“Do you want a genetics chart for my mother and father to show you how two people who are complete opposites produced a dark-haired, blue-eyed girl?”
“If it’ll get you to answer the question, yeah.”
“It’s not such an oddity.”
“It’s not odd. It’s stunning.”
That caught her attention. She turned from the window to look back at him, but she caught Gabe and Ella, sitting next to each other across the aisle behind Dane, smiling at her.
“What do you do when you’re not working at the hospital or clinic?” Dane asked.
“I’m always working.” To prove her point and stop him from asking more questions, she opened her laptop and pulled up the medical journal article she’d been working on since taking Dane’s case.
She typed for ten minutes before he interrupted her again. “What are you writing?”
“An article about the way I fixed your leg and the innovative wire mesh I used to hold the bone fragments in place to heal.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Can I see it?”
She hit save and handed him her laptop.
Dane read for a few minutes, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.
“I need a medical dictionary for every other word in this thing. How do you write like this? Nothing makes sense.”
She smiled and took her laptop back. “I’m writing this for other doctors to use as a guide for what I did to your leg. If you have a full recovery and have even eighty percent use of your leg, that will be amazing, considering most doctors would have amputated, thinking the damage too severe. Granted, much of the credit goes to the vascular surgeon who repaired the artery. Without the blood flow, it wouldn’t matter what I did with the bones.”
“How smart are you?”
Defensive, she snapped, “Smart enough to put you back together.”
“So, what, you’re a genius?”
She didn’t like talking about it. People didn’t embrace different. They liked normal. Familiar. Knowing she was smarter than them put them on guard, or turned them away. Yes, they thought it fascinating, but still, they looked at her like she was different in some negative way. They thought she thought she was better than them. She didn’t think that. In fact, she wished she was normal. She wished she wasn’t smarter. She’d wished a lot of things over the years. Nothing about her, nothing she did made the people she’d wanted to think her special take notice.
“Come on, Doc, go ahead and say it. You’re a genius.”
“Yes.”
“So how much of a genius are you?”
“You want a quantitative value?”
“Have you been tested?”
She pressed her lips together, remembering her professor’s face when he’d looked at the results in astonishment.
“Twice. In college, when I was seventeen.”
“Damn. You started college at seventeen?”
“No. That was my last year of college. I graduated about the time I turned eighteen.”
“Man, you are really smart. So, what’s your IQ?”
“There are different types of tests with different scoring. If you go by the convention most people use—like Albert Einstein had an IQ of about 160—then mine is higher.”
“How much higher?”
“What does it matter?”
“How much higher?” Dane coaxed.
“A lot.”
“What is the quantitative value of a lot?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“You have an IQ of one eighty-nine?”
“Something like that. The tests aren’t truly accurate for determining a person’s intelligence because there are many types of intelligence. Still, that’s the norm that most people are familiar with, so you can extrapolate what you’d like from it.”
“I extrapolate that you’ve got one hell of a brain.”
“My father and grandfather were both geniuses. My grandfather never attended school past the third grade, but he read every book he could get his hands on. He taught me to read by the age of three. We used to play word and math games together.”
“Why didn’t he go to school?”
“He was needed on the family farm.”
“Where did you go to school? You didn’t go to school in town. I would have remembered you.”
“My grandfather taught me before he died, when I was six. After he died, I studied on my own until I went to college.”
“Are you serious?”
As Gillian passed by Dane, she grabbed hold of his seat. She pressed a hand to her head before she sank to her knees and fell to the floor.
“Gillian!” Dane yelled, leaning forward and reaching for her.
Bell dumped her laptop on the floor, jumped over Dane’s outstretched leg, and reached her first. Gillian tried to press up on her hands, but she fell back down and moaned.
“There now, take it easy. You’re going to be okay. Let’s go real slow and just roll over.” Bell helped her roll to her side and over to her back. Tears welled in Gillian’s eyes. Dane rested his hand on Gillian’s leg. Ella and Gabe stood in the aisle at Gillian’s feet.
“I got dizzy,” Gillian explained.
“Okay. Let’s check you out. We’ll make sure you’re okay before we get you back up.” Bell looked to Dane. “Hand me my satchel.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Dane asked, concern and fear in his eyes.
Bell took her satchel, set it on the floor beside her, and pulled out her blood pressure cuff. She slid it under Gillian’s arm, wrapped it around, and secured the Velcro. She pulled out her stethoscope, putting the head on Gillian’s arm and the earpieces in her own ears. She pumped up the cuff and let the air out slowly.
“How far along are you in your pregnancy?”
“About ten weeks. I’m not even out of my first trimester. Am I going to lose the baby?” Gillian’s voice trembled with that whispered fear.
“Your blood pressure is normal. One twenty over seventy-nine. How is your morning sickness?”
“I’m queasy in the morning, but I never actually get sick.”
“May I touch your stomach?”
“Yes. Is it bad?”
“Doc, come on, is she going to be okay?” Dane asked, his hand securely gripped around Gillian’s as she looked up at him with watery eyes.
“You probably got up too fast, but let’s make sure. Are you having any cramps?” Bell tried to keep her voice calm. Right now, it didn’t seem like anything more than a dizzy spell.
Bell dipped her hand just inside Gillian’s pants and felt her belly, testing for any signs her uterus tensed for a contraction. Nothing.
“No cramps. Other than the sour stomach in the morning, I’m usually good through the day. Tired. Sometimes I can’t keep my eyes open in the afternoon.”
“All perfectly normal. When’s the last time you ate?”
“I, uh . . .” Her gaze locked with Dane’s. “I didn’t eat this morning. My stomach hurt when I got up, so I waited to eat something. We went to the hospital to get Dane. Blake said he’d get me something, but we got busy getting Dane to the plane, and I forgot.”
Bell smiled. “Okay. There you go. You need something to eat. Ella, please get me a glass of juice. Apple if you’ve got it. Orange might be too acidic for her stomach right now. Find some crackers or pretzels to start. Maybe some protein. A piece of cheese, or something.”
“On it right now.”
Bell slipped her hand under Gillian’s head. “Let’s try to sit up and see how you do. Any dizziness or cramping, you let me know.”
“Okay.”
Dane held her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You trying to kill me, little sis? You can’t scare me like that. I’m in no condition to give Blake the news you fainted.”
“I did not faint.”
“You kinda did,” Gabe teased.
Ella handed over the glass of apple juice. Bell helped Gillian raise it to her lips,
but Gillian’s hands shook so badly that she couldn’t hold it alone. Gillian sipped at it, then drank deeply. Bell remained sitting on the floor behind Gillian’s back. Ella sat at her feet, and Gabe had taken the seat next to her on the other side of the aisle from Dane. Ella held out a platter of cheese and cold cuts and set a basket of crackers and tiny bread rounds on Gillian’s legs.
“Let’s have a picnic,” Ella said, trying to ease the tension as everyone focused on Gillian.
“I’m fine. Really. No one needs to tell Blake what happened.” She chewed on a bite of cheese and cracker and let out a relieved sigh. “I’m feeling better already.”
“That’s the sugar in the apple juice working its way into your system. Keep eating.” Bell pressed her fingers to Gillian’s pulse at her wrist.
“Is she okay?” Dane asked again.
“She’s fine. Her pulse is a bit rapid, but she’ll calm down once she’s had some food and a minute to relax.”
Gillian pressed Dane’s hand to her cheek and smiled softly. “I’m fine. I’m sorry I scared everyone.”
“You took ten years off my life,” Dane responded, squeezing Gillian’s hand. “You need to take care of yourself. If you needed something to eat, why didn’t you say so? We’d have stopped to get you something, sis.”
“I was so worried about getting you on the plane, I forgot.”
“Taking care of that baby is more important than anything right now.”
“It’s nice you feel that way, but really, I’m fine. I think Dr. Bell was right. I just needed some food and a little sugar to make me feel better.”
“When you wake up in the morning, try a few crackers and some water. They should settle your stomach. Get up slowly in case you are dizzy. Then eat a good breakfast. It doesn’t have to be big, but something to get you going in the morning. Sometimes smaller meals throughout the day are better for the nausea than eating a big meal.” Bell checked Gillian’s pulse again. “Much better.”
They shared the snacks and drinks Ella served everyone. Gillian and Bell remained on the floor of the cabin. When Gillian felt better, Bell helped her up and to the restroom, which was where she’d been headed in the first place. When she came out, Gabe wrapped his arm around her and led her to the seats behind Dane’s. Ella had set out a pillow and blanket so Gillian could curl up and take a nap for the rest of the flight. Gabe settled next to his wife, and they snuggled close, keeping an eye on Gillian. Bell returned to her seat, stepping over Dane’s leg again. He took her hand before she sat. She turned, trying not to bang her head on the plane’s roof.
“Thanks, Doc.”
“No problem.”
“I mean it. You’re great in an emergency.”
“She’s fine. It happens all the time to pregnant women.”
His warm hand held hers. They stared at each other, the moment stretching. She slid her hand free, her palm sliding over his calloused one. She liked the rough feel of it against her skin. She took her seat and a deep breath, telling herself she needed it to calm her nerves after the incident with Gillian, but knowing the rapid beat of her heart had everything to do with the gorgeous, rugged man across from her.
He leaned forward, grabbed her laptop off the floor, and handed it to her. She took it and caught her breath when he laid his hand on her knee and squeezed.
“Relax, Doc. Put that away and take a break. You deserve it.”
“I need to get it done now and turned in. I’m back to work tonight.”
“Tonight? But you’ve barely had a moment to yourself, what with taking care of me and following your sister around to all those things you didn’t want to do.”
“How do you know I didn’t want to do them?”
“Come on. You’re the only girl in the world who rolls her eyes over shopping at The Forum at Caesars Palace or going for a massage.”
“It’s not that I don’t like those things. The point of the trip was to get to know each other better, but she picked the one place I’d never go, to do all the things I don’t particularly like. Besides the massage.”
“So, you’re not a shopper or gambler?”
“Not really.”
“I’m glad you took the gamble and came anyway. You took the worse odds on fixing my leg, and I won big.”
“You can stop thanking me. I get it. You’re grateful.”
“I don’t think you know how much.”
She didn’t have an answer for that. His intention to thank her only made her uncomfortable. She’d done her job.
“It’s more than you doing your job. You went above and beyond for me. That speaks to the kind of person you are. You’ve got guts and integrity.” Sensing her discomfort, he shook his head and changed the subject. “If this trip was to get to know your sister better, what would you have done? Since you feel she went about it the wrong way.”
“Not the wrong way, just not in a way that lent itself to open conversations. As much as she wants us to be friends, she holds everything back, afraid that if she says or does the wrong thing, it will all be over.”
“If she said the wrong thing, would you shut her out of your life?”
“I’m the one who has every reason to be upset. Not her.”
“Defensive,” Dane pointed out. “Maybe she feels she can’t be herself around you because you’ve got all those reasons you keep to yourself to be upset.”
“Who’s analyzing who now?”
“I’m just saying. I’m close to my family. You are obviously not. So far, I know that you and Katherine share the same father, but nothing else. There’s a story there.”
“One better left untold. Some skeletons are better left buried and forgotten.”
“You haven’t forgotten it.”
“No. But I’ve moved on with my life. I wish everyone else would, too.”
“So, you don’t really want a relationship with your sister.”
“Leave it alone, Dane. What I want, I’ll never get.”
“What’s that?”
“Why do you care?”
“You fascinate me. I want to know.”
She sighed and stared out the window with no intention of answering him. But the whispered words fell from her lips anyway. “I want them to see me, not what I represent.” I am Bell. Not a mistake. Not some bad thing that happened.
Dane leaned forward and whispered back. “You’re an amazing woman. If they can’t see that, it’s their loss. I know that doesn’t make it better, but it’s true. I’m sorry I ruined your vacation with your sister. Who knows, given time, she’ll see in you what I see.”
“You barely know me.”
“True, but I’m working on it.”
“Why?”
“I like you. You saved my life and risked your own to do it. While there are a lot of people in my life, I believe only a handful of them would do that for me. Those are the people worth knowing. I hold onto those people because they care, and they make me want to care for them.”
“Like Brandy?” she asked, wishing she could take it back when he smiled, catching on that she was interested in his relationship with the other woman.
“Brandy’s a lot of fun. Before Rowdy turned into an asshole from hell, they were inseparable. She loved him, and he adored her. We spent a lot of time hanging out and playing cards and pool, killing time between rodeos. She used to love to razz me about the women I dated. She saved my butt a few times, warning me away from someone even when I didn’t see the subtle hints that they were nothing but trouble. But she’s just a friend that I help out. While she cares about me, she’s more interested in what I can do for her. I’m okay with that setup, because some people need help. I don’t think she’d have jumped into that arena to save my life, but I don’t fault her for that. She’s barely able to keep her life together.”
“Are you going to miss it?”
“What? The glory days?”
She couldn’t help but smile back at him this time. The man had a way of disarming her, drawing h
er in and making her a part of his fun whether she liked it or not.
“All of it. The rodeo. Bull riding. The lifestyle.”
“There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of riding a bull. I don’t know why people do drugs, chasing that high, when all they have to do is grab a rope, hold on, and ride one of those out-of-control beasts. It’s addictive. I don’t know if I’ll be able to give it up or find something else to replace it.” The worry that he’d turn to drugs to chase that high must have shown on her face. “Don’t worry, Doc, I’ve never been into chemically induced illusions of happiness. Not my style. As for the lifestyle. I won’t miss sleeping in my truck and dirty, run-down motels. I won’t miss the bars, playing pool and cards, and drinking to kill time. I won’t miss hearing about what my brothers and their wives are up to on the phone, when I get to be there in person and experience it with them. I won’t miss long drives from one place to the next. And yes, I won’t miss a different woman every week or so who scratches an itch but never makes me feel better because at the end of the day, I’m still alone with my thoughts in the dark just like you said.
“While I am still trying to come to terms with what happened and the fact that this damn leg is going to make my life difficult for the next month or more, I am looking forward to being home with my family and friends and the place I love to be.
“I liked what you said about not settling down for a woman but finding one who fits me. Maybe all I’m looking for is what you’re looking for. Someone to see me.
“The reason I make you nervous, Doc, is because I see far too much of who you really are, and I like you. For some reason, you’ve become too used to people not liking you for whatever reason. You’re too smart. You’re someone your grandmother didn’t want to exist. I still can’t get over that one. I’m sure you can’t either. You want people to see through all of your past. All I’m asking is that you do the same with me.
“I am not that guy you think I am, despite the stream of women coming to see me. I don’t think women are disposable. I think they’re fun, kind, intelligent people who know their own minds and do what they want to do for their own reasons. I never took advantage. If they wanted to play, I was up for the game. I never hurt anyone. That’s not who I am.”
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