Her Lone Cowboy

by Patricia Forsythe

  The corner of his mouth kicked up, but another wave of pain hit him and his breath hissed out from between his teeth. “Hate those pills.”

  She reached for his hand. “Why?”

  His rough fingers gripped hers. “They knock me out and I have...nightmares.”

  Fresh tears filled her eyes. With her free hand, she reached up to smooth his hair back from his face. His forehead felt clammy. “Take the pills, please, Caleb? As soon as we get Sammy checked out, I’ll be back and I’ll stay with you tonight. I’ll be there to wake you up if you have a nightmare.”

  “But my animals...”

  “They’ll be fine. I’ll get my mom and dad to go get Bertie and I know other people who will go out and look after the horses and cattle. I’ll call Chet Bartlett. I need to tell him about the mountain lion. He’s right on our lane and he and his son, Ryder, owe me big time. I tutored that kid every day after school so he could pass the writing portion of the state standardized test.”

  Caleb’s eyes fixed on hers. She saw a battle going on behind his before he sighed and said, “Okay. Thanks for the help.”

  She beamed at him and was going to reward him with a kiss when the doctor returned with a nurse and all the equipment necessary to set his leg. With a wiggle of her fingers, she scooted out of the way and went outside to make some phone calls. And to wait for her parents and her son to arrive.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “THERE’S SOMETHING TO be said for pain medicine,” Laney whispered as she gazed down at Caleb’s sleeping form. “It makes you too groggy to kick me out.”

  As promised, after Sam had been checked out at the emergency room and pronounced unharmed, she had organized care for Caleb’s animals. There was nothing for him to worry about, she thought smugly as she settled herself into the recliner beside the bed. The nurses had brought her a pillow and blanket even though they’d assured her she didn’t have to stay the night because they would be checking on him regularly.

  No doubt, they thought she was overreacting since it was only a broken leg, but they didn’t know about his nightmares. She closed her eyes, though her mind kept replaying the day’s events. If Caleb had been alone in that situation, he would have eventually made his way back to the house and tried to deal with the pain on his own, for a while at least. She knew being idle wouldn’t be easy for him, but it was the best thing. And he could forget about being a recluse, at least for the next few weeks.

  Too restless to sleep, she got up and wandered aimlessly around the room. She picked up Caleb’s clothes, folded them and started to put them in the small closet. Unable to resist, she lifted his shirt to her nose and sniffed the combination of laundry soap, dust and Caleb that clung to the fabric. Even though she knew no one had seen her, she quickly put the shirt away and closed the closet door.

  Glancing down, she saw his boots and picked one up. He had big feet and these boots were heavy, probably reinforced, she thought. They weren’t cowboy boots. Tipping it up, she looked for the manufacturer’s name and was surprised to see something handwritten on the back in bold, black ink. It was the letter O and a plus sign. She stared at it for several seconds before understanding clicked into place.

  “His blood type,” she whispered. “O positive.”

  Shakily, she set the boot down and then stood staring at Caleb’s sleeping face. She hadn’t known that soldiers wrote their blood type on the backs of their boots. Humbled, she turned away, marveling at the men and women who were willing to die for people they didn’t even know and used such a simple gesture to try to preserve their own lives.

  * * *

  IN SPITE OF the painkillers, or maybe because of them, Caleb slept fitfully, dreaming of mountain lions and horses and little boys, and waking several times to find Laney curled up in the chair near his bed, her head resting on a pillow she’d balled up and stuffed beneath her neck so that her head lolled over the arm of the chair. He’d never seen anyone do that before and he wondered groggily how she avoided getting a stiff neck. He hadn’t wanted help from her, but here she was, sleeping a few feet away—and he found it...comforting. He drifted off to sleep again, expecting his usual nightmares to invade, but oddly, they didn’t.

  When he woke again, sun was coming in the window and Laney was gone, the blanket she’d been using neatly folded on the chair. He wondered if she would be back.

  To his frustration, except for the times when the nurses got him up and moving around, he spent the morning in forced inactivity, something he hated, mostly because it gave him too much time to think.

  Right now, he was thinking about how his life had gone off the rails, off the course he’d been so sure was the right one, of coming to Arizona, buying his place, keeping to himself. First it had been Don Parkey, showing up with those pitiful drug horses, then Laney and Sam. He was still trying to figure out how he’d given in to the idea of having Sam work for him.

  Shudders rattled him whenever he thought about Sam, so small and defenseless, lying in the corral dust being stalked by a hungry mountain lion.

  * * *

  LANEY SWEPT IN right after lunch, whirling into the room and letting the door whoosh shut behind her as she dug in her shoulder bag for something. She was wearing a yellow sundress that showed off her toned arms. Her hair was down, swirling around and bouncing on her shoulders. She was gorgeous. Caleb felt as if he’d been socked in the gut.

  She looked up and gave him a distracted smile. “Hi, how are you? Ah, here it is.” She pulled a small object out and handed it to him. “Your phone,” she said as if he wouldn’t recognize it. “Your mom wants you to call her. I assured her that you’re all right, but she seemed worried. She said she’d be here in a few days.”

  His mouth dropped open. “You called my mother?”

  “Of course not. Even I’m not that nosy. You dropped your cell phone in the corral when you fell. I found it this morning when I went to see about Cisco. It rang. I answered it.”

  “But you’re not nosy?”

  “Certainly not, but I can’t resist a ringing phone and when I looked at the Caller ID and saw the last name was Ransom, I knew it had to be a relative. Luckily, it was your mom.”

  “Luckily,” he said dryly. “You know, you really don’t have any right to...”

  “To what?” she asked sassily. “Save your life? See that your animals are looked after?”

  Caleb gave her a disgruntled look to make sure she understood that this discussion wasn’t over.

  “Did the sheriff or Game and Fish come out to my place?”

  “Everyone came, found the tracks, followed them back toward the mountains, but couldn’t find the cat.” She chewed her bottom lip anxiously.

  “Probably long gone. Don’t worry,” he said gruffly and then asked about Sam.

  “He’s okay.” Laney sat abruptly as if her knees had gone rubbery on her. “He thought it was just a big kitty cat in the corral with you guys.”

  “It was big, but it was no kitty cat.”

  “I didn’t tell him any different because I don’t want him to worry. I talked to my parents about it this morning. We’re going to keep it quiet, not make a big deal of it.” Shakily, Laney lifted her hand to her face. “If you hadn’t been there...”

  “I tell you, it was Addie. She drove the cat away.” Caleb wasn’t trying to make light of what had happened, only to ease her mind.

  She gave him a grateful smile and nodded as she inhaled a deep breath.

  Before he could say anything else, the physical therapist, a matronly woman with iron-gray hair and a no-nonsense attitude, came in. Within minutes she and Laney had him in a wheelchair and into the physical therapy room.

  Caleb looked around grimly. He’d hoped to never visit one of these places again. The therapist explained what they’d be doing over the next few weeks to streng
then his leg.

  “Yeah, I know the drill.”

  She placed her hands on her hips and gazed down at him. “Good, because you’ll be here two or three times a week.”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve got a ranch to run, and—” he started to say, but Laney cut him off.

  “Tell us when he needs to be here,” she said, ignoring his glare and whipping out her cell phone. “I’ll put it on my calendar. When I can’t bring him, someone else will. We’ll set up all of his appointments right now. Don’t you worry, he’ll be here. Aa-aa-nd,” she added pointedly, “he’ll be your best, most cooperative patient ever.”

  The therapist grinned her approval and picked up a large paper calendar from a nearby desk. They discussed the best times and dates for his appointments while he sat and fumed.

  When he was back in his room and settled in bed once again, he turned to Laney and gave her his best army sergeant’s glower—which was actually hard to do when she was tweaking a pillow under his head.

  “Laney, I don’t need you to take me to physical therapy.”

  “How are you planning on getting here? Obviously you can’t drive. Ride Cisco? Hitchhike? If you give people that look you’re giving me right now, no one will pick you up and give you a ride.”

  “I’d find a way.”

  “No need. I already did.” She settled into the chair where she’d spent the night. Even though he knew she probably hadn’t slept well, she looked fresh, impertinent and, hang it, beautiful, sitting there. Her smile was self-assured and challenging, daring him to contradict her.

  Since he couldn’t, he folded his arms over his chest and stared at the ceiling. Real mature, Ransom.

  Laney sighed happily. “I love it when a man knows he’s lost an argument. Now, here’s what’s happening.” She launched into a recitation of the arrangements she’d made for his animals and his place.

  “Sam couldn’t stand the thought of being separated from Bertie, so both of them are at my mom and dad’s house. I’ll pick them up later and if I’m called out to a fire, I’ll take them back to my mom and dad’s.”

  Caleb lifted himself onto one elbow and stared at her. “You might be going out on a firefighting job when...” His words fumbled to a stop. What had he been going to ask? “When I need you?” Which would make him feel like more of a fool than he already was?

  Laney blinked at him. “I’ll have to go if I’m called. I’m part of a team.”

  “Yes, of course.” He lay back against his pillow. Shut up, Ransom.

  “Chet and Ryder Bartlett are keeping an eye on your cattle and horses. They’ll help you out until you’re fully recovered if you need them to. I programmed Chet’s phone number into your cell so you can call and thank him.”

  “But I could need help for six weeks.”

  Laney’s eyes rounded. “Imagine having to accept help for six weeks.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “You can do this,” she said as if she was giving him a pep talk.

  “Looks like I have no choice.”

  Laney tossed his hand away from her and stood. “And as soon as you’re well, you can crawl back into your little crab shell and stay there.” She turned to leave. “I’ll be back tomorrow to take you home. Call your mother,” she said over her shoulder.

  Glumly, Caleb watched her go. He supposed there was no chance of her spending the night with him again.

  * * *

  CALEB WOKE TO the late-night hospital sounds of doors quietly whooshing shut and a low call over the intercom. He knew these sounds, these smells, and they gave him a sense of familiarity—far better than the moments of terror he’d been experiencing in the nightmare he’d just had.

  He sat up, rubbed his hands over his face and reached for the water pitcher and glass that had been left at his bedside. He took a big drink and tried to recall what the nightmare had been about. He couldn’t pull it into focus, but it didn’t matter. It would be back. It always came back.

  He’d been having the same nightmare, fighting the same battle, for nearly two years. Now, along with the smoke of combat, the blood, the shouting and screaming, the explosions and the thunk-thunk-thunk of ammo rounds, were a mountain lion and an injured little boy, as if the craziness that went on in his head whenever he took painkillers wasn’t enough. The ironic part was that the nightmare was a battle that had never happened, or rather, an amalgamation of every battle he’d been involved in, every one he’d witnessed or had heard about. The addition of an innocent little boy and a hungry wild animal only ramped up the terror level.

  He’d had to ask for a painkiller, with the result he’d expected, and now his brain was foggy and unfocused, full of demons he fought but couldn’t seem to drive away. Reaching out, he tried to set the glass back in place, but it slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor.

  Glancing down, he saw that it had rolled under the bed.

  “I’ll get it for you,” a voice said from the doorway.

  Groggily, Caleb looked around to see a woman he vaguely recognized come into the room, kneel down and retrieve the plastic cup from beneath the bed. She made a point of taking it into the bathroom and washing it before returning it to his tray table.

  “Thank you,” he said, trying to recall where he’d seen the woman with the untidy black hair and ill-fitting jacket.

  “Monette Berkley,” she offered as her gaze darted around the room.

  “Oh, right. Laney’s old neighbor.” There was something else Laney had mentioned about this woman, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

  “Do you need more water?” she asked, her hands hovering over the pitcher and glass.

  “Nah. Thanks, but I’m good.”

  Silence fell and Caleb felt himself begin to drift.

  “Did you have an accident?” Monette asked, pulling him toward wakefulness.

  Though he thought the answer to that was obvious, he mumbled, “Yeah, fell into the...corral... Sam...” His voice trailed off, along with his thoughts.

  “Sam? You mean Sam Reynolds was there? Around that wild horse I saw?”

  “Yeah, wild horse,” he muttered, repeating her words as he tried to focus.

  “That horse was dangerous. That boy was in danger?”

  Caleb heard the urgency in her voice but couldn’t focus on the reason. He knew she wanted some kind of response so he muttered, “Yeah. Mountain lion,” as he slipped back into a deep sleep.

  * * *

  MONETTE GLANCED AROUND FURTIVELY, then reached out to shake the sleeping man. “What did you say? Hey, wake up.”

  He didn’t wake or respond and, knowing a nurse might come in at any second and ask what she was doing there, Monette turned and hurried away, muttering to herself as she rushed down the corridor and out to the parking lot. “I knew something was going to happen. That Laney is completely irresponsible. She shouldn’t have put Sean in danger. What did he mean about a mountain lion? I can ask around. Somebody will know.”

  Sitting in her car, she gazed into the night. It was a good thing she’d come to check on one of her cases, a little girl in a foster home who’d developed appendicitis. There was no need for alarm there, for the girl was being well cared for by her foster parents and the hospital staff. She was going to be all right.

  “But what about Sean?” Monette asked. His irresponsible mother wasn’t looking after him if he was being allowed around wild horses and mountain lions. She paused, shook her head. That couldn’t be right, though. She’d never heard of a mountain lion in the vicinity of Sweetsilver. She would have to check everything out very carefully. It wouldn’t do for her to make a slipup now, to jeopardize the case she was building against Laney Reynolds. It was the best thing for the little boy. She had no doubt about that, but she had to make sure everything was done correctly.

  She rel
axed against the headrest while she planned. Lingering heat from the day permeated the car, causing sweat to pop out on her face, but she barely noticed. Her mind was focused on what she needed to do to save Sean Reynolds. She wasn’t going to let him get hurt. Not again. She remembered when it had happened before in another corral, on another ranch where nobody had been watching him.

  He had wandered away from them. Nobody was watching, his mother too busy flirting with yet another man to see that her little boy was in danger.

  There wouldn’t be a repeat of that. Not on her watch.

  * * *

  THE NEXT DAY Laney picked Caleb up from the hospital and now they were on the way home. He hadn’t said much to her, but he’d seemed happy to see Sam and Bertie, who were in the backseat. Sam had a running commentary going about everything they passed, educating both man and dog about every building, ranch, animal or fence post along the way. Some of his stories were amazingly far-fetched, but Caleb listened and commented, asked questions and complimented Sam on his recall of the facts.

  She was happy to let her son prattle on because it eased the tension between Caleb and her. Caleb had to respond every once in a while to something Sam said and that gave her a chance to judge his mood.

  He still wasn’t very happy with her, she could tell, but she was beginning to think it was out of habit rather than real annoyance. She gave him a sidelong glance. Well, habits could be changed. She was dying to ask if he’d called his mother. She wanted to know about his mother—in fact, every member of his family—but maybe she should wait.

  When they pulled into his place, there was a blue pickup parked out front, next to Caleb’s truck.

  Caleb sat forward. “Is that Bartlett’s truck?”

  “Looks like it. This’ll give you the chance to thank Chet in person,” she said brightly. “You were going to do that, right?”

  “Of course.” He gave her a steady glare.

  She waved a dismissive hand. “Give it up, Ransom. I’m a high school teacher, remember? Those nasty looks won’t work on me.”