Big-Bucks Bachelor

by Leah Vale

  Still worried about the blood she’d seen smeared on Jack’s forehead, she repeated the request she’d made several times already. “Would one of you then go and take care of Jack? He’s the type to try to stitch his own head if it needs it.”

  Connor headed toward the door. “More likely he’s sitting out there letting blood run down his face unnoticed because he’s worrying about you.”

  The image of Jack bloody made her wince, which didn’t help her own throbbing head. The pain reliever they’d given her hadn’t kicked in yet. “Then have him come in when you’re done with him, please. Unless, of course, I can get dressed and go out to him?” she asked hopefully.

  Both of them looked at her like she was nuts.

  Connor said, “I’ll send him in.” He then left the room.

  Nathan came over to her, squinting as he looked into her eyes. “You’re not going anywhere until I’m sure there are no complications stemming from your concussion.”

  “I was only out a minute or two.”

  “Which, as I’m sure you know, Dr. Woods, is a serious thing, for man or beast. So I’m going to heat you a blanket and get you settled for a while. I’ll even let Jack climb up there to keep you company. Though I doubt your ribs will appreciate it.” He winked and left the room.

  Nathan’s teasing went a long way to warming her up. It made her feel like she belonged. How could Jack not feel that way, too, surrounded by such wonderful people?

  Jack came in after only a minute or two, instantly filling the room, and Melinda, with his own brand of heat. Her attention went straight to his head, and relief washed through her to see it wasn’t bandaged and the blood had been cleaned away. But his eyes held a look of pain that gave her a fresh jolt of worry. He could have a more serious head injury than they’d first suspected.

  She reached out to him. “Let me see your head.”

  He waved away her concern, his gaze jumping to the X-ray film hanging on the turned off light board before coming back to her. “It’s fine.”

  “Let me look anyway.”

  Relenting, he came to her side and bent down so she could see the top of his head, his thick, light brown hair darkened by dampness. He was bandaged, after all, but only by a small, butterfly-shaped adhesive strip that held closed the inch-long cut in his scalp just above the hairline. Only a small amount hair had been shaved so the butterfly would stick.

  She reached to gently test the edges. “Did you put it on?”

  He straightened away from her touch, shaking his head. “Connor.”

  “He’s fast.”

  With a lift of his shoulder that didn’t change his solemn expression, he said, “I imagine being a pediatrician teaches you how to do what needs to be done quick.”

  Despite her concern for him, she smiled, imagining Jack ducking and bobbing like a kid who didn’t want to be touched. “Did he give you a lollipop?”

  Jack shook his head again, strangely unwilling to joke with her. He was also keeping his distance, which really surprised her. She’d fully expected to be crushed in his embrace by now. She needed it. She needed to be reassured that they had both survived a very frightening moment. She reached for him again but he moved away.

  Melinda closed her hand around thin air and her worry grew until her heart pounded with it.

  He eyed the backboard Nathan and Connor had left propped against the far wall after they’d determined her back wasn’t injured, then he turned to brace his hands against the wall and dropped his head between his outstretched arms.

  Her worry exploded into fear that left a metallic taste in the back of her throat. “Jack—?”

  “Look, Melinda. What almost happened today has reminded me of…a few things.” His voice had a strangled quality that she knew had nothing to do with the position he was in.

  Barbed dread coiled around her heart and squeezed. She knew exactly what he meant.

  Melinda’s eyes welled with tears. “Oh, Jack. But everything turned out okay this time. I’m fine.”

  He pushed away from the wall and met her gaze. His green eyes were bright with anger. “But I’m not. And I’m never going to be if I open myself up to that sort of…of horror again. I can’t do it, Melinda. I can’t.” He turned away from her and paced toward the door. “I can’t risk caring about anyone so much again that the thought of losing them tears my guts out.”

  Melinda’s own guts rebelled at his words and she feared she was about to be sick.

  Jack put a hand to the doorknob, then looked back at her, the agony in his eyes hitting her harder than any roof ever could. “I plan to start packing up tomorrow. I should be finished and able to leave by the end of the week.” He pulled in a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Melinda. So sorry. Goodbye.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Melinda sagged in stunned disbelief, stupidly sitting there while Jack walked out of the exam room.

  And out of her life.

  Just like that, he was gone.

  Anger flooded every pore like an unchecked fever.

  All her life she had taken what was doled out to her, never complaining, never demanding she be given what she wanted, always hoping her hard work would earn the love and respect she needed. Well, no more. She was a grown woman who’d finally learned to speak up. Jack couldn’t simply walk out of their relationship.

  She wouldn’t stand for it. There was too much at stake.

  Melinda swung her legs off the exam table, gritting her teeth at the pain the motion fired through her ribs, and stood. Despite a reeling head, bruised ribs and an open-backed hospital gown, she wove her way to the door. She’d be damned if she let Jack walk away from her, from them like that. Without letting her have a chance to say a word. Of all the arrogant, man sort of things to do.

  She faltered when she saw that the reception area was filled mostly with men, some of them looking a lot like the fuzzy twin of the guy next to them. But when she saw their attention was on the two Jacks heading out the clinic door, she frowned to clear her double vision, grabbed hold of the back of her gown and marched after him.

  “Jack!” she called, but the door was already swinging shut behind him.

  Connor and Nathan, who’d been talking to their wives, Shelly and Vickie, simultaneously scolded, “Melinda!”

  Luke, who was closest, made a grab for her. “Melinda! You shouldn’t be up.”

  She dodged his hand and staggered, bumping the side of her shin painfully against the coffee table covered with fanned-out issues of magazines like Field and Stream and Cattleman’s Weekly. “Ouch. No, Luke. He’s leaving. I have to stop him.”

  Luke got a hold of her then and steadied her, his big hand strong but gentle on her elbow. “Honey, I’m sure he just stepped out for—”

  “No! He’s leaving Jester. He’s leaving me.”

  She watched the understanding dawn in Luke’s clear blue eyes. “I understand, but let’s get you—”

  She pulled away from him. “There’s no time.” Before anybody else in the waiting room could say or do anything more, she hurried as best she could for the door.

  Pressing an arm to her aching ribs while still gripping the gown closed with her other hand, she pushed the clinic door open with her shoulder and charged outside. A wave of dizziness rolled through her in time with the pounding of her head, but the cold hit her like a slap and helped her focus again.

  “Jack!” she cried before she’d even looked around.

  Then she stopped dead. What seemed like the entire population of Jester had turned to look at her with stunned expressions. People were milling around on the sidewalk and in the street in front of the clinic, clustered in groups of various sizes. Were they waiting in the cold for news of her? Did she matter enough for them to put aside their packing away of the Founders’ Day celebration booths and decorations before the storm hit in full force?

  Having no time to speculate about or process the possibility that she might have been accepted by the town, maybe even liked, sh
e forced herself to search for Jack. Her gaze zeroed right in on his tall, broad form. He’d paused in what looked like the act of pushing through an undoubtedly interested group of people containing Stella, Irene, Gwen and her other regular, retiree boarder, Oggie Lewis. Jack looked as shocked and concerned as everyone else to see her standing outside.

  Well, too bad.

  Without a thought to the spectacle she was making of herself, she marched toward him, annoyed as hell that the cold wind blew up under her hospital gown and her socks wanted to stick to the dry snow. Judging by the amount already accumulated on the shoveled sidewalk, snow must have been falling since they’d taken her into the clinic. The blizzard the forecasters had predicted was clearly building up steam.

  The frigid, stormy weather was a perfect match for her mood. “Damn it, Jack. You can’t say what you just said and walk away. Not until I get a chance to say what I have to say.”

  His jaw set, Jack backtracked toward her, peeling his coat off. “For God’s sake, Melinda,” he growled and wrapped his coat around her shoulders. “You’ll freeze out here.”

  She closed her eyes against the upswell of love for him as his heat and scent enveloped her.

  He tugged the front of his coat closed. “Get inside before—”

  “Not until you hear me out, Jack Hartman.” She widened her stance and lifted her chin, doing her damnedest to let him know by looking at her how serious she was. His belief in her abilities and worth provided the courage she needed to make herself heard for the first time in her life.

  She looked straight into his haunted green eyes and declared, “I love you.” With a quick glance at the people around them, she lowered her voice a notch. “I mean I really love you.”

  His nostrils flared and he swallowed heavily.

  “I’m not going to let you walk away from me, from us, that easily. You keep saying that you can’t risk caring so much about anyone again, but I have news for you, Jack. It’s too late. You already care for me. I know you do.” Her voice hitched and she took a step closer to him, close enough she could feel the warmth radiating off him as his big body blocked the wind.

  Her throat grew tight with the threat of tears, but she forced out, “You could never hold me like you do, make me feel the things you do, if you didn’t care.” Her anger at him for putting them through this, for being so stubborn, built until her vision swam from tears, not dizziness. “But you won’t admit it, not even to yourself.”

  She nodded her head toward the crowd listening with rapt attention. “Just like you won’t admit how much you care about them.”

  Then an exclamation toward the back of the crowd near the park answered by worried sounding murmurs made her pause.

  Melinda caught the words, “The wolf,” and “Back away,” just as the crowd parted and she could see what they were talking about.

  With its head down in a wary stance near a clump of bushes not twenty feet away was the stray dog Jack had been after for weeks. Its boldness and feral look frightened those nearest to it, especially those holding corn dogs and other food still.

  Sick to death of stubborn males, Melinda gave an unladylike snort, looked straight into the dog’s dark eyes, pointed a finger at the ground next to her and commanded, “Come!”

  The dog’s ears flattened, then it slunk toward her after only the slightest hesitation, darting glances at those nearest as it went by. The closer it came to her, the lower it ducked, until it was practically on its belly by the time it reached her side and crouched in meek submission.

  “Good dog,” she praised the big, scruffy animal, then immediately leveled the same finger she’d pointed at the ground with at Jack. “Admit it, Jack. Admit how much you already care.”

  SHE LOVED HIM.

  Jack rocked back on his heels, amazed not only by her declaration of love, but also by the simplicity of her solution for dealing with the stray dog. Yet it made perfect sense. The dog had clearly once been a pet, and most pets—even those not particularly loved—were taught to come when called.

  She dropped her hand and shook her head in obvious frustration. “You keep saying that Jester isn’t your town, that it had been Caroline’s, but you are such a part of this place, I can’t imagine it without you.” She closed her eyes and pulled in a great, shuddering breath that must have hurt her ribs. “Just as I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  A tear escaped from beneath her thick lashes and rolled down her pale cheek, opening a gash across his heart as it went.

  She opened her eyes again and pleaded, “Why can’t you let yourself be happy, Jack?”

  It was a hell of a question.

  Reeling, he reached up and cupped her chilled face in his hand and wiped away the tear with his thumb. Could the cure for his pain be as simple as the solution for dealing with the stray dog? Could it be that perhaps like the dog, Jack had held his heart separate by choice, not circumstance?

  He had indeed shared a kinship with the mutt. Jack had thought himself abandoned, lost to his surroundings and to the future he’d once thought he’d have thanks to a cruel, unexpected twist of fate. But he’d just been stubborn, unwilling to let himself be taken in by someone with heart enough to heal him, courage enough to care.

  Melinda closed her eyes and nuzzled her face against his hand, then opened her beautiful brown eyes and looked right into his soul. “Loving is worth the risk, Jack. You, along with all your fellow millionaires,” she stuck an arm out of his coat to gesture at those around them, “know exactly how well a risk can pay off.”

  A concurring murmur rippled through the crowd.

  She grabbed hold of his shirtfront and tugged, the pain in her eyes tugging as effectively on his heart. “But you have to buy that ticket first. You have to take the risk. Please, Jack. Please take the risk.”

  Jack had rebelled against the notion of being connected with anything for so long it was hard to see past the habit to the logic in her words. Words that probably hadn’t come easy to her, being a self-proclaimed woman of action. He thought back to her actions over the past few weeks. It was there. In the warm, deep safety of her brown eyes, in the courageous—make that belligerent—set of her delicate jaw.

  If he left town, would it make any difference? Would he be any less worried about her or anyone else here?

  Would he love her any less?

  And God, how he loved her.

  He looked around to the concerned faces of the people gathered in front of the clinic, people who had been his family both before and especially after he’d lost Caroline. He’d tried to hold his heart separate after the car accident, cutting himself off from his own parents and brother by keeping only minimal contact. But he hadn’t been able to do that with those here in Jester.

  Jack realized in a bolt of clarity that he couldn’t run from love any more than he could hide how much Melinda and the whole town had come to mean to him.

  Melinda’s teeth started to chatter, jarring him with the reminder that her legs were bare and she had nothing on her feet but socks. Hell, she shouldn’t be standing, let alone outside in this weather. He bent and reached for the backs of her legs, intent on carrying her inside.

  She dodged away from him. “No. Not until you answer me.”

  He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, his heart about ready to explode with love for her. “Answer you? I think you need to answer me, first.”

  “About what?” she demanded.

  “Two things. First, do you intend to keep the dog?” He inclined his head at the animal who looked as if he meant to stay at her side forever.

  She raised her chin still higher. “Of course I do. I even know what I’m going to name him already.”

  Jack raised a brow, loving her spirit and generous heart. “Oh?”

  “I think Buck is the perfect name.”

  A ripple of subdued laughter went through the crowd.

  Jack fought a grin as his pride in her and his appreciation for her humor swelled o
ut of control. “All right.” He looked deep into her dark chocolate eyes and drew the determination he needed from her. “Second, I want to know if you’ll agree to do the one thing that will make me stay.”

  She stilled, without so much as a shiver. “What’s that?”

  He sucked in a lung full of bracing cold air. “Marry me.”

  Melinda’s eyes went wide and her pretty mouth formed a small O, then her look turned wary.

  Jack thought of all the times she’d been hurt by the men in her life, all the reasons she had not to trust him. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and shelter her from that kind of pain for the rest of her life.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why?” Clearly she wouldn’t allow herself to trust until she heard him say the words.

  He intended to spend a lifetime not only saying what she needed to hear, but showing her what was in his heart, also.

  He lifted a hand and brushed the backs of his knuckles along the downy softness of her cheek. Her skin was warm despite the frigid air. She’d somehow managed to bring enough warmth back into his life to completely thaw the frost that had encased his heart for so long. “Because I love you and I want to buy you that ring you thought up with the big old diamond and two emeralds.”

  She squealed and launched herself at him. She gripped his neck so tight he worried about her ribs. “Yes, Jack. Oh, yes yes yes yes!”

  A whoop went up from those around them.

  In his ear she whispered, “I’ll marry you Jack, with or without the big bucks.”

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to

  Leah Vale for her contribution to the

  MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA series.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-6858-9

  BIG-BUCKS BACHELOR

  Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.