Come Hell or High Water

by Nancy M Bell

  Heat suffused Michelle’s face. “I guess I deserve that. We were both so worried about the poor dog we just did what needed to be done.”

  Cale crossed back to the table and sat down, leaning his head on one hand. “God, I’m tired. Have you heard from Mary? How’s Doc?”

  Michelle busied herself pulling the casserole out of the oven and piling a heaping serving on a plate. She put it in front of Cale, added bread, butter and ketchup to the table along with a knife and fork. She took the chair opposite him. “Doc is doing good. Mary says he might be able to come home in the next day or two if he behaves himself.”

  “Now that is good news.” Cale lifted his head and grinned at her. Silence filled the kitchen while he applied himself to clearing his plate. Pushing the dish aside he leaned back and rubbed his eyes. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here when I got home. Where’s the trailer?”

  “I left the horses and the trailer at Pat’s. I’m still not thrilled that you could think I was encouraging Rob, but if we’re gonna make this thing work, we need to talk it out.”

  “I agree. Do you want to start, or should I?” Cale got up and poured fresh coffee for both of them and returned to the table.

  “I don’t understand why you think I’m still interested in Rob. I’m here with you and I keep telling you I love you.” Michelle swirled the coffee in her cup and ignored the tears prickling the backs of her eyes.

  “Look at it from my point of view. Every time the guy gets in a jam he calls you to bail him out. Instead of saying no and letting his wife handle it, you go running to his rescue. This latest episode is just the last in a long line. It’s like he’s a habit you can’t break. The whole town is just sitting back and waiting to see how long it will take before he dumps Kayla and you dump me and go running back to him.”

  Michelle raised her head and met his gaze. “Okay, you’re right. I should never have gone to Okotoks and saved his ass. I should have called Kayla and let her deal with it. I won’t make that mistake again. As for what the gossips are saying…I can’t control what they say or think. Those old boys at the hotel will bet on anything. I can only assure you that I have no intention of dumping you. Even if we can’t make this work between us, there is no way in hell I will ever go back to Rob Chetwynd. And while we’re on that subject, when are you going to change the name on the ranch gate?”

  “The new sign is on order. Should be here be the end of May at the latest. Okay, my turn. You’ve got this ridiculous notion in your head that I’m attracted to Stacey. I have no idea where that came from. We went out a couple of times in high school. That was it, nothing ever came of it.”

  “Have you seen the way she looks at you?” Michelle’s voice rose incredulously.

  Cale heaved a sigh and lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “She may have been harbouring some hope of trying to re-ignite an old flame when she showed up here, I give you that. But it was all purely on her side and after she met your brother…well, as far as being her love interest I’ve just faded into the background.”

  “So you don’t have any regrets about what might have been. No lingering feelings?” Michelle cocked her head to one side and worried her bottom lip.

  “No regrets as far as Stacey is concerned. She’s my friend and so of course I have feelings for her. But not the kind you mean. Let me ask you, do you still have feelings for Rob? Still love him?”

  She frowned and opened her mouth to protest.

  “Think about it before you go off half-cocked,” Cale cautioned.

  Michelle snapped her mouth shut and wrestled with her indignation. “Okay, I get your point. Of course I still have feelings for Rob. On some level I will always love him, but not the way I love you. And I promise I will try very hard to be nicer to Stacey in the future and not to let my imagination run away with me.” She paused. “She’s just so damned pretty and I’m, well, I’m just me.” She flapped a hand at herself indicating the worn jeans, flannel shirt and hair every which way.

  Cale got up, catching her hand and pulling her upright with him. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “Is this stupid fight over? Can we get back to being as normal as we ever are?” He grinned.

  Michelle savoured the strength of his arms around her and buried her face in his neck. “Let’s never fight again, okay?” Cale’s laughter rumbled in her ear and he kissed the top of her head.

  “You’re you and I’m me, I don’t think I can promise we’ll never have another argument. Just promise to never run away from me again. There’s nothing we can’t work out if we just stick together.”

  “Promise.” Michelle kissed the side of his neck and trailed her lips up to his ear.

  “Wench,” He chuckled and swung her up into his arms.

  She giggled and hung on tight as he crossed the room and shouldered the door open. They made it to the bedroom only bouncing off the walls of the narrow hall twice. Cale lowered her to the bed and stretched out beside her not bothering to turn on the light.

  “The dogs need to go out…”

  Cale silenced her with his lips and then lifted his head, eyes gleaming in the dim light from the window. “The dogs can wait until morning. With any luck the damn phone won’t ring with an emergency.”

  “Did you hear from Carrie?” Michelle tried to raise herself on one elbow.

  “Forget the clinic, and the dogs. Concentrate on this.” Cale proceeded to kiss her thoroughly, his hands roaming over her body as he removed her shirt and jeans.

  Crazy Puppy uttered a yelp of protest when the clothing fell off the bed. Michelle giggled and gave herself up to Cale’s love making.

  Chapter Eight

  The truck tires hummed on the pavement and Michelle sang along with the radio. The bright sunlight picking out the jewel green of spring grass exactly matched her mood. Doc was ready to come home and she was only too happy to make the drive to Calgary to collect him and Mary. Harvey was back at the house giving it a good cleaning and replenishing the contents of the fridge and pantry. Stacey was helping when the clinic wasn’t busy. Michelle grinned. She had to give the devil her due, the woman was more than helpful. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet, and not between the woman’s pretty little ears. It would certainly make Cale happy.

  A frown creased her forehead. Although, there was still George to consider. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since he’d been home. Frankly, she’d avoided it like the plague. It was obvious he wasn’t going to make the first move and her pride insisted she shouldn’t either. Damn Wilson stubbornness. That’s what Doc would say, all right. Maybe she’d call her brother once she got Doc and Mary home and settled. Maybe.

  Pushing the problem to the back of her mind, Michelle concentrated on the busy Calgary traffic. She hated Sixteenth Avenue, too many stop lights and way too many cars. Damned cyclists, too. The lanes were not made to accommodate a big pickup and a bike lane too. She gritted her teeth when a cyclist zipped through a cross walk still mounted, while she idled at a red light. Cyclists seemed to think they were exempt from the rules of the road. Shouldn’t tar them all with the same brush, I suppose. There were some responsible ones, it was just the idiots who stuck in her mind.

  Shaking her head, she turned left at Twenty-ninth Street and then into Foothills Medical Centre. She intended to go past the main entrance and find a parking spot in the upper lot. As she passed the main entrance Mary waved her down. Michelle stomped on the brake and wedged the truck into the little layby just past the busy sliding doors. Leaving the vehicle running she jumped out and came around the front of the truck.

  “For the love of God, woman, let me out of this damned chair,” Doc bellowed.

  Mary disregarded him and continued pushing the wheelchair along the sidewalk. She had to skirt the ambulatory patients who crowded the benches along the walkway. Some sneaking a smoke and some just enjoying the spring sunshine.

  “Shut up, old man,” Mary c
hided her husband and ignored his attempts to get his feet on the ground and stand up. “Hello, Chelly. As you can see, the old goat is feeling more like his old self.” Mary came to a halt by the passenger side of the truck.

  “I can see that.” It was all she could do to keep from laughing out loud. “Let’s get you in the back then.” She opened the rear door of the club cab.

  “I ain’t ridin’ in the back like an invalid,” Doc grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You ride where we say, or so help me I’ll leave you right here,” Mary warned her husband.

  “C’mon, Doc. How can Mary and I gossip if she’s not in the front? You know you hate listening to us natter.”

  “Luke,” Mary’s tone brooked no argument.

  “Fine!” He heaved a huge sigh. “Women. I can’t win against the both of you.”

  Doc struggled without success to rise out of the chair. Mary engaged the brake and slipped her hand under his elbow. Michelle did the same on the opposite side. He got upright on unsteady feet.

  “Damned embarrassing when a man can’t even stand up on his own,” he complained.

  “Now, Luke, there’s nobody here to see you. Let’s get you into the truck, shall we? You’ll feel better once you get home,” Mary attempted to sooth her husband.

  Between the two women they got him settled in the truck and Mary tucked a blanket around his legs. “Quit coddling me, for God’s sake.”

  “Humour me, old man.” Mary patted his knee and closed the door.

  Michelle grinned and went around to the driver’s side. She had to wait for a break in the flow of traffic before she could pull out. “Damn, this place is busy. Does it ever slow down?”

  “Not that I’ve seen,” Mary said.

  “Do we need to stop at Emma’s and pick up anything?” Michelle deftly took advantage of a taxi stopping in the lane by the main doors to discharge a passenger, effectively stopping traffic.

  “No, I have it all here.” Mary patted the large bag she had unlooped from the back of the wheelchair and thrown in the truck earlier.

  “Home we go then.” Michelle turned east on Sixteenth Avenue and headed toward the Deerfoot. “Shit, I hate this traffic. I don’t know how people stand this every day.”

  “I guess they just get used to it,” Mary replied. She nodded toward the back seat.

  Michelle took a quick look in the rearview mirror. Doc’s head rested on the side of the door, eyes closed and tiny snores emanating from his slack mouth. “Wish I had time to take a picture of that.” She giggled.

  “Tempting as that is, he’d never forgive us.” Mary grinned.

  Once they were clear of the south end of Calgary, Michelle picked up speed. The two women spent the rest of the drive talking of inconsequential things. As they left the number Two Highway near Aldersyde and took Highway Seven west toward Black Diamond, Michelle caught Mary looking at her with a calculating expression on her face.

  “What’s that look for?”

  “I want to ask you something, but it’s really none of my business.”

  Michelle snorted. “When did that ever stop you before? Ask away. Can’t promise I’ll answer though.”

  “How are things with you and Cale? Did you work out whatever was going on?”

  “I might have known that matchmaking would be the first thing on your mind.” Michelle laughed. “Yes, we talked it out and everything’s fine.”

  “So what happens if Rob sends out an SOS again?” Mary narrowed her eyes.

  “He’s SOL. Kayla can take care of him. I’m done.” She glanced over at her friend. “I mean it, don’t give me that look.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Just stick to your guns.” Mary settled back in her seat and nodded.

  Michelle slowed at the outskirts of the little town of Black Diamond. “Do you want a coffee or anything?”

  Mary glanced toward the back seat where Doc was still sleeping. “No, let’s just keep going and get him home where he belongs.”

  “Works for me.” She turned south on Highway Twenty-two at the centre of town. Once she was clear of the town limits she accelerated. The rolling prairie on either side of the road stretched away to the west where the mountains reared their snowy heads against the bright blue sky. The sight made her heart sing. There was nothing like springtime in Alberta after a long cold winter.

  “Does a body good, doesn’t it?” Mary nodded out her window at the passing vista.

  “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world,” Michelle agreed. The truck rolled down the sloping hill at the north end of Longview. “Home sweet home, here we are.” In minutes she pulled into the lane at the back of the house.

  “Wake up, Luke, we’re home.” Mary turned and laid her hand on her husband’s knee.

  “Whaa…?” Doc’s eyelids fluttered and he wiped a shaky hand across his mouth. “What? Where are we?” He struggled into a more upright position.

  “We’re home, Luke. Just take your time to wake up.” His wife got out of the truck and opened the rear door. “Here, let me move this blanket. Just wait til you’re awake, no sense falling and ending up back at the hospital.”

  Michelle came around the rear of the truck and stopped beside Mary. “What can I do to help?”

  “I heard you were coming. Glad to see you home, you old coot.” Harvey almost ran down the walk from the back door of the clinic. “I thought I saw you go by the clinic a minute a go.”

  “Who you callin’ an old coot, you reprobate?” Doc brightened up at the sight of his old friend and neighbor. “Get out of the way, woman. Let a man have a little room. I can get out of a truck on my own steam, for heaven’s sake.”

  Harvey winked at Michelle and moved to help Doc out of the truck. “C’mon, I’ve got the coffee on and some sandwiches on the table.” He supported Doc under the pretense of putting a neighborly arm around the other man’s shoulders. “It’s decaf,” he mouthed the words to Mary as he passed her.

  “I’m just gonna duck into the clinic and see if Cale is there before I come in.” Michelle squeezed her friend’s arm and headed for the rear door of the clinic. She hesitated before she went it and glanced toward the house. Mary followed Doc and Harvey inside and closed the door. Michelle pushed open the clinic door and entered the meds room.

  “Cale? You here?”

  “I thought I heard the door.” Stacey stuck her head in from the reception area. “Cale’s in surgery.”

  “I just wanted to let him know Doc is home. Will you let him know when he’s done?”

  “Sure. How is Doctor Cassidy?”

  “He’s fine. Or as fine as can be expected, I guess. Do you really call him Doctor Cassidy to his face?” She smothered a giggle.

  Stacey nodded. “I don’t know what else I should call him. I don’t know him well enough to call him Luke or Doc.”

  “Everyone calls him Doc. You’ll give him a big head if you keep calling him Doctor Cassidy.” Michelle grinned.

  “As long as you’re sure he won’t mind.” Stacey tipped her head to one side.

  “Just call him Doc, please. I’m gonna go make sure Mary doesn’t need anything, then I’m headed home.”

  “I think Harvey has everything under control. He’s been like a mouse on a hot brick all day, just waiting for you guys to get back. What a dear man he is.”

  “Yeah, he is a sweetie,” Michelle agreed. “How are you and George making out?”

  A pretty flush spread over the blonde’s face. “It’s good. Everything’s good,” she stammered.

  “Like that, is it?” Michelle grinned.

  “It’s just weird talking about it with his sister.”

  “I could tell you a few stories, but I’ll spare you the gory details for now. See you later.” She left the clinic and cut across the bit of lawn to the back door of the house. She peeked in the window before going in. Harvey and Doc were at the table and Mary was bustling around her kitchen. Everything back to normal. A weight Mi
chelle hadn’t actively been aware of lifted from her shoulders. Thank you, God for not taking him away from me. “Hey, it’s so good to see you home, Doc.” She came into the kitchen.

  “Chelly, come sit down.” Doc waved a hand at an empty chair. “It’s good to be home. Stupid hospitals, a man can’t get a decent night’s sleep what with them rattling and clattering around. I mean, who in their right mind comes into a man’s room at midnight, wakes him up and proceeds to take his vitals?”

  “You’re home now, Luke. Don’t get yourself all upset.” Mary laid a hand on his arm.

  “Hospital ain’t a good place for a sick man. All that pokin’ and proddin’ and them flappin’ night shirts.” Harvey shook his head and took a swig of coffee.

  Mary caught Michelle’s attention and rolled her eyes. She grinned in return and followed Mary over to the sink. “Doc’s in good form, he must be feeling a lot better.”

  “So long as he doesn’t overdo it. I’m going to chase Harv out of here in a minute and see if I can get Luke upstairs to bed for a rest.”

  “On that note I’ll get out your hair.” She raised her voice. “Take it easy, Doc. I got horses to ride and chores to do. I’ll come by tomorrow. See ya, Harvey.” She blew Mary a kiss and left.

  She might as well stop at Pat’s and work Spud and Rain before heading back to the ranch. Coleman rodeo was coming up quick. She’d have to decide if both horses would make the trip or just Spud. Michelle made a mental note to check the website and see if they were offering exhibition runs. Rain wasn’t ready to compete yet, but the experience of being at the event and getting used to the strange arena and the crowds would do her good.

  It took two hours to work both horses and take care of them. She checked their blankets and fed both one last carrot before putting her tack away. No one else was around so Michelle flicked off the arena lights and then the barn lights as she left the building. The moon was just rising and flooded the prairie with muted silver light. A chill wind wound its way through the hills and nipped at her nose. Gratefully, she climbed into the truck, started it and turned the heat on full. Winter wasn’t done with southern Alberta yet, it seemed.