“I gotta go!” Rich had muttered and had quickly disappeared.
Now Samantha closed her eyes, fighting the tears, fighting the throbbing pain. She wasn’t sure which hurt the most. The physical pain as her painkiller wore off, or the heartache she felt at Rich’s regret over their accidental, magical kiss.
The young nurse who’d given her the water earlier came into the room. One look at Sam’s face and she demanded, “What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Why didn’t you call us?”
Sam opened her eyes. “I just moved wrong. That’s all.”
“You’re probably ready for more medication anyway. I’ll check with the doctor.”
As the nurse turned to go, Samantha called out to her. “No! No, I’m going to have visitors. I don’t want to take anything until it’s time to go to sleep.” People were actually coming to see her. She’d never had people visit her when she was sick or injured before.
“I’ll discuss it with the doctor.” Then the nurse disappeared, leaving Samantha alone. With time to think about that kiss…and Rich’s reaction. She knew it had been unintentional. And his expression had told her that he hadn’t enjoyed it. But she had. That was the scary part. It had to be because of the medication. It couldn’t be anything else.
Her door opened and Dr. Jacoby came in.
“I thought doctors didn’t work late,” Samantha said, trying to mask her pain.
“Only when I have a pretty patient, young lady. How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
“Liar.” He reached for her left hand and took her pulse. Then he looked at her eyes. “Why didn’t you want medication?”
“It puts me to sleep. I haven’t eaten dinner and I might have visitors tonight. I’ve never had visitors, doctor. I—I’m excited about that.”
She realized she’d made the doctor feel sorry for her, something she hated, but she had to explain so he wouldn’t medicate her.
“The Randalls are a nice family,” he said. “Let’s make a deal.”
“What?”
“I’ll give you a little medicine that will ease the throbbing if you promise to lie real still. I want you to even let the nurse feed you. Then as soon as your visitors leave, I’ll come give you the rest of your medication.”
“I don’t want to make you work late. Can’t the nurse—”
“I live next door. Besides, I want to see if you enjoyed your visitors. Okay?”
“Thank you, Dr. Jacoby.”
He surprised her by taking her left hand in his and gently squeezing it. She smiled back at him as he left.
“See you in a little while,” the doctor said and closed the door behind him.
Almost immediately the nurse returned with a tiny pill in a small paper cup. She gave it to Samantha and got her some water. “Oh! Doc said I should feed you. Let me go get you a tray. I’ll hurry ’cause I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Samantha wasn’t sure she could eat. At least not until the pill took the edge off her pain.
When the nurse returned Red and Mildred were with her. “I have to feed her, but I’m sure she’d like to visit with you,” the nurse told the older couple.
Mildred smiled. “I can feed her so you can take a break.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind? The doctor doesn’t want her to move at all.”
“I’ll take care of it.” After the nurse left, Mildred kissed her on the cheek. “I hear you’ve been very brave,” she said, cupping Samantha’s cheek.
Samantha tried to shake her head, but Mildred stopped her. “You’re supposed to lie still. Red, you talk to her while I feed her.”
Mildred started opening up the containers. “Oh, look. You get banana pudding for dessert. That’s Red’s favorite.”
“Red, you can have the pudding. I’m not that hungry,” Sam said, not sure she could eat anything.
“Aw, naw. I won’t take your pudding. It’s the best part,” Red protested.
“Aha! She has meat loaf and mashed potatoes and green beans. Here, start off with a bite of meat loaf,” Mildred said, offering Samantha a bite on the fork. For the next fifteen minutes, Mildred slowly fed Samantha her dinner and both she and Red chatted with her.
Samantha had never had such loving care. “You’re both being so sweet. Red, please eat the banana pudding. I can’t eat anymore.”
Red’s face lit up. “If you’re sure…”
Mildred and Samantha shared a smile as Red dug into the banana pudding.
“Hey, who’s eating here?” Jake, the oldest of the Randalls, asked as he and his wife B.J. entered the room.
“The little girl said she’d had too much,” Red immediately assured Jake.
“Red’s helping me out,” Sam said with a big smile. The merriment they all shared almost made Samantha forget her pain.
B.J. presented her with a big box of chocolates and Samantha immediately asked Mildred to pass them around so everyone could share.
“Brett and Anna and Chad and Megan will stop by tomorrow. We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” B.J. told her with a grin. “It’s hard for people to handle all of us at once.”
“Oh, please, that’s not necessary. You’ve all been more than generous.” She hadn’t seen this many Randalls since the meal she shared with all of them that first night she arrived.
Jake leaned over and patted her good hand. “You heard Pete. You’re one of our own. How long will you have to stay here? Pete said you wrenched your shoulder as well as getting cut.”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “At first, the doctor said I could go home in the morning, but now he says I’ll have to stay a second night.”
“One more night won’t be too bad,” B.J. said.
Samantha smiled, saying nothing.
About that time, Pete, Janie and Lavinia returned, along with a couple. At first Samantha’s heart raced, thinking Rich had returned with another woman. But she realized almost at once that it was Russ, not Rich.
“Hi. Um, thank you for coming to visit me,” she said, unsure how she should respond.
“Samantha,” Russ said, stepping forward and pulling the young woman with him, “I want you to meet Abby, my fiancée. We’re getting married in July, on our birthday.”
“Oh, a double celebration. How nice!” She smiled and the conversation picked up again. She hoped no one noticed when she kept watching the door. With so many people in the room, no one would realize she was watching for Rich.
Which was foolish. She didn’t think he would come after that fiasco of a goodbye. But she couldn’t help herself. After all, he had to catch a ride home. He couldn’t drive himself.
Suddenly, Pete said, “Rich had some errands to take care of. He’s meeting us here later.”
She smiled. It felt stiff, but she was sure no one would notice. “Mildred, please offer them some of the chocolates B.J. and Jake brought.”
Pete raised an eyebrow at her. “Chocolates? That was thoughtful,” he agreed with a smile.
Samantha felt her cheeks flush. She knew Pete was remembering her remark about staying with the family that first evening when she tried to leave and he and Rich had come after her. When the box came back to her, Samantha deliberately took a chocolate and bit into it. Pleasure filled her.
First the kiss. Now the chocolate. She was in big trouble.
When it came time for everyone to go, Samantha hated to see the end of the visit. She’d enjoyed it a lot. But the pain was coming back and she was going to be ready for another pill when the doctor returned.
She heard his voice in the hall and gave a sigh.
“What’s this? A convention of Randalls?” the doctor asked as he entered the room.
“Hey, Doc,” Jake said, greeting his old friend. “How’s our patient?”
“Pretty tired, I imagine. I’m going to have to run you all out. She’s promised to take her pill and go to sleep.”
He handed Samantha a large pill and a glass of water. “I’ll send the nurse to help you get settle
d for bed, young lady.”
She nodded dutifully.
All her visitors rose and started filing out, calling good wishes over their shoulders. And Sam couldn’t help but wonder why Rich hadn’t shown up. How was he going to get home?
Pete was the last one out. He stopped by the bed and proved to her that he’d noticed her concern over Rich’s absence. “Don’t worry about Rich. We won’t leave him stranded.”
Samantha nodded and sighed.
RICH NOTICED that his father was frowning when he emerged from the hospital. Leaning against the front fender of his grandmother’s car, Rich greeted his grandmother as she got behind the wheel.
Just as Rich opened the passenger side door Pete called out to him. “Rich! Wait a minute, please. Come ride with me. Janie will ride with Lavinia. We’ll follow them to the ranch.”
Curious, Rich followed his father’s suggestion. He couldn’t help but wonder what his father was up to.
“You staying at your grandmother’s tonight?” Pete asked when they were on the road.
“Yeah, I thought I would. I’m worried she might feel a little afraid.”
“You’re a good boy, Rich.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Now tell me what happened with you and Samantha when you stayed at the hospital after we left.”
Rich sat frozen, staring straight ahead. Finally, he muttered, “Nothing.”
“Son, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t know something happened.”
“It was nothing, Dad.”
Pete remained silent.
Finally, Rich said, “I was on my way out and well, all of you had kissed Sam on the cheek. So I leaned over to kiss her, too, and she turned her head.”
“You mean you kissed her on the lips?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“What did she say?”
“Nothing. I left. How did you know something happened?”
“You weren’t exactly in a happy mood when you got to the restaurant. And when we got back to the hospital, I realized Samantha kept looking at the door, like she expected you to come in.”
They drove along in silence.
Finally Pete said, “I try not to interfere in your social life, son, but I don’t want Samantha upset…or even worse, running away.”
“Hey, she’s not getting ideas from me!” Rich yelled. “Everyone in Rawhide has assumed I’m marrying her. All I did was bring her to town. I made it clear that all I was offering was a ride.”
“Well, make sure everything is clear to Samantha, Rich. She’s had a hard life.”
“Look, I don’t have any problem with Sam hanging around. But I can’t have everyone thinking I’m marrying her.”
“What would it hurt for a little while? You just got back in town.”
“Dad! Look, I’ll move over to Grandma’s. To watch out for her and Samantha. But I’m making sure Sam understands I’m not interested in—in marrying.”
“Don’t hurt her feelings.”
“No, I won’t. But I’ll introduce her around. Tell everyone she’s like my sister,” Rich promised.
Pete noticed some disgust in Rich’s voice. “You think the family is too big as it is? That we don’t have room for one more?”
“Of course not. Russ and I didn’t resent Casey, did we?”
“No. You treated him like a toy. It’s a wonder he survived,” Pete said with a grin.
“Yeah, we did upset Mom a couple of times, didn’t we?” Rich said with a chuckle. “It’s just that I’ll be lying if I say I think of Sam as one of the family.”
“What?” Pete asked, his gaze fixed on his son’s face.
“Well, damn it, Dad, I don’t plan on marrying Sam, but that doesn’t mean I think of her as a sister! She’s—I just don’t have brotherly feelings for her.”
“Yeah.” Pete cleared his throat. “Look, son, I want you to know I’m serious about taking care of Samantha. I don’t want her back on her own. So…be careful, okay?”
With a big sigh, Rich said, “Sure, Dad. I’ll be careful, and I won’t hurt her. But I’m not marrying her. I’m not willing to do that.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that, Rich. Unless you fell for her. She’s a special lady, you know. Reminds me of your mother. She was a tough customer, too. But she has a big heart. I think Samantha does, too.”
“Dad, you said you weren’t matchmaking, remember?”
“I’m not. Are you going into town tomorrow to visit her in the hospital?”
“So the doc is keeping her another night?”
“Appears so.”
“If Grandma wants to go, I’ll go with her, but I can’t drive.”
“I’ll get your mom to come pick you up.”
“Dad—Sam probably doesn’t want to see me. I think I embarrassed her.”
“I’ll tell your mother to call before she comes.”
Rich gave up.
Chapter Ten
Samantha took her shower the next morning and changed into her white robe and gown. The fact that that much activity exhausted her was frightening. She lay down for a few minutes and had breakfast. Then she got out of bed and walked the halls in the small clinic trying to regain her stamina.
After lunch she walked again. There were several elderly ladies without visitors and Samantha hoped she’d brightened up their day by visiting with them. She had just left one room when the nurse caught up with her.
“You’ve got visitors, Samantha. Better head back to your room.”
Samantha was eager to visit with any of the Randalls, but she figured it was Janie or Lavinia. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t be Rich since he’d avoided her last night.
To her surprise, Rich stood by the door and was the first to greet her.
“Afternoon, Sam. We didn’t realize you were mobile.”
“I’m trying to move around. I’m a little weak from just lying in bed,” she told him, restraining from covering herself. The gown and robe combined was opaque, but she was very conscious of not being more formally dressed.
Janie and Lavinia gently hugged her and kissed her cheek. Janie had some beautiful flowers in her hand, and Lavinia had another wrapped package.
“You shouldn’t have brought anything. You gave me my lovely gowns yesterday,” Samantha protested.
Janie put the flowers on her bedside table. “They’re just to cheer you up until you come home tomorrow morning.”
It occurred to Sam that she never used the word home when she found a temporary place to live. What a glorious word that was: home.
“And this reminded me of you,” Lavinia said with a smile, handing over the present.
Sam opened the box to find a bottle of cologne. She hoped it wasn’t one of those heavy, musk-ridden scents. But she should’ve known better. Lavinia had chosen a clean sunshiny scent that lifted Sam’s spirits the moment she smelled it. “Oh, I love this!” She sprayed a little behind her ears and on her wrists. “Smell!” she ordered, extending her wrist to Janie.
Janie sniffed and praised her mother’s choice. Then she insisted Rich smell. Samantha wanted to draw back her wrist, but she couldn’t without being rude. Rich took her hand in his and bent closer to sniff her wrist.
Abruptly, he dropped her hand. “Very nice,” he said and moved back to lean against the wall, as far away as he could get from Samantha.
Sam chatted with the two ladies, ignoring Rich as he ignored her. It was obvious he hadn’t been given a choice about coming. When she mentioned the two ladies she’d been visiting, Lavinia and Janie decided to say hello to them. They ordered Rich to keep her company until they got back.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Finally, Rich pushed away from the wall and said, “We’ve got to talk.”
Samantha tried to square her shoulders, sure he was going to ask her to leave because she’d made him uncomfortable after last night. It was his home, after all. But her right shoulder was still painful. She sank against the pillows. �
��Of course. I can be on my way day after tomorrow.”
“No!” he roared, taking her by surprise.
“You don’t want me to leave?”
“I don’t have anything to do with your decision. But Dad wants you to stay. He’s afraid I hurt your feelings last night when I—I didn’t intend to kiss you. You turned your head and—it was an accident.”
“I know.” She kept her voice calm. But the question running over and over again in her head was I can stay?
“You do?”
“Of course.” She raised her chin a little and issued a brittle laugh, hoping Rich didn’t notice. “The look of horror on your face made it obvious.”
“I didn’t mean— We’re causing a lot of gossip.”
He sounded grim and Samantha wondered what people were saying.
He didn’t wait for her to ask. “They’re saying we’re getting married. But you remember I made it clear that wasn’t in the cards, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. I wanted to make sure you didn’t expect me to marry you. Not that there’s anything wrong with you. But I’m not the marrying kind.”
“All right.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“What did you expect me to say? Cry and plead for you to marry me? I never stay where I’m not wanted.”
“Just because I’m not interested in marriage doesn’t mean you should go!” he hurriedly said. “Dad and Mom want you to stay. Grandma would be devastated if you left. I don’t care if you stay. As long as you don’t expect me to—uh—”
“Marry me,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“No problem. If you don’t mind, then, I’ll stay at least until I’m stronger.”
“Good,” he said, relief on his face. “So, I’ll be busy, working on the ranch, and you’ll be in the house with Grandma. We won’t see much of each other and—and the rumors will die out.”
“Right.” She held on to her emotions, though she admitted to herself it depressed her that he wanted to avoid her. Unconsciously she lifted her wrist to her face and sniffed the perfume again. Maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to stay a while. She was noticing a partiality for Rich that was growing. Her eyes widened as she realized it was possible she was coming to care for him.
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