“Ages ago I looked in some of her velvet pouches and found the stone you’re wearing. It’s large, four carats, and exactly the color of your eyes. I had her mount it in white gold because I fell in love with your eyes along with everything else about you. The sapphires come in many colors. When you meet my three sisters-in-law, you’ll see they each wear a sapphire engagement ring that matches their eyes.”
“I can’t wait to look at them and get acquainted with your whole family!”
“They’re all going to love you.”
“Is this really happening to me, or am I dreaming because of the medication?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been taking painkillers too, but it all seemed real to me when I kissed you just now. What do you think?”
“I think I’m so in love, I’m delirious,” she said as her brother came in the door.
“Whoops. I guess I’m interrupting something.”
“No—” she called to Mills. “Toly and I have something important to tell you. Come on in.”
His eyes took in the roses on the hospital tray table. “I guess you do. I take it the latest vase of roses is from you, Toly.”
She blinked. “What roses?”
“These.” Her brother picked up the vase and brought it over to the bed so Nikki could see them.
A gasp escaped her lips. “Oh, Toly—how gorgeous!”
“These Spanish roses are the same color as the embroidery on that black jacket you wore to dinner with me last week. You were stunning.”
That was a magical night. She tore her eyes from Toly to look at her brother. “Tonight he asked me to marry him. Look at the engagement ring he gave me. It’s a gray sapphire from his mother’s sapphire shop on the ranch.”
Mills looked closer. “Wow. Broken legs and engagement rings all in one night have left me spinning.”
“Me too. Can I have a hug?”
Her brother went around the other side of the bed and gave her one. She could tell Mills was having a rough time taking it all in. “So, who are the daisies from?” he whispered.
She sucked in her breath. “I have no idea,” she lied, “but right now I’m too happy to worry about anything. Thank you for being here for me, Mills. I love you.”
“I love you too. If this makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“Goodness!” sounded an unfamiliar voice. The nurse had just walked in. “It’s the middle of the night. You gentlemen will have to leave.”
Toly leaned over to give her one more kiss. “Get some sleep. We’ll see you tomorrow after we get in some practice. Then we can stay with you until we have to drive over to the center. How does that sound, sweetheart?”
Sweetheart. He’d never called her that before. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Good night.” Mills kissed her cheek. She watched them leave the room, still incredulous that she wasn’t dreaming.
“Well,” the nurse said after checking her vital signs. “What’s been going on here?”
“The man I love proposed to me tonight. He gave me this sapphire ring.”
The nurse took hold of her hand. “How absolutely beautiful. You’re a lucky woman to be engaged to that gorgeous blond hunk. Some women have all the luck. Kind of makes you forget your broken leg, right?”
Yes. She’d forgotten everything the moment Toly had told her he loved her and wanted to marry her.
“Get your sleep now.”
“I will. Thank you.”
* * *
“NIKKI?”
Wednesday morning she looked up from the bed. “Denise—I’m so thrilled you’re here. The doctor just left and they took out my IV. Now we’ve got time to talk before the guys come to the hospital.”
Denise ran over and hugged her. “Let me see your ring.”
She held out her hand and her friend squealed. “Toly was right. It matches your eyes. When I saw your accident, I never dreamed I’d see you looking this happy, Mrs. Clayton-to-be.”
“Mrs. Clayton. To be his wife is the greatest wish of my life. I’m so happy, it’s hard to contain. Forgive me for talking about myself. Thanks again for the beautiful daisies, Denise. Yours were the first flowers I received.”
“I’m glad you liked them.” She wandered over to the pink roses. “Who sent these?”
“Mills. They were delivered early this morning.”
Her eyes grew misty. “How lovely.” She kept moving. “There’s no question who the red roses are from.”
“No.”
Denise picked up the straw cowboy hat. “What a wonderful gift to remember being in the rodeo. You’ll treasure this forever.”
“I know I will.”
Finally, Denise pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. “Will you be released later to go back to the hotel? I’ll drive you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but no. The doctor is keeping me in the hospital until tomorrow so the therapist can work with me and my new crutches. It’s probably for the best. Mills will be spared a night of fussing about me since the guys have another event tonight. I’m glad they won’t be worrying about me.
“Besides, I’m such a klutz. The doctor joked that they put a cast on their patients and then send them home where a lot more damage is done by falling because they can’t manage their crutches.”
Her friend laughed and nodded. “That would be me for sure.”
Nikki heard the sadness in her voice. “Denise? I’ve given everything a lot of thought and I think you should let Mills know you’re here. He’s so unhappy it breaks my heart.”
“I’m afraid it will upset him too much.”
“I disagree. So much has happened in the last twelve hours, I think to see you again would be the kind of relief he needs. Toly and I have each other. Now that he’s asked me to marry him, I’m sure Mills is feeling more isolated than ever, emotionally.”
“You don’t know how worried I am about making everything worse.”
“But how much worse can it be since you’re not together now? Why not stay right here with me? I’ll be getting a call from them soon. When I know the time they’re coming, you can go down to the cafeteria. As soon as Mills walks in, I’ll tell him you’ve come and are waiting for him. He can make up his own mind if he wants to talk to you or not. But nothing’s going to happen if you don’t make the first move.”
“You’re right. I’ll think about it.”
But not two minutes after she’d said those words, they heard a tap on the door. “Nikki?”
Her brother’s voice. He hadn’t phoned. “You’re here!”
“Yep.” He walked in her room without Toly.
Denise jumped up from the chair, white-faced. “Mills—”
The look on his face was a study in pure shock. “I don’t believe it.” But Nikki saw no anger, for which she was grateful. By now he had to realize the daisies were from Denise.
“I—I’ve been in Las Vegas since the eighth so I could watch your events.” Her voice faltered. “I told Nikki I came so I could talk to you. At first I thought it would be better if I waited until Finals were over. But we’ve been talking and I decided to be here when you came in. Would you be willing to come to my hotel? I’m staying at the Mirage. We can talk there in private.”
Mills’s face was masklike. “Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s a matter of life and death.”
Whoa. Did you hear that, brother dear?
The love in her fabulous brown eyes would melt any man on the spot. But not Mills. Maybe too much damage had been done. When he didn’t say anything, Denise suddenly rushed out of the room.
Nikki girded up her courage. “Are you honestly going to let her go before you find out what she wanted? It took guts for her to come to Las Vegas, let alone face y
ou.”
He stood there with his hands on his hips. “What has she told you?”
“Everything.” There was no point in lying.
“What is it about you?” he almost hissed the question.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“My own partner went to you about his neuropathy, not to me. The woman I wanted to marry broke it off, and now she shows up here to talk to you about it.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Mills. With the national championship at stake, if you’d been the one diagnosed with that condition, you would have done everything in your power to hide it from Toly in order not to let him down. As for Denise, she’s in love with you. Always has been.”
“How can you say that?”
“If you’ll give her time to explain, you’ll get answers to all your questions. Before you throw away your chance for a lifetime of happiness, just remember one thing. You never told her you were in love with her, that you wanted a future with her. A man can assume all he wants, but a woman needs to hear those words.”
She paused, then said, “I was around Toly for a whole year, but I had to wait until tonight, after getting a broken leg no less, to hear them from Toly’s lips for the first time.”
His dark brows met in a frown. “Come on, Nikki. It was written all over him from the beginning.”
“Really? I was hard-pressed to believe that after you warned me a year ago against Toly who was the ladies’ man on the circuit and left broken hearts all over the country. For months I feared he was trying to charm me like he did the other cowgirls in his life. Amanda Fleming was a case in point.”
She watched him swallow hard. Good. Maybe she was getting to him. “Have you seen Toly this morning?”
“I drove him to the center so he could pick up your rental car and use it. He’s doing a few practice throws on the dummy before he comes. How soon are you being released? I’m here to take you back to the hotel.”
“I can’t go until tomorrow.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No. I have an appointment with the therapist to show me how to use crutches. The doctor will release me tomorrow morning. I’ll have to watch tonight’s event on TV. Do you want to stay and have lunch with me? I can ask them to bring you a tray.”
“Do you want company?”
Well, well, well. That question was a dead giveaway. If Denise hadn’t been the first sight he saw when he walked in, he would have sat down with Nikki and started a game of cards with her that would have lasted for hours.
“To be honest, I want to sleep. I didn’t get enough last night. But thank you for offering to stay with me.”
“If you’re sure.”
She yawned. “I’m positive.”
“Then I’ll be back later.”
Want to bet? “Love you.”
The second he left the room, she reached for her phone and called Toly. It was pure heaven to have the right. He picked up on the second ring. “Sweetheart?”
Heart attack. “How are you?”
“I woke up to a day like no other. I’m coming to get my fiancée and make you comfortable in my rig for the duration.”
She couldn’t stop smiling. “Mills was just here and offered to drive me to the hotel, but I can’t leave until tomorrow. The therapist is going to help me learn how to walk with crutches.”
A moan of protest escaped. “I’m so disappointed, but it’s probably the best idea.”
“I’m sure it is, but I’d rather be with you and never let you out of my sight.”
“Amen. I love you, Nikki. I still can’t believe you’re going to marry me. We have a lot of plans to make.”
“I know. I can’t wait.”
“How do you think Mills is taking the news?”
“I haven’t had a chance to find out yet.”
“Why?”
“When he walked in this morning, Denise was here.”
“Dare I ask how that went?”
“She asked him to go to her hotel so they could talk.” In the next breath, she told Toly about Mills’s reaction. “He left just now instead of staying with me. We both know where he has gone. It’s anyone’s guess what will happen.”
“Thank heaven she’s come at last. He’s been needing this in the worst way.”
“I know. Denise was afraid it would throw him off his stride, but she loves him and knew it was time to tell him the truth.”
“I guess we’ll find out how things went if he shows up at the center tonight.”
“He’ll be there. But in what condition we can only guess.”
“I’m putting my money on Denise getting through to him.”
“So am I!” she cried. “How long will it take you to get here?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Hurry.”
“Sweetheart, before we hang up I need to talk to you about something.”
Nikki’s heart was listening. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the arena from here on out.”
“No one knows, Toly. My accident taught me it’s all a risk.”
“Your spirit has taught me you’re a champion’s champion. But if it looks like Mills and I won’t come out on top, it’s him I’m worried about. I’ve never told you, but I’ve learned to love him like a brother.”
With that admission, Nikki broke down sobbing quietly.
“Sweetheart?”
She cleared her throat. “He loves you too. I once told you that he worshipped you as a mentor. But over this last year I’ve seen that you’ve become like a brother to him and he hasn’t wanted to share you with me. It’s very sweet, really.”
“Nikki...thank you for telling me that. I’ll be there soon. We’ll get my mother on the phone and give her our news. I’m her baby boy, the one she has worried about the most. I have a feeling our engagement isn’t going to come as a surprise, not when I’ve spent every moment I could to be near you. She’ll be overjoyed.”
That was the word all right.
“See you in a minute.”
* * *
TOLY LEFT THE hospital early after eating dinner with Nikki. Their call to his mother couldn’t have come at a better time for his fiancée who needed the love of her parents. His mother welcomed her to the Clayton family with tears in her voice. Nikki’s reaction had him leaving for the center walking on air.
Andy had saddled and bridled Snapper for him. “Have you seen Mills?”
“Not yet. Santos has Dusty ready for him.”
He nodded. “I’m going to take Snapper for a walk. When Mills gets here, tell him I’ll meet him near the boxes.”
“Sure. How’s Nikki? Her horses are missing her.”
“Don’t we know it. She’s coming along just great. Do you want to hear a piece of news before anyone else tells you?”
“Of course.”
“I asked Nikki to marry me. You and Santos will be invited to the wedding.”
“Hallelujah! You’re one lucky dude.” Andy threw his arms around him, giving him a bear hug. Pain shot through Toly’s upper right arm and shoulder, reminding him of his mortal weakness. Fortunately, he would be roping with his left arm tonight.
Toly pulled out a Pony Pop to feed Snapper. The memory of Nikki tossing him one that time in the barn came to mind. So much had happened in the last week, he was reeling.
When his horse had chomped it down, he mounted him and started walking him through the various contestants getting ready for their events. He was proud and thrilled to have made it this far, but whatever results transpired in the next few nights, he had the prize he wanted above all else. Nikki would be his forever. Beside her, any award or honor faded into insignificance.
The fi
nalists for the team roping were starting to gather. In a minute he saw his partner ride toward him, filling him with relief. “Here we go again.”
Toly couldn’t tell from his demeanor how it had gone with Denise. “I’ll try to do my best, Mills.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Right now there was no way to say things right. They got in line. “I guess you told the crew you’re getting married.”
“Andy wanted to know how Nikki was getting along and it just came out. We called my mother and told her before I left the hospital. But I’ve made a big mistake I’d like to apologize for.”
“What’s that?”
“I should have asked your permission before I proposed to her.”
“That’s bull. I’m not her father.”
“No. But you are her beloved brother. Last night when I saw her lying in that hospital bed with her leg in the cast, I lost it and everything came out.”
The line started to move. Their turn was coming up fast.
“I have no right to complain when that proposal turned her life around last night.”
His heart was heavy. “Mills—”
“We’re up!”
Their names had been announced over the loudspeaker. Again Toly faced the box, this time with Nikki’s declared love buoying him up. But his body could only do so much. For Mills’s sake, he prayed there was another win in him. He glanced at his partner, then called for the steer.
No matter how many times he chased it, the experience was never the same. Tonight he used a Spanish flash loop and pulled a half head, which meant one horn and the nose. It was still legal, but not pretty. Good old Mills tied up the hind legs with expertise and they rode out of there.
The score to beat was 4.3. Toly matched it, but it was far from perfection. Mills came in at 4.4. The crowd went wild because they’d maintained their average. Somebody upstairs was still listening.
He rode back to the stalls. Mills wasn’t far behind. But after he’d dismounted, he saw that his partner had disappeared, cheating him out of the chance to praise him.
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