by Liz Isaacson
“I had a boyfriend in Nashville who didn’t know how to take no for an answer.” She lifted one shoulder into a shrug and forked up a pea pod with her lettuce. “And my sister was leaving on a trip and needed someone to look after the lodge. So I came here for a bit.”
Todd sensed there was more to the story, but he didn’t push her.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I retired,” he said. “Done with the bull riding and the rodeo.” He pushed out his breath and reached for a bottle of cola. “So I decided to come home for a bit.”
“But your family doesn’t live here anymore, do they?”
“No, they’re with my brother on tour. Well, my parents are. My sister lives in Grand Junction.”
Vi nodded. “So what are you going to do here? Work for Graham?”
“For now,” Todd said, hoping his voice stayed casual. The truth was, he had no idea what he was going to do in Coral Canyon. Only that he felt like this was where God had led him, and he wanted to be where the Lord wanted him.
“Was it hard?” Vi asked. “Retiring?”
“Very,” he said, deciding to go with the truth. “It’s a decision I question from minute to minute sometimes.” He picked up another slice of pizza. “But it’s something I knew I needed to do.”
“Sometimes I think about retiring,” she said. “But Rose is still all gung-ho about making records.”
Todd caught a sliver of exhaustion in her voice. He heard it because he’d sounded like her last year. “Do you still love it?” he asked. “Writing songs and recording them, I mean.”
“Yeah, I like it,” she said, but Todd knew there was a big difference between loving something and just liking it.
“I liked the ranching work I did today,” Todd said, an idea occurring to him. “Maybe I’ll buy a cattle ranch or something.”
Vi started laughing, and though Todd didn’t think he’d said anything funny, he chuckled along with her. He liked the way their voices mingled together as they chased each other, liked the comfortable silence that descended afterward, and liked that she said, “Well, there are fourteen horses out there I need help caring for. Maybe you could start there,” to break that silence.
“Yeah,” he said, hopefully not too fast. “I can do that.”
Chapter Four
Vi slept great in the bedroom on the second floor, though it did take several minutes to settle her pulse after she’d thought about Todd in the basement.
The scent of coffee met her nose, and she sat up and stretched. She didn’t have a whole lot to do that day besides take Daisy, Beau’s Rottweiler for a walk, and Laney would be here to drop the dog off soon.
So she skipped showering and stepped into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. After all, it wasn’t exactly warm in Wyoming even though April was already a week old.
In the kitchen, she only found coffee. Not the handsome bull rider sipping coffee. She poured herself a cup, assuming she could, and lifted her mug to her lips. She immediately spit the foul, bitter liquid into the sink, groaning and wishing she could wipe off her tongue.
“Oh, okay,” she muttered. “The man can’t make coffee.” At least he wasn’t good at everything he did. And Vi wouldn’t know anyway, because she barely knew Todd. Watching a few Internet videos of the man doing what he did best didn’t count for much.
As someone who had plenty of videos out there, Vi knew that better than anyone.
She filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove before opening the fridge and trying to find something that would get that horrible, acrid, burnt taste of coffee out of her mouth. What she needed was her frosting, but she was not pulling that out before ten a.m.
Nothing on the shelves caught her eye, and she busied herself with making tea. She set some bread in the toaster, then took the second slice back out and put it back in the bag.
A bark alerted her to the fact that her date for the day had arrived. Moments later, the front door opened, and Laney said, “Go on. Find her,” followed by another bark and the clicking of claws on the tile floor.
Vi grinned and walked into the hall as Daisy appeared. She panted, seemingly smiling at Vi, and her whole body wagged as she trotted over to Vi. “Hey, girl.” She scrubbed the dog and added, “Did you miss me? You did, didn’t you? Of course you did.”
She glanced up at Laney. “Hey, Laney.”
She smiled and shook her head. “That dog is a menace.”
“Oh, she’s just a big softie.” Vi stroked her. “Come on, Daisy. I’m making toast.”
“I’ll take toast.” Laney followed her into the kitchen.
Vi spread butter on her browned bread and turned just in time to see Laney pouring a cup of coffee. “I wouldn’t drink that,” she said quickly.
She paused, the pot hanging in midair. “No?”
“It’s…not good.” She glanced toward the door leading out of the dining room, but Todd wasn’t standing there to hear her. “The bull rider made it,” she said in a stage whisper. “And he’s obviously had someone do it for him in the past.”
“So where is Todd?” she asked, dumping her coffee into the sink and setting the mug in it.
“I don’t know,” Vi said. “I haven’t seen him.” She put more bread in the toaster for Laney. “He’s not down at the ranch?”
“I haven’t seen him either,” she said, frowning. “He should’ve been down with Jake an hour ago.”
Vi thought about what she’d said last night. “I did ask him to help me with the horses up here,” she said. “I mean, I don’t need help. We were just…talking.” Flirting was a more accurate term, but Vi didn’t want to admit it. Having dinner with Todd had been enjoyable, and Vi had forced herself to go up to bed earlier than she wanted to so she wouldn’t be too obvious in her attraction to him.
“I’ll go check the stables.” Laney headed out through the mudroom, and Vi waited for her toast to pop up. Then she buttered it and followed her out the back door with a “Come on, Daisy. Time for our walk.” As soon as they left the lodge, the dog barked and bolted for the back fence. Vi chuckled and watched her go until she crested the hill and she couldn’t see the pup anymore.
She met Laney coming back up the sidewalk at a near run, her phone to her ear. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“He’s not there,” she said. “But Goldie’s missing. And all the other horses are clumped against the far fence.” Laney scanned the horizon, and Vi still didn’t understand why that was such a big deal.
“So he probably went riding,” Vi said.
“Something’s wrong,” Laney said. “Come on, Graham. Pick up.” She finally lowered her phone. “He was supposed to be at work an hour ago.” She dialed her phone again, saying, “There you are. Have you seen Todd?”
Vi handed her the toast, and Laney took it, but she didn’t take a bite. “Is he the kind of person who’s usually late?”
She couldn’t hear Graham, but Laney sighed. “So why is he late this morning? He’s not up here, and Goldie is missing from the stable. Daisy went tearing into the woods, and all the horses are looking that way too.” A beat of silence, and then she said, “I feel like we need to find him, Graham.”
The worried undertones of her voice alerted Vi to the fact that this situation was serious.
“It’s going to rain this morning,” Laney said. “I’ll saddle up here. Can you get Bear and get on a horse and start toward us?” She said yes a couple more times and hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Vi asked.
“Todd’s an experienced horseman,” Laney said. “I’m sure he’s fine. But Graham says he’s always been responsible and wouldn’t just blow us off by not showing up for work. So I’m going to saddle up and go see if I can find him.”
“You think he’s in trouble?” Alarm pulled through Vi, and she scanned the backyard again, trying to find where Daisy had got to, and also hoping that Todd would materialize on the horizon.
“I don’t k
now.” Laney turned back toward the stables and whistled through her teeth. “Come on, Daisy!” she called, but the dog didn’t come back. Distant barking met Vi’s ears, and Laney met her eye.
“Keep your phone close, okay?”
Vi nodded. She couldn’t really ride a horse, and she didn’t know these woods. Heck, she’d probably get lost in the backyard, as she hadn’t even explored to its edges yet. But she jogged to catch up to Laney and watched as she got down a saddle and swung it over the back of a brown and white horse.
“Come on, Second to Caroline,” she said. “Let’s go find Goldie.” She led the horse out through the back door of the stall and into the arena before she got on.
“Call me if you need help,” Vi said.
“Will do.” She looked over her shoulder. “Can you get the gate for me?”
“Oh, sure.” Vi darted over to it and unlatched it, trying not to let Laney’s worry settle into her own bones. But as she watched the horse carrying the woman move up the rise and disappear, she cinched her arms around herself, wondering if something bad really had happened.
As the minutes passed and her phone stayed silent and no one came back, Vi’s nerves began to vibrate in her body. She’d always been the worrier in the family, and she hated tension and not knowing what was going on.
Laney had been gone for about twenty minutes before Vi’s phone rang. “Laney,” she breathed, relief flowing through her.
“Call nine-one-one,” she said. “I found Todd, and he needs help.”
“Help?” Vi repeated stupidly, her brain trying to catch up to Laney’s words.
“Graham’s here with us. Todd’s going to be okay, but his leg’s broken, and we can’t get him back to the lodge without hurting him. So call nine-one-one, and tell them you have a hurt man out in the woods behind the lodge.”
“Okay,” Vi said, her muscles starting to quiver.
“And watch for Goldie to come back. She threw Todd and bolted. We haven’t found her yet.”
“Watch for Goldie. Call nine-one-one. Got it.” Vi hung up and immediately put in the call to emergency services. She explained everything Laney had told her, but she had a difficult time answering any other questions.
“I’m not with him,” she said. “Laney and Graham Whittaker found him, and they called me to get help. They say they can’t move him on their horses without causing more pain and damage.” That sounded good. Very knowledgeable.
With help on the way, Vi faced the forest, wishing she had Daisy with her. Someone. The mountains felt too big now, and she felt so, so small. Helpless. Insignificant.
Then she remembered that she was the one who’d called in for help. She could do important things. Being the middle sister, she always seemed to have the least amount of say in everything from song lyrics to restaurant choices. Rose was whinier and sometimes her squeaky wheel got all the grease just to get her to stop talking. And Lily, as the oldest, could say things like they were law and everyone just agreed.
She was used to being overlooked, used to letting others make the decisions and make the phone calls. Just another reason she’d come to Coral Canyon, to this lodge. Here, she could evaluate her life and make some decisions to move forward.
She drew in a deep breath and did the only thing she could to help Todd: she prayed.
Vi stood to the side, very much an onlooker, as the paramedics arrived and headed into the hills. As Daisy came back into the yard, excited and practically deafening Vi with all the barking. As the medical crew returned, this time carrying a stretcher between them, with Laney and Graham each shouldering a corner as well.
Todd looked pale, and his eyes were closed. Vi’s chest collapsed as she watched them carry him out to the ambulance, as the flashing lights and the vehicle zoomed away, leaving her with Graham and Laney and two dogs.
“Did Goldie come back?” Graham asked, his quiet voice almost like a shout in Vi’s soul.
“I didn’t see her,” Vi said.
Graham sighed and lifted his cowboy hat to wipe his hand through his hair. “I’ll go see if I can find her.”
The first few drops of rain fell as Laney said, “I’ll come with you.”
Vi had never felt so useless. “I’ll make coffee and chicken soup,” she said.
Graham turned toward her. “And we’ll go check on Todd in a couple of hours. I managed to get Henry to admit he’d likely go straight into surgery for that right leg.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he needed it on both,” Laney said as she zipped up her coat and took Graham’s hand.
A shiver of cold and fear ran down Vi’s spine. Two broken legs? How would Todd be able to do anything? No way he could navigate the steps to the basement in such a condition.
So while Graham and Laney got back on their horses and headed into the forest again, Vi rinsed out the coffee pot and set a new batch to brew. She opened the freezer and pulled out the chicken noodle soup Celia had left last week and put it in the microwave to thaw.
Then she went downstairs and found Todd had set up camp in the same room she’d been in. And he was much cleaner than her, so she only had to fold a pair of jeans and pick up his comb before zipping closed his suitcase and carrying it upstairs to the bedroom across the hall from the master.
Beau and Lily lived in there, and Bree lived in the one at at the end of the hall, which shared a bathroom with the one she was about to set Todd up in. But Bree could move upstairs if she had to. She didn’t sleep at the lodge very often from what Vi had been told, and she’d be gone for a few more weeks anyway.
Vi set the suitcase on the floor at the foot of the bed and surveyed the room. It was a little lavender for a bull rider. A bit frilly. A tad musty from lack of use.
But he’d be fine.
With everyone else busy or gone, Vi realized she was the only person who’d be around to help Todd as he recovered. A flurry of excitement hit her stomach. So maybe her escape to Coral Canyon wouldn’t be just about her. Maybe she’d be able to help someone else and do something while she was here, the way she’d imagined.
“Better get out your laptop,” she told herself as she left the room, leaving the door open so it would air out a little. After all, she didn’t have the first clue about how to take care of someone with two broken legs.
Chapter Five
Todd woke up to the sound of a pretty voice reading to him. He didn’t know where he was or why his brain felt like it had been sucked out and then put back in his skull upside down. Panic reared inside him—this wasn’t the first time he’d woken up this way—and he scrambled to find the memories of the rodeo he’d obviously just lost due to getting trampled by a bull.
Not a bull….
With the speed of a lightning strike, he remembered the horse. The pale, golden horse he’d chosen to take out for a quick ride. She’d seemed calm enough, and she’d gone up into the hills, under the trees, easily, as if she’d done it hundreds of times before.
But she obviously didn’t take to snakes, and when they’d come across two rattlers, the horse had freaked out.
To put it mildly.
Todd had been thrown.
Embarrassment crept into his face even as the woman kept reading to him. Something about a man looking for his lost dog. Todd wanted to get washed back into unconsciousness by that voice, but he fought to hold onto his thoughts.
He’d been thrown and bitten. As if his body needed to remind him, his legs throbbed in pain, and his feet screamed in agony.
He moaned, and the pretty voice stopped reading. She said, “Todd?” and he wondered if his mother had come. But that wasn’t right. She’d be hours from Coral Canyon, in the middle of Taylor’s training, and she always called him “Baby,” even though he was forty-one-years old now.
So not his mother, unless he’d been out for a couple of days now. The beeping entered his consciousness, and he realized he was in the hospital, hooked up to machines.
He struggled to open his eyes as the wom
an—Violet Everett!—said his name again. Everything was dark and blurry for a few moments while he blinked, and then her porcelain face, with those wonderful freckles, filled his view.
“Let me get the nurse.”
He made to move his hand, to tell her not to, to keep reading. But fire raced down his arm with the movement, and he groaned again, seemingly unable to do anything else.
Vi left, letting in some light from the hallway, and Todd hated this feeling of being alone. He wasn’t very good at it, for one, and for another, he didn’t like the emptiness inside his soul when he only had himself for company.
A few moments later, Vi returned. “She’s coming,” she said. She brushed her fingers along his brow line, moving his hair back. “You’re okay.”
Oh, how he wanted her to trace her fingertips along his forehead again. His skin felt like ice where she’d touched, yet he was too warm all over. “In the hospital?” he asked.
“Yes, in Coral Canyon,” she said. “Wyoming. You were up at Whiskey Mountain Lodge. Went riding, I suppose. Graham and Laney found the horse.”
He wanted to nod and maybe say something witty, but his mind was sluggish and literally everything hurt. He closed his eyes again, only to yank them open when a stronger, more brusque female voice said, “Oh, don’t go back to sleep, Mister Christopherson. I’ve just arrived.”
A brunette nurse smiled at him and started checking things. “How are you feeling?”
“Awful,” he said.
“I’ll get you more meds. You’ve not had any for a while.”
“You’ve been asleep all day,” Vi said. “I’ve been reading to you. The website I read said patients can hear while they’re unconscious.”
Todd looked at her and managed to smile without hurting anything too badly. She gave him a nervous smile in return and switched her gaze to watch the nurse working on his other side.