a very hard-core vegetarian when he knew her—at times she would eat fish and chicken—but it had been one of the things he’d teased her about.

  Not a vegetarian anymore. Guess I grew out of it.

  He smiled. He’d always told her she would grow out of it. So you eat steak now? Part of him just wanted to keep talking to her.

  I don’t have time to care about what I’m eating these days. Dad says I don’t eat enough.

  He imagined what she would look like now. Her profile pics only showed her face.

  Are you still there? she asked.

  Did she still want him to be there? Here, he said.

  How are your brothers?

  Knuckleheads.

  She sent a smiley face.

  They were doing the equivalent of small talk, and it felt tiresome. So he asked her directly. What do you think of your dad’s plan? He knew that her father really wanted to come, and it was clear she was worried about it.

  Do you like Africa?

  I love Africa. The people are amazing. And I’ve needed to be here the past year. He thought of Adds, and for a moment, he felt guilty that he was even talking to Jewels.

  I bet you’re amazing at what you do. You always dreamed of helping people.

  It was strange to fall so easily into conversation with her. He really wanted to ask more about Ty, but he didn’t know how.

  Gotta go, she said.

  Okay, bye.

  He continued to stare down at the message thread. Her green dot turned off, showing that she was no longer on Facebook.

  He couldn’t resist messaging her one last thing. I heard you turned down Ty’s proposal?

  For a while, he paced, throwing a look at his phone now and then. He didn’t like that he wanted to know more about this woman, but he couldn’t deny that he’d loved her fiercely once upon a time.

  When Jewel walked into the house, it was all pretty normal. Jeopardy was on, but her father wasn’t sitting in his chair. He must be talking to Kent on Facebook. She threw her stuff on the counter and rushed down the hallway, only to hesitate at his door when she heard his laughter.

  “I know,” he was saying. “I know it’s crazy, but I’m doing it.”

  “Well, Mr. Jackson, I’d better go. It’s kinda late here.”

  “Okay, Kent. I’ll look forward to seeing you in a couple of days.”

  “Okay. Bye, sir.”

  “Oh, no need to call me sir.”

  Uncertain, Jewel pushed open the door. “Dad.”

  Her father jumped in his chair, grabbing his heart. “Jewel! Tarnation, what are you doing?”

  “Were you just talking to Kent?” With a start, she realized that Kent’s face was still on the computer screen. He was lying down in the dark, looking up at the phone. When he saw her, a smile played at his lips.

  “Uh, Jewel,” her father said. His gaze moved back and forth between them, and he grinned. “I’m still talking to him.”

  She shuffled from one foot to the other, trying to act normal. “Kent. Hey, uh, yeah.”

  Kent’s smile grew slightly. “Hey, Jewel.”

  They just stared at each other. Even though she couldn’t see him that well, her heart raced at the way his blue eyes stared up at her. There were more creases around the edges. She wanted to ask him a million questions about everything.

  Her father stood. “I can let you both talk if you want.”

  “No,” she said quickly, trying to keep her smile polite. She backed away. “I gotta go.”

  “Jewel?” Kent asked from the screen, making her pause. “I want to ride that Ferris wheel at Elitch Gardens when I come out there. Will you ride it with me?”

  The question took her off guard.

  “Sure she will,” her father said. He winked at Kent. “See you in a couple of days.” He shut his laptop and turned to her with a big grin on his face.

  She shook her head, knowing she was probably blushing. “Dad.”

  He stood and held open his arms. “Ah, it’s cute to see you all teenage-ish.”

  She laughed and hugged him. “I want you to know that I’m not going to fight you on going to Africa anymore.”

  “You’re not?” His eyebrows lifted.

  She shook her head, feeling more certain about this. “I want you to live your life and have fun, and if that means going to Africa, then go to Africa.”

  “Wahoo!” He waved his hand back and forth in the air. “Camptown racers sing this song, doo dah, doo dah.”

  She giggled. Her father had always sung little songs like that when he was happy.

  “You know how much I loved your mother and how hard it’s been, but I want you to know that I look at this chance, to do something I have wanted to do for a long time. And Jewel, I want you to think about this—sometimes the end can actually be a new beginning. For m
e, and for you.”

  She swallowed and tried not to overthink what her father was saying. Could it be for her and Kent? “It’s going to be great. I’ll help anyway I can.”

  His eyes misted. “Thank you. Will you even come visit me while I’m there?”

  Emotion scraped the back of her throat as she thought about how much she’d miss him. She nodded. “You couldn’t stop me.”

  “She’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes. She’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes …”

  Later that night, Jewel kept thinking about Kent. She couldn’t believe he’d asked her to ride the Ferris wheel. She got ready for bed and slid beneath the sheets, unable to believe that she was feeling so many things for a man she’d thought she’d never see again. Could it be a new beginning?

  She pulled up her messages and saw a new one from him.

  We don’t have to ride the Ferris wheel. Sorry, probably a bad idea.

  She hesitated. While she didn’t understand her own feelings, she knew she needed to tell him something. I’m sorry about how things ended before, Kent. I realized later that I should have believed you.

  To her surprise, he instantly responded. It’s been ten years, Jewels, I forgave you a long time ago.

  Warmth filled her. And she found more emotion filling her. Dang it, this man had such an impact on her.

  So how are Molly and McKay, the crazy friends your dad always called twins?

  She laughed. He remembered.

  She didn’t know how long they messaged back and forth, but when she woke the next morning, her phone was still in her hand and he’d sent five messages.

  Jewel.

  Jewel.

  Are you there?

  Did you fall asleep?

  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

  She smiled as she got out of bed. Tomorrow was today, and they would be talking again.

  Chapter 14

  “Do you like walking, Doctor?” asked Hoppy, who was attached to his hip as usual. Today they had been on a longer walk, five miles, out to a settlement a bit out of town with no roads. But he had been on an errand to check in on one of the town elders. The walking was doing him good, because he’d found himself a bit anxious this morning after his long spell of messaging Jewels the night before.

  Kent smiled at Hoppy. “I like walking. I used to walk all over my ranch in Hidden Falls when I was a boy.” Playfully, he snatched Hoppy’s hat from his head and threw it. “My three brothers would torture me by never letting me keep my hat on.”

  Hoppy took this in stride, retrieving his hat. Then he rushed at Kent, stole his hat, and darted off. He called over his shoulder, “Come get it, Doctor!”

  Going into a full run, Kent got his hat back, grabbing Hoppy’s scarf.

  Hoppy roared with laughter and tried to chase him. Hoppy was a good athlete, but Kent was no chump. He kept running, and when they got to the village, Kent tossed it to the pretty girl at a bread cart. She giggled and wanted to play the game, taking off into a run.

  Before long, most of the cart owners were part of the game. Everyone was laughing as Kent tried one more time to get the scarf and ended up falling into a patch of mud. The absolute best part was laughing so hard and for so long.

  Hoppy stood over him, smiling down, and said, “I told the others that you would get happier. And you have.”

  This surprised Kent. He stood up with a huge grin on his face. “You did?”

  Hoppy nodded. “My grandma thinks you have a woman you like. That’s why you’ve been smiling. Do you?”

  Surprised again, Kent threw his head back and laughed some more.

  “You do!” Hoppy punched his arm and took off.

  Kent watched him go. He tried to wipe the mud off of himself, which was impossible.

  But he didn’t have a woman; he was just talking to an old friend. That was all.

  Later that night, he posted a picture of him and Hoppy on Jewel’s Facebook feed. This is one of the reasons I love Africa. His name is Hoppy.

  He sent it. It was stupid, but he hoped she’d be able to chat. It was only five p.m. her time, so she might not even respond. He rolled onto his side, closing his eyes and still holding his phone.

  After a bit, he moved to put the phone on his bedside table when he saw a message from her. It was a picture of her and some guy. Kent sat up and studied the picture. Hoppy looks adorable. This is Darrin. He is my assistant and one of the best paralegals in Denver.

  He smiled and lay back down, flooded again with all the nervousness from earlier. Was he really feeling twitterpated just messaging Jewel?

  He sucked in a breath, zooming in on the picture of her face.

  Even though it was clear that her face was more mature and her red hair was pulled back tightly, she was still gorgeous. And she was right—she was way too thin. How long had she been that thin? Had it just been since her mother died?

  Another message from her popped up. I bet you have the whole village wrapped around your finger.

  He sent back a smiley face, then added, I bet you have poor Darrin working himself to death.

  She sent back a smiley face, too.

  He turned on his side and closed his eyes. In three days he would be in Denver. Maybe they could clear up some more things then.

  Unable to stop himself, he asked the burning question. What happened between you and Ty?

  There was no response for a long time. Just as he was regretting broaching the question, the red dot showed up. He tapped it.

  It’s complicated.

  He would wait then. Relationships were always a bit complicated. Will you send me your phone number so I can call you when I get into town?

  Chapter 15

  Jewel was antsy as she sat in her office and stared out the window facing the parking lot. It was only five o’clock, but she knew Kent would be coming anytime.

  He’d texted her that he was speaking at the convention tomorrow, and she wanted to go listen to him. Nervously, she took a long drink from her water bottle and clicked on the website for the convention. The picture of him popped up again.

  More nerves bubbled inside of her. She stood. Why was she on edge? An old friend was coming into town. That was all. She paced her office, relieved that she didn’t have any pressing cases at the moment. Mr. Warren was out of town, so he wasn’t breathing down her neck every second. But not being busy gave her too much time to think.

  “Hey,” Darrin said, peeking into her office. “Is it okay if I head home so early?”

  She nodded. “Great.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You okay?”

  “Fine.” She struggled to keep her disinterested court face from slipping. “Why?”

  Darrin sniffed loudly, giving her a sweeping look. “I don’t know. You just seem like you’re prepping for a big case or something, but you’re not.”

  The fact that he could tell she was nervous didn’t help at all. “Nope.” To prove she was fine, she walked to her desk and picked up her purse. “I was just leaving, too.”

  “Great. I’ll walk you out.”

  As they walked out of the building, Darrin rambled on about Erica and their new dog. “He’s so cute. You’ll have to come and see him sometime.”

  “Yeah,” she said, but her thoughts were buzzing elsewhere. Would Kent just show up at her father’s house? “I’d like that.” She dug through her purse to find her keys.

  “Were you expecting someone? Because I think you have company that wants to talk.”

  Her head jerked in the direction of her car. “Ty,” she sighed as she got closer. She did not want to do this tonight.

  “See ya, boss,” Darrin said, giving Ty a little wave and rushing toward his car.

  “Bye, Darrin.”

  Ty had his suit coat off, and he was leaning back on her car, his arms crossed. He had an accusatory look on his face. “I’m thinking of going back to Boston.”

  Her heart rate kicked up a notch. Even though she had a
past with Ty and she didn’t want a future with him, she still cared about him. “Oh.”

  He studied her face. “Look, I know that I might have pushed you to stay in Boston when your mom got sick, and I feel bad about that.”

  She nodded. “Ultimately, it was my choice, Ty.”

  “I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong.” He crossed the distance between them and took her hand. “I just want you to know that no matter what, I do want you to be happy.”

  “I want you to be happy, too,” she said. Ty really was a good guy.

  He squeezed her hand. “You could come with me. That offer to marry me is still on the table, you know.”

  She let out a slow breath. “I can’t, Ty.”

  His eyes misted, but he nodded. “I understand.”

  Cars pulled out of the parking lot around them. Darrin honked as he sped by. She pulled her hand out of Ty’s and waved at Darrin.

  For a moment, neither of them spoke.

  “I guess this is goodbye, then,” Ty whispered.

  A sense of calm settled over her. “I guess it is.”

  Again, he reached for her hand, and she took his. Slowly, he leaned in. When their lips touched, it was soft and tender and the end.

  She pulled back and smiled at him. “Goodbye, Ty.” Then she froze. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone standing next to her car.

  “Kent?” Ty asked.

  “Kent,” she whispered. How long had he been standing there? When had he arrived?

  He wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a brown coat. He had a bag in his hand. There was stubble on his face from a couple of days of no shaving, and dang, he was hot. He didn’t move, either.

  “When did you get here?” she asked.

  He looked back and forth between them. “I had the taxi just bring me straight here from the airport. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  Chapter 16