Jesse

by C. H. Admirand

  The screen door banged once before it settled in the door frame. Great, she’d made both Jesse and her uncle angry with her, all in the same day. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift. Crickets started singing; maybe it was because she and her uncle had finally stopped talking. A few minutes later, the call of a whippoorwill brought tears to her eyes, reminding her of her mother’s favorite Hank Williams song. But she wasn’t really lonesome; she was heartsick. Not sure which was worse, but not sure there was anything she could do but listen to her uncle’s advice and give Jesse a chance to come around.

  She started to add up all of the things she liked about him; when she got to honest, she paused… because he hadn’t lied about where he worked… he’d refused to tell her… that was a whole other ball of wax.

  While she sat, the bird called again, this time an answering three-note call had her smiling. She’d give Jesse a chance. After all, the only thing he’d done wrong was not tell her where he worked.

  She was being ridiculous… and selfish… and bitchy. She sighed and nestled back into the chair until she was more comfortable. Her breathing deepened, and while the crickets and whippoorwills serenaded her, she fell asleep.

  ***

  The phone woke her. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep in the chair on the porch. Not sure what time it was, she dashed inside and grabbed the phone, surprised that it was Ronnie.

  A glance at the clock told her it was almost midnight. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?” And then it hit her. “Is Jesse all right?”

  Ronnie’s voice broke as she told her, “Jesse’s hurt… he was in an accident.”

  “Oh God, what happened?”

  “We don’t know. His friend Slim called and said Jesse’d been rushed to the hospital in Mesquite. He’s asking for you.”

  Her stomach wanted to rebel, but the need to find out everything Ronnie knew kept her focused and the contents of her stomach where it belonged. “What can I do?” The need to see for herself that he was in one piece threatened to push her over the edge.

  “Tyler and Em just left for the hospital. Dylan and I can swing by and pick you up.”

  “What about the Circle G?”

  “Their cousins will hold down the fort and wait for news.”

  “I’ll be ready when you get here.” She hung up the phone and dashed upstairs and knocked on her uncle’s door.

  “Who was on the phone?”

  “Jesse was in an accident. He’s asking for me.”

  Her uncle got out of bed and raked a hand through his hair. “Little June bug’ll be fine with me. You stay as long as you like.” He gave her a long look and shook his head. “You’ve got a little time before they get here. Why don’t you put on some coffee?”

  She hugged him tight and hurtled down the stairs and started a pot of coffee, pacing while she waited for it to brew. Unsure if anyone had had time for coffee, she searched through the cabinets until she found a thermos. It wasn’t big enough to bring coffee for everyone, so she kept poking through her uncle’s cabinets until she found what she was looking for—a carafe with a screw top.

  She couldn’t find paper cups, so she wrapped a couple of mugs in paper towels and put them in a brown paper bag. Then she poured coffee into the thermos and the carafe and added milk and sugar.

  She looked at the clock and started to fidget. They wouldn’t be here for a little longer. What else would they need while they waited, to keep their minds occupied?

  She heard her uncle’s footfalls on the steps. He walked into the kitchen and said, “Why don’t we make some sandwiches? Hospital food is lousy… waiting’s lousy… this’ll give you something to do with your hands.”

  Danielle looked down and nodded. She’d been wringing hers. Working together, they had a half a dozen sandwiches wrapped up and ready to go when they heard a vehicle pull up outside. “Keep the faith, June bug.” He hugged her and reminded her, “He’s worth praying for.”

  Dylan’s fingers tapped the steering wheel while waiting for Danielle to hand off the coffee to Ronnie and close her door. He turned Ronnie’s truck around and put the pedal to the floor and didn’t let up until they screeched to a halt outside the emergency room. Ronnie pushed him out and told him to get on inside, she’d park the truck.

  The look in his eyes had tears filling Danielle’s eyes again. Blinking furiously, she vowed she would not shed one tear; she had to be strong. No one knew what kind of shape Jesse was in and she wouldn’t add to their worry while they waited to find out. “Let’s leave the food and one container of coffee out here.”

  Emily looked up as she and Ronnie rushed into the waiting room. “They’re talking to the doctor.” Reaching for Danielle’s hand she said, “They asked me to wait out here.”

  Danielle handed a cup to Emily and one to Ronnie. “We’ve got sandwiches in the truck, but my uncle thought you’d need decent coffee while we wait.”

  The heat from the cup warmed her ice-cold hands. Wishing they knew more, she struggled with the need to get up and start pacing. Sipping slowly, she was the first to see Dylan walking toward them. His head was high and his eyes clear. OK… this would either be really good news or really bad.

  “He’s stable.”

  Ronnie nodded. “Good. Now what’s the rest of it?”

  Dylan’s mouth quirked up on one side. “Bumps and bruises so far.”

  She set her empty cup down and got to her feet.

  “He’s in X-ray right now and might have a broken wrist and ankle,” Dylan explained. “The doctor said that we can go in for a few minutes at a time.” He looked at Danielle. “He’s asked for you a couple of times.”

  Danielle drew in a deep breath and asked, “Can I see him now?”

  He nodded and held out his hand to her. “He looks bad, but it’s the swelling and bruising. Thank God for safety glass. The cuts on his face are superficial… nothing really deep.”

  “Thanks for the warning, but I won’t fall apart when I see him.”

  “You sure?” Dylan waited for her to answer. “He’s got enough to worry about right now… he doesn’t need to worry that we aren’t telling him something important.”

  Worry gnawed at her gut. “Are you hiding something from him?”

  Dylan’s gaze met hers. “No.”

  Chapter 20

  Jesse came to slowly as pain ricocheted through his body. His head ached, and he sure as hell wished he couldn’t feel his ankle or his wrist. Both might be broken—like Slim’s car. He remembered getting hit from behind and going into the first roll—then his car had flipped over like a gator in a death roll.

  “Hell,” he rasped, struggling to open his eyes. A redheaded nurse was poking a needle in his arm. He hated needles, so he closed his eyes and told her, “That felt good.”

  Her chuckle told him what he needed to know. He wasn’t on deathwatch; he might feel like he should be, but the nurse seemed relaxed, not like the time with his mother—

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he waited until the nurse was finished drawing blood before he opened his eyes.

  “I thought you were asleep.” She checked his vitals and made notes on his chart.

  “Nope. Hate needles.”

  “Well, you should be needle-free for the next little while. Your brothers have both been here to see you.”

  He thought he’d been dreaming, hearing Tyler and Dylan firing questions at the doctor until they’d gotten the answers they wanted. “Garahans stick together.”

  “The doctor wants you to rest,” she was telling him, but his eyes were already closing of their own accord.

  ***

  He opened his eyes and blinked. But Danielle didn’t disappear. She looked good enough to eat. He must have said so because she smiled and sniffed and that’s when he noticed her eyes were glassy. “Am I that bad off?”

  “No,” she reassured him. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I survived a car wreck.”

  She n
eeded to talk so that she wouldn’t stare too long at the battered man lying in the hospital bed. “Did you see the other car? Did the sheriff haul his ass off to jail?”

  He chuckled and swore. “Don’t make me laugh,” he told her. “It hurts.”

  She bit her lip. “Sorry.”

  “What makes you think the other guy was at fault?” He liked that she had that much confidence in his driving. What would she say when she heard the whole story?

  “Oh.” She shuffled her feet and placed her hand on the bed rail. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ll be OK and the other guy will too, won’t he?”

  “I got hit from behind.”

  “We can sue his ass. I have a cousin who’s a lawyer.”

  He groaned and swore. “Damn it, I told you, don’t make me laugh.”

  “I’m sorry, it’s just that I want to find the bastard and wring his neck, then I’ll let my cousin at him.”

  “Bloodthirsty… I like that.”

  She grabbed a hold of his wrist and pain shot right through to the bone. Her grip tightened as she told him, “Just tell me his name and I’ll take care of it.”

  He nodded and she eased her hold on him. He wanted to tell her to let go of his mangled wrist, but got distracted by the sadness in her eyes. He reached for her hand and asked, “Why are you here?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “After the way I treated you earlier… You asked a simple question and I let my pride keep me from answering.”

  “I should go.”

  “Not happening.”

  Deciding to humor the patient, she stopped struggling and told him to close his eyes. She’d leave when he was asleep.

  “So you can slip out as soon as I’m asleep?” He tugged and she fell across his chest, right where he wanted her. “No way.”

  Their lips were close, but her nose was closer. He kissed the tip of it and confessed, “I almost messed up big time.”

  Her breathing was ragged and she was trying to shift so she could wiggle out of his grasp. Wise to her, he squeezed her hand and said, “I’ve been racing cars out at Devil’s Bowl.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”

  He tried to smile, but the left side of his face hurt. “I’ve always wanted to race cars. When my buddy Slim asked me to fill in for him, I jumped at the chance for two reasons: a chance at a teenage dream, and an opportunity to contribute toward the Circle G’s mountain of bills.”

  “So that’s the job you didn’t want to tell me about?”

  “Ranching is my life and in my blood, but I’ve dreamed of racing since I was a kid and wanted to give it a shot.”

  “I thought you were doing something illegal.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know… running shine—”

  “You’ve been watching reruns of those Duke Boys,” he told her, hoping to take her mind off the fact that he hadn’t been willing to tell her.

  “Sometimes dreams can be shared.”

  “I managed to make enough money that we’re further out of the red and leaning toward the black. I’d do anything to keep our ranch from going under. We all would.”

  “So, your pride kept you from telling anyone?”

  He searched her eyes for a clue as to what she was really thinking. “Will you hold that against me?”

  She shook her head. “Lacy and I have been struggling to get by since my ex cleaned out our savings account to buy that damned motor home.”

  His grip on her hand was painful. “When I’m healed… I will kill him.”

  “Maybe I’ll let you,” she said, patting his hand so he’d loosen his hold on her.

  “Danielle, I’ve been ten times a fool for not telling you straight out when you asked. I never thought you’d really be worrying over where I was going or what I was doing.”

  “I was hoping there wasn’t another woman,” she whispered.

  “I’m good, but not that good.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “I told you, you pack a lethal punch.”

  “I was beginning to wonder if you’d had enough of me…”

  “Hell, when I screw up,” he told her, “I screw up big.”

  “What else could I think?”

  “That I’ve been spending four nights out of the week practicing and one night racing. I spend my damn days working myself right into the ground out at the Circle G to keep the herd fed, healthy, and happy, moving them to a new grazing pasture. When would I have time to even think about another woman?”

  Before she could say anything else, he used his good hand to tilt her chin up, so her eyes were looking right into his. “I’ve never been this crazy over a woman before. You damn near killed me that night at the bunkhouse… I’ve been walking around all churned up inside, feeling like I’ve just gone three rounds with both brothers!”

  “Jesse, I—”

  He shook his head and then moaned. “Damn that hurts.”

  “Are you sure you don’t have a concussion?”

  “Garahans have really hard heads.”

  “Tell me about it,” she grumbled. “Let me call the nurse.”

  “Not until I tell you what I realized earlier. I’ve gotten used to seeing Lacy and you out at the Circle G… you fit.”

  “We fit?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Will you and Lacy move in with me?”

  ***

  Danielle couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He’s crazy over her, he loved making love with her, and she and Lacy fit the mold… so move in?

  “Why do you really want us to move in?”

  He paused as if struggling to come up with an answer. In that split second, her healing heart broke. She’d wanted him to be the right one so badly that she’d ignored all of the telling signs. God, when would she learn that cowboys and she just weren’t a good mix?

  Wondering how she would tell Lacy that they wouldn’t be able to visit Jesse anymore, she hadn’t noticed that he’d drawn her closer until his lips were pressed against hers.

  “Tell me I haven’t messed up,” he rasped. “My head hurts and I’ve got so many aches, I don’t know where to begin.” When she tried to resist, he kissed her again, softly, coaxing her to listen. “Dani darlin’, I love you so much I don’t want to spend another hour without you… and hell if I’m gonna give up that pint-sized, cotton-candy cowgirl.”

  “You really love me?”

  “Hell, woman, have pity on a man in pain. I. Love. You!”

  When she smiled at him, half of his pain was forgotten.

  “Will you marry me first and then move out to the Circle G?”

  Her smile had the angels singing in his head again… well, maybe that was a ringing in his head from smacking it against the side of the car as it rolled…

  “Lacy and I are a team… I have to check with her before I say yes.”

  Relief seeped into his aching bones. “But you want to?”

  “Hell yeah!” She kissed him until he started to groan. “Oh God… did I hurt you?”

  He moved her hand across his thigh and onto his rock-hard erection. “Woman, you’re killing me.”

  “Good,” she said with a grin. “Now we’re even.”

  “Damn it, Danielle,” Tyler growled from the doorway.

  “Jesse might have fractured ribs,” Dylan grumbled. “You’ll break them if you don’t get off him.”

  “Quit yelling at my bride-to-be,” Jesse rasped.

  Tyler and Dylan stopped in their tracks and looked from their brother to Danielle and back. “Your what?”

  “I just asked her to marry me.”

  Tyler turned and motioned behind him. “You’ve got to hear this!”

  Emily and Ronnie stepped into the room and Ronnie asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Our boneheaded little brother is getting married,” Tyler told them.

  “He’s not so boneheaded,” Emily said, walking over to place a kiss on Jesse’s cheek.

  “Sounds pretty s
mart to me,” Ronnie agreed, taking her turn kissing Jesse.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Tyler asked Ronnie.

  “Don’t swear at my wife,” Dylan warned.

  Before they could start shoving one another, Danielle spoke up to redirect the conversation. “Thanks, but I didn’t say yes yet,” she warned him.

  “What are you waiting for?” Tyler demanded.

  “What’s wrong with our brother?”

  Emily and Ronnie were trying not to laugh. Danielle knew then there was just something about the Garahan brothers that was by turns annoying as hell and endearing. One minute they were yelling at each other, and the next defending each other.

  Jesse explained before she could. “She’s got to check with Lacy.”

  “Is that all?” Tyler asked.

  “Damn,” Dylan rumbled. “You’re a shoo-in with little Lacy.”

  Jesse grinned at his brother and pulled Danielle back in for a kiss. “She’s partial to cowboys… just like her momma.”

  “Since you seem to be doing so well,” Ronnie said, “why don’t I leave Danielle here with you? We’ll come back in the morning.”

  Jesse let go of Danielle and tried to sit up, but ended up groaning and holding the side of his head. “I’m not staying here tonight,” he ground out. “Hate hospitals.” His gaze met Tyler’s and then Dylan’s. “You know why I can’t stay.”

  His brothers nodded and Tyler closed the gap between them. He grabbed a hold of Jesse’s hand, looked down at his brother, and finally said, “I’ll talk to the doctor.”

  Danielle wanted to do something, anything, to ease Jesse’s frustration and worry even if she didn’t understand the reasoning behind his not staying overnight at the hospital. “There’s more coffee in the car… and some sandwiches.”

  Dylan grinned. “I could eat.” He tugged Ronnie behind him. “Be right back.”

  Emily looked over her shoulder and said, “I’ll go make sure your brother doesn’t try to bulldoze the doctor.”

  Waiting until everyone had gone, Danielle asked, “Why can’t you let them take care of you tonight?”

  He closed his eyes and cleared his throat. “Our mom died here… I was just a kid, but I’ll never forget what it was like”—Danielle grabbed a hold of his hand and held tight—“waiting through the night… hoping that she’d cheat death.”