The Rancher And The Redhead Read online

  “Get going,” Daniel said abruptly, deadly sober now.

  Maggie’s eyes opened. “Your hand—”

  “It’s nothing.”

  Jaimie snorted. This macho stuff was for the birds. She climbed in the front seat, scooting to the center. “Get in.”

  Maggie’s voice was soft. “Please, Daniel.”

  A muscle ticked in Daniel’s jaw. But he got in. Matthew turned the vehicle around and headed out to the highway.

  Everyone was silent as Matthew broke more than a few speed postings as they headed for Gillette. Tension was so thick that by the time Matthew pulled up outside the emergency room entrance, Jaimie wondered why the truck hadn’t simply exploded.

  “I’ll get a wheelchair,” Jaimie said when they climbed out. Daniel just shook his head and, despite the pain his hand must be in, he lifted Maggie out and carried her inside. Jaimie hurried after them, leaving Matthew to park the truck.

  When he joined them, Daniel was standing at the chest-high counter, drumming his good fingers on the surface. “They’ve already taken Maggie back,” Jaimie told Matthew. “But they need her insurance information.”

  Matthew pinched the bridge of his nose. This, at least, he could help with, since he was the one who paid for the policies. He took the form from Jaimie and started filling it out. “Get your hand taken care of,” he told his brother.

  Daniel nodded, his attention on the double doors separating the waiting area from the exam rooms. Jaimie touched his elbow, distracting him.

  “So, what’d you do?” she asked, striving for a touch of levity. “Punch a wall?”

  “Yeah.” Daniel slouched into one of the hard plastic seats.

  “Excuse me?” She’d been joking, for heaven’s sake.

  “Guess you didn’t notice the hole he left in the kitchen wall,” Matthew said, joining them. He sat down next to his brother.

  “I hate hospitals,” Daniel muttered eventually.

  Silently Matthew agreed. He glanced at the big clock high on the wall for about the fiftieth time. His first introduction to hospitals had been when his mother died. Then, too, was the all-too-fresh memory of the day last year when Squire had his heart attack. He’d sat for hours in this very waiting room, waiting for word on whether his father was going to live or die. Two days later, stabilized but still unconscious, Squire had been transferred to a hospital in Casper.

  “So what happened?” Daniel finally asked. “Did she fall or something?”

  Jaimie shook her head. “It just...happened.” She stood up, restless.

  A nurse approached. “Are you Jaimie? Your sister-in-law is asking for you.”

  Jaimie couldn’t help glancing at Matthew. His eyes were focused on the toes of his boots. She wiped her palms down the sides of her jeans and followed the nurse.

  The double doors swung closed behind them. Matthew sighed. He stood up and fished some change out of his pocket. Going to the machine in the corner, he inserted the coins. Carrying the sodas with him, he opened one and handed it to his brother. Then he pressed the other to his throbbing forehead right on top of the bandage.

  They sat in silence for a long while. Daniel had taken to pacing the waiting room, and Matthew’s head was propped in his hands as he tried to press his headache out with his fingertips when the same nurse that had taken Jaimie back poked her head out, calling Daniel’s name.

  He followed her through the double doors. An hour later he returned, sporting a brand-new cast.

  “Guess you did it up good,” Matthew greeted him. “How many casts does that make now?”

  “Who can remember?” Daniel rubbed his eyebrow. “I saw Maggie back there.”

  “And?”

  His brother was silent for a long moment. “They’re admitting her,” he finally said, his voice gruff. “Jaimie’ll be out soon.”

  “The baby?”

  “There’s still a chance. Her obstetrician is here. If the baby comes now, the chances—” He shook his head and scrubbed his good hand across his face. “Maggie’s asking for Joe.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Look, you’re beat. Take the truck and go on home. Or call Jeff. I’m sure he’d drive up and take you back.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  “Dan—”

  “I’m not leaving. Not yet.”

  Matthew knew that look of Dan’s. There wasn’t any point in arguing.

  A movement by the double doors attracted their attention. Jaimie came through and walked toward them. “I’m gonna see if I can find some place to get cleaned up,” Daniel said. He passed Jaimie and went back to the examining area.

  “How’s she doing?”

  Jaimie hugged her arms close, rubbing her hands over her elbows. “I don’t know. I mean, obviously, they’re doing what they can.” She shook her head. “She’s not saying much at all, really.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “This baby means everything to her. She’s waited so long.”

  Matthew ached at the misery in Jaimie’s eyes.

  Jaimie sniffed, dashing her fingers beneath her eyes. “I don’t know why I’m the one crying so much. Maggie’s the one in there. I wish—Oh, God it’s too early.” Her voice broke.

  Matthew pulled her against him. She was so desperate for his comfort that she let him. Her forehead pressed against his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt. His hands smoothed up and down her back. The wad of tears threatening to choke her slowly abated. She still didn’t, want to leave his arms. It was that very reason that had her stepping away from him.

  She cleared her throat, feeling awkward. “I have to find my brother. Maybe he’s back at the Double-C by now.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed. “I’ll see if I can round him up.”

  “You don’t need to. I can manage,” she said.

  His eyes glided over her face. He gently lifted a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I know.”

  Speechless, she stared at him. Watched his head lower and felt the gentle kiss he brushed across her lips. The caress was so sweet and pure it stole her breath and made tears threaten all over again.

  “Why don’t you go back in with Maggie,” he suggested.

  “I, uh, can’t.” She realized she’d lifted her fingertips to touch her lips, and shoved her wayward hand into her pocket. “Not yet, I mean. They’re moving her to a regular room.”

  He gave a nod, obviously in thought.

  “I’m sure you want to get back.”

  His eyes focused on her face. “You’re sure, are you?” “Well—” She gestured toward the door. “I mean you’re probably wanting to get that tractor to Jefferson’s. And ... and ... have no idea how long Maggie’ll be here before...well before. I know you’ve got things you want to get back to. Once Joe gets here—” she swallowed “—it’s not really your concern.”

  Matthew’s jaw tightened. “Touché.”

  She huffed. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “It’s exactly what you meant.”

  “Excuse me.” They both turned to see a young candy striper standing nearby. “Your friend is in her room now,” the girl said, her wide eyes staring at Matthew. As if he were some movie star or something. “It’s on the next floor—212. Turn right off the elevators. I’d be happy to show you the way,” she added breathlessly.

  Jaimie shook her head. “That’s not necessary.” Of course the teenager was slathering over Matthew. The man could turn a solid block of ice to mush. “Thanks, though.” She moistened her lips, sliding a glance Matthew’s way when the candy striper trailed away, casting a lingering gaze over her shoulder. “I’ll go up now,” Jaimie told him. “Thank you for bringing us.”

  “Such politeness. Are you in shock or something?”

  “Fine. Forget I said anything. You can go now.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. He tucked his hand around her upper arm and bent his head close to her ear. “Let’s get a few things straight, shall we? I’m not leaving until I’m good and ready.” His hold wasn’t painful, no
r did he let her scoot away when she tried. “I’m sorry for what I said this morning in the kitchen. Accept it or not. I drove Maggie here because I’m concerned, too. She’s as much a part of the Double-C as Dan or I.”

  “Let me go,” she hissed, painfully aware that he didn’t consider her a part of the Double-C, too.

  He abruptly did so. “Go on up to Maggie’s room. I’ll let you know when I’ve gotten hold of Joe.”

  His implacable suggestion stirred her vocal cords. “But—” “Go!” Her eyes shot daggers at him as she turned and went. He figured it was better than tears.

  Now it was up to him to find his foreman. He sighed and went in search of a phone.

  Chapter Eleven

  Matthew hung up the pay phone with a final click. He rolled his head side to side, loosening his tight neck as he walked back toward the row of seats against the wall of the small waiting room located down the hall from Maggie’s private room.

  He and Jaimie were alone now in the room. Had been for an hour or so. But before that, he’d watched Jaimie curtail her own worry as she charmed and soothed two children who had been waiting with their stoic grandmother for news on their parents, who’d been involved in an accident. Those kids, a boy and a girl, couldn’t have been more than seven, and they’d been scared out of their minds. The grandmother hadn’t been any help. Jaimie had sat right down on the floor in the corner over there by the stack of books and assorted toys, and within ten minutes the kids had been singing soft songs with her and shy smiles had replaced their tears.

  Finally the parents had been deemed stable, and the grandmother had carted off the children, but not before they’d given Jaimie a hug so heartfelt that even Matthew had felt it.

  He stopped several feet away from the chairs, his eyes on Jaimie’s slender form stretched across several seats. She was exhausted. He’d tried to get her to eat something around lunchtime, and then again at suppertime, but she’d merely picked and poked at the food. Her worry over Maggie was palpable. Within two hours of being admitted, Maggie had developed a fever. The doctor hadn’t yet been able to determine why.

  He sat down in the chair perpendicular to Jaimie’s head and curtailed the urge to smooth the long tangle of hair from her sleeve. He stretched out his legs and leaned his head back against the wall, watching Jaimie through his lashes.

  Her arm was draped across her eyes and her knees bent toward the seat backs. Even uncomfortable as he knew the seats to be, she was graceful in her fitful sleep. Her arm moved and she murmured.

  Matthew’s hearing had always been acute. His jaw tightened when he realized, the name on her lips was his. Silently he rose to his feet and moved across the room to the windows. It wasn’t quite dark yet, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see a few snowflakes drifting to the ground from the gray sky.

  He’d talked to Jefferson earlier that afternoon. Between his brother and Squire, who’d returned from the cabin, the Double-C would be taken care of until he, Dan and Joe returned.

  He hadn’t been able to turn off one disturbing realization since Maggie had been admitted: the fact that he’d have been tearing down walls if it had been Jaimie lying in that hospital bed.

  Within minutes she was shifting, drawing his thoughts away from that dangerous turn. She lowered her arm and looked around, her eyes becoming shadowed when they rested on him.

  With some difficulty he focused his thoughts. “I found Joe.”

  She blinked groggy eyes, then swung her legs to the ground. Her long fingers raked back her hair. “Where was he?”

  Matthew tugged at his lower lip. She’d had to ask. Joe’s activities had been varied that day—starting at the only motel Weaver possessed and ending hours later in Casper. He settled for the easiest answer. “In Casper.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Casper? Whatever for?”

  Matthew made himself shrug. “Supplies.”

  Her eyes lost the haze of sleep clinging to them. “Supplies.” She sniffed and stood up, smoothing her palms down her jeans. “Is he coming here?”

  “I arranged a charter. He’ll be here anytime now.” It had taken him hours to track down his foreman. He’d found himself wishing he had the bloodhound instincts of Jefferson or Tristan. But his persistence had eventually paid off.

  “A charter. Oh. How nice of you.” She swiped at her hair again. “What time is it?”

  “Dinnertime.”

  Jaimie didn’t seem to hear him. “I wonder if that guard-dog nurse of Maggie’s will let me in there yet.”

  “She was pretty adamant about observing visiting hours.”

  “Adamant? The woman was positively rabid. I still can’t believe she wouldn’t let those little kids see their parents. It would’ve been better for them to see the casts on their legs and arms, than sit in here wondering ... well, you know.” Jaimie paced to the doorway and looked out. “Where is Daniel, anyway?” Her restless pacing brought her back in front of the chairs. “Did he go back to the Double-C?”

  “He took a couple rooms at the hotel across the street”

  She stared at him. “For who?”

  “Us.”

  Heat swept into her cheeks. “Oh.” Jaimie suddenly wished there was somebody else in the waiting room with them. Anyone else. Just so she didn’t go making a fool of herself again. The idea of hotel rooms had her at a complete loss. Her brain simply shut down. That’s all. Just...shut...down.

  “Jaimie.”

  Lord, the way he said her name. As if to back away from the thought of Matthew and hotel rooms, she physically backed away from him even though there was no room in which to back. “Yes?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing. Look, I’m just, just worried about Maggie.”

  “I know. We all are. Why are you trembling?”

  “I’m not,” she lied. “Look, if you must know, I’m worried about Joe, too. Does that satisfy you?” She was worried about her brother. But she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking, because she simply couldn’t get past that hotel room thing.

  He brushed his thumb down her cheek. “I haven’t been satisfied since the day we met,” he mused. “And no matter how hard or which way I try to twist it, it always comes back to that.”

  Her mouth ran dry. She could only stare at him. At his sharply angled jaw, liberally dusted with golden stubble. At the surprisingly lush lashes surrounding his white-blue eyes. Eyes that studied her beneath heavy lids. “What are you saying?”

  Matthew closed his hands over her shoulders, molding the delicate curve of muscle and bone. He swallowed, feeling more awkward than he could ever remember feeling. “I, uh, I care about you, is all.”

  Her eyes closed for a moment. When she opened them again, her attention was turned toward the floor. “Is it so hard to say?”

  He cleared his throat and slid his hands down her arms to catch her hands. “Yeah.”

  She moistened her lips, seeming to study their linked fingers. “Are you involved with Donna Blanchard?”

  Now where was that mind of hers going? “Well, yeah, you could say that. I thought you knew.”

  She jerked her hands from his and tucked them in her stiffly crossed arms.

  “What? What did I say?”

  Her eyes glittered. “Leave me alone, Matthew.”

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “Why are you upset now?” She gave him a look that should’ve scorched him to his heels. It merely made him want to toss her over his shoulder and haul her off somewhere more private than this bloody hospital waiting room. Thankfully, his common sense overrode the caveman instinct. He drew in a slow, deep breath and looked at this woman who’d turned his entire world inside out. “My involvement with Donna is only—”

  “I don’t want to hear about it.”

  “Too bad.”

  She sniffed imperiously and stepped to the side. He followed. She glared at him.

  “I’m buying Donna’s spread from her.”

  “So? She wouldn’
t sell it to you until you slept with her?”

  “I’m not sleeping with Donna Blanchard! Gawdalmighty, woman, where do you come up with this stuff?”

  “You just told me you were involved with her!”

  “SSHHH!”

  They both whirled to see the nurse standing in the doorway, giving them a disapproving look. “This is a hospital,” she said crisply. “We can hear you all the way down the hall.” She wheeled around on her crepe-soled shoes and squeaked along the tiled floor as she left

  Jaimie crossed her arms. “Move out of my way, please.”

  He didn’t budge. “I’m involved with Donna only because I’m buying her property. I’m not sleeping with her now. I have never slept with her. I don’t want her. I want you,” he growled. “I can’t think straight for wanting you. I close my eyes and see you etched on my brain. I wake up looking forward to seeing your little face across the breakfast table. I go into my office, and there’s one of those crazy hearts or shamrocks you’ve cut out lying around.”

  He nudged her chin up with his thumb when she moved restlessly. “I’ll be out on Jasper, and his coat is the same color as your hair. I go to bed and my sheets smell like you. Even my own dog follows you around like a shadow. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since we met, and until I get you in my bed for the night, I’m not likely to.” He made an impatient sound and turned away, thrusting his fingers in his pockets.

  Stunned, the only word she could summon was his name.

  He whirled on his heel, his eyes intent, his beautifully molded lips drawn tight. “Is that clear enough for you now?” He hauled her close and kissed her as if he’d never kissed her before.

  “Well, now. Ain’t this sweet.”

  Slowly Matthew lowered Jaimie until her feet hit the floor. His hands at her waist kept her against him, and he looked over his shoulder at Daniel. “Go away.”

  Daniel’s grin didn’t fade as he shook his head and straightened from the doorway. “Can’t do that,” he said regretfully as he walked toward them. “The way you two’re going at it, somebody might walk in when things are really interesting.” His smile widened at the heat that climbed into Jaimie’s cheeks.