Jenny grinned. “Hardly.”
Yet her smile slowly faded when she thought about their conversations. He rarely spoke of his family. He hadn’t answered some of her questions about his arrival in Wild Cat Creek, simply saying he wanted to see more of the world.
He wasn’t talkative as some men were. Yet she also knew a lot of men who weren’t talkative.
“He kissed me,” she said suddenly, deciding to spill the beans, and wondering what her friend would think of that.
Darcy’s eyes widened. “He did? And you’ve been here almost an hour and are just telling me this now? Good grief, girl! Tell me more. Why didn't you lead off with that?”
“It wasn’t a big deal. Spur of the moment, I think.”
“And?” she prodded.
“And what?” Jenny asked.
“How was it?”
“Unexpected.”
Darcy gave an exaggerated sigh. “Next you’ll say it was nice.”
Jenny nodded. “It was very nice.” She grinned at her friend. “And over too soon.”
Darcy was even more demanding on details about Tuck with that information.
Jenny drove home a short time later, feeling better for spending time with her friend. It was fun to share with her some of her mixed-up feelings about Tucker Mason.
Halfway down her driveway she came face to face with Tuck’s truck, heading out.
Both stopped.
Before she could even open her window, the truck began backing up.
Val barked, standing with his nose against the windshield.
“I know, it’s Tuck. We’ll see him in a minute. Be patient!”
The dog began whining, pacing the small space on the seat.
Jenny’s own enthusiasm at seeing him rose. Why was he here? Who cared? She was glad he was.
When she reached the cabin, Tuck pulled to a stop on the left side of the clearing and she pulled into her normal spot on the right.
She threw open the door to let Val sail over her to run up to Tuck. She almost envied the dog’s blatant devotion.
Climbing out of the jeep, she greeted him.
“What brings you out here?” she asked. going to meet him.
“I tried calling. Your phone’s still down. I brought you a present,” he said. Reaching in the back of the truck, he pulled out a chain saw.
Jenny blinked. For a split second she thought he brought her flowers or candy or something romantic. She smiled politely as he proudly held up the chain saw.
“I knew you could use one, so I thought I’d show you how to use it. There’s that whole treetop that still needs to be cut up, plus the other branches that are lining your driveway.”
Walt would have taken care of it all eventually, but she didn’t tell him that.
“Oh. Okay. Let me take these bags into the house and you can show me how to work it. Do you have time now?”
He nodded. “Plenty of time. I brought one from the ranch as well, so we can get started on that tree.”
Snow still covered much of the ground. The wind had died down, but unless standing directly in sunlight, it was still cold.
“Wear boots or some sturdy shoes,” Tuck called as she stepped up on the porch.
Ten minutes later Jenny was being instructed on safety features of using a chain saw. In addition to the saw, Tuck had brought a safety helmet, earmuffs, thick leather gloves, and goggles. Taking his truck down the road to the fallen tree, he parked to one side. “We’ll cut in rounds about sixteen inches long to take back to your place and then split them later.”
She nodded with a smile. That sounded like so much fun. Not!
Still, he'd come to see her. She'd get to spend the afternoon with him. She could put up with the unusual work if they did it together.
Val ran around, venturing into the trees then turning to run back to them from time to time.
Once she mastered using the saw, she began cutting off the remaining branches. Tuck pulled them away. Before long both of them were cutting the trunk in sixteen-inch lengths to be split later for fireplace usage.
It was growing dark by the time Jenny and Tuck finished. He loaded the last of the rounds in the truck and he backed to the cabin. Jenny and Val following on foot.
Jenny’s arms felt liked cooked spaghetti, trembling in fatigue. She was glad they'd put the saw in the truck. She wasn't sure she could have carried it much longer.
“I’m not sure I can do another thing,” she said, hoping she had strength enough to open the cabin door when she reached it.
“Go on inside, I’ll stack these.”
She nodded, wishing she had his strength and stamina. “Come in when you’re finished,” she said.
Once inside, she removed her jacket and all the chain saw paraphernalia. Heading for the kitchen, she washed her hands and put the kettle on. Something hot–preferable with lots of sugar–was definitely needed!
Val came in with her and danced around. She fed him. She’d offer dinner to Tuck, but wasn’t sure what she had. With the big lunch she’d eaten, she’d planned on a light supper. But after all that work, she should think of something more substantial.
He knocked and then opened the door, filling the space. Jenny looked up and caught he breath. He looked amazing. And not tired a bit, not as if they’d just spent hours cutting up a tree. And for him probably after a morning of work on the ranch.
“Want to stay for supper?” she asked.
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
“I don’t know what’ll it be yet,” she said, turning to eye supplies in the cupboard, then the refrigerator. Not enough time to thaw anything.
“Want to go into town?”
She considered it, then shook her head. “Thanks. If I can’t find anything, I might rescind my offer…I think I just want to stay home now.” So if I fall down asleep, I'll at least be home.
Her less than stellar experience at the café reinforced her desire to keep away from stressful situations as much as possible. Especially when tired.
Tuck went to build a fire while she tried desperately to come up with something that would satisfy them both. Spaghetti, garlic bread, and a salad. That’d work.
As Jenny set the ground beef in the pan to brown and thaw, she began work on the rest of the makeshift meal.
“Your power’s still out?” he asked.
“Yes, and the phone. And no word when either will be back,” she said. “You have power at the ranch?”
He nodded and came over to sit on one of the stools by the counter. “And if it went out, we have several powerful generators.”
“I just have the one. I had to refuel it this morning. It just keeps chugging along.”
“Were you in town earlier?” he asked.
“Yes, I went in to visit my friend Darcy.”
She told him about her day and when prompted, he told her about his, mentioning others on the ranch. She asked for clarification about a couple of the men he worked with and his short answers revealed a lot about each without a long, convoluted description.
“Do you have your own horse or do all the horses belong to the ranch?” she asked at one point when he’d been talking about a cantankerous gelding who objected to being shod.
“I own three so I can rotate them for the rough work. Several of the men have their own mounts, the rest MacKay owns, and the men ride them.”
Jenny was impressed. She knew a good cow pony had years of training and were worth a lot.
She glanced at Val. He had years of training and was worth a lot too–his weight in gold or more to her.
They sat at the table to eat. The spaghetti was plentiful, though the garlic bread was unevenly warmed from being near the fireplace to heat. Still, it tasted good and from the amount Tuck ate, Jenny knew he liked it.
They took coffee in front of the fireplace. Tuck took his usual spot on the chair next to the fire, while Jenny sat on the sofa. She’d sort of hoped he’d sit next to her, but then chided herself. She
needed to be glad he was here and not expect more.
And she wanted it just that way. Didn’t she? No commitments, no relationships until she conquered PTSD.
The phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts.
“Oh, good, it’s working,” she exclaimed and hurried to answer it.
“Jenny, Esther Martin here. We have another assignment for you if you can take it. I’ve been calling all day, and this is the first time I’ve gotten through.”
“Hi Esther. The line’s been down. You’re the first call to make it through. What assignment?”
Esther explained the agency had been contacted for home nursing care for an elderly woman who had fallen and broken her leg. The doctor was trying to balance the medications she was on which caused her to become dizzy and fall, so she needed so skilled nursing care for a few days.
“She knows about Val?”
“She was delighted. Apparently, all the time her kids were growing up they’d had dogs.”
“How long does she need in home care?”
“I’m not sure, at least a week. If you can take it, they’ll bring her home from the hospital tomorrow morning.”
“Sure, give me the particulars.”
♥ ♥ ♥
Tuck watched Jenny talk, taking in the way she seemed to almost sparkle as she spoke to whoever was on the other end. Esther. From the one-sided conversation he gathered it was a new nursing gig. He wondered where and for how long.
Not that it mattered. He wanted to see more of her, but only because she’d become a friend, he told himself.
Friends hung out together, he thought. Like this evening. After working on a project together, they ate and were settling in for a peaceful evening. He liked that she didn’t want to go out and party every night. That she wasn’t demanding to be the center of attention like Trish.
Whoa, where had that come from? He hadn’t thought about Trish in a long while and now he’d thought about her twice in a week.
He couldn’t begin to compare the two women. It would be so unfair to Jenny. She was light years a better person than Trish.
He looked at his watch. Time to head for home.
Yet his gaze was drawn back to Jenny when she hung up. Her smiled touched him and he gave a half grin back.
“New job. For Mrs. Sadie Burrows, 83, fell and broke her leg in two places. I start tomorrow.”
“For long?”
She shrugged. “As long as I’m needed, but probably a week. I’ll learn more once I meet my patient tomorrow morning. She lives in town, and I’ll be staying at her place. She needs someone there all the time.”
“Then I’ll head out. You’ll need to pack.”
He fumbled a moment with a piece of paper he drew from his pocket, then held it out.
“This is my cell. If you want to talk, call me direct. No need to go through the house phone,” he said gruffly.
“Thanks.” She took the paper and glanced at the number.
“Call me and let me know how it’s going,” he suggested. He couldn't see her for a week or longer if she was working. If anyone had asked him a week ago about wanting to spend his free time with a woman, he'd have said no way. But that was before he met Jenny.
“Okay, I’ll do that.” She smiled as they walked to the door.
“Thanks for helping with the wood. I don’t know if I’ll be able to move tomorrow, but it was great to get that spot in the driveway clear. And look at all the wood I’ll have next winter to warm this place.”
He nodded, putting on his heavy jacket and clamping his cowboy hat on his head.
“Goodnight, Jenny,” he said, opening the door.
She stepped closer, reached out to touch his arm. “Thanks again for the chain saw and showing me how to use it,” she said.
He stared into her pretty eyes for a long moment, ignoring the dog standing beside them, the cold air roiling into the cabin. Without thought, he leaned over to kiss her again.
This time she responded and his whole body went on alert. She was sweet and warm and caused his blood to race through his veins.
Pulling back, he nodded and stepped outside. He was breathing a bit more than normal. But this time he knew she'd returned the kiss. Glad no one could see the silly grin on his face, he headed for his truck.
“Good night, Tuck,” she said softly before closing the door.
“Just where do you think you’re going with this,” he growled to himself as he headed down the dark driveway.
He swore he could still feel the soft warmth of her lips against his even in the cold truck. What would it be like to give her a full embrace, mouth open, tongues dancing kiss?
Once burned, twice shy was a motto he embraced. He'd fallen for Trish badly. And look how that ended. What if he was reading the signs wrong?
Maybe he should cool things down and see where their relationship led.
But, as long as she kissed him back, no reason to stop.
Valentine’s Rescue: Chapter 7
The next day Jenny and Val settled in with her new patient. Sadie Burrows was a delight. Smart and funny, she minimized any discomfort she felt in being transported home and as soon as she met Jenny, she wanted to know all about her, the dog, and what had been going on while she was in the hospital.
Jenny had brought her knitting and found a kindred soul with Sadie. For much of the first afternoon at home, Sadie slept, but once awake, she called for her knitting. The two of them sat in her bedroom, talked and knit.
Needed solely for her nursing skills, Jenny was pleased to find there was another helper doing all the meals and laundry. Dolores had worked for Sadie for more than ten years. Some assignments required Jenny to pitch in and help with household chores. This time it looked as if that wouldn’t be needed.
She had asked and received permission to use the phone when Sadie didn’t need her. So the second night after the older woman settled in for the evening, Jenny went to the front of the house. Pulling forth the paper with Tuck’s phone number, she called him.
“Hi, it’s Jenny,” she said.
“How’re things going?” he asked.
“Is this a good time to talk?”
“Yep. Hold on a moment and I’ll head for my room,” he said.
She could hear a television in the background. She’d never asked where he lived, but knew a lot of ranches had a bunk house for single cowboys, with a shared common room and individual bedrooms.
Suddenly it went quiet on the other end and then Tuck’s voice came back on the line.
“You and Val doing okay?” he asked.
“This is a super assignment. My patient is adorable. Elderly, but feisty and determined to break all records in getting better. Do you know her? She lives on Timberline Street. Sadie Burrows?”
“No, I don’t know her.”
“I didn’t either before now, though I bet we passed each other in town. She knits. We could have bought yarn at the same time.”
“Is she bedridden?”
“No. She broke her leg in two places a couple of weeks ago. She’s been in hospital care but wanted to get home. The doctor’s trying to stabilize her meds and I’m here to help with that. It’s light duty. And she loves Val. Her kids had dogs when they were little. I guess it’s too much to have a dog at her age, but I sure am glad I have Val. And for more than just he saves me when I have an episode.”
“We always had dogs growing up. I miss that here. We’ve got a couple of cattle dogs, but they’re working dogs and stay in the barn when not working.”
“What kind of dogs did you have as a kid?” she asked.
The next few minutes were spent in discussing various breeds of dogs, and then moved on to other childhood memories.
Jenny was laughing at something Tuck said when Val rose and looked toward the back of the house.
“Hold on, can you?” she asked.
She put down the phone and hurried to Sadie’s room. The older woman was awake and struggling to get her
water glass.”
“Did you ring that bell and I didn’t hear?” Jenny asked, crossing the room to get the water from the nightstand and hand it to her.
“No, I thought I could get it myself. I was asleep, then woke up really thirsty.”
She drank almost half the glass before handing it back to Jenny. “I’m fine. I bet I could have managed. How did you ever hear me?”
“Val looked this way. I think he has super hearing. He heard a truck crash on the road at the end of our driveway during the snowstorm.”
The older woman looked at Val who was watching her attentively. “Good boy. Was anyone hurt in the crash?”
“No, Val rescued the cowboy. Which turned out to be a good thing or he might have frozen to death in the storm. You can't see my place from the road, and he had no idea a cabin was so close.”
Sadie settled back on her pillows.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your free time. I’m fine. I’ll just go back to sleep.”
Jenny patted her hand. “I’m here for you. If you need me ring the bell.”
Sadie smiled as she closed her eyes. “I’ll remember next time.”
Jenny suspected Sadie was asleep before she left the room.
“Everything okay?” Tuck asked when she picked back up.
Jenny told him what happened after a few more minutes chatting they said goodnight.
Her bedroom was next to Sadie’s. She checked the outside doors and headed to bed. She brought the earphones and CD player, but didn’t want to shut out all sounds in case Sadie needed her.
Thoughtfully she looked at Val. Could she count on him if Sadie needed something? He was trained to help her, but he seemed to do so much more. She hugged him before getting into bed.
She read for a little while, then switched off the light. Thinking of Tuck, she smiled again at some of the stories he told about growing up. He seemed to have had a great childhood. What caused his leaving Texas and not going back?
By midmorning the next day Jenny had her patient bathed, fed, and up to practice walking with the walker. The doctor said as soon as she was ready, he wanted her mobile. Sadie was a willing patient and asked to see if she could walk all the way to the living room.
Cupid to the Rescue: A Tail-Wagging Valentine's Day Anthology Page 64