* * *
Tyler bit back his grin. Smiling seemed inappropriate right now, but she was right. In the short time he had known her, she had fallen into his arms, into his chin, and now this. On most women, this would be annoying, maybe even cause for alarm, but he found it endearing on Laney.
* * *
The paramedics arrived a few minutes later and forced Tyler to stand back and watch as they loaded her up on a stretcher. Watching her get taped down stirred his heart in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
* * *
“I’m going with her,” he said to the paramedics. They nodded and began walking toward the exit. Tyler turned to the other women and Maryanne. “Can you make sure they get back all right?”
* * *
Maryanne nodded. Fear flooded her eyes, but he could tell she was trying to be brave. “Make sure they take good care of her.”
* * *
Tyler flashed a tight smile before jogging to catch up with the paramedics. As he climbed up in the ambulance, he took ahold of Laney’s hand. Please Lord, let her be okay.
* * *
Minutes later, they were entering the hospital. “Twenty-eight-year-old woman fell and hit her head at the roller rink. Woke briefly before we arrived. Vital signs are good.”
* * *
The doctor looked around catching eyes with Tyler. “Do you know her name?”
* * *
“Laney. Laney Swann. She’s-” He stopped unsure how to finish that sentence. She wasn’t really his girlfriend though she probably would be outside this crazy scenario.
* * *
“Laney Swann?” The doctor looked back down at Laney as the paramedics transferred her to a bed and then back to Tyler. “Do you know if she’s from Texas?”
* * *
“She is.” Tyler wasn’t sure how much information he should give out, but this doctor was acting as if he knew her, and he didn’t think confirming the question was crossing any lines. “Why?”
* * *
The doctor smiled. “We went to high school together. I’ll take good care of her, but I need you to wait outside.” He pointed to the waiting room. Tyler wanted to object, but the doctor had already closed the curtain.
* * *
As he walked over to the chairs, Tyler wondered how close they had been in high school. He hadn’t had the chance to ask her much about her past and though he knew it was probably an unfounded fear, he worried there might be something between them. A doctor was more successful than a rancher by most people’s standards and women seemed to leave him for more successful men most of the time. Tyler just hoped Laney was different.
Laney opened her eyes surprised to see white. Where was she? Oh, right, she’d fallen at the rink. Probably made a huge fool of herself as she did it too. That explained the ache in her head, but why did her butt hurt so badly?
* * *
“Hey, welcome back.”
* * *
Laney looked to the left where a handsome man in a white coat was monitoring something on a computer screen. He looked familiar, but Laney couldn’t quite place him. Probably because of the pain in her head. Or the fact she could only see his profile. Or both.
* * *
“How are you feeling?”
* * *
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
* * *
“More like a metal railing and a concrete floor.” He smiled as he turned to face her, and Laney’s breath caught.
* * *
“Dallas?”
* * *
His grin widened. “I wondered if you would remember me. What are the odds, huh?”
* * *
Would she remember him? That was a stupid question. She’d spent four years of high school pining after him and he’d been part of the reason she had gone into makeup art. “Pretty crazy, I’d say. I can’t believe you’re a doctor.”
* * *
“Yeah, I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but then I ended up taking an anatomy course in college for some credit I needed and found that I loved it. I’m still in my residency, but I can’t see myself doing anything else now.”
* * *
Laney would have nodded if her head hadn’t hurt so bad. She seemed incapable of any words at the moment. Dallas Nixon was here. He was her doctor, and he was just as handsome as she remembered, but she didn’t feel the sparks she remembered in high school. There were no fireworks, no rapid heartbeat. Was that because it had been so long since she had seen him or because of Tyler?
* * *
“What are you doing in California? And what were you doing at a roller rink?”
* * *
“I doubt you would believe me,” Laney said. The whole thing sounded ridiculous to her and she had been there. “I was asked to do make up for a reality TV show and now I’m a contestant.”
* * *
“On the show?” Dallas’s eyebrow rose an inch and his voice held a note of incredulity.
* * *
“Yeah, I know. I’m not really the contestant type.”
* * *
“So, the guy who came in with you….” His voice trailed off as if he was trying to make the connection and then realization sparked in his eyes. “It’s a dating show.”
* * *
Laney hated the way he said it, like she was desperate for a date. Of course, that’s what she had thought about the contestants initially too, so she couldn’t really blame him. “It is, but it’s not like you think.”
* * *
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Well, whatever it is, I’m glad I was the doctor on duty when you came in. It was good to see you again.”
* * *
The door opened then, and Tyler stepped in. Though Dallas let go of her hand almost immediately, she saw Tyler’s jaw tense. He had seen it, and he didn’t look happy about it. “How is she doing, doctor?”
* * *
Dallas glanced at Tyler before returning his attention to Laney, but now she almost wished he wouldn’t. The tension in the room was palpable. “She is fine. You had a mild concussion and you bruised your tailbone, so you’ll need to take it easy for the next few weeks, but you’ll recover fully. You’ll probably also need a donut pillow to sit with for a while, so I’ll have the nurse bring that in. I’d like to keep you overnight for observation, but you should be fine to go tomorrow. I have to check on some other patients, but I’ll be back to look in on you later. Push the call button if you need anything.” He gave her one final smile before exiting the room.
* * *
Tyler crossed to her bed and took her hand. “I’m glad to hear you’re going to be okay. It worried me when I saw you fall.”
* * *
“I’m sorry I worried you. I should have warned you about my klutzy tendency. If this changes how you feel, I understand.”
* * *
“Laney,” he took her hand, “it changes nothing in how I feel. I don’t care if you can’t skate, but I do have to ask. Is there anything between you and the doctor?”
* * *
Laney shook her head. “Dallas was my crush in high school, but he never gave me the time of day. He was just being friendly.”
* * *
Tyler’s eyes searched hers as if deciding if he could trust her, but finally he nodded. “I’m glad to hear it because I have to tell you that my heart froze when I saw you fall. I don’t know why I feel so close to you in this short time, but I do.”
* * *
“I do too, and I agree it’s crazy, but it might just be a God thing.”
* * *
His lips pulled up in a smile. “Maybe it is. God gave me peace about coming on the show, and I know things always work out better when I let Him be in control, but it isn’t always easy.”
* * *
“No, it isn’t.” Laney thought back to all her failed relationships and her job with Madame Bonavich. She hadn’t been letting God control her life; she’d been trying to control her
life. No wonder it hadn’t worked out the way she’d planned, but as she looked at Tyler, she realized God’s way was a lot better. Laney wanted him to kiss her, but she didn’t want their first kiss to be in a hospital room, and it appeared he didn’t either as he sucked in a breath and then released it.
* * *
“I have to get back to the house, but I’ll be here when you get released.”
* * *
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said with a smile, but she hated that he was going back to the house. She hated knowing there was another ceremony and three other women who would visit his ranch. She couldn’t wait for this show to be over.
19
Tyler pondered his options the whole ride home. He didn’t want to continue this game any longer. It wasn’t fair to the remaining women, and it wasn’t fair to Laney. The question was - how did he get out of it?
“Well, you really know how to throw a wrench in things,” Justin said as soon as the limo pulled up to the house.
“What do you mean?” Tyler asked. “I had to make sure she was okay.”
“Of course, you did, but we showed the footage to our focus group. None of them want you to choose anyone else now, so we can’t air it without risking the audience reacting the exact same way. At least not her fall.”
“Okay, so don’t air her fall.” Tyler couldn’t care less what they did. Watching Laney fall had confirmed his suspicions. He wanted her and no one else.
“The problem is, if we don’t, we’d have to re-film the episode which would be fine, but I doubt Laney wants to go roller skating again when she gets out. A possibility of choosing something else exists, but honestly, she’s going to be slower and in pain. She won’t be her normal self and people will wonder why.”
Tyler blew out a breath of frustrated air. “Okay Justin, so what do you propose?”
Justin’s eyes gleamed and he nodded. “Exactly.”
“What?”
“Propose. To her. At the next ceremony. The audience will be so in love with the two of you after this episode that they won’t care if it takes three episodes out. This will be something new and unexpected. They’ll eat it up.”
“But what about those three episodes? Won’t you have to do something for them?”
Justin waved a hand. “We’ll fill them. We can still film her going to your ranch. Then you’ll meet her family. We can have a women-tell-all episode, or,” his eyes lit up, “we’ll film an episode of the two of you meeting with our wedding planner to plan the wedding-”
“Wait, what? Justin, I care about her, but we’ve only known each other a few weeks. That’s a little early to get married.”
“Relax. You don’t have to get married right away. Simply start the process. The audience loves a good love story and yours will be epic. We’ll run teasers every few months. There will be a new Cowboy series running by then too which will keep them happy until your televised wedding.”
“Televised? What if Laney doesn’t want a televised wedding?” He wasn’t even sure he did. This reality show had been enough television for him for a lifetime.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to make it worth both of your while.”
“But we haven’t even kissed. Is the audience really going to buy I want to marry her without even kissing her?”
“So, take care of that. We’ll arrange some alone time when you pick her up from the hospital. Make it happen then. Look, I know you’re tired of the game. She will be too after this. This is a good deal, Tyler.”
“Let me pray on it. I’m assuming you don’t want me to tell Laney - surprise emotion and all that, right?” Tyler hated that he was beginning to understand the manipulation needed for ratings.
“Now you’re starting to get it. Look, if it makes you feel better, we can go over the details with her after she accepts the proposal. I have no doubt that she will.”
Nothing about this whole situation made Tyler feel better except no longer having to string the other women along. “Fine. I’ll get back to you.”
“Everything looks good, Laney. You’ll need to take it easy, and you might have headaches for a few weeks. I’ve prescribed some extra strength Tylenol for you should you need it.”
Laney took the prescription paper and smiled up at Dallas. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
He flashed her a wide smile. “Well, it is my job, but hey, if things don’t work out with your reality star-”
Laney shook her head. “He’s not a reality star, not really. He’s a rancher in Texas, but if things don’t work out, I’ll definitely look you up.”
“Okay. I’ll hold you to that. I can’t release you till your ride gets here, but I’ll have the nurse print up your discharge papers.”
As Laney watched him walk away, a sense of wonder fluttered through her. Ten years she had held a torch for Dallas and now she felt nothing. Well, not entirely nothing. He was still handsome, but it appeared her heart now belonged to another. Now if she were just sure his heart belonged to her as well.
She wondered if they had filmed the ceremony and tried not to be jealous. She knew he would choose her for one of the dates at his ranch, but three other girls would also get that date. However, she couldn’t focus on that. She needed to focus on the prize at the end–the possibility that Tyler would choose her, and they would get to develop a better connection.
Tyler appeared in her doorway. “Hey, you ready to get out of here?”
She smiled at him. “Am I ever.”
The nurse entered a moment later with the discharge papers and a round air filled pillow. “It’s not sexy, but it will make sitting bearable for short periods of time anyway. Try not to sit for too long. Get up and walk around.”
“Got it.” Laney couldn’t believe the nurse was telling her all of this in front of Tyler. As if her fall hadn’t been embarrassing enough, now she could add this humiliation to her growing list.
“Butt pillow,” she said holding it up as she gathered her things. “That ought to make a great story for our kids one day.” The words were out of her mouth before she fully realized what she was saying. When it clicked, her eyes widened. Oh gravy, had she just assumed they were going to marry and have children?
Tyler didn’t even bat an eye. With a wide smile, he fired back at her. “With your klutzy tendencies, they will probably issue a helmet to our kids at birth.”
Laney took his hand and the corners of her mouth split into a wide grin. “I like the sound of that.”
“What? Helmets? How bad is this klutzy tendency?”
“No,” she batted his arm with a playful swat, “the word ‘our.’ It sounds good.”
He squeezed her hand as they walked down the hall. “Yeah, it sure does.”
Laney forced herself not to grimace as she sat down gingerly on the donut in the back of the limo.
“Is it bad?” Tyler asked as he turned to her.
“It’s kind of like sitting on a really pointy rock all the time.” She shifted around to try to get comfortable.
“Well, you won’t have to sit too long, I promise.”
Laney wondered what that meant. She had assumed they were simply returning to the house as Justin had said they wouldn’t have any solo dates until Tyler’s ranch, so a feeling of surprise blossomed when the limo pulled up to the beach. “What’s this?”
His eyes twinkled, and his lips twitched. “Justin said we could have a little alone time on the way back today, and since sitting is so painful, I thought a walk on the beach might be more fun.” He stepped out first and then reached back for her.
“You thought right.” She laced her fingers through his and matched his mischievous grin. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to ask, but how did your other dates go?” Laney wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer, but she was hoping for a little reassurance. What had started as attraction was quickly blossoming into real feelings.
He shook his head. “Nope, this time is about us. I want to know more about you.”
Laney could appreciate that. She firmly believed God had brought them together, but a lasting relationship needed a firm foundation, and, in that area, they were lacking. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“You said once you became a makeup artist, so you wouldn’t be invisible. What made you think you were invisible?”
“Phew, that is quite the question. When I was in school, I was smart. In sixth grade, I won the Valedictorian award, but I wanted to be more than smart, you know? I wanted, like so many girls, to be popular. And I tried everything - buying the right clothes, wearing the right makeup, but I was the girl everyone knew but no one invited out. Looking back now, I realize God was probably protecting me. Several of the popular girls in my class ended up pregnant before graduation, and one even committed suicide after her mother forced her to have an abortion, but I couldn’t see that then. All I could see was the girl that no one wanted to date, and so I thought about what would make me stand out. I watched a modeling show and figured if I could learn makeup then I could make myself beautiful and if I were good enough at it, I could do makeup for models and make a name for myself. That’s stupid, right?”
The Cowboy's Reality Bride Page 11