Parker

by Maddie James

  Calendar. She spied it across the room sitting open on her desk and made her way toward it. But a paper on the kitchen table, fluttering slightly from the overhead ceiling fan, caught her attention. She reached for it.

  Reba,

  Had to get back to the ranch. Called my doc and shared your symptoms. Says you are likely fine but should check in with your doc ASAP. Let me know if you need help getting to Livingston.

  Parker

  He’d added his phone number by his signature. Well then, Mr. Parker McKenna. Thank you very much, but I’ll take it from here.

  That was a relief. It gave her some breathing space to figure out her next steps. It gave her some space from the hunky cowboy she had kissed.

  Gah! What got into her?

  There was no room in her life right now for a relationship. She’d just spent the larger part of the past three years caring for a dying man—a man she loved very much. Her husband. And she had no desire to spring forward so quickly into another man’s arms.

  She needed time. And healing. And the means to find herself in the aftermath of losing herself. This was her time, and she needed to be stingy with it.

  Parker McKenna would be an infringement upon that promise she’d made to herself and to her husband on his deathbed.

  The promise to fulfill her dreams, whatever they may be.

  She never told Jack what those dreams were. She simply nodded and told him she would. After he passed and the details were worked out with the insurance company, she realized Jack had more than amply provided for her financially—and that reaching her dream of quitting her going-nowhere administrative assistant job of fifteen years was definitely a possibility.

  No, it was reality.

  So she had. And she’d bought the Crandall cabin and decided to kick-start her small business into a higher gear.

  Her dream. Her gift from Jack.

  Parker McKenna didn’t fit into this picture. Too much like a love triangle. Having Parker in her head, and maybe heart, would compete with Jack’s memory, which was very much still alive in her spirit.

  No. Not happening.

  At her desk, she carefully opened her laptop with her right hand and pulled her planner toward her. Focus on work, Reba.

  Just as she thought. A blog post was due up in forty-five minutes, a recipe to the Iron Pizza Chef Bake-off Competition was due by noon, and some edits still needed to be done on the Making Fondant the Fun Way tutorial to upload to her YouTube channel by tomorrow afternoon. And that was only today.

  No time for a doctor visit.

  She sat and placed her fingers on her keyboard to type in her password and winced. Her left forearm, wrist and fingers hurt like nobody’s business.

  She wanted to cry.

  ****

  Liz would kill him if she found out he was meeting with Tom Walker without her. He shouldn’t have mentioned the meeting to his siblings. Damn, he hoped neither of them mentioned it before he got back to the ranch.

  Technically, he and Liz were co-executors of his father’s will. And officially, any decisions and discussions with Tom should happen together. But Tom wanted to talk with Parker alone, and for what reason, Parker wasn’t certain.

  He drummed his fingers on his thigh while he waited in the attorney’s outer office.

  Tom kept Saturday morning hours because he could reach more clients who worked during the week. The receptionist, his wife Caroline, picked up her phone when it buzzed. “Yes?” She glanced to Parker and stood. “Tom will see you now. I think you know the way.”

  Parker rose, his hat in hand, and dipped his head in a nod. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

  Tom’s office was all big wood and masculine, with a desk so large that even Parker felt intimidated sitting across from it. If he didn’t know Tom Walker so well—a friend of his father’s since Parker was a kid—he might have been even more intimidated. The distance between them was like a chasm. He supposed that was a tactic of some sort. A lawyer thing, maybe.

  Or perhaps a Montana lawyer thing. Big sky, big desk, big attitude….

  Tom Walker was all of that and more.

  But he rose and rounded the desk as Parker entered, putting out his hand. “Hello, son. I sure do wish we were meeting under different circumstances.”

  Parker agreed. “Yes. Me too.”

  “Have a seat.” Tom motioned to the chair and then sat in his large, leather desk chair. “Hell, I’ll just get right to the point, Parker.”

  Parker leaned forward. “Before you do, Tom. Are you sure we shouldn’t have Liz here? I don’t want to do anything to rock the boat.”

  Tom shook his head. “No. We’ll talk with Liz soon. There is just one thing to discuss now. I know you are under a lot of pressure, and maybe this will help.”

  Parker’s gut clutched a bit. What Tom said sounded like good news but— “Go on, Tom.”

  “You know that all of you kids need to hang around for another week or so. Your dad wanted you together to work out any relationship issues that were going on.”

  “We do know that, and yes, I believe any issues between us have been resolved.”

  “What about any issues with Liz?”

  “Liz?” Shit. What was this about?

  “Yes. I know that Callie has always had a thing going on with Liz. How is that?”

  “Much better. They seem to be on the mend.”

  “Good.” Tom studied him for a moment.

  “What else, Tom?”

  He paused, glancing to the file on his desk. “How is your relationship with Liz, Parker? I know it’s always been decent but… Your dad wanted to make sure it was solid before he disclosed the contents of his will.”

  Parker’s back stiffened. “Solid? Liz and I have always gotten along. Lately we’ve had some disagreements about the dude ranch operation, and hell, yes, I’m a little worried that whatever Dad had in his will is going to affect my livelihood. The ranch. Our way of life. Liz and I don’t quite see eye to eye in that respect. She wants to expand the dude ranch operation, and I’m not interested in having any part of that. I run a working cattle ranch. I don’t need vacationers in my way. I’m worried she’s talked Dad into giving up some of the ranchland for her expansion ideas.”

  Tom stared at him and exhaled. “You need to resolve that soon. In your head. With her. However you do it, just do it. I want it resolved before we go over the contents of the will with the family on…” He looked down to his calendar and put his finger on a date. “Before June 17. That’s two full weeks from the date of your father’s death. It’s about a week and a half from now. I want you to think about how important it is for you and Liz to get along. It is what your father wanted.”

  Parker narrowed his gaze, and his heartbeat kicked up a notch. “That’s it? That’s what you wanted me to come in here for?”

  Tom nodded. “For now. I’m following your father’s wishes.” He leaned back in his chair and pushed the speakerphone button. “Caroline, can you find a time to meet with Parker and Liz McKenna on Friday? I’d say we’ll need about an hour.”

  Parker waited while Tom stayed on the line and Caroline came back with a reply. “You have a two o’clock open on Friday, Tom.”

  Tom glanced Parker’s way. “That work for you and Liz?”

  “I’ll check with her.”

  “Do that.”

  “Set it up for now, Caroline.”

  Parker stood. “I need to get back to the ranch.”

  Tom rose and put his hand out again. “I understand. Unless I hear from you or Liz, I’ll see you on Friday.”

  Parker shook his hand. “Yes, sir. See you then.”

  About forty-five minutes later, and closing in on the ranch, Parker contemplated what Tom Walker had told him. His brain spun over and around their brief conversation, and he attempted to rationalize and dissect every word. He figured it pretty much boiled down to his father wanted what he always wanted—for everyone to be happy and get along.

  It w
asn’t that he didn’t want that too. He did. He just wanted to keep his ranch intact in the process.

  In his shirt pocket, his cell phone vibrated. Eyes on the road, he fished it out and swiped to see the message on the screen.

  It was a text from Callie. At Reba’s. Says she doesn’t need a dr. Looks like crap.

  Parker frowned and thumbed in the words: Convince her.

  Almost immediately, his phone binged again.

  Callie: Shit. Calling 911. Where are you?

  His foot hit the accelerator.

  Chapter Five

  People were fawning all over her again.

  This was not something she would ever be accustomed to. The last thing Reba remembered was standing in her kitchen talking to Callie, protesting a bit because the feisty young woman was practically insisting she take her to see a doctor, and feeling a little woozy in her tummy and light in her head. Wait. What had Callie said? That Parker had insisted she come and fetch her to take her to Livingston?

  Well, Parker McKenna was not the boss of her.

  But, oh, then this weird rushing sound flooded her ears, followed by the chatter of a thousand people. Sounded like. Those two sensations rode over her with lightning speed and evidently, must have taken her to the floor in seconds.

  As she woke, someone called her name. From afar. Way far. Like she was in a tunnel or a well. Or maybe China.

  Groggy and confused, she focused on the face in front of her.

  “Reba? Oh my God. You had me so scared!”

  A girl. Woman. Brown hair.

  “Wha—?”

  “It’s Callie, Reba. You passed out. I’ve called— Oh! Here comes help!”

  There was some commotion behind Callie. Door slamming. Footsteps. Voice. Voices again?

  “In here!” Callie yelled.

  Reba tried to sit up. The rushing came back. “Ooooh.”

  “Reba! Oh hell! She’s down again.”

  Reba heard those words, but they sounded like slow-motion talk, and try as she might, she couldn’t control her body as she slumped back to the floor. She did register big arms scooping her up and carrying her. Big. Strong. Arms.

  Carrying her.

  Talking to her.

  Smooth. Raw. Sexy. Voice.

  Deep voice.

  Yes. Nice. Saying things. She didn’t know what. Didn’t care what. Big, strong arms were a good thing.

  Reba drifted and snuggled into his warmth.

  ****

  Parker leapt from his truck, crossed Reba’s porch in two steps, and barreled through her front door. He started barking instructions on his way in.

  One look at Reba curled up on the floor alongside a kneeling Callie made his heart jump. “Call Mike Attaway,” he shouted to his sister. “Tell him I’m on the way to the hospital.”

  Crouching beside her, he slipped his arms around Reba’s back and cradled her against his chest. “I’m getting you some help, dammit, whether you want it or not.” He fussed at her, hoping she couldn’t hear him. Hell, he didn’t care if she could hear him.

  “I’m coming with you,” Callie said.

  “Fine. Good.” He’d probably need the help. He headed for the door, then stopped short and glanced about. “Find Reba’s purse. She might need her driver’s license, insurance cards… Hell, I don’t know, a woman always needs her purse.”

  “Okay. Will do. I called 911.”

  “I’ll get us there faster.”

  “Should I call them back?”

  Parker halted again and stared at his sister. “Get the purse. You can call them back in the truck.” Hell, Callie was usually levelheaded.

  And so was he. But right now his gut twisted up in worry. He hoped he could drive.

  Of course he could drive. He would get her there safely. Faster.

  He shouldn’t have left her this morning. Dammit!

  Kicking through the front door, he rushed to his truck and then yelled, “Callie!”

  An eternity passed while he waited for her. Finally, Reba’s heavy pine front door slammed shut and Callie tripped down the front steps, her phone to her ear.

  “Mike said he’d meet us at the ER.”

  “Great. Open the back door,” he said, indicating the extended cab. “Slide in on the bench seat, and I’ll lay her down beside you.”

  “Okay. I got her purse, some ice in a baggy, and a cold cloth. And a bottle of water. Maybe that will help.”

  “Can’t hurt.”

  He deposited Reba on the seat, swept the hair out of her face and lingered for a brief moment looking at her closed eyes and her bruised face. Something jerked inside his chest and curled into this stomach, and then he glanced away, trying to rid himself of a nagging feeling of… What was it? Fear?

  Worry. Maybe. Yes.

  Both. He was worried and he was afraid for Reba.

  He retreated and closed the door. Seconds later, he was in the cab, had started the engine, and headed down the lane toward the main road.

  It was an hour’s drive to the hospital. Probably a long one.

  Eyes on the road, McKenna. Just get her there.

  ****

  Reba was in a vehicle. A moving vehicle. She just didn’t remember how she got there or why. So, she lay still, eyes closed, and listened.

  All she heard was her heart pounding, and that was a bit of a distraction.

  After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes. She was in the extended cab of a pickup truck, looking up at the back of a headrest and a cowboy’s head.

  “Where are we going?” she managed to get out.

  “Reba?” A woman’s voice came from her right. She strained to look that way, but at the same time, the woman’s face was suddenly next to hers.

  “Yes,” she squeaked out. “Where are we going?”

  “To the hospital. You passed out.”

  “Oh.” It was coming back to her. “In my kitchen?”

  “Yes. Here,” she said with a soft voice. “Do you want to try to sit up?”

  A voice barked from the driver’s seat before she could respond. “Maybe she shouldn’t, Callie.”

  Callie. That’s right. Callie McKenna. And the cowboy must be her brother. Parker. Whom she had kissed.

  Ugh.

  Reba pushed up on an elbow. “Yes, help me sit up please,” she said. As she moved slowly into a sitting position, she added, “Pretty soon you all are going to start charging me a fee for coming to my rescue. What happened?”

  “You fainted. Out cold. Twice.”

  “Twice? I can’t imagine why… Oh.”

  “Oh?” She glanced up to see Parker looking at her in the rearview mirror. “You know why you passed out?”

  “I might be dehydrated,” she said. “And the altitude still bothers me a little.”

  “Oh my God, Reba. Here.” Callie twisted the cap off the water bottle and handed it to her. “Drink up.”

  She turned to Callie and said, “Thank you. I still feel a little weak and fuzzyheaded. I probably need to eat too.”

  Parker queried from the front seat, “You haven’t eaten?”

  Reba caught his eyes again in the mirror. “I did. Yesterday. Sometime.”

  “Sometime?”

  She shrugged a little. “Well, it was a busy day. I was taking care of all the food at your house, and people were coming and going, and I don’t really remember when I ate or if I—”

  “Stop. I get it.”

  “I don’t think you do.”

  Parker huffed out a breath. “So, let’s see. You’ve hit your head and might have a concussion, you could be dehydrated because you haven’t drunk enough water, and you’re not sure when you last ate? Do you need someone to take care of you, woman?”

  Reba felt her eyes grow big. “That’s none of your concern, Mr. McKenna!” The hell. Who did he think he was? “Just turn around and take me home. I don’t need to see a doctor.”

  “No. We’re almost there.”

  Reba rolled her eyes. Crap. “I don’t h
ave insurance yet. It’s complicated, and I just moved here. This is going to cost me an arm and a leg, and right now, I can’t afford it.”

  Parker didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll pay for it.”

  Reba bristled. “You most certainly will not!”

  “I will. You wrecked on my property, and now you are telling me you didn’t eat or drink yesterday because you were too busy taking care of things at my house, after my father’s funeral. Seems I owe you.”

  Callie nudged Reba with her elbow. “Don’t argue with him, Reba. It will only get worse.”

  She sighed. “I’m serious. Really, Parker. That is all not necessary. Take me back home. I will be fine.”

  He ignored her, stared straight ahead, and accelerated.

  Reba looked out the window. He was definitely not turning around. “Parker?”

  “They are expecting us at the hospital. I’ve already made arrangements for you to see my friend Mike.”

  Reba couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Excuse me? I really don’t want to go. I appreciate your concern, truly, but I want to go home. I have work to do and—”

  Parker interrupted. “We’re here.”

  “Where?”

  “Livingston. The hospital. It’s right around the corner,” Callie said. She turned to Reba and looked into her face. “It’s okay, Reba. Let’s pop in and have Dr. Attaway check you out, and then that will satisfy that stubborn brother of mine and he can take you home. Okay?”

  Reba took in a deep breath, glanced to Parker’s eyes glaring at her in the rearview mirror, and said, “All right. But like I said, I have work to do today, so let’s make this fast. Got it?”

  The corners of Parker’s eyes twinkled a little. She glanced to the side of his face then and noticed his lips were definitely spreading into a grin.

  Oh hell. He won this round. I have to be on my toes.

  Chapter Six

  Parker wasn’t accustomed to sitting around and waiting. Doing nothing. Twiddling his thumbs. And he was about to go stark-raving mad waiting for some nugget of news from Mike.

  Callie had left with Murphy, his ranch manager and her fiancé, an hour earlier. Murphy had been in town for supplies and had swung by to check on things. Parker suggested his sister go on back home. That he could handle things here.