After she gathered what she needed, Jenny walked back over to where Chase lay, now still on the ground. She took a deep breath then knelt beside him, and felt along his ribs until she found the right place for insertion.
"You want me to do that, Doc," the medic asked her sympathetically. He'd evidently figured out that and she and Chase were more than doctor and patient to each other.
She'd love to hand it off to him, but she couldn't. Chase needed her and she had done this a million times, she knew what she needed to do and look for.
"Thanks, but I've got it. Can you put some oxygen on him?"
"Sure," he said.
Jenny rolled Chase and put a pad underneath his back, then swabbed the area with antiseptic, then swallowed down the bile that pushed up in her throat and did what she had to do to save his life. Once she finished, she listened to his chest again, and checked his vitals. "How's his pulse ox now?"
The medic glanced at the monitor and said, "Ninety-two."
Much better, she thought and breathed a sigh of relief. His breathing was better, less labored five minutes later and she heard minor breath sounds, but he was far from out of the woods. Jenny would wait five more minutes and take his vitals again to make sure.
"Oxygen is back down to ninety, Doc," the medic told her a few minutes later.
His blood pressure had tanked again too, and his breathing was labored again. Jenny lifted up and told the medic with grim resignation, "We're going to have to do the chest tube."
"Yeah, figured that," he replied and handed her a paper wrapped scalpel.
Jenny had three false starts because her hands were shaking so badly, but finally she forced herself to cut Chase and insert the tube in his chest cavity. Sweat dotted her forehead and she felt like she really was going to throw up, after she finished securing it and sat up. Her heart was doing a sick throb in her chest. "Give him some more pain meds," she said not wanting him to hurt.
Thirty minutes later, Jenny checked his vitals again and they were stable. He was breathing better, and the best sign he was going to be okay was that his chest was inflating evenly on both sides when he inhaled. With a sigh of cautious relief, Jenny told the medic, "Let's get a backboard, so we can get him to the hospital. I'll need to borrow some of your supplies to treat him on the way."
"No problem, I'll get it all together," he told her then started assembling a bag.
He set it beside her, and he and Jenny packaged Chase up for transport, securing him on the backboard. The two guys who'd carried Chase over to them from the derrick grabbed the sides of the backboard and lifted him up.
She hefted the heavy supply bag over her shoulder and said, "Let's go."
Walking fast, she headed for the helicopter and the men followed carrying Chase between them. Chase needed a hospital fast, so they could see if he had other injuries she hadn't found. That thought sent fear pumping through her and she walked faster.
She heard Chase moan behind her and turned just as he opened his eyes. Lightning flashed overhead in a magnificent display of nature. Jenny's breath caught when thunder rumbled right behind it, then a light rain started falling.
She turned toward the helicopter again and ran shouting, "Hurry!" In her heart though she knew it wouldn't do any good to hurry, because they were going to be stuck here a while, and Chase living or dying was going to be totally in her hands.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Between the increased smoke from the well fire and the inclement weather, the pilot had been resistant to flying them out of that field. Visibility had been sketchy, and the wind had picked up. Jenny had stood her ground though and told him, unless he thought they'd wind up in a burning heap themselves, they had to take the risk to save Chase's life.
The ride out of there had slightly resembled eight seconds on one of Ben Bowman's prize rodeo bulls, or at least what she thought it would feel like. If she hadn't been covering Chase's body to keep him from sliding around in the back of the aircraft and getting hurt worse, she probably would have hurled. Flying had seemed exciting and exhilarating on their ride to the rig, not so much on the way back.
Even two weeks later, her stomach lurched just thinking about how close they'd all come to dying...especially Chase. He was on the mend now, walking and talking, smiling...but it had been a close call. Two fractured ribs and a collapsed lung weren't minor injuries, but evidently you couldn't keep a good man down.
Or take a good man out.
His injury had been intentional. Someone had hit him with a huge pipe wrench when he found them tampering with a valve, during the fire. From his description of the guy, she figured out it was the same man she'd treated for burns and the laceration on his head. Because she'd gotten the best look at him, the police had her work with an FBI sketch artist to help them develop a composite.
Everyone and his brother were searching for the guy. Chase had recognized him...it was a toolpusher he'd fired a few months prior from a different rig. The authorities seemed to believe he wasn't working alone though, because of the location and timing of the other well fires.
"I don't give a shit, Dave, we've got three days to get this wrapped up. I gave you a name, told you where to find him, and ya'll still can't get it together?" Chase said with agitation and ran a hand through his hair. "John Peterson is still on the loose. I've talked to the FBI, Rangers and federal prosecutors. I need that guy so we can find out who's behind all this shit and end it."
Chase's face was red and his jaw tight, so she walked over behind his chair and rubbed his shoulders. He shouldn't be stressing out like this, but dammit she hadn't been able to keep him out of the office once he could remain vertical without getting nauseous from the pain. He looked up at her and a slow smile spread across his face, which made a slow burn start near her core.
"Gotta go, Dave," he said shortly, then disconnected the call. He didn't even put the phone back in the cradle, he threw it down on the desk then spun his chair toward her and pulled her into his lap. Before she could say squat, he covered her mouth and kissed the stuffing out of her. Jenny pushed against his chest, gently so she didn't hurt him, but his arms held tight.
"I have some other parts of my anatomy that could use rubbin' too, Doc," he told her with a mischievous grin.
"Chase, you have to slow down...you're doing too much," she said, her eyebrows knit with concern.
"I love having my own personal physician to keep me in line...especially the most gorgeous one in Texas," he said then leaned up to tease her lips with a gentle kiss.
"I'm serious...and as much as you get hurt, you need a personal physician!" she told him with a growl.
"I am too, now we have things to do, places to go and people to see, sugar," he told her then slapped the side of her thigh gently, before pushing her off his lip to stand. "Joel should be here any second, and we're going to talk to some of my peeps in Bowie. Sabrina's husband Cole is the Sheriff, and he's worried about the rig on Katie's property there, because the gossip train reports that some strangers have been seen eating at the cafe. Wants to talk about security," he told her.
"Sabrina is a short brunette?" Jenny surmised that because she knew Katie was one of the twins, the leader of the pack of women who'd set her straight at Ben's ranch. Other than Katie, the women hadn't introduced themselves, so she was guessing. If Sabrina wasn't one of the wonder twins, she had to be either the tall blond or the short brunette.
"Yeah, feisty little woman, don't underestimate her...she owns the Blue Bird cafe in Bowie, but she used to be a detective in Phoenix.
"How long are we going to be there?" Jenny asked, because she didn't have any clothes with her, and she had to make sure Chloe was taken care of. After Chase got hurt, Jenny decided to just give up the fight and move into the house with him on his parent's property, so she could take care of him. That decision had paid off, because in just two weeks he was pretty much back on his feet. She also got to stay close to him, get to know him better...fall deeper in love with
the funny, handsome, but exasperating man every day.
"Maria packed up some stuff for us and Joel is bringing it with him from the house. We'll be there a couple of days probably, and mama said she'd take care of her grandcat while we're away."
Jenny snorted and repeated, "Grandcat?"
"Yeah, she said that's as close to grandkids as she was going to get for a while, so she was going to just 'go with that'...for now," he told her with a broad smile. "Papa Jack wants in on the action, because he's pissed someone is screwing with his new valve, so he's coming with us too. Says we need to stick close as bees in a hive, his words, to catch those bastards."
Jenny sighed, because it looked like his whole family was going to get involved in something that in her opinion should be left to the police. And Chase certainly wasn't up to a hundred percent health yet. All she could do though was follow Curly's lead and 'go with it'.
Sliding her arms around his waist, Jenny hugged him gently so she didn't hurt him. "I love you, Chase," she said for only the second time. The words felt foreign to her lips, but certainly not to her heart. "Don't get hurt again, I'm tired of patching you up," she added and heard the soft rumble of his laughter in his chest.
Road trip took on a new definition, as the wacky Rhodes contingency loaded up into Joel's huge new dual cab pickup truck. He'd traded the Mercedes and bought what he said was a vehicle more suited to ranch life.
Overkill didn't even begin to describe the vehicle. It was shiny black, raised what seemed like ten feet off the ground, had huge mud grip tires, and was tricked out with every option known to man. If pickups could be called sexy, this one was the sexiest beast on the planet.
He was getting all his ducks in a row to start his new business venture. Jenny had told him about Ben Bowman's ranch possibly being for sale. Joel contacted him, negotiations were in progress, and it looked like his dream was going to become a reality sooner rather than later.
"Joel, stop somewhere with some trees...bladder's about the size of a pea these days," Papa Jack grumbled from the back seat. They'd been on the road four about forty-five minutes. It was going to be a long trip, Jenny thought, and laughed. Papa Jack was a mess.
"Aw, Pops..." Joel griped looking up in the rearview at him. "Can't you wait a little while?"
Papa Jack snorted then told him, "If you want to clean out the back of your new truck later, I can...and Doc's not wearing her waders, so she might have a problem with that." He looked over at her with his beautiful blue eyes and gave her a bodacious wink.
Jenny chuckled, then laughed, and before long they were all bent over with it. "You better stop, Joel," she told him in between gasps for air.
God, it felt good to laugh, she thought. For so many years, it had been missing from her life. These people, Chase, had given that back to her and she was thankful. Lord, she loved that man. He hadn't said the words yet, but she could feel it every time she was in his arms.
You felt it with Beau too, but that wasn't enough, an inner voice reminded her, but she ignored it. Chase had told her he needed her, and that was enough of a declaration for her right now...because she needed him too. Her heart felt as whole as it had in years, maybe in her whole life. She had him, and she had her family again.
Chase hadn't hesitated when she broached the subject of hiring her dad for the safety portion of her job. Papa Jack and Nick had hit it off, and it seemed her brother had a knack for inventing too, so Papa Jack had hired him to work with him in his workshop. All was good in the world.
"I'm hungrier than a bear in winter," Papa Jack said from the seat beside her and Jenny grinned. It had only been forty-five minutes, since their last pitstop.
Joel groaned, and Chase looked back over the seat at him. "Really, Pops? It's gonna take us two days to get to Bowie at this rate," he said in frustration.
Papa Jack just smiled and said, "Well, if you don't wanna have to explain the skeleton in your backseat to the Sheriff, we need to stop for some grub." Chase harrumphed then faced forward again in his seat and Papa Jack looked over and gave her another bodacious wink.
He was fucking with his grandsons, and loving every second of it. Jenny thought she might be a little bit in love with him too. Chase better watch out.
It didn't take two days, but it did take six hours for them to get to Bowie. According to Chase, it shouldn't have taken more than five. Both he and Joel were in sour moods when Joel pulled the truck up in front of the Bowie Sheriff's Office. Papa Jack on the other hand was in a great mood, and Jenny couldn't wipe the smile from her face.
They all piled out of the pickup, Chase came around and helped her down. Her body slid down his, and by the time her feet touched the ground, she was in his arms trying to put out the brushfire of desire he'd created. The way he was kissing her, it was as if they had been separated six months, not six hours. His lips devoured hers while his hands found hotspots on her body she didn't even know existed.
"You know, I think the bed and breakfast down the road is running a special," someone said gruffly, and she and Chase pulled apart, then she looked over and saw Beau Bowman standing there watching them with his arms folded over his chest.
"Oh...hey, Beau," she said breathlessly. Chase growled low and fierce like a panther sitting on a limb about to attack.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Bowman?" Chase asked grumpily, and his arm tightened around her waist.
"You called the Rangers, I'm a Ranger, and I live in Bowie so I got the assignment," he said evenly, but his green eyes were shooting sparks.
"You live here?" Jenny asked curiously. As far as she knew, he lived in Lubbock near the Ranger headquarters.
"Yeah," he said and the tension left him, then with a soft smile he said, "You were right...I worked it out with Jazzie," he told her. "Thanks for the advice."
Jenny's lips curled up into a big smile and she pulled away from Chase to walk over to Beau and put her arms around him. "You're welcome...I'm glad it worked out for you, dumbass." He chuckled and gave her a squeeze.
Chase walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders to pull her back against him. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body. Jenny reached up and patted the hand on her shoulder, "Chill out, darlin'," she warned, then said softly, "It's all good."
"No, it's not good, I'm the only one you need to be huggin', darlin'," he growled near her ear then nipped her earlobe. Jenny turned in his arms then leaned up to put her arms around him. "I love you, Chase," she said for the third time ever, then gently kissed his lips.
Chase's eyes darted to Beau's then back to hers and his face flushed, before he nodded and took her hand. "Let's go see what they're talking about in there, no telling what Papa Jack is stirring up," he said gruffly, then pulled her toward the front door of the station.
A short, older woman was sitting at the desk in the front reception area, and Chase stopped in front of the desk. "I'm Chase Rhodes, I think Sheriff Jackson is meeting with my brother and grandfather?"
She studied him for a minute, then glanced at Jenny and gave her the same once over, before she answered, "What's the meeting about?" she asked with a smile, propping her chin on her fist, while looking up at him innocently.
Chase was well aware that the older woman knew where his grandfather was, just like she knew exactly where Cole Jackson was, and that's all she needed to know. He had been warned about the Bowie gossip mill. From the looks of this woman, he got the feeling she might be the head grist mason. Telling her what was going on would have the town in an uproar by midnight.
"Pig farming...we're talking about pig farming," Chase told her with one of his trademark smiles.
Jenny snorted and Beau chuckled behind her. The woman sighed, a dreamy look coming over her face. That smile of his should be bottled and sold as a tranquilizer, Jenny thought. They'd make a million from women all over the world.
Under Chase's spell, the short, round woman rose from behind her desk and led them down the hallway to a conference
room.
When they walked inside, Jenny saw that Papa Jack was indeed charming the masses, which included two men in Sheriff's uniforms, Sabrina Jackson the petite brunette, and the redheaded twin she assumed was Katie Tucker, she couldn't tell the sisters apart. Then there was Joel, who was leaned back in a chair in the corner, with his arms crossed over his chest and a patient smile on his face.
"How bout those razorbacks?" Chase asked loudly when he walked in the room, then added. "Think we can catch and domesticate them to start that hog farm?" The woman still standing at the door straightened. Evidently not seeing any fodder here, she shook her head then headed back down the hall. Chase reached behind him and shut the door.
"Hogs?" Joel dropped his chair to four legs then asked.
"Inside joke," Chase told him with a grin, then they all took a seat, and introductions were made. Jenny found out that the two uniformed men were Sheriff Jackson, and Gabe Kelley, his chief deputy, and the women were who she guessed earlier.
"So, I talked to the feds," Cole started in immediately. "They said that Peterson was spotted in Henrietta a couple of days ago, so the sighting yesterday here fits. He was with a couple of other guys. They also said when you fired him, Pinion Drilling hired him, one of the guys with him though they think works for you..."
"Who's that?" Chase asked and his jaw tightened.
Cole looked down at the paper in front of him, then said, "Joseph Frasier...ring any bells?"
Chase shook his head, "Doesn't sound familiar...but we have tons of employees on the rigs. I'll call my assistant and tell her to get with HR and find out though," he said and pulled out his cell phone.
After he got off the phone, Cole told him, "The feds don't know who the third guy is yet. The group of strangers townsfolk say they saw eating at the Bird yesterday, included two guys who fit the description of Peterson and Frazier. That's why I called you."
Chasing Trouble (Texas Trouble) Page 21