Cruz curbed the impulse to drag on his clothes and go looking for her. Maybe she needed time. Maybe they both did. He fell back in bed, folded his hands beneath his head, and stared up at the beams in the ceiling. Thinking.
Last night had been a revelation as to the extent of his feelings. He and Savannah had made love several times, each a little slower than the last, a little more tender than the last. And finally he’d realized that no matter how many times he made love with Savannah, he was never going to get his fill of her.
That was the greatest realization of all—that he would always continue wanting her. It shook him down to the core of his being, but Cruz was determined to come to terms with this and find a place for it in his life.
He’d never thought he’d ever care for just one woman.
He’d never thought he’d care at all.
So for now, he gave her her space. And sought his own.
Anxious, excited, Savannah rapped softly on Dallas’s door, then listened for some sound of movement on the other side. It took everything she had not to just go bursting in the moment she arrived back at the house. But she wanted Dallas to give her a positive answer on her proposition from last night. And being woken up at a fairly early hour the day after Thanksgiving by a wide-eyed madwoman wasn’t conducive to the kind of answer she was hoping for.
She’d been unable to sleep after Cruz had drifted off at her side. The hours had ticked away as her brain feverishly made plans. Wonderful plans. Plans for Cruz—because with all her heart, she wanted him to be happy. And if he was happy, maybe then there would be a place for her in his life.
Eventually, she couldn’t remain lying still any longer. So she’d gotten dressed and quietly slipped out of the cabin, taking care not to wake him.
Because they’d ridden his horse there, she had had to borrow Hellfire to get back. But she hadn’t left Cruz stranded. There was an old Jeep parked behind the cabin that he occasionally used to get around when he wanted to spare his horse, or when he was going into town. She had a feeling that he didn’t exactly like lending out his horse, but she couldn’t wait until he was awake. She wanted to find out if Dallas had an answer.
The right answer.
“C’mon in, the door’s open.”
When she slowly turned the knob and ventured into the huge suite, she found that Dallas was already up and dressed. Good, she wouldn’t have to talk to a half-sleeping man, apologizing for barging in while she tried to convince him to agree to her plan.
Dallas grinned when he saw Savannah. He gestured over to the plush cream-colored leather sofa against one wall. “I had a hunch I’d be seeing you. Have a seat and let’s talk.”
Savannah crossed her fingers.
Patience was something Cruz had never completely gotten the hang of. Even though he could exercise it when he was training a horse, when it came to people, the same talent eluded him.
Standing in the small corral, he looked up at the main house. He had work to do, but he couldn’t keep his mind on it. He’d found his horse in the stable. Why she’d ridden back alone instead of waking him up to take her back was beyond him.
He tried not to think about the possible reasons.
Though he attempted to block it, he had this overwhelming desire just to see her. He’d give her space if that was what she wanted. He wouldn’t crowd her about marrying him. Maybe for the time being, it was even better this way.
But he wanted to see her. Just see her, nothing more. She was like a fever of the blood, and the only cure seemed to be further exposure.
He gave up pretending he could get any work done this morning. Taking the lariat from about the horse’s neck, he murmured, “Wait here,” then swung over the railing to the other side.
He ignored the curious looks of the other wranglers in the immediate area and headed toward the back entrance of the main house. Coming in through the unlocked door, he went to Savannah’s office first. “Why did you leave so quickly—”
The question was posed to an empty room.
Curious, and a little worried because he knew how dedicated she was to her work, he headed upstairs to her room. Was she sick? he wondered. Had he been too rough with her, after all?
Biting off a curse at his own thoughtlessness, Cruz took the stairs two at a time, hurrying up the wide staircase. He reached the landing in time to see Savannah coming out into the hall.
Out of Dallas’s room.
Cruz froze, watching. She looked radiant.
Backing out of the room, Savannah hardly knew what to say to express her gratitude. They were friends, but that didn’t mean Dallas owed her anything. “I can’t begin to tell you how very grateful I am.”
Dallas laughed. “I’m the one who should be thanking you for this unexpected opportunity.” He touched her face. “Tell Cruz he’s a very lucky man.”
As if anyone could tell Cruz anything. “I don’t think he’d feel—” She stopped abruptly, feeling someone else’s presence in the hall. And then she saw him, saw the dark anger in his face. Was something wrong? “Cruz, what are you doing here—?”
His throat had tightened so hard that he could barely speak. The taste of bile was in his mouth.
“Apparently finding out just how big a jackass I am.” Turning on his heel, Cruz raced down the staircase—before he gave in to the overwhelming urge to punch Dallas’s face in.
How could he have been such a colossal idiot? Savannah had slipped out of his bed only to go to Dallas’s.
Savannah couldn’t begin to guess what he was thinking, only that she had to set it right before it got out of hand. Without a word to Dallas, she flew after Cruz.
“Cruz, wait, where are you going?” But he didn’t even turn around. “Cruz, talk to me,” she demanded.
He’d never known he could feel such rage—such hurt. It was as if someone had ripped open his chest and yanked out his heart while it was still beating.
“Go talk to your lover,” he snapped. “Don’t waste your time with me.”
“Lover?” The accusation stunned her into immobility. “Are you out of your mind?”
He stopped on the stairs to look at her over his shoulder. The contempt in his eyes nearly made her stumble backwards.
“I was, but not anymore.” Turning away, he felt her hand on his shoulder, trying to stop him. Without thinking, wanting only to get out of this house, he shrugged her off—
The scream he heard froze him in his tracks. Everything happened so fast, the images only registering afterward: Savannah, tumbling past him, falling down the rest of the stairs. Dallas, yelling behind him. His own heart pounding so hard that he was sure it was cracking in two.
Cruz plunged after her, managing to catch her arm just as she reached the bottom. But she’d hit her head in the fall and was unconscious. Like a doll made of cotton batting, she lay limply in his arms when he gathered her to him.
For the first time in his life, Cruz didn’t know what to do. Tears filled his throat.
“Oh, my God, Savannah. Savannah I didn’t—” His voice cracked. Fighting panic’s grip, Cruz touched her throat. There was a pulse. He looked up as Dallas reached them. “Call an ambulance.” Cruz felt her stirring. Oh, God, please let her be all right. The prayer thundered through his brain.
“No,” Savannah said weakly, “it’s all right. I just had the wind knocked out of me. I’m—” The rest of the sentence was cut off as she sucked in air through her teeth, wincing. And then her eyes fluttered shut as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
It was then that Cruz saw the smear of blood on the stairs.
Lifting her in his arms as gently as he could, Cruz rose to his feet. There was going to be no debate. He wasn’t about to take any chances. She needed a doctor, and she needed one now.
“The hell with the ambulance. I’m taking her to the hospital myself.”
Dallas was already ahead of him, opening the front door. “I’ll drive. You stay in the back with her.”
T
he fight had been drained out of him. Cruz made no protest. All that mattered now was Savannah.
Dallas watched Cruz pace around the small waiting area. He looked like a panther moments away from leaping out of his skin, Dallas thought.
They hadn’t exchanged two words since the emergency room doctor and nurses had taken Savannah away. Cruz had to be threatened with expulsion before he finally retreated from the examining room, letting the ER physician treat Savannah without him.
Dallas tried to remember when he’d ever seen Cruz so concerned, so upset. He drew a blank. His sympathies went out to the other man.
“She’ll be all right, Cruz.”
Cruz didn’t bother looking at Dallas. He’d turned his anger inward. “It’s my fault if she’s not.”
Dallas came up behind him. He couldn’t stand idly by and watch Cruz beat himself up over what happened. “It was an accident.”
That didn’t make it any less his fault, Cruz thought. He looked at Dallas. “One that could have been avoided if I wasn’t stupid enough to think that she’d eventually settle for someone like me.” There was resignation rather than accusation in Cruz’s eyes as he regarded Dallas. “Not when you’re around.”
It took Dallas a second to process what Cruz had just said. When he did, it still didn’t make any sense. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Cruz laughed shortly. Did Dallas think he was blind? “Don’t pretend, Dallas. I saw her coming out of your room.”
“So?” He stared at Cruz. What the hell was he getting at? “Pretend what?” And then, with the force of a collapsing ten story building, it hit him. Dallas’s eyes widened at the sheer stupidity of the accusation. “You are a jackass, you know that?”
“Yeah, for thinking that—”
Angry, Dallas cut him off. “For thinking that I would try to take someone from you, or that she’s the kind of woman who would go after someone for what she could get.” They’d played together, grown up together. Cruz should have known better. More than that, he should have known Savannah better. “If Savannah were here right now, I know I wouldn’t have to defend her. I’d have to hold her back from tearing you apart.” Dallas struggled to control his temper. “She didn’t come to my bed, you blind idiot. She came to my room.”
Cruz’s eyes became dark slits. “The difference being?”
He was going to have to spell the whole thing out for him, wasn’t he? Dallas didn’t know if Cruz had suddenly become too stupid, or too much in love to think clearly. For Savannah’s sake, Dallas sincerely hoped it was the latter.
“The difference being that she came to talk about you.”
“Me?” Cruz stared at him, dumbfounded. “Why?”
Dallas knew that Savannah would have wanted to tell Cruz himself, but he couldn’t stand by and let Cruz think that she’d betrayed him like this.
“She asked me to invest in your dream.” And that was another bone he had to pick with Cruz. What had happened to their friendship over the years? “Hell, Cruz, if you wanted to start a horse ranch, why didn’t you tell me? I would have been more than happy to—”
“To what? Give me money?” He wasn’t about to accept charity from Dallas, or anyone else. “I didn’t want to ask you for money.”
“So you’d rather ask a bank?” Cruz had no collateral, only his abilities to trade on. Banks didn’t make loans based on things that weren’t tangible. Dallas knew what a beating his pride must have taken to even go to a bank. “We go back a long way, Cruz. You owe me the privilege of sharing in your happiness. I’d hate to lose you, but I can’t think of anyone who could make a better go of a horse ranch than you.”
All the anger that Cruz had harbored, dissolved like soap bubbles carried on the wind. “That’s what she was doing in your room? Talking about the horse ranch I want to build?”
“That’s what she was doing in my room. Trying to make what you wanted a reality. She’s a hell of a woman, Cruz. And you owe her a hell of an apology.”
He owed her much more than that, Cruz thought. And it might take the rest of his life to make it up to her. Cruz sank down on the sofa and dropped his head into his hands. “God, I’ve been such a jerk.”
Dallas sat down beside him. He laid a hand on Cruz’s shoulder in silent camaraderie. “Glad we can agree on something.”
Savannah reemerged out of her haze slowly. Every inch of her ached and tried to pull her back into the numbing mist. Struggling, she resisted, trying to remain above it.
The first thought that came after the pain had stabilized pierced her heart. She remembered tumbling, the stairs rushing up at her. Hitting her head—
The baby. Was the baby all right?
Frantic, Savannah rooted around for the buzzer. Finding it, she pressed down hard, ringing for the nurse. Her mind ticked off the seconds, waiting.
No one came.
She couldn’t lay here not knowing. She had no idea whether she was still pregnant or not. Gripping the side of the bed, she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She had to find someone to ask.
The room swayed as she tried to get out of bed. It whirled even faster when she closed her eyes. The headache pressed down on her, threatening to knock her out.
Savannah gripped the side railings tightly, trying to steel herself so she could swing her legs over the side of the bed.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Coming in response to the call, the redheaded nurse hurried into the hospital suite. She reached Savannah’s side in time to push her gently back into bed. It didn’t take much effort.
Savannah felt light-headed, breathless. She struggled to hold onto consciousness. “I wanted to find someone—my baby—is my baby…?”
Gentle, capable hands were tucking her into bed. “You’re baby’s fine. But you won’t be if you go waltzing around the hospital at this hour.”
“This hour?” Savannah repeated dumbly. The last she remembered, it was just before nine in the morning. “What time is it?”
The disembodied voice emerged from the haze. “It’s almost midnight.” Someone was smoothing the blanket around her. “Now try to get some rest. The doctor wants you to stay overnight to make sure that you’re all right. If you don’t behave, I’ll make him keep you here longer.”
Longer. No, she didn’t want to stay longer. She wanted to see Cruz. To explain.
Realizing her eyes were shut, she fought to open them again. A woman was leaning over her. Red hair. The nurse. Savannah tried to wet her lips.
“You’re…absolutely sure the baby’s…all right?”
“I’m absolutely sure. Want something to help you sleep?”
Savannah could feel herself sinking, shrinking away. “No,” she whispered.
She didn’t have enough strength to move her lips and ask the nurse about Cruz. But her last thought was of him….
Fourteen
“Is she all right?”
Cruz pulled the towel he’d been using to dry his hair away from his face and rested it on his damp, bare shoulders. He’d returned home less than half an hour ago to grab a quick shower. His body ached. The past night had been spent sitting in a hospital chair designed for discomfort.
Dallas had finally gone home early in the afternoon, but Cruz had been afraid to leave—afraid that if he did, Savannah or the baby would take a turn for the worse. It didn’t matter that a doctor had assured him that both were unharmed and doing fine. He’d wanted to make sure himself. The only way he could do so was to keep vigil through the night.
Ruben’s expression was anxious as he looked at his son, waiting for an answer. Word had spread through the ranch about Savannah’s accident.
“She’s fine, Dad. The doctor said she could leave the hospital sometime this afternoon.” And he intended to be the one to take her home, no matter how hard she might protest. He had a lot to make up for.
Ruben nodded. “And the baby?”
The grin flashed quickly. Savannah and the baby had been lucky. They�
��d all been lucky. Especially him. “Fine, too.”
Ruben made the sign of the cross. “How about you? How are you doing?”
“Me?”
It was on the tip of Cruz’s tongue to question why his father felt he had to ask how he was faring, but then he decided there was no point in continuing the charade. Ruben had seen through him from the first. He usually did. As he grew older, Cruz realized that his father was a great deal smarter than he had ever given the older man credit for.
Cruz rubbed the remaining moisture from his hair. “I’m doing okay.”
But Ruben had his own take on that as he studied his only son. “You’re doing nothing.”
Cruz had already begun walking back into the bedroom. He had to get dressed and going if he wanted to be sure that he was the one taking Savannah home. “What?”
Ruben followed his son into the bedroom. “You want to know what I think?”
Cruz opened a drawer and took out fresh underwear, then found a new shirt in his closet. “I’m sure you’ll tell me whether I ask or not.”
Ruben’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get smart. I think you’re afraid to love this girl.”
The truth hit closer than he was comfortable with. Dropping the towel, Cruz quickly got dressed. “Careful, Dad.”
Ruben’s frown deepened. “There’s such a thing as being too careful. You have all these ideas about women and love, but you are afraid to risk loving this particular woman. Afraid to give your heart because you think it might be rejected. And—”
Cruz interrupted him. “There is no ‘think’ about it, remember? She’s already said no to my marriage proposal.”
Ruben continued as if Cruz had said absolutely nothing. “That ranch you are so committed to having—it’s just an excuse, something to help protect you from making what you think is a big mistake. You know what’s the biggest mistake of all?” He handed his son his boots as Cruz pulled a pair of socks on. “Turning your back on love. Not risking your heart. If you don’t risk, you don’t win. Me, I have your mother, your sisters, you. I am the winner here. Would I be more of a winner if I had a big ranch and no one to share it with me? Don’t trouble your head— I can give you the answer to that. No.
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