3, 2, 1...Married!

by Sharon Sala

  A chorus of appreciative grunts and groans met his announcement. He grinned, and swung down from his horse, letting the reins trail in the dust as he turned to face the riders.

  “Tie your horses to the mesquite and rest your bones,” he ordered.

  No one argued.

  Hallie dismounted, grateful to be able to stretch her legs, and pretended not to notice that Jake was heading her way. But when he took Sugarfoot’s reins from her hands and deftly tied them to a nearby mesquite, she was forced to look at him.

  “Thank you,” she said. “But I could have done that myself.”

  Jake felt like a teenager—all hands and feet and a big, stupid grin he kept trying to hide.

  “Just helping, Miss O’Grady.”

  She smiled back at him and reached for her canteen. He lifted it from the pommel and handed it to her.

  “Making it okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, then opened the cap and lifted it to her lips, drinking thirstily. A droplet of water was still clinging to the edge of her mouth as she lowered the canteen. She licked it off as she replaced the cap, then hung it back on her saddle.

  “How much farther to the line camp?” she asked.

  The moment her little pink tongue had snaked out from between her lips in search of the water, his focus had locked on it, and the pearly sheen it had left behind. In the midst of considering what kissing her would be like, he completely missed the question she’d asked.

  “Jake?”

  He jumped, hoping a guilty conscience wouldn’t show. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked how much farther we have to go.”

  As far as he was concerned, not damn far enough. He was sorely tempted to drag her off into the bushes and kiss her senseless, but there were too many witnesses.

  “Before we do what?” he muttered.

  Hallie put her hands on her hips in a gesture her family would have recognized as one of impatience.

  “Eat. I’m getting hungry.”

  Jake’s gut knotted as the wind suddenly gusted, blowing a strand of her hair across his face. He stood mute before her as if he’d been slapped.

  Hungry? Woman, you don’t know the meaning of the word.

  His silence only fed her growing frustration. Muttering something to herself about good-looking men with no brains, she plopped herself down in some shade. Before he could redeem himself, one of the other riders called out to him, diverting his attention. He touched the brim of his hat and then nodded.

  “Excuse me a minute,” he said, and strode away.

  Hallie’s belly knotted as she watched his easy swagger. Never in her life had she been around a man who exuded so much masculinity without even trying. Disgusted with herself, she tossed her hat to one side, then leaned back and closed her eyes, thankful for the solidity of earth beneath her backside and the cool feel of wind against her scalp.

  Almost at the point of dozing, she heard a low moan and looked up. It was Cheryl again, only this time, she was lying on her side and doubled up in obvious pain. Within seconds, Hallie was on her knees at her side.

  “Cheryl, are you sick?”

  “Hurt…stomach hurts,” Cheryl moaned.

  Hallie looked up, searching the area for Jake and saw him a distance away, tightening the girth on a saddle.

  “Jake!”

  The fear in her voice pulled him around. When he saw her on her knees and the other woman on the ground, he started to run. Within seconds, he was beside her.

  “What happened? Did she fall?”

  The woman grabbed her side and moaned even louder.

  “No,” Hallie said. “She’s in pain. I thought so earlier, but she denied it. Now…”

  Jake’s face was clouded with concern. “Mrs. Packston?”

  Hallie touched Jake’s arm. “Cheryl. Her name is Cheryl.”

  Jake nodded a thanks as he brushed his hand across the woman’s forehead.”

  “She feels a bit feverish,” he said.

  “Maybe it’s appendicitis. One of my sisters had an attack like this last year. She had to have surgery.”

  “I hurt,” Cheryl said. “Please, I need to get to a doctor.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jake assured her. “We’ll get help.” Then he looked at Hallie. “There’s a two-way radio in my saddle bag.”

  Hallie was off and running before he had time to ask her to get it. She returned moments later with the rest of the group behind her. She dropped back to her knees and handed it to him.

  Jake took it thankfully. Seconds later the radio crackled, then came to life.

  “Luke? John? This is Jake. Are you there? Over.”

  Static again, then the familiar sound of John Miracle’s voice filled the air.

  “This is John, big brother. What do you need? Over.”

  “I’ve got a rider down. It’s Cheryl Packston. She’s sick and complaining of severe abdominal pain. I’m about halfway to the line camp. Over.”

  The jest in John’s voice was noticeably missing. “You want an ambulance or do you want me to come get her? Over?”

  Jake glanced at Hallie. The concern on her face mirrored his own.

  “I think that will take too long,” he said. “Get me a helicopter up here, and fast. She may have a hot appendix. Over.”

  “Will do, big brother. Over and out.”

  “We should get her out now,” a man said. “If we wait, she could die.”

  “No! If you move her, it could be worse!” another argued.

  Jake stood abruptly. “Is anyone here trained in the medical profession?”

  “No,” a man grumbled. “But I still think we—”

  Jake put his hand on the man’s shoulders. It was at once a comfort and a warning that he was the one in control.

  “Sir, it would be a big help to me if you could take everyone here back to the shade. The quieter it is for Cheryl, the better she will probably feel, don’t you think?”

  Shamefaced, the man nodded, then straightened as he turned to the crowd.

  “Come on, people. Let’s give her some room.”

  The woman groaned, then grabbed at Hallie’s wrist.

  “Please…Miss, someone needs to tell Paul.”

  “Is that your husband?” Hallie asked.

  Tears seeped from the corners of the woman’s eyes. “Yes. We’ve been married twenty-one years this week. This trip was my anniversary present.”

  Jake touched her cheek. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Packston. John will tell him.”

  She closed her eyes. Jake saw her biting her lip to keep from crying aloud.

  “Is it bad?” he asked.

  “Let’s just say I’d rather be in labor,” she muted, then rolled as a fresh wave of pain bent her double.

  Hallie pulled off her jacket and rolled it up, fashioning a makeshift pillow to get Cheryl’s head out of the dirt.

  “There, that should feel better,” she said.

  “Don’t leave me,” Cheryl moaned, and grabbed at Hallie’s hand.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Hallie whispered. “They couldn’t beat me away with a stick.”

  Jake touched Hallie’s shoulder, then motioned that he was moving away to use the radio again. She nodded, understanding that there were some things he might need to say to John that Cheryl Packston didn’t need to hear.

  He walked a short distance away. “John, this is Jake. Are you there? Over.”

  “Jake, it’s me, Luke. John’s gone to get Mr. Packston. Mediflight is on the way. Should be there in less than ten minutes. Over.”

  Jake breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Over.”

  “Is there anything else we can do from our end? Over.”

  Jake’s voice came through to Luke loud and clear.

  “A prayer couldn’t hurt. Over and out.”

  Eight minutes later, the familiar sound of an approaching helicopter sent everyone scrambling to their feet. They began waving their arms to make themselves visible in the m
idst of the rocky terrain.

  When Hallie saw the chopper beginning its decent, she made the sign of the cross, then bent over Cheryl’s body, protecting her as best she could from the flying debris stirred up by the downdraft of the blades.

  “What is it?” the woman muttered, barely aware of the noise.

  “Cheryl, help is here. You’re going to be all right,” Hallie said, and gave her fingers a squeeze.

  Within minutes, the chopper had lifted off, taking the ailing woman to safety. They watched it go until it disappeared from sight, and then Jake called the group together. He could tell by the expressions on their faces that the joy of the day had dimmed considerably for them.

  “Okay, my friends, we’ve got a decision to make. Do you want to continue on to the picnic, or do you want to go back to the ranch?”

  It was almost a unanimous consensus to go back to the ranch.

  No one grumbled or complained as they mounted up and headed back in the direction that they’d come.

  Once again, Jake reached for his radio.

  “Luke, this is Jake. Come in. Over.”

  Again, static crackled before Luke Miracle’s voice came over the airways.

  “This is Luke. Over.”

  “They’re on their way to the hospital at Waco. Make sure someone goes with Mr. Packston. Over.”

  “Already done. Over.”

  “Good,” Jake said. “I need you to notify the line camp to pack it in. The group took a vote. We’re coming back to the ranch. Over.”

  “Will do, Jake. Anything else? Over.”

  Jake sighed. “No, little brother. See you later. Over and out.”

  Then he grabbed the reins of the extra horse and looped them across the pommel of his saddle as he started to mount.

  “Need any help?” Hallie asked.

  Startled by the sound of her voice, he paused, and turned. “No, honey, I don’t,” he said softly, taking pleasure in the soft flush that slipped up her cheeks. “But thank you for asking.”

  Hallie nodded, then retraced her steps to where she’d left Sugarfoot and mounted as well. The aftermath of the trauma was catching up with everyone. The isolation in which they’d been riding, as well as the lack of what society called luxuries, had become blatantly noticeable. Suddenly, there was nothing more important than getting back to civilization.

  Jake was anxious to get back to the ranch and check on Cheryl Packston’s condition. Even though what had happened to her was not his fault, he still felt a certain amount of responsibility. When the rooftops of the ranch finally came into view, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

  Jewel Franklin’s disappointment in finding Jake Miracle absent on her arrival had been tempered by the knowledge that he was en route back to the ranch with a group of riders. Three days ago in Dallas, her date had taken her to dinner and then taken her for a ride she hadn’t counted on. She had awakened the next morning with a hangover and a missing credit card to boot. Now, the police were on the trail of the wayward gigolo while she was forced to face the fact that she’d been had. For a day she’d moped and stewed, then had decided to soothe her injured pride by retreating to her favorite getaway, the Miracle Ranch. But it wasn’t the fresh air and clean living that kept drawing her back. It was Jake. In all her life, he was the first man she hadn’t been able to control, and bedding him had become her ultimate goal.

  “Ooh, there they come now,” she squealed, and climbed down from the fence on which she’d been sitting as a group of riders topped a distant hill and started toward the ranch.

  “Careful, Miss Franklin. You don’t want to bust them britches you’re wearin”’ Dobber said, then turned and spit a stream of tobacco into the dust.

  Jewel Franklin’s baby-doll features puckered as she frowned at the little man.

  “That’s a disgusting habit,” she muttered, as she brushed at the seat of her too tight pants and checked the buttonholes in her red western shirt, making sure that all the buttons were safely in place. With her buxom body, one never assumed.

  “Yes, ma’am, it sure is,” Dobber said, but he stayed his ground.

  All the hands at the Miracle Ranch had their orders from the boss when it came to this woman. Jewel Franklin was in no way, ever, to be encouraged. Yet constantly being thwarted had not deterred her. She’d set her mind on Jake Miracle, and no matter how many times he had politely refused her overtures, she kept coming back to try again. She was as aggravating and persistent as a flea on a crippled dog.

  Jewel shaded her eyes with her hand, trying to find Jake in the midst of the riders. If they were only a little closer, she would be able to tell. She knew everything there was to know about him, right down to the fact that he ate his pancakes with sorghum molasses and his biscuits without butter. All she had to do was find a way to remind Jake that blondes really did have more fun.

  When she started moving toward the stables, Dobber stepped in front of her.

  “Say, Miss Franklin, if you don’t hurry, you’re gonna miss lunch. The chef is fixin’ a real good meal all special. Fried chicken, cream gravy and all the trimmins’.”

  Jewel wrinkled her nose as she pushed past him. “I’ll wait and eat with Jake,” she said, and headed toward the stables at a trot.

  Dobber rolled his eyes and threw up his hands, muttering to himself as he walked away.

  John Miracle came around the corner of the barn just as Dobber started inside. He took one look at Dobber’s face and started to grin.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

  Dobber pointed back toward the stables. “It’s that Franklin woman. She’s back and movin’ in on Jake like one of them heat seekin’ miss-iles. I tries to head ’er off, but you know how she can be. She saw the riders comin’ and headed for the stables, probably plannin’ on givin’ Jake one of her welcomes, if you know what I mean.”

  John paled. The last time she’d come, she’d greeted Jake like a long-lost lover, and not her host.

  “Oh, man, not now,” John muttered.

  Dobber frowned. “Jake done told us he didn’t want nothin’ to do with her. What’s so different about now?”

  “I think Jake might be sweet on that O’Grady woman.”

  “Jake? Are you sure? He ain’t never…uh…indulged like that before.”

  “Well, all I can say is, he gave Luke and me go-to-hell looks at the dance the other night for flirting with her, and he’s been dogging her footsteps all over the place. I catch him looking at her all the time.”

  Dobber spit again. Jake was a notorious loner. It was difficult to imagine him smitten by anyone.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” Then he spun suddenly. “What if she’s the one? Lordy, that Jewel woman could be messin’ up a real good thing.”

  “Exactly,” John said, and made a run for the stables, hoping he could head Jewel off before the riders came in.

  Less than a quarter of a mile from the ranch, Jake dropped back until he was side by side with Hallie. The tentative smile she gave him was all he needed to see. He gave the brim of her hat a teasing thump then winked at her.

  “You did real good back there,” he said.

  Hallie felt herself smiling. His praise was unexpected, but oh so welcome.

  “Thank you. I suppose being the oldest of four girls has its benefits. My sisters think I’m bossy. I like to think I’m forthright.”

  He laughed, and the sound felt good. On the contrary, he’d found her easy to be around. In fact, he couldn’t remember when he’d felt so relaxed around a woman.

  “Yeah, I know a little about that eldest child thing myself.”

  They rode a few more feet in silence, and then both spoke at once.

  “Sorry,” Hallie said. “You first.”

  Jake shook his head. “No way, honey,” he said gently. “Out here, ladies are always first.”

  If she hadn’t been so high off the ground, Hallie would have done a little dance. Honey. He called her honey, again. Was that just a
Texan way of being friendly, or did it mean what she wanted it to mean?

  “Okay. Then here goes. I was just curious. How long have you been doing this job?”

  “About ten years. It was John’s idea. Saved the family ranch from bankruptcy after our parents died.”

  Her face crinkled with concern. Even at her age, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like without her mother and father.

  “I’m sorry. That must have been a tough time for you.”

  He shrugged. “It’s past.”

  “Now, it’s your turn to ask a question,” she said.

  He glanced up at the riders ahead, making sure that everyone was still okay, then gave her a slow, considering look.

  “I was just curious,” he said.

  “About what?”

  “Why you aren’t attached?”

  She frowned. “Attached?”

  “Why you’re single. Footloose. You know…available?” Then he realized how personal he’d become and quickly apologized. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I suppose none of this is my business.”

  Hallie’s heart skipped a beat, but she refused to let herself hope that this was more than idle chatter.

  “No, it’s okay,” she said. “I suppose it’s because I’m probably too independent and too particular.”

  He nodded. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  They rode in silence a minute or two longer. Finally, Jake tried again.

  “So, you’re planning on coming to the dance tonight, aren’t you?”

  She nodded. “I’m still learning some of the steps, but it’s a lot of fun. All your employees, including your brothers, have been very helpful in teaching me.”

  “I’d consider it an honor if you’d save a couple of dances for me,” he said.

  Hallie’s heart skipped a beat, but she kept reminding herself he was just being courteous. This didn’t have to mean a thing.

  “Sure,” she said. “But I didn’t know you liked to dance. I’ve never seen you out on the floor.”

  “I like it just fine…with the right partner.”