“Okay. Will do. I called 911.”
“I’ll get us there faster.”
“Should I call them back?”
Parker halted again and stared at his sister. “Get the purse. You can call them back in the truck.” Hell, Callie was usually levelheaded.
And so was he. But right now his gut twisted up in worry. He hoped he could drive.
Of course he could drive. He would get her there safely. Faster.
He shouldn’t have left her this morning. Dammit!
Kicking through the front door, he rushed to his truck and then yelled, “Callie!”
An eternity passed while he waited for her. Finally, Reba’s heavy pine front door slammed shut and Callie tripped down the front steps, her phone to her ear.
“Mike said he’d meet us at the ER.”
“Great. Open the back door,” he said, indicating the extended cab. “Slide in on the bench seat, and I’ll lay her down beside you.”
“Okay. I got her purse, some ice in a baggy, and a cold cloth. And a bottle of water. Maybe that will help.”
“Can’t hurt.”
He deposited Reba on the seat, swept the hair out of her face and lingered for a brief moment looking at her closed eyes and her bruised face. Something jerked inside his chest and curled into this stomach, and then he glanced away, trying to rid himself of a nagging feeling of… What was it? Fear?
Worry. Maybe. Yes.
Both. He was worried and he was afraid for Reba.
He retreated and closed the door. Seconds later, he was in the cab, had started the engine, and headed down the lane toward the main road.
It was an hour’s drive to the hospital. Probably a long one.
Eyes on the road, McKenna. Just get her there.
****
Reba was in a vehicle. A moving vehicle. She just didn’t remember how she got there or why. So, she lay still, eyes closed, and listened.
All she heard was her heart pounding, and that was a bit of a distraction.
After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes. She was in the extended cab of a pickup truck, looking up at the back of a headrest and a cowboy’s head.
“Where are we going?” she managed to get out.
“Reba?” A woman’s voice came from her right. She strained to look that way, but at the same time, the woman’s face was suddenly next to hers.
“Yes,” she squeaked out. “Where are we going?”
“To the hospital. You passed out.”
“Oh.” It was coming back to her. “In my kitchen?”
“Yes. Here,” she said with a soft voice. “Do you want to try to sit up?”
A voice barked from the driver’s seat before she could respond. “Maybe she shouldn’t, Callie.”
Callie. That’s right. Callie McKenna. And the cowboy must be her brother. Parker. Whom she had kissed.
Ugh.
Reba pushed up on an elbow. “Yes, help me sit up please,” she said. As she moved slowly into a sitting position, she added, “Pretty soon you all are going to start charging me a fee for coming to my rescue. What happened?”
“You fainted. Out cold. Twice.”
“Twice? I can’t imagine why… Oh.”
“Oh?” She glanced up to see Parker looking at her in the rearview mirror. “You know why you passed out?”
“I might be dehydrated,” she said. “And the altitude still bothers me a little.”
“Oh my God, Reba. Here.” Callie twisted the cap off the water bottle and handed it to her. “Drink up.”
She turned to Callie and said, “Thank you. I still feel a little weak and fuzzyheaded. I probably need to eat too.”
Parker queried from the front seat, “You haven’t eaten?”
Reba caught his eyes again in the mirror. “I did. Yesterday. Sometime.”
“Sometime?”
She shrugged a little. “Well, it was a busy day. I was taking care of all the food at your house, and people were coming and going, and I don’t really remember when I ate or if I—”
“Stop. I get it.”
“I don’t think you do.”
Parker huffed out a breath. “So, let’s see. You’ve hit your head and might have a concussion, you could be dehydrated because you haven’t drunk enough water, and you’re not sure when you last ate? Do you need someone to take care of you, woman?”
Reba felt her eyes grow big. “That’s none of your concern, Mr. McKenna!” The hell. Who did he think he was? “Just turn around and take me home. I don’t need to see a doctor.”
“No. We’re almost there.”
Reba rolled her eyes. Crap. “I don’t have insurance yet. It’s complicated, and I just moved here. This is going to cost me an arm and a leg, and right now, I can’t afford it.”
Parker didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll pay for it.”
Reba bristled. “You most certainly will not!”
“I will. You wrecked on my property, and now you are telling me you didn’t eat or drink yesterday because you were too busy taking care of things at my house, after my father’s funeral. Seems I owe you.”
Callie nudged Reba with her elbow. “Don’t argue with him, Reba. It will only get worse.”
She sighed. “I’m serious. Really, Parker. That is all not necessary. Take me back home. I will be fine.”
He ignored her, stared straight ahead, and accelerated.
Reba looked out the window. He was definitely not turning around. “Parker?”
“They are expecting us at the hospital. I’ve already made arrangements for you to see my friend Mike.”
Reba couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Excuse me? I really don’t want to go. I appreciate your concern, truly, but I want to go home. I have work to do and—”
Parker interrupted. “We’re here.”
“Where?”
“Livingston. The hospital. It’s right around the corner,” Callie said. She turned to Reba and looked into her face. “It’s okay, Reba. Let’s pop in and have Dr. Attaway check you out, and then that will satisfy that stubborn brother of mine and he can take you home. Okay?”
Reba took in a deep breath, glanced to Parker’s eyes glaring at her in the rearview mirror, and said, “All right. But like I said, I have work to do today, so let’s make this fast. Got it?”
The corners of Parker’s eyes twinkled a little. She glanced to the side of his face then and noticed his lips were definitely spreading into a grin.
Oh hell. He won this round. I have to be on my toes.
Chapter Six
Parker wasn’t accustomed to sitting around and waiting. Doing nothing. Twiddling his thumbs. And he was about to go stark-raving mad waiting for some nugget of news from Mike.
Callie had left with Murphy, his ranch manager and her fiancé, an hour earlier. Murphy had been in town for supplies and had swung by to check on things. Parker suggested his sister go on back home. That he could handle things here.
Can I? Handle things with Reba Morris?
He’d known her less than a day, and it felt like weeks. First impressions aside, the biggest realization he had about his new neighbor was she was a pretty tough cookie to handle.
A challenge? Perhaps. But he was up to it.
He’d drank all the coffee he could stand and had watched way too many minutes of politically-charged news programs on the ER waiting room television—a television set for which one had to ask for permission to turn down the volume or to change the channel.
He was certain there was a reason for that, but he’d be damned if he’d ask for the remote control just so he could flip through soap operas and talk shows and not land on anything at all of interest. So he got up and stepped outside for some fresh air and ended up scooting closer to the smokers so he could inhale some second-hand smoke and engage in small talk.
He’d bum a cigarette and a light, but quitting smoking was the one thing he’d promised his father he would do several months ago. And he had. He didn’t want to pick tha
t bad habit up again.
Even though, he could use a long, deep drag off one about now. Might calm his nerves.
He glanced at his watch and then inside the waiting room as someone exited the large double doors.
Parker dodged the closing doors and jogged inside. “Mike. I’m here.”
His old friend turned and acknowledged him with a nod. Parker and Mike had gone to one year of college together at the University of Montana in Missoula and had become fast friends. Parker ended up coming back to the ranch, and his heart, after a year. Mike continued and ended up in medical school. They kept in touch, and Mike became a regular visitor to McKenna Ranch over the years. When it came time for him to settle somewhere and open his practice, he chose Livingston rather than Chicago, where he grew up.
“Parker. Hey, man. Walk this way.”
Shit. Something was wrong. Mike let him into another corridor.
“How is she?”
Turning, Mike said, “She’s going to be just fine, Parker. Just inconvenienced for a little while.”
Parker exhaled, and the stress melted from his shoulders. “That’s great.”
Mike cocked his head to the right. “It looks like a broken elbow, but it’s difficult to tell quite yet. Bone fractures generally show up better on X-ray after about ten days, so I’ll set up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to take it from here. The bump on her head will be okay. She’ll be sore, swollen and bruised around her eye for a while, but nothing is broken there.”
“Great.” He sighed again.
“She was dehydrated, so we pushed some fluids. She’ll need to stay until we take out the IV. Her blood sugar was low, but that’s probably because she hadn’t eaten. She’s had a sandwich and some fruit but probably could use a good meal when she gets home, and of course, water. What she told you and Callie was probably right—her body is still adjusting to this altitude. Kentucky is barely above sea level in most parts. It’s a bit of a change for her, especially up in the foothills where she lives. But she’ll adjust. The water will help. That’s about it.”
Parker didn’t know how to thank him and said so. “I’ll see to all of that.”
“Of course, you realize I’m telling you all of this unofficially.”
“What?”
“You can’t act like you know any of this. Let her tell you. She didn’t indicate on her paperwork that I could share this information with anyone, but seeing that you brought her in here and evidently spent the night with her at her house last night, I’m making an exception. Although, when I asked her if she wanted you to come in, she flat out said no.”
Parker grimaced. “She did?”
“Yes, she did.”
“I see.”
“So what gives?”
He shrugged. What does give?
“Are you two dating?”
Parker shook his head. “No. I just met her yesterday.”
“Is this the same woman who was in your kitchen yesterday taking care of all the food?”
That question took Parker aback. “Actually, yes. You saw her?”
He nodded. “I thought I recognized her. I went into the kitchen for water at some point. She was bustling about.”
“Yes, she made herself quite at home. I think she just wanted to be neighborly and useful. She bought the Crandall cabin down the road. You know the place?”
“I do. And yes, she told me she lived there.”
“Oh.” Parker rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “She was heading there last night and flipped her SUV leaving the ranch. I got her out, took her home, and the rest I think you know about….”
“So just to be clear—this is a casual thing between the two of you?”
Parker nodded. “Sure. Casual. Neighbors. We’re just friends.”
It was Mike’s turn to sigh. “Great. Because I want to ask her out to dinner.”
Parker stood there. What?
Mike backed up a few steps. “Hey, I have to run. One of the nurses will get with you when Reba is ready to be dismissed.”
Mike wants to ask Reba out?
That did not sit well with him. Not at all.
****
Three hours later, Reba found the silence in the truck cab almost deafening. Oh, they had shared a bit of small talk on the way out. Parker had asked how she was feeling, what the doctor said. She avoided his questions with simple, one-word responses. He didn’t need any more details than what she wanted to supply.
She was still a little miffed at his insistence that she see a doctor, and even more so that she’d just had to fork over two hundred and fifty big ones for the emergency room visit, with the promise of a bill to come.
It wasn’t that money was super tight. It was simply that she had pretty much depleted the funds in her account with the move and the renovations, and she was waiting on another check to come from Jack’s pension any day now. She didn’t like to run things so close to a zero balance.
The quiet between them in the truck cab was unnerving, though. She didn’t want to be rude, but what was Parker’s problem?
He had been cordial, of course, and very much a gentleman—always the quintessential cowboy, she had noted—but his disposition had turned into one of those moody man moods she found so incredibly unbecoming.
Just wallow in it, Mr. Personable.
Not her problem. For a few more miles, anyway.
Oh, hell… “I suppose I should thank you for getting me to the hospital and sticking around to take me home. Even though I didn’t want to go in the first place.” She didn’t look at him but spoke to the windshield.
He pretty much did the same. “Just being a good neighbor, Ms. Morris,” he said.
Hmm. When had she become Ms. Morris? “I wasn’t going to let you pay for my bill, Parker. So you can just get over that.”
He didn’t respond.
“I realize you are used to being in control, getting your way and all that. Big tough alpha cowboy who likes to ride up, swoop in, and save the damsel in distress. But I’m here to tell you, I don’t need saving. I can take care of myself.”
Reba glanced over to look at his profile.
Parker huffed. “Never said I was any of those things.”
You don’t have to say it. You ooze it. “Well, it’s more than implied. It’s the way you carry yourself, the way you walk. The way you look at a woman like you could…” Devour her. “Never mind.”
She jerked her gaze back to look at the road. His gaze was now fixed on her face. She could feel the heat.
“Anyway, I don’t need saving,” she muttered again, softer.
“Maybe not. Maybe just someone needs to look out for you.”
She whirled. “Oh, really? And you think you are that someone?”
He looked straight at her. “Maybe.”
Reba clamped her lips shut tight and looked out the passenger-side window. A strange little tingle shot up inside her and settled behind her breastbone when he’d said that single word. Maybe. What did he mean by that? “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve done it for a very long time, and I’ve turned out fine so far, thank you very much.”
“That so.”
She twisted back to look at him. “Yes. That’s very so!”
He glanced her way. “Look in the mirror, Reba.”
“What?”
“Look at yourself. You have a splint on your arm, your eye is black, you passed out cold from lack of food and water—and you don’t need protecting?”
“I don’t! I am capable!” Why did she feel the need to justify herself to this man?
“Look in the mirror.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. Pull down that visor and have a look at yourself. Have you lately?”
Frustrated, Reba did what he said. She jerked at the visor, sending dust and a few receipts flying, and then snapped open the mirror. And gasped.
“Oh, my God. My eye. My face!”
Her entire left eye was encircled i
n black—except for the purple eye shadow effect above it. The bump above her eyebrow was still prominent and puffy, and her eyelid was so swollen she feared by morning it would be totally closed.
“Yeah. See? Can’t you just let me do something for you? I feel responsible for this. The wreck, at least. It was on my property!”
He was shouting, and Reba’s one good eye grew wider at his words. Why was he so angry?
She glared at him and wanted to cry. Like everything she’d been through in the past twenty-four hours was suddenly bearing down on her shoulders. “Why are you angry with me? It was no one’s fault. Blame the damn deer and the sun.” At that point, Reba shoved the mirror closed and looked out the window. The last thing she wanted to do was have him see her cry.
Out of her one damn good eye!
She didn’t want to cry over this. She didn’t. It was a vain and stupid thing to do, to cry over a black eye. Not to mention her arm in a sling down to the first joints of her fingers. How was she going to be able to type? Or edit the video?
Then there was the television interview coming up and the photoshoot….
She sniffled. More than a little. And her eyes stung.
How in the hell had all of these things happened to her in less than twenty-four hours? Just a day ago she’d been on cloud nine. Her blog had been deemed a success, the launch of her YouTube channel was coming in a few weeks, and the Bekah’s Cottage book deal was the icing on the cake. Life was so good!
Her dreams were coming true, thanks to Jack. Dear Jack.
The thought of him made her want to cry even more.
“Reba, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
She whirled back. “No, you shouldn’t have. Please, just take me home.” Then she did the unthinkable. Something she hadn’t done for months. Something she wouldn’t let herself do so much when Jack was dying.
She burst into tears. Not just tears but a full-blown, butt-ugly, gut-twisting, sob-sucking crying attack.
****
“Ah, hell.”
Parker glanced into his rearview mirror, saw no traffic behind him, and started slowing down. He quickly perused his surroundings and spotted a pull-off up ahead. Not saying anything to Reba, he moved over as far as he could, got out and rounded the cab, and made his way to the passenger side and to Reba. Opening her door fully, he stepped up to her side, carefully undid her seatbelt, and angled her legs toward him, a little.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 22