A Cowgirl at Heart

by Christine Lynxwiler

  Andrew stood and stuffed the flowers into the water, watching Maxine’s face for any sign of wakefulness. “When do you expect that will be?”

  “She’s going to have to wake up first, don’t you think?” The nurse shook her head as if some people’s ignorance was more than she could bear.

  “So this isn’t drug-induced?”

  “This is just her body being so dehydrated and so exhausted from the pneu—” The nurse snapped her lips together and stood up straight and tall. “If you need anything, call for me.” And with that, she left the room, her soft-soled shoes whispering across the tile floor.

  A few seconds later, another tap sounded on the door. When no one entered immediately, Andrew stood and pulled it open.

  Elyse McCord stared back at him, her brown eyes wide above a brilliantly colored bouquet. He hadn’t seen her in three days. Somehow he’d convinced himself that, in his mind, he’d exaggerated how beautiful she was.

  He hadn’t.

  “Andrew. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” A big smile spread across her face. “It was so sweet of you to come check on Maxine.”

  He nodded. Could he feel like more of a worm?

  “How is she?”

  “She’s apparently suffering from pneumonia,” he said, as if he were in the inner circle of information and not gathering from the fringes of cutoff words and abruptly ended sentences. “And dehydration.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry I don’t know how she’s really doing. They won’t tell me anything since I’m not family.”

  Elyse nodded. “I understand. I wonder if the police know about any other family besides Zeke.”

  “My preacher said something about a nephew she’s really proud of who lives around West Plains, Missouri.”

  “Maybe you can find out his name and give it to Jack Westwood.”

  “I’ll try.” He motioned toward the flowers still clutched tightly in her hands. “Do you want me to ask the nurse to find another vase? Or do you want to put them in with mine?” He glanced at his pitiful excuse for a bouquet, mostly baby’s breath and greenery. “Or maybe I should just throw mine out and let you have the vase for yours.”

  “Don’t be silly.” She walked over and put her flowers in the roomy vase with his, did some quick movements with her hands, and stood back. “Voilà!”

  “Wow. That looks amazing.”

  “Thanks. But half the credit goes to you.” She turned to Maxine and held up the flowers. “Ms. Maxine, if you could just open your eyes, you’d see some really pretty flowers.” She looked over at Andrew. “And two people who are eager for you to wake up.”

  He met her gaze. Was there a double meaning to her words? Did she guess that he had a hidden reason for coming here? Her eyes were guileless, though, as they looked back at him. Her motives were pure, and she assumed his were, too. He cleared his throat. “Would you like to go to lunch?”

  “Oh, I...” She smiled. “I’d love to.”

  Spur-of-the-moment plans weren’t like him, but maybe it was time he changed a little. “Good. There’s a new little Italian place across the street. We can just walk if you’d like.”

  “Considering I had to bring the old farm truck, that sounds perfect.” Elyse turned back to the woman in the bed. “Ms. Maxine, I wanted to tell you that Pal’s staying at my house until you get better. He’s doing great, but I know he wants to see you.” She patted the woman’s arm. “I’ll bring him to see you when you wake up. Bye-bye for now.”

  She turned around, and Andrew held the door open for her.

  In the hallway, they met a beautiful dark-haired woman and a smiling man. The teenage boy with them had a golden retriever on a leash.

  Elyse’s face lit up. “Hey, it’s good to see y’all! Out getting in some therapy hours?”

  The boy nodded and patted the dog, who was sitting calmly by his side.

  Elyse smiled at her friends. “This is Andrew Stone, a friend of mine.”

  She turned back to Andrew. “This is Dylan Worthington and his dog, Charlie. Charlie is a therapy dog.”

  “Thanks to you.” Dylan’s grin was shy but genuine.

  “No, thanks to lots of hard work from both of you.” She motioned toward the brunette. “And this is his mom, Victoria. And her friend, Adam Langston.”

  Victoria and Adam both shook hands with him. “Nice to meet you,” they said almost in unison.

  “That was a great thing you did, rescuing Elyse.” Adam grinned. “And surviving Blair.”

  Victoria gave Adam a hard look.

  He shrugged. “What? She may be a big shot on TV, but she’s a menace to society, and you know it.”

  Elyse put her hand on Victoria’s arm. “Don’t worry. Andrew and I know firsthand how Blair can be.”

  Victoria smiled. “Don’t we all?”

  Elyse motioned toward Charlie. “We’ll let y’all get back to business. Charlie has been patient long enough.”

  “Now it’s time for him to see patients,” Dylan said.

  Adam groaned. “And time for you to get some better jokes.”

  The three of them said good-bye and left laughing together.

  Andrew watched them walk into a room down the hall. “They seem like a happy family.”

  Elyse chuckled. “Victoria is Dylan’s mom, but Adam is just a family friend.”

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “Sometimes it’s easy to misunderstand relationships.”

  He looked at her. Was that a warning? Or was he paranoid today? Probably the latter.

  Outside, Elyse tilted her face to the sun. “There’s something freeing about walking out of a hospital.”

  “I agree.” Andrew put his hand lightly on the small of her back and guided her across the street. “I don’t see how you can talk so naturally to someone unconscious. I was impressed.”

  She laughed. “It’s tons easier than talking to people who are awake.” She looked over at him. “That’s where I have a problem.”

  “You indicated that before, but I think you do a fine job of relating to conscious people. Unless I’m comatose and don’t know it.”

  She gave him a sheepish grin. “Trust me. You’re the exception.”

  “Good to know.” He didn’t know why it pleased him so much to hear her describe him as the exception, but it did.

  They passed the outdoor dining area with small umbrella-covered tables and neared the dark green door of the restaurant.

  Elyse gasped and stumbled a little.

  He grabbed her arm to steady her. “What’s wrong?”

  Her eyes were panic-stricken, but she shook her head as if to clear it. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  He guided her into the foyer of the restaurant. The smell of garlic and Italian spices made his mouth water. He glanced at the specials of the day listed on a blackboard held up by a tripod.

  “I’m sorry, Andrew,” Elyse said softly. “I’m going to have to take a rain check. Suddenly I’m not feeling well.”

  “Why don’t I drive you home? One of your brothers can ride back with me to get the truck.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. You go ahead and eat.”

  “I’m at least walking you to your truck.” Together they started retracing their steps from minutes before. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

  “Something like that,” she said, her mouth twisted into what was probably supposed to be a grin. “But I’m too old to believe in ghosts.”

  “It wasn’t Zeke, was it?”

  “No!” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why? Do you think he’s coming for me?”

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Do you?”

  “He’d be crazy to.”

  Andrew nodded. That was what worried him.

  CHAPTER 7

  For once, Elyse relished the bouncing of the old, beat-up truck on the washboard ruts of the lane to her house. Maybe the vibration would shake some sense into her. Her hands were still clammy on the steering wheel, and her heart beat somewhere slightly abo
ve her normal rate. She couldn’t believe she’d acted like such an idiot in front of Andrew, of all people.

  How many times in the last eighteen years had this happened? Ten? At least. She’d see someone in a crowd, usually from the back, which was the case today, and the set of a person’s shoulders or the way he or she walked would throw Elyse backward into a time warp. More often than not, it was a woman. Which was ridiculous. Because eighteen years ago, Elyse had seen for herself the impossibility of that when she watched, hidden, while the coroner covered the body with a white sheet. But sometimes, like today, it was a man. And that scenario, though highly improbable, was possible if he’d been released and somehow found her after all these years. Or if he’d just happened through Shady Grove by accident.

  She’d been so engrossed in her thoughts that she’d parked in front of her house without realizing it. The dogs were probably going crazy inside wondering when she was coming in.

  All three of her dogs came to greet her at the door. She’d trained them not to jump on her, but they ran to her and sat, each one watching her expectantly.

  She knelt down in front of them and smiled at the thump thump thump of the bigger dogs’ tails on the parquet floor. Nikki was technically sitting, but her whole body was wagging. “Hello, little precious,” Elyse said and lifted her into her arms. “Are you keeping everyone in line?” Nikki gave a one-bark answer. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Elyse set her down and moved on to golden Majesty, who sat in a very queenly manner, waiting patiently for her loyal subject to approach her. Elyse put her arms around her and buried her face in the sweet-smelling fur. “It’s been one of those days,” she whispered next to the dog’s ear. Majesty nuzzled her head against Elyse’s head as if comforting her.

  A short, deep bark interrupted, and Elyse looked up to find Missy watching her. “You want your share, don’t you, honey?” Elyse cooed and scooted over toward the black lab. She rubbed the soft underside of Missy’s ear, and the dog pushed against her hand, grunting in a purring-like way.

  After a minute, Elyse patted her lap and Nikki leaped up there. Majesty took the cue to move closer, and Missy smashed up against her on the other side. Elyse sighed. The two big dogs were trained therapy dogs, and Nikki was working on it, but for now they were all therapy for her. She relaxed against them and let the remnants of her earlier upset fade away.

  Finally, she set Nikki gently on the floor and stood. “Time to check on our visitor,” she announced. The three dogs followed her as she walked through the house to the grooming area in the back. It had an outside entrance so that customers didn’t have to come through her house, but Elyse loved the convenience of being able to go straight from home to work without leaving the building. And the big open area made a perfect place to keep rescued dogs before they were placed, or at least—she thought of how Nikki had chewed so many things during her first days here after being rescued—before they had time to get acquainted with the house and the house rules.

  Pal ran happily over to greet first the other dogs and then Elyse. He was amazingly well mannered and extremely affectionate. Two signs of a well-loved dog. Elyse’s heart went out again to Maxine. How awful it must have been—knowing that her beloved dog wasn’t being taken care of and not being able to do anything about it.

  Just as she brought the dogs back in from the fenced-in backyard, the front doorbell rang. “Y’all stay here and play,” she said and closed the four of them in the grooming area.

  Maybe Andrew had come by to check on her. That seemed like something he would do, as thoughtful as he was. She’d been so surprised to see him in Maxine’s room this morning.

  She peeked out the door blind and saw Matthew standing on the step. She unlocked the dead bolt and the door lock. “Hey! Come in.”

  He hugged her and stepped back. “How’s it going?”

  She was happy that he’d walked down to see her, but at the same time the special effort concerned her. Usually when he was in, they just visited at the main house. Unless there was a problem they needed to discuss privately. “Same as it was last night when we left Mama and Daddy’s. What’s going on?”

  “Cut to the chase, don’t you?” He gave a little laugh.

  She frowned. “Is something wrong, Matt?”

  He shook his head. “I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. It’s kind of important.”

  She led the way to the living room and motioned to the chair next to her small rocker. “Have a seat.”

  She studied Matthew. Handsome in a scholarly way, he was the most ambitious of her brothers, determined to make his mark on the world. He’d zoomed through veterinarian college with high honors. Sometimes Elyse wondered how much of his ambition stemmed from a need to make sure their parents were proud of him and how much came from a true desire inside himself. Either way, he was on a quick track to success, and she was very proud of him.

  “What’s up?”

  “You know I’ve been here the last few days scouting out office locations?”

  She nodded. “We can’t wait to get you back closer to home.”

  He straightened his shoulders and leaned forward slightly. “Here’s the bottom line, Elyse. I want you to consider sharing the office with me.”

  She frowned. “Move my dog grooming business into your office?”

  He shook his head. “I want you to join McCord Veterinary Clinic as a dog trainer.”

  She sat back and stared at him. “You know I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  He was her brother. One of six people who knew her better than anyone. “Matt, you’ve seen me around strangers. It’s all I can do to hand them their freshly groomed dogs and take their money. I can’t talk to people I don’t know. Training takes a lot of interaction between the owner and the trainer. That’s why I don’t do it much anymore.” She smiled to take the sting out of her blunt words. “But I’m honored that you’d like to have me.”

  He held up his hand. “I’m not planning on taking no for an answer. At least not yet. It’ll be at least two months before I have to make a final decision on a building. I want you to promise me that you’ll think about this and pray about it. Then, at Thanksgiving, you can give me your final answer.”

  She stared at him. Hadn’t she just given him her final answer? How much plainer could she be?

  “You know this is what you’ve always wanted, Elyse.” His voice was soft. “And it’s within your reach.”

  She sighed. “I’ll let you know for sure at Thanksgiving.”

  He pushed to his feet. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

  He hugged her and was gone, leaving her to daydream about the possibilities.

  ***

  On Thursday afternoon, Andrew shook Jonathan McCord’s hand. “I’ll be able to start Monday. I’ll do the outside first before the weather turns too cold to paint then move to the inside. I should have it all done by Thanksgiving.”

  “Perfect.”

  “I have one more question. I noticed there are water hookups and electrical outlets on the outside of the barn. I like to live as close to work as possible. With that in mind, I’ll knock 10 percent off the price I quoted you if I can hook my camper up here.”

  Jonathan’s eyebrows drew together, and he stared at Andrew for a moment without speaking. “Before I give you an answer, I have a question for you. How much of your desire to live here has to do with being close to my daughter?”

  Andrew considered his options. The truth seemed to be the only viable one. “Quite a bit, to be honest. I don’t know if you realize it or not, but Zeke made some terrible threats to Elyse the day he stole her Jeep. He swore he’d get her if it was the last thing he did.” Much as Andrew had sworn he’d get the man who killed Melanie if it was the last thing he did, but Jonathan McCord didn’t need to know that.

  Jonathan frowned. “She didn’t tell me.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t want to worry you. It’s obvious that any member of
her family would gladly take a bullet for her. But it seems like it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one more person between her and Zeke who will do whatever it takes to stop him from getting to her. That would be me.”

  “Maybe I should talk to her about moving into the main house for a while.”

  Andrew shook his head. “You and I both know she wouldn’t be happy with that idea.”

  “I have to agree with you on that. For someone so shy, she’s as independent as they come.” Jonathan gave him one more measuring glance. “I’ll tell you what. You can park your camper here as soon as you want to. There’s even a bathroom with a shower inside the barn you can use. And I appreciate you keeping an eye on Elyse. But if you’re still planning on moving on, you’d better make sure you don’t take her heart with you when you go.” He grinned. “I’d hate to have to hunt you down.”