“I’m trying to figure out what to do with your cousin. After busting my butt to help you find him, I’m not too happy about his attitude.” This morning his parents had patted him, consoled him, in fact, downright babied Russ. It hadn’t done any good.
Tori drew a deep breath. “Excuse me.”
Jon didn’t move. He wanted to see the effect of Tori’s visit on her cousin.
She strode up to the bed. “Russ Randall, what do you think you’re doing?”
His hand had been creeping to the drip again. He jerked at the first sound of her voice. “Tori?”
“Yes, it’s Tori. Why aren’t you getting better?”
He shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
Tori crossed her arms under her breasts, which disturbed Jon’s focus. He remembered the silky softness, the—Tori reminded him of what was going on.
“I hear you’re being a rotten patient.”
Russ closed his eyes.
“Don’t pretend you’re sleeping, Russ. I never thought you were a coward.” Her cheeks were red with temper.
“Hey!” Russ complained faintly.
“Hey, what? I thought you were a Randall. Randalls fight for what they get. How do you think the Randalls own so much land? Our great-grandfather fought for his land. Every generation has continued to fight. But you’re giving up?”
“You don’t understand! I don’t want to live without Abby!”
“And you don’t care about any of us? About your parents, your brothers Rich and Casey? What about me?” She leaned forward, resting her hands on either side of his pillow. “I went against Uncle Pete to find you. I need you, Russ. I’m in trouble and I need you! Are you just going to abandon me because it’s too hard to live?”
“What’s—wrong?”
Jon took a step toward the room. That was the first time he’d heard even an ounce of interest in Russ’s voice.
Tori stood up and turned her back on Russ. “I can’t tell you now. You obviously don’t care.”
“Tori—tell Rich. He’ll help you.”
“No. I can’t. I can’t believe you’re quitting on me. Is this what Abby would want? If it had been you who had died, would you want her to quit? Would you want her to dump the gift of life and quit trying?”
“She—she was everything to me. It hurts—too much.”
Tori turned around, tears streaming down her face. “Do you think I don’t know that? I loved her, too. So did your parents. Will we hurt less when we have to bury you, too, because you were too selfish to try to live?”
“Tori—tell me your problem,” he ordered, but his voice was weak.
“No. I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s certainly less important than your life.” She turned and ran out of the room.
Jon moved quickly to the other side of the door. When she came around the corner, he slipped his hands beneath her arms and lifted her in the air.
“Way to go, tiger,” he enthused softly.
“P-put me down,” she whispered fiercely.
He slowly lowered her, beaming at her. “I think you may have awakened Russ to reality. Just what he needed.”
She looked at him, then burst into tears and fell onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. “Shh, baby, it’s going to be all right. You fought again and I think you won.”
“What’s wrong?” Janie demanded behind Jon. She came around him and put an arm around Tori, too. “Is it Russ?”
Tori turned into her aunt’s arms. Pete joined them. “What’s wrong with Tori? How’s Russ?”
Jon motioned them back down the hall, away from Russ’s room. “We’ve had a rough day. Russ has been trying to avoid getting well.”
“Why?”
Jon shrugged his shoulders. “He said it was too painful to live.”
Janie moaned and covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.
“What are we going to do?” Pete asked.
Jon grinned. “I think Tori has already done it. She told him he was a coward and selfish. She pointed out that Abby wouldn’t have wanted him to behave this way.”
Pete and Janie stared at Tori, stunned by what Jon had said.
She stiffened her shoulders. “I know that was cruel, but I thought if I shocked him, maybe he’d think about what he was doing.”
“And?” Pete asked.
Before Jon could say anything, a nurse hurried past them.
“Sandy? Where are you going?” Jon asked.
“Mr. Randall rang his bell, Doctor.”
Jon nodded for her to continue on. “Let’s see what Russ wants. I think that will tell us what we can do.”
The nurse came back out again. When Jon raised an eyebrow, she whispered, “He wanted to know when he could get dinner. He’s hungry.”
“Oh, glory be,” Janie said softly, tears falling down her cheeks.
Pete hugged her to him, and, over her head, he said, “Tori, thank you again.”
“Don’t thank me, Uncle Pete. I just reminded him of what y’all have taught us—to fight. I was slow to learn that lesson, but it’s an important one.”
“Well, you’ve sure got it down pat now,” Jon said, grinning.
She backed away from all three of them. “I’d better go. I don’t think he’s going to want to see me for a while.”
Though Janie and Pete protested, she was determined.
Jon called to her. “Will you be home this evening?”
“Yes, but I’m going to sleep early,” she warned him.
That wasn’t going to stop him, but he didn’t let her know that.
“Can we go in and see Russ now?” Janie asked, her focus on her son.
“Sure.” Jon let them go first, but he followed them in. He wanted to be sure Russ had decided to live. They stayed for almost an hour. Janie hand-fed Russ his dinner. Jon left them alone for a while but continued to check on them.
After they had gone, he stepped into Russ’s room. “Glad to see you’re eating, Russ. At this rate, you’ll recover faster than my muscles will from that ride.”
“Mom and Dad said you came with Tori. I—I don’t remember much.” He closed his eyes.
“And I’ll never forget it. Can I do anything for you before I go home for the night?” he asked as he took Russ’s wrist and checked his pulse.
“No. I think I’ll go to sleep soon.”
“Good. The nurse will be here and she can call me if you need me.”
“Thanks.”
He left the room and walked to the nurse’s desk. “I want you to check on Russ at least every two hours. If we’re lucky, he’ll sleep through the night, but he’s been difficult today. So make sure he’s on track. Call me for any reason. Okay?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
He stopped by the café and got some food to go. He would get some for Tori, but he knew he had no chance of convincing her to join him.
After he ate, he strolled out his door and knocked on Tori’s.
“Who is it?” she called, but he knew she knew it was him.
“Jon.”
“Sorry, I’m already dressed for bed.”
Several answers occurred to him. Like he’d seen her naked, so what difference did it make. Or—never mind. He wasn’t going to say that. “I want to tell you about Russ.”
After a long pause, she said, “So, tell me.”
“Through the door? I don’t think so. If you don’t care about—”
The door swung open and a highly irritated Tori glared at him.
“Interesting nightgown,” he muttered. She was still fully dressed in blue jeans and a short-sleeved sweater.
Her cheeks flushed, making her look adorable, but that wasn’t the mood she was in. “All right. Tell me about Russ.”
“We do have some other things to discuss, too. I’ll come in.” Without waiting for an invitation, he pushed past her into the living room.
“Jon Wilson! You get out of my home!”
He sat down
on the sofa and patted the spot beside him in invitation.
She clenched her teeth and fisted her hands.
“You’d better close the door before the bugs come in.”
She practically slammed it off the hinges.
“Careful, you’ll wake the neighborhood.”
“There is no neighborhood except you, and I don’t care if I disturb your sleep.”
“Good thing,” he muttered. Then he spoke louder. “Russ is doing fine. Pete and Janie stayed about an hour with him. He ate almost all his meal, and he agreed to have visitors.”
Tori sank into a nearby chair as if her legs had given out. “Really? He’s better?”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
She closed her eyes, her arms wrapped around herself, and tears escaped to roll down her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.
Her eyes popped open and she wiped her cheeks dry. “Fine.”
“Recovered from the ride?
“Yes. How about you?”
He grinned. “I still ache whenever I move.”
She said nothing in return.
He asked, “When is your next period due?”
She glared at him and rose to her feet. Walking over to the door, she opened it and stood there. “Please leave.”
“Tori, all I’m suggesting is providing you with a pregnancy test. We have some at the office.”
“No, thank you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t need one. Please leave.”
“You can’t be sure, certainly not this early.”
She stopped being nice. “Get out! If you don’t, I’ll call the sheriff and have you thrown out.”
“Okay, I’m going. But if you start feeling—”
She slammed the door after him before he could finish.
Okay. He’d go talk to Brett. She wouldn’t talk to him, but he felt sure her father would. Brett would want him to be responsible.
TORI THREW HERSELF across her bed and cried. That miserable man! Why couldn’t he leave her alone? She was glad to hear Russ had pulled himself together, but she didn’t want to talk to Jon about their “incident” on the mountain.
That’s all it was to him. She knew that. And she tried to tell herself that was all it was to her. But she hadn’t convinced herself yet. When she slept last night, she’d dreamed of Jon and what they’d shared. She was afraid to go to sleep tonight. Especially after he came over.
And he was staying for four years.
How could she stand it? What was it about him that attracted her? He was handsome, of course, but there were other handsome men. He was strong, his muscled arms and chest showed that. He was patient, intelligent, gentle—ooh! She hated him!
AFTER A RESTLESS NIGHT, she got up the next morning at her regular time, to get ready to work. The phone rang, and she stared at it. Early-morning calls made her nervous.
“Hello?” she said cautiously.
“Darling, it’s your mother.”
“Hi, Mom. Is everything all right?”
“Of course, dear. But we need you to come to dinner tonight. We’re having Jon for dinner to thank both of you, and, of course, you need to be here, too.”
“Oh, no, I—”
“Of course you’ll come. Besides, we need to decide what to do about July Fourth. It’s only a week away, so if we’re going to entertain as we usually do, we’ll need to get organized.”
“Mom, I have a lot of work to do. Maybe another night.”
“No, it has to be tonight. Jon said you’d ride together. No sense in both of you driving out.”
“But, Mom—”
“Please don’t argue, dear. I have a lot to do today.”
“Yes, Mom.” Tori gave up. When the family called, she couldn’t say no. But maybe she could convince Jon that he wanted to drive himself. Yes, that’s what she’d do. She’d tell him she didn’t need the ride when she went to the clinic. She was going to drop by to see Russ anyway. Hopefully, he was still talking to her.
And she could talk to Jon in front of several others and be safe. She hoped.
Half an hour before she was supposed to open the office, she walked to the clinic.
“Good morning, Faye,” she said, smiling at the receptionist. “I didn’t know what time the clinic opened and I wanted to see my cousin. Can I go through here?”
“Of course,” Faye told her.
Tori started through the door, and Faye said, “Aren’t you going to ask about the doctor?”
“Ask what about the doctor?” she asked sharply.
“To see him. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Shy, are you? I heard about him hugging you.” Faye broke out a large grin. “Lucky you!”
“That was an accident!” Tori protested. “It meant nothing. We don’t—I think he’s seeing someone else.”
“Really?” Faye said, leaning toward her, eagerness in her look. “I hadn’t heard. Who is it?”
“I—I promised not to tell.”
“Oh, come on, Tori. Tell me!”
“I have to hurry. I’ll be late to work,” she said, and rushed through the door and down the hallway. Damn Jon and his ridiculous behavior. Now the entire town would be talking. And she’d just told a lie. What was she going to do now?
Suddenly an idea struck her. Of course, she had intended to introduce him to the Waggoner sisters. She’d invite them to accompany her and Jon tonight. Perfect!
She managed to get to Russ’s room without seeing anyone. Knocking hesitantly on the door, she said, “May I come in?”
Russ nodded.
“Are you still speaking to me?”
“Not only that, I’m going to thank you,” he said, smiling.
“Oh, Russ, I’m so sorry I had to say those things,” she said, rushing to the side of the bed and hugging his neck.
“According to Jon, you saved my life…twice.”
“Don’t pay any attention to him. When will you get out of the hospital?”
“It will be a few days yet. Jon says my chest hasn’t cleared up yet. And I’m still weak. I don’t remember much about our trip down the mountain. He said you made a litter so I didn’t have to stay on Jack. I don’t think I could’ve done that.”
“No, probably not. I’m just glad you’re back.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, but she couldn’t see any enthusiasm in his face.
“Are you going to be all right?” she asked.
“Yeah. I don’t have a choice. Someone I know told me I had to get well. By the way, what’s the problem you need help with?”
She moved away from the bed. “Uh, I’ll tell you…later. Not now.”
“Why not now?”
“I can’t.”
Jon walked into the room, a cheerful smile on his face. “I heard you had the prettiest visitor in the place, Russ, so I thought I’d join you.”
Tori turned her back to the two men.
“Tori, aren’t you going to say hello?” Russ asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“Of course, good morning, Doctor.”
She took several steps to the window and turned to lean against the windowsill, as far away from Jon as possible.
“I’m looking forward to this evening,” Jon said, still smiling, but she noticed his eyes had narrowed.
“Oh, good.” Then she smiled sweetly. “So am I.”
His suspicious look pleased her. Now all she had to do was get to a phone and call her friends. They’d be grateful. After all, she was giving them first crack at the new doctor.
“Well,” she said as casually as she could manage, “since you’re doing so well, cousin, I’d better go open the office. We’re a little behind, lazybones, so get out of the hospital as soon as you can. We miss you.”
“We?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I hired Jessica to be our receptionist until she goes back to school. I’m hoping by then we’l
l find a permanent one.”
“Good idea.”
Jon stopped her as she walked past him. “It will be a week before he gets out of here, I’m afraid. Even then, he’ll have to start working only half days.”
“We’ll manage,” she said, smiling at her cousin. “I’ll check with you later.”
“Good. We can talk,” Russ said.
She didn’t like the sound of that. “Sure. Bye.”
Hurrying out, thinking she had gotten away, Tori almost jumped out of her skin when Jon caught her arm.
“In a hurry?”
“Yes, I am. I don’t want to be late for work.”
“Jessica will cover for you. How about a cup of coffee? I have some in my office.”
“No, thank you.”
“I told your mom we’d be there for dinner tonight at seven o’clock. So what time shall we go?”
“Six forty-five. Want to take my car?”
He had responded exactly as she’d expected him to. “No, I’ll drive. I’ll knock on your door.”
Thank goodness she’d made a plan. “That’s fine. Now I’ll go.”
“No goodbye kiss?” he teased.
“No. They’re already gossiping about us, thanks to you.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“No, it doesn’t, because I’m going to fix it.”
Chapter Ten
“Jen? This is Tori Randall.”
Jennifer Waggoner had gone to school with Tori. She and her sister had run the feed and general store in town since their dad’s death about three years ago.
“Hi, Tori. Is there a problem with the books? You’ll have to talk to Sarah about that, you know.”
“No. I’m calling to ask you and Sarah to dinner out at the ranch tonight. The new doctor is coming, and I thought it would be a good idea for you and Sarah to meet him.”
“I’ve heard he’s a hunk.”
“Mmm, yes, I suppose you could say that. Anyway, he hasn’t met anyone but sick people. I figured he’ll be thrilled to meet two beautiful single women.”
“Well, with that kindly worded invitation, you can count me in. And Sarah, too. She has no social life, so I’m sure she’s free.”
“Great. Can you be at my apartment by a little after six-thirty?”
“Sure. We’ll see you then.”
Randall Honor Page 10