“Mrs. Walley, I’m moving out today. Since I’m paid until the end of the month, you’ll have some time to find another renter without losing money.”
“Oh, dear, no! I’ve so enjoyed your being here. Must you go?”
“Yes, I must.”
“What shall I tell that young man? Or will you talk to him?”
“No, I won’t. Tell him I’ve gone to California.” She gave the woman a brief hug and entered the place she’d called home for a little over a month. After checking out the window to make sure Brad hadn’t come back, she took a quick shower and washed her hair.
Packing took about ten minutes. All her belongings fit in a duffel bag. She had to be ruthless with herself about what she kept. She couldn’t afford to weight herself down with sentimental junk. A couple of changes of clothes, her toiletries, one towel. She used a spare T-shirt as her nightgown. Wearing her only pair of shoes, some athletic lace-ups, completed her sparse wardrobe.
She slipped out without talking to Mrs. Walley again and headed for the hospital. She suspected the cowboy was going to be annoyed that she hadn’t stopped by first thing this morning. It had just been more convenient to pick up her belongings first. And she had to wait for Brad to give up.
It tickled her to drive by The Hot Skillet without Brad having any idea she was out there. The man was a bully. She felt sorry for the other waitresses who worked there and so very relieved she was no longer one of them.
THE PAIN greeted him as he swam to consciousness. Rich opened his eyes and recognized his hospital surroundings. He remembered his hardheadedness, his refusal to admit he was hurt to his so-called friends. The waitress who’d taken pity on him.
He looked around the room as if he expected her to be sitting beside the bed. Then he berated himself for such silliness. If his mother knew of his condition, she’d be here. She was the best. And his dad would chew him out, then give him a big hug. His twin, Russ…Rich’s eyes filled with tears. Damn, he missed Russ. He even missed his baby brother, Casey.
He wanted to go home. Even if he wasn’t returning as the conquering hero, as he’d imagined, he wanted to go home. As soon as the doctor released him, that’s what he would do.
The nurse brought in his breakfast, giving him a cheerful greeting. She was young and pretty and he flirted with her. But he kept calculating how long it would be before the doctor checked on him…and how long it would be before the waitress came back.
“Anybody here to see me?” he asked as the nurse prepared to leave.
“I don’t think so. Do you want me to check?”
“Yes, please. I’m expecting a lady, tall, willowy brunette.”
The pretty little nurse looked disappointed, giving his ego a lift. “I’ll ask,” she said and turned to leave.
“Say,” Rich said, stopping her again. “When will the doctor be by? I need to get out of here.”
“In about an hour,” she replied as she walked out of his room.
Almost to the minute she’d predicted, the doctor examined him and promised to put him in a cast that evening so he could leave the next morning. But he told him he couldn’t drive for a month, even though he’d put him in a walking cast up to his knee.
Rich was devastated by that news. There was no way he was going to stay in Flagstaff for a month. Maybe he’d get the waitress to call home and get someone to fly down and drive him back. They’d have to come soon. His horse was stabled at the rodeo grounds, but they’d be closing the place tomorrow.
He spent the next three hours trying to plan a scenario that would get him home, get his animal taken care of and…with growing worries, figuring out what had happened to the waitress and his truck.
Just before they served lunch, the woman he’d become increasingly annoyed with finally walked into his room.
“Where the hell have you been!” he yelled.
Chapter Two
“Sorry I’m late,” the waitress said, seemingly unconcerned about his frustration.
“Where have you been?”
“Packing my belongings,” she replied, moving closer to his hospital bed.
“Just like a woman,” he said in disgust. “I’m lying here in pain and she’s packing a huge wardrobe!”
She ignored his remark. “Has the doctor been to see you? What did he say?”
“He said I get out tomorrow. They’ll put the cast on this evening, a walking cast.”
“Great! You’ll be all set, then.”
“Not exactly. He said I can’t drive for a month.”
She seemed taken aback, which made him feel better. “What are you going to do?”
“Well, I’ve had plenty of time to work things out, since it took you so long to—what do you mean pack? Where do you think you’re going?” He liked her. He appreciated what she’d done for him, but he hadn’t expected her to pack her belongings and follow him home. What did she think she was doing?
She grinned. “Don’t panic. My packing has nothing to do with you. I’m out of a job and—”
“Can’t you find something around here?”
She raised one eyebrow. “I could.”
“Then you wouldn’t have to move,” he pointed out.
“Thanks for the advice. Now tell me what you decided and where you want me to leave the truck.”
“I need you to do a couple of other things for me if you don’t mind. Can you go to the rodeo grounds and take care of my horse?”
“Your horse? You have a horse here with you?”
“Yeah.” Why did she sound so surprised?
“You don’t need a horse to do bull riding.”
“I also do calf roping and team steer wrestling.”
“Oh. Well, what do you want me to do with your horse? Do you mean clean out his stall and feed him? I can do that.”
“I’m not asking you to do that kind of work. Check and see if Gabe Randall has left yet. If he hasn’t moved on with the rodeo, get him to take care of Bella.”
“Bella?”
“My horse.”
“And if he’s gone?”
“I’ll give you some money to pay for someone to take care of her.”
“Okay. For how long?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to call home collect and explain. Explain what happened and ask someone to fly down here and drive me home.”
“Where’s home?” she asked, curiosity on her face.
“Rawhide, Wyoming.”
He frowned when she didn’t respond. She seemed to be concentrating, causing him to ask, “What?”
“Is Rawhide big enough to have some restaurants, a diner or something?”
“Sure. It’s got just about everything…on a small scale.”
“Then I’ll drive you home, save you the cost of airfare.”
Rich was suddenly uncomfortable. “Look, I appreciate the help, but I’m not offering— I just met you.”
She stiffened. “All I offered was my driving ability, cowboy. Nothing else. Forget it. Where do I leave your truck after I see about your horse. At the rodeo? Is there someone I can leave the keys with?” She took several steps toward the door as she waited for his answer.
“Wait a minute! Don’t leave yet.” He didn’t want her to leave. Had he made a mistake? The women who followed the rodeo, called buckle bunnies, took a little compliment and magnified it into a proposal or marriage if a man wasn’t careful.
“Shall I wait until after you call so I can make arrangements for your horse?” She waited, but she didn’t smile. She didn’t look friendly, either. She looked more like she had last night when she thought he was conning her.
“Why would you want to drive to Wyoming?”
“I don’t,” she snapped, taking another step toward the door.
“Look, some of the women around here seem to think that if a guy pays any attention to her, he’s offering something long-term. I didn’t want to give you the wrong idea. I’ll give you some money to carry you ’til you get a new job. I know
I owe you that much, but—”
She fished the keys out of her pocket and said, “I’ll go get my bag out of the truck and then leave the keys at the desk in the emergency room. Good luck!”
She headed for the door.
“Wait!” he ordered, but he wasn’t really surprised when she kept going. He tried to swing his legs to the floor and fell with a cry.
She stopped and looked at him. Then she moved toward him. He smiled at her, expecting her help to get back into bed. His ankle hurt, but at least he’d stopped her from leaving. Instead, she punched the button for the nurse.
“Yes? How may I help you?” A voice came through the intercom.
“Mr. Randall has fallen out of bed,” she said calmly.
Almost immediately two nurses reached the door. They rushed to his side. He watched the waitress move to the door again. “Please, don’t leave! Make her stop, nurse!” he pleaded.
“Ma’am, please wait. Surely you don’t want to upset the patient.”
After staring at first the patient and then the nurse, she gave the conventional answer, “Of course not,” but he noted the complete lack of concern in her voice.
“Now, Mr. Randall, don’t try to get up again or the doctor won’t release you in the morning,” the nurse warned after they had him settled.
When they left the room, he asked the waitress, “Why would you be willing to drive me all the way to Wyoming?”
“Because I need to get away from here and it would save me the cost of a bus ticket.”
Her simple explanation raised a few questions. “Why do you need to get away?”
“None of your business.”
“It is if you’ve broken the law.”
“Well, duh, if I’m a criminal, you don’t want me to drive you anyway.” She moved closer to the door again.
“Wait! Look, it would help me a lot if you’d drive me. I just didn’t want—I mean—”
“I’m not expecting a wedding ring in exchange for two or three days’ driving.”
He drew a deep breath. “Okay, then I won’t need to call my family. I’ll call them when I get out of this place. But my horse… Hopefully Gabe will be there.”
“Who is he? Family?”
“Yeah, kind of a second cousin.”
“Why doesn’t he drive you home?”
“Because he’s on the hunt for the National Championship. He can’t afford to miss a single rodeo. But he’ll be glad to help with Bella if he’s still in town.”
“Fine. Is Bella hard to load?”
“No, but whoever you get to take care of her can load her for you, and hook up the trailer. Hand me my billfold, please. It’s in that drawer,” he said, waving her in the direction of the bedside table.
She opened the drawer and took out a leather wallet, then handed it to him.
He pulled out three one-hundred-dollar bills. Holding them out to her, he said, “You should be able to hire someone for a hundred, but if you need to pay more, you’ll have it. Before you hitch the trailer up, fill up the gas tank. You might get us some drinks for the trip, too.”
She stood there staring at the money. “Are you crazy?” she finally asked.
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t hand over that much money to a stranger,” she said, as if speaking to a child.
“You’ll need it.”
“I don’t think so.”
Frustration filled him. “Just take the damn money. And tell me your name.”
“Samantha Jeffers,” she said slowly.
“My name is Rich Randall,” he replied, handing her the bills.
She took the money, folded it and slipped it into the pocket of her tight jeans. “I’ll return what I don’t spend.”
“Fine. I should be ready to go by eight o’clock. You can make that, can’t you? Since you’ve already packed.” He regretted his sarcasm as soon as it left his lips. He needed her. It wouldn’t be wise to insult her.
“I’ll be here.” Without another word, she left.
Rich leaned back against the pillow, feeling as if he’d just fought a battle. The woman was difficult. And he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.
GABE RANDALL WAS saying his goodbyes when Sam reached the rodeo grounds. She explained what had happened to Rich, and Gabe offered to stay an extra day to help him out.
She refused his generosity, explaining that Rich had told her that Gabe didn’t have any spare time. She asked him to show her the feed and where to get water, and she’d take care of everything else.
Gabe did more than that. He showed her everything that would need to be done, and he introduced her to several men who worked at the barn. They agreed to help her the next morning.
“You’ve been very kind,” Sam said, shaking Gabe’s hand.
“Are you and Rich, uh, together?”
“No. I’m just helping him out.”
“Well, Rich is a lucky man.”
Sam figured she would be the one everyone would think lucky, if their engagement were real. The cowboy, like his cousin Gabe, was a handsome man.
“Do you have everything you need?” Gabe asked, seemingly reluctant to abandon her.
“Thanks to you, I do,” she assured him.
“Well, I hope I’ll see you again. I’ll be stopping by Rawhide after the Nationals. Will you be there?”
“Maybe,” she said with a grin.
“If Rich is as smart as I think he is, then I will be seeing you again. Tell Rich I hope he heals quickly.”
With a frown, Sam asked, “Will he come back to the rodeo then?”
“Maybe. But I don’t think so. I don’t think his heart is in it.” Then he shook her hand and walked away.
After Gabe left, Sam examined the trailer, hoping it was one of those that had a bed and storage at the front end. But no such luck. However, she could stay in the cab of the truck again, as she had last night. And the rodeo offered bathing facilities for the cowboys who stayed in trucks and trailers.
She made a run to a grocery store and bought some drinks and snack food. She also paid for a cheap blanket. It got cool at night in Flagstaff. But she knew it got downright cold in Wyoming. Then she drove to a gas station and filled the truck. When she returned to the rodeo grounds, she visited Bella. She’d been around horses a lot when she was little. Her father had made a little money following the rodeo and she’d cleaned stables alongside him.
Bella, she decided, was much sweeter than her owner. Sam and the mare became friends in the shadows as the light faded. Then she returned to the truck. With her new blanket, she settled down for the night.
RICH FOUND HIMSELF looking forward to Sam’s return. Or did she prefer to be called Samantha? He seemed to remember the café cook calling her Sam, but Rich didn’t think she liked the man too much. Maybe he’d ask her.
He was feeling much more congenial toward the waitress this morning because everything had been worked out. He was leaving the hospital. It wasn’t a bad hospital, but he wanted out. He would be mobile again with his walking cast. And, most important of all, he was going home.
They brought in breakfast at seven. Rich enjoyed the scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausage. He figured it would save them a stop until lunch. If they pushed it, they might reach Rawhide late tomorrow. If they needed more time, they could pull in the next day at a reasonable time. It depended on what the driver could handle.
He was just finishing breakfast when Sam walked in. “You’re early,” he exclaimed.
“I thought you might be anxious.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am.” He punched the nurse’s button. “Hey, I’m ready to go. What do I have to do?”
“The doctor will be there soon,” the disembodied voice assured him.
He scowled at Sam. “Did everything go all right?”
“Yes.”
“Gabe took care of everything?”
“Yes,” she repeated, smiling but reserved.
“You’re not
a big talker, are you?”
“No.”
He stared at her, wondering if she was normally so taciturn. She’d seemed friendly enough the night she’d brought him to the hospital. Since then, they’d been at odds most of the time.
“Did you get breakfast?”
This time she nodded, just as the nurse came in to collect the breakfast tray. “Doctor just came on the floor, so he’ll be here any time now.”
Rich thanked her. After she left, he got up to visit the bathroom.
“Can you make it?” she asked, taking a step forward.
“Yeah. I’ll be right out.”
The nurses had slit the right leg on his jeans, which made it easy to get them on. He’d have to see if his mom could sew the seam again when he got the cast off since these were his favorite pair of jeans.
He came out of the bathroom just as the doctor entered the room. “Hey, Doc, I’m ready to go.”
“I can tell. Good thing your fiancée is here to drive you.”
Rich came to an abrupt halt, staring at Sam. She gave him a cool stare, not bothering to explain. “Uh, yeah.”
“You remember you’re not to drive for four weeks,” the doctor reminded him.
He gave a nod but said nothing, still watching Sam.
The doctor turned to Sam, too, and handed her a small bottle of pills. “These are pain pills. He’s going to suffer some before things get better. Be careful with these, they’re pretty strong. Don’t overdo them.”
“No, I won’t.”
“I should be in charge of those,” Rich protested, holding out his hand.
Sam slipped the bottle into her purse. “Is there anything else, Doctor?” she asked, ignoring Rich.
“Yeah. He’ll be more comfortable if his leg is elevated. And he should see his own doctor when he gets home.”
“Of course. I’ll remind him,” she said and gave the doctor a smile that lit up her face. Rich hadn’t gotten that kind of smile.
“That’s it, then,” the doctor said. He held out a hand to Sam and, in Rich’s mind, held it too long. Then he shook Rich’s hand. “Good luck.”
Sam didn’t move until the doctor had gone. “Ready? I’ll get your jacket.”
Randall Riches Page 2