A Moment To Love

by Jennifer Faye

  Where had she disappeared to? His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. That kiss had so unnerved him that he hadn’t made sure she’d pulled out at the same time. He’d only had one thought—putting distance between them.

  Back at Haggerty, when she’d revealed her love of the land, he felt like he’d finally found the right woman. He’d caved in to his desires. For one idyllic moment, he’d dismissed the stark facts of his reality—his shortcomings—and he’d let down his guard. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He remembered vividly how much it hurt when the dream faded.

  Down deep, he knew he was the main reason his marriage had failed. His difficulty with reading left him wanting to stick close to home. His ex-wife, Susan, had been a dreamer. She’d wanted to see the world, but when he’d refused, their troubles had begun in earnest. She hadn’t understood him and how inadequate he felt when he was outside of his element.

  He refused to let that happen again. If he should ever marry again, it would be different. It’d be with a woman content with life on the Brazen H—someone who would accept him the way he was. That definitely left the up-and-coming president of HSG off of the list.

  Cord lifted his boot from the accelerator, waiting for Lexi to catch up. His gaze remained glued to the mirror. The seconds ticked away, but still nothing. A bad feeling churned in his gut. He imagined her with a flat tire out there in the barren land. What were the chances she knew how to switch out a tire? He had no choice but to head back.

  He stomped the gas pedal and spun the steering wheel hard to the left. The more ground he covered with no sign of her, the more his sense of urgency increased. Something was wrong. He got these intuitions only when it came to the weather or the livestock—never with another human. However, none of it changed the fact he knew in his gut Lexi was in trouble.

  His truck skidded to a stop next to her SUV. He jumped out and ran over to her vehicle. Empty. Had she gone back to the ghost town? For what?

  A shrill scream sliced through the air, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

  Lexi!

  His heart slammed into his ribs. He set out at a dead run.

  Please don’t let me find her crumpled form at the bottom of a mine shaft.

  The horrific thought sent his legs pumping harder, faster. His lungs burned, but he kept moving. He had to get to her. She had to be all right. Please God, let her be safe.

  He stopped on what had once been Main Street. One deep breath after the other, he sucked in oxygen. His eyes continually scanned for any sign of her.

  “Lexi! Where are you?”

  Blood pulsed in his temples. If she had fallen into a mine shaft, the chances of hearing her weren’t good. She’d be deep underground. He refused to accept the possibility.

  He paused, thinking he’d heard something. “Lexi, I can’t hear you.”

  “Cord,” a thready voice reached out to him. “Cord, over here.”

  He made his way up the street, scanning to the left and then the right. At last, he spotted her sitting on the ground in the opening of the church. Thank God. As he drew nearer, her red, blotchy complexion became apparent.

  “What’s wrong?” He crouched down beside her. His hand cupped her warm cheek, while his thumb stroked her smooth skin. “Why are you sitting here in the dirt?”

  “A scorpion stung me.”

  She trembled like a leaf in a windstorm. He pulled her to him. His own heart pounded from the scare she’d given him.

  “Calm down. You’re okay now,” he murmured, trying to keep her from having a panic attack. “Show me where.”

  She held out her jittery hand. No doctor’s diagnosis was necessary to tell him that the swollen red patch was a sign of a reaction to the venom.

  “What did it look like?”

  “It was ugly. And it was tan.”

  Her description didn’t tell him much. He’d like to see the culprit for himself. “Where were you when it stung you?”

  “Back there.” She pointed over her shoulder. “I was leaning back, and it crawled on my hand.”

  He walked over and scanned the designated area. He knew from growing up here that there was more than one species—one more venomous than the others. A thorough scan of the area turned up nothing. The little devil must have scampered off into a crevice.

  He returned and helped her stand. “We need to get you to a doctor.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  He smiled, hoping if he portrayed a calm composure she’d do the same. “Trust me, you’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t scorpion bites kill people?”

  “Only in the rarest of cases. You might get a little sick, but that’s all. This never would have happened if you’d listened to me.” He didn’t want to lecture her now, but if his words kept her from panicking, so much the better.

  “I’m hurt, and all you can do is say, ‘I told you so’?”

  He wrapped a secure arm around her waist to guide her back to his vehicle. “You’re lucky you didn’t end up at the bottom of a mine shaft.”

  She glared at him. “I’m not dumb. I listened to everything you said. You just didn’t warn me to be careful where I put my hands.”

  Her last statement sent his mind whirling off in a totally inappropriate direction. When she was better, he knew exactly where he wanted her hands. First, though, he had to get her to the doctor.

  “The problem with you is, you’d do anything to get out of trouble,” he teased, trying to keep her talking.

  Her eyes flared with anger. “Meaning what? I got stung by the scorpion so you wouldn’t have me arrested?”

  “Calm down. I was only teasing.”

  “Well, it’s not funny.”

  “Point taken. It’s just that I knew you were in trouble.”

  “You did?” Surprise rang out in her voice.

  Now why in the world had he gone and told her about his intuition, or whatever you wanted to call it? She’d think he was crazy, or worse, she’d start thinking they had some kind of deep connection. Neither of which was true.

  “I figured that if you hung around here by yourself, sooner or later you’d get yourself in trouble.”

  “I forgot to take pictures of Haggerty for my father.”

  They stopped next to his pickup, and he opened the door for her. “Hop in.”

  “But my vehicle—”

  “Will be fine right here. I’ll send a couple of ranch hands out to pick it up later.”

  The red splotches on her face hadn’t faded, and the swelling of her hand was getting worse. No way was he letting her behind the wheel.

  Holding her arm to her chest, she climbed in without any further argument. That in and of itself set off alarms in his head. He jumped in the driver’s side, fired up the engine, and tramped the gas.

  “Can you turn up the air conditioning?” She leaned her head back against the headrest.

  Damn. He’d meant to have the air fixed at the beginning of summer, but he’d put it off for one reason or another. “Can’t. It’s busted.”

  “You should have said something before. We could have taken my SUV. Turn around.”

  “No. We’ve wasted enough time.” He wasn’t up on his first aid, but it was obvious she was having some sort of reaction to the venom. “We’re going straight to the doctor’s. You’ll be fine. Think about a swimming pool or Antarctica or something cold.”

  “Boy, you’re a lot of help.” Her frustrated voice faded.

  His foot rested heavily on the accelerator, letting up only when the ground got too rough and Lexi groaned from being jostled. At last, they reached the paved road. He floored the gas, ignoring the posted speed limit. Please, God, make her better, and I’ll do whatever it takes.

  Minutes later, they rolled into Whistle Stop. With no open spots in front of Doc Willard’s, he ended up double-parking. He jumped out and rushed over to open her door. She was drenched in sweat and clutching the wrist of her enflamed hand.

  He didn’t was
te time with words. He scooped her up. Lexi’s cheek pressed against his shoulder. The alarming heat of her skin penetrated his shirt. His arms tightened protectively around her.

  He strode into the office. A familiar face turned his way, Tony Granger. They’d been friends the whole way through school. Tony had always been a good guy in Cord’s book, and that was saying a lot. They nodded at each other in greeting, and then Tony’s gaze drifted to Lexi.

  With a hand on his young nephew’s shoulder, he stepped back from the receptionist’s window. “Go ahead. We’re just here for Johnny’s annual physical.”

  “Thanks.”

  Cord rapped his knuckles on the glass partition.

  Mrs. Willard ambled over. A smile pulled at her bright red-painted lips. “Goodness gracious, Cord. You never come here. What—”

  The words trailed off as her gaze took in Lexi resting against his chest. The woman wheeled around and rushed to open the door leading to the exam rooms.

  “What happened to her?”

  “A scorpion stung her. Think the doc better have a look at her right away.”

  “Poor thing.” Mrs. Willard held the door for him. “Bring her this way.”

  She guided him down the hallway past a couple of closed doors. She pointed to the room at the end of the corridor. “Let her rest in there. I’ll get Doc.”

  She hustled off in the opposite direction, while he carried Lexi inside and set her down on the paper-lined exam table.

  Seconds later, footsteps echoed in the hallway, and then Doc Willard stepped into the room. “I hear you’ve brought me a new patient.”

  Cord turned to the gray-haired man in his usual white coat—the same man who’d delivered him and patched up all of his childhood scrapes. He was one of the few people in town who’d never judged him or his short-lived marriage.

  “Doc, this is Lexi Greer. We were out visiting Haggerty, and she had a run-in with a scorpion.”

  The doctor’s gaze moved from him to her and back again. “Okay. I can take it from here. Why don’t you go wait in the waiting room? We’ll be a few minutes.”

  Leave? An unfamiliar sensation came over him—protectiveness. Cord turned to Lexi for direction. He wasn’t anxious to clear out, but he’d do whatever would make her the most comfortable.

  “Go ahead,” she said.

  He slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. The weight of responsibility hung round his neck, pulling down on him. He never should have given in to her plea to traipse around Haggerty. He’d known nothing good would come of it. And he’d been right.

  Once in the waiting room, he started to pace. He didn’t know why he’d let himself get so worried. He’d seen a lot worse after spending his whole life on a ranch. So why did Lexi’s incident strike him so profoundly? It wasn’t like she meant anything to him.

  A little boy, not much more than a toddler, waved a toy airplane above his head. He spun around and bumped into Cord. With lightning-fast reflexes, Cord bent over to steady the child.

  “Hey there, buddy, be careful.” Cord’s vision moved to the toy. “That’s a really cool plane.”

  The boy shot him a wide-eyed stare before running to his mother and clinging to her jean-clad leg. Cord smiled, hoping the boy would do the same—he didn’t. Cord hated the thought of a little kid fearing him. He didn’t think of himself as being big and scary. He sure hoped it wasn’t the impression he gave other people—especially not Lexi.

  Was she scared of him?

  He hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to show her his nice side. He expelled a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over the back of his neck. He’d have to work on being nicer to her. Just because he didn’t want her building a resort on his land didn’t mean he had to come across as an ogre.

  He glanced around, finding all of the chairs in the small waiting room filled. When his gaze landed on Tony, his friend slid over on the bench, making room for him.

  “Thanks.” Cord sat down, even though he’d prefer to be pacing. His knee bobbed up and down.

  “So that’s the lady the whole town is buzzing about?” Tony nodded toward the exam rooms. “The one who wants to buy your ranch?”

  “Just part of it. And yeah, that’s her. She had a run-in with a scorpion and lost.”

  “Cool.” A school-age boy’s eyes opened up. “Is she gonna be okay?”

  “Sure, she is.” Tony spoke up before Cord could think of an appropriate answer. “Johnny, why don’t you go check out the books over there? I thought I saw one about horses.”

  Johnny’s uncertain gaze moved between the two men. “Okay.”

  When Johnny was across the room, looking at the bookshelf, Tony leaned back and crossed his arms. “This parenting stuff sure is tough to adjust to, especially when I’m just the uncle trying to fill the roles of both Mom and Dad.”

  “You look like you’re doing a good job.” Not that Cord had any basis for his observation, since he had zero experience with little people.

  “I’m trying. I just never know if I’m doing anything right.”

  “I don’t know if anyone knows what they are doing. They just give it their best try. And fake the rest.”

  Tony’s brows rose. “You think?”

  Cord nodded.

  “Hey, I just got a new stallion.” Tony smiled. “You should stop by sometime and check him out. He might be as big as that one you’ve got. What’s his name?”

  “Midnight Star. I bet they’d certainly put on a fine race.”

  “Is that a challenge?” Tony’s eyes lit up.

  “I’ll have to see your horse first. I’ll stop by when I get a chance.” This wasn’t the first time Tony had invited him over, and Cord had always meant it when he’d said he’d stop over sometime, but sometime never seemed to roll around. Cord was stuck in a rut, so used to keeping to himself. It was hard to change.

  The blare of a car horn drew his attention. He glanced out the window, finding his truck was blocking traffic. He was hesitant to leave in case he was needed, but what would they need him for? His biggest contribution would be holding Lexi’s hand, and obviously, she could do fine on her own. He shoved his Stetson on his head and strode up to the reception window.

  Mrs. Willard slid open the clear glass partition. “What a horrible thing to happen to that poor girl. Don’t you worry now. Doc will get her fixed up. You’ll see.”

  “I’m going to step out for a moment and move my truck. It’s blocking traffic. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded. “If anyone is looking for you, I’ll let them know.”

  He thanked her and stepped outside. He was actually happy to have something to do other than get lost in his troubled thoughts. They always came back to Lexi. Her sickly complexion haunted him.

  He drew his thoughts up short. What was wrong with him? He didn’t even worry like this when his favorite horse had colic. After all, this woman was a stranger to him. Well, maybe they weren’t exactly strangers any longer. They’d shared a lot during their visit to Haggerty. He’d noticed that opening up about her parents had been extremely hard for her. The fact that she’d taken him into her confidence gave him an unfamiliar sensation in his chest.

  And then there’d been that kiss.

  It hadn’t been just any kiss. When her sweet lips moved beneath his, he’d wanted to stay in that moment and forget the reality of their situation. She made him want to believe in rainbows and fairytales.

  He drew his meandering thoughts up short. There was no room in his life to get caught up in fantasies—no matter how pretty they are. He couldn’t let her get under his skin like Susan had—he couldn’t let Lexi sweet-talk him into selling her the land.

  Which sounded all fine and good, but he just couldn’t readily dismiss how nice she’d been to him—genuinely nice. Sure, she wanted his land, but she didn’t have to bother listening to him and trying to understand his deep connection to the land. And he couldn’t—wouldn’t—forget her kindness.

  When
he returned from moving the truck, Mrs. Willard called out, “Cord, you can go on back.”

  “Thanks.” He wasted no time heading to the exam room.

  The door was cracked open. Not wanting to intrude, he rapped his knuckles on the doorframe.

  “Come in,” Doc called out.

  Cord stepped inside to find Lexi sitting up, holding an ice pack to her hand. Her face remained a bit flushed, but her cheeks were no longer fiery red. His gaze moved from her to the doctor.

  “How is she?”

  “I’d like to admit her to the hospital overnight—”

  “What? How bad is she?”

  “Relax, Cord. If you’d let me finish, I was going to say I’d put her in for observation—as a precaution.”

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?” Cord asked, hoping the doctor was just being overly cautious.

  Doc Willard noted something on her chart and then turned to gaze at him over his reading glasses. “I’d feel better if someone kept an eye on her to make sure her symptoms don’t get any worse. Besides the allergic reaction, I also think she’s suffering from too much sun exposure. The New Mexico sun can be hard on people who aren’t used to it. You should know that.”

  Why did Cord get the feeling that people thought there was more to their relationship than buyer and seller? Maybe because there had been that amazingly scorching-hot kiss—but, wait, no one knew about it.

  “Quit talking about me like I’m not here,” Lexi interjected. “I’ll be fine. The ice is helping.”

  Doc made another note in the file. “I gave her a shot that should help. She can have acetaminophen for the pain, but I want her to avoid ibuprofen and aspirin.”

  Cord nodded. “I’ll drive her to the hospital.”

  “I’m not going.” She glared at Cord. “I’ll be fine. Won’t I, Dr. Willard?”

  The doc frowned. “I’d really feel better if you had some fluids and round-the-clock monitoring.”

  “I promise that if I have any problems, I’ll call you,” she said.