Authors: Jennifer Ryan
Gabe and Blake each grasped one of his arms, helping him stand and balance on his good leg. Thanks to Ella and Gillian, he had sweats, a T-shirt, and a new pair of tennis shoes, though he only needed one. He was ready to get home and crash on the couch, watch TV, and get some much-needed sleep. The hospital was too loud. The nurses came in constantly to check his blood pressure, take blood, and generally make sure they woke him up when he finally fell asleep. Too many people stopped by to see him. He appreciated it, but right now, he wanted to be left alone to think about what his brothers said about him taking over the ranch, what happened to him, and what he was going to do next.
Dane hopped forward and turned, then Gabe and Blake helped him settle into the wheelchair. Dr. Bell carefully lifted his bad leg and set it on the stand to keep his knee straight and take the weight off it.
She checked his toes and the new bandages under the brace. “Looks good. Here, take these.”
He took the pills from her outstretched hand and popped them in his mouth. A nurse handed him a cup of water. He drank down the water and the pills, hoping they’d take effect soon. The throbbing pain in his leg and ribs got worse with every breath he took. He shouldn’t have stopped the pain meds altogether. He hated that he needed them, but he didn’t have a choice. No way he’d get through the trip home without them. He’d have to be careful. He’d seen too many friends start on the pain meds after a hard ride and never get off them. He didn’t want to go down that road. Not that he had a problem. But that’s what happened sometimes—you took one because you needed it, then you needed two to take the edge off, and the next thing you knew, you couldn’t live without them.
He thought of Rowdy and his drinking. The damage his addiction had done to his life. Brandy’s. Kaley’s if Brandy didn’t keep him away.
Bell handed the bag of medication and instructions to Gabe. “Put these in Dane’s things.” She checked her watch. “Make sure they’re on the plane with us. He’ll need another pain med in four hours. If we’re delayed, I don’t want him to go without the next dose.” She looked down at Dane. “It’s not good to just stop taking them. You need to taper off gradually. No alcohol or other drugs with them. You don’t want to mess with drug interactions or more side effects.”
“I’m all good, Doc. I’ll follow your directions.”
“If these pain meds aren’t enough, call my office. I can reevaluate your pain levels and find a better solution. If you experience anything strange with your leg—tingling, muscle spasms, persistent pain, a fever—you call my office.”
“Give me your number, and I’ll call you.”
“My office number is on the prescriptions. Your family has my business card.”
“That’s not the number I want.”
“That’s the only number you’re getting. Now, let’s go. While you may think I’ve been at your beck and call here, I actually have other patients I need to get back to.”
Bell walked out of his room ahead of everyone, but not before she heard Gabe say, “Give up, man, she’s out of your league.”
“Never going to happen. I owe her.”
“Trust me, you’ll pay up when you get her bill,” Blake teased.
They said their goodbye to Blake in front of the hospital. He climbed into Dane’s truck at the back of the lot and drove out first. Dane watched the truck and his trailer disappear.
“What happened to the back window?” Bell asked.
“Some asshole busted it out, stole my gear, and tossed it in a Dumpster at the arena. Lucky for me, security found it.”
“Did you talk to the officials?” Gabe asked. “Sounds like someone tried to sabotage your chances at the championship.”
“They tried, but I still won.”
“You got lucky,” Ella said.
“An angel watches over me.”
Dane caught Bell staring at the tattoo on his arm. Her gaze locked with his. He gave her one of those mischievous grins that sent a ripple of warmth over her skin. She looked away, trying not to get caught in the illusion he created so easily that she meant something to him.
“Has anything like that happened before?” Gabe asked.
“A couple of times. Nothing major. Nuisance kind of stuff. Nothing I couldn’t handle. The damage to the truck was the worst of it. Now that I’m retired, I’m sure whoever was doing it will leave me alone.”
They piled into the rented SUV. Bell sat in the far back, watching and listening to the family. They got along so easily. Ella and Gillian talked about Gillian’s pregnancy, decorating the nursery, and a horse that Gillian was rehabilitating at Three Peaks Ranch. Gabe and Dane talked about cattle, what Dane thought of doing some crossbreeding between the two ranches, and Dane’s having to upgrade the old family home now that he was moving in alone. Bell felt like an intruder and a voyeur. Definitely the outsider in the tight-knit group.
“Hey, honey, did we lose you back there?” Dane asked from the front passenger seat.
“You left all your honeys back at the hospital and arena,” she reminded him.
The sigh he gave her made her want to smile, but she held it back. Ella and Gillian had no trouble laughing at Dane.
“He calls everyone honey,” Gillian said.
“Not you and Ella. He calls you by your names or ‘sis,’ ” Bell pointed out.
Ella turned and stared back at her. “You’re right. He does. Interesting.”
“Oh God, please don’t start analyzing me like the doc did,” Dane pleaded. “It’s bad enough she calls me on it every time I slip.”
“About time someone called you out on the dismissive way you treat all those women you have no trouble sleeping with but can’t seem to carry on a conversation past ‘Hey honey, wanna come back to my room?’ ” Gillian smacked Dane’s shoulder when he groaned.
Gabe busted up. Dane punched Gabe on the shoulder, turned in his seat, and glared at Ella and Gillian.
“You guys really think I’m that bad?”
“Do you know any women who aren’t blonde and can talk about anything besides how hot you are?” Ella asked.
“Well, that is my favorite subject.” Dane took laughing and rude jibes from his brother in stride. “The women who matter and actually care about me and not the fat payday I just got were in the room with me. The others I sent on their way.”
“That’s sad,” Gillian said. “The only women you care about are your sisters.”
“You aren’t the only women I spent time with while I was laid up.”
Bell thought of Brandy and her little girl, Kaley. Yes, Dane could be serious. Carry on a conversation with a woman. Care for her. Dane and Brandy had a tight bond.
Then Bell thought of the conversation she’d had with Dane about his future. She’d seen his sincerity. His thoughtfulness in thinking about his life and the changes he wanted to make. She’d seen a real need to take this second chance and do something with it. He’d let his guard down and shown her a piece of who he really was.
Before the others could keep razzing Dane, she asked, “Who’s going to take care of you the first week or so that you’re home?”
“You mean you’re not coming to stay with me?” Dane teased.
“Don’t worry, we’re all taking turns making sure he stays off his leg. Mom and Dad stocked the fridge and got the house set up. They’ll meet us there when we get home,” Gabe said.
Ella looked over her shoulder. “We’ll make sure he follows that long list of instructions you gave us.”
“It’s important that he keeps taking all the antibiotics until they’re gone. Same time each day is best. Keep up with the pain meds and the physical therapy exercises.”
“And seeing you once a week,” Dane added.
“Just until I see that the smaller bones are healing and there’s no infection. Then, we’ll spread that out a few weeks.”
“I’d like to see you more than once a week.”
Everyone in the car went quiet, reading more into his words than he’d meant.
Face it, Bell, he’s just flirting with you the way he does with everyone else
.
Right?
So why did Gillian share a look with Ella? Were they as surprised as Bell was by those simple words?
She didn’t answer him. She left it alone and thanked God they’d arrived at the airport. She’d never flown on a private plane. Probably never would again. She got out of the car after everyone else and stared at the small plane just outside the hangar. Gabe helped Dane out of the front seat and into the wheelchair, putting his leg up again. Bell studied Dane’s face for any sign that he was in too much pain to be moved, but he seemed fine and stared back at her with an odd look in his eyes she couldn’t read. She went to the back of the SUV and grabbed her suitcase and satchel. She rounded the car to follow Ella and Gillian to the plane.
“Gabe, take Bell’s bags for her,” Dane called to his brother.
Gabe walked toward her, rolling a big suitcase behind him.
“I’ve got it,” she said, appreciating Dane and Gabe’s manners, but perfectly capable of stowing her own things on the plane.
Gabe pushed Dane to the plane’s short staircase into the cabin and stopped. Dane planted his good foot on the ground, took Gabe’s outstretched hand, and pulled himself up. Off balance, he almost fell over. Ella reached out and steadied him. Unable to use the crutches Gillian carried, Dane turned and sat on the third step. He braced his hands on the step behind him, pressed up on his palms, and pushed with his foot until his butt landed on the step above. He crab-crawled up the steps, his wide shoulders barely fitting through the narrow doorway, until he sat in the plane’s cabin. Then he turned, took Gabe’s hand, and rose back up on his good foot.
“Well, that was humiliating.”
“I could have carried you in like a baby,” Gabe said.
Dane shoved him aside and fell into a seat, gently setting his bad leg on the seat across from him. Bell stepped over his outstretched leg and took the seat next to his foot, tossing her satchel next to him on the seat across from her.
“Are you okay?” Ella asked Gillian in the row behind Dane’s seat.
“Fine. Just tired and ready to go home and sleep in my own bed.”
“You all right, sis?” Dane called over to Gillian.
“Stop fussing, both of you. I’m fine.”
“All right, folks, we’re ready to taxi out. Buckle up. We’ll get you up in the air and on your way home to Montana. The bar and galley are stocked with drinks and snacks, as Ms. Wolf requested. If there’s anything you need, just let us know,” the pilot said, taking his seat next to the copilot.
Bell watched out the window while the plane taxied out to the runway. Dane watched her. She didn’t acknowledge his intense stare. She didn’t know what he was looking at or for. Better to let it go. They’d be back in Montana, she’d go back to work, and she wouldn’t have to think about the way he made her feel.
She felt him in a way she didn’t understand. It was like some dial inside her tuned into him. Now all she focused on was his breath, his movements, and the way he took up the space across from her.
Unable to resist any longer, she turned and looked at him. He didn’t seem fazed that she’d caught him staring. In fact, he stared harder.
“What?”
“I like your hair.”
Self-conscious, she reached up and touched her fingers to her short style. She liked the pixie cut, with slightly longer bangs that swept over her forehead. She could sweep them back for a different style. Either way, it took her less than ten minutes to do her hair. When she had to put on a cap for surgery, she came out looking pretty much the same as when she went in. With her hectic schedule, she didn’t have time to do her hair, and tying it up in a ponytail when it was long got old real fast.
“Uh, thanks. It’s easy.”
“It suits your face.”
“Thanks,” she said, drawing out the word, wondering where he was going with all this.
“You have no idea how pretty you are.”
She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t consider herself pretty. In fact, she never really thought about her looks. She focused on the things that mattered. Her education and training. Doing her job. Anything but herself, because when she looked too deep, all she found was the hurt she hid from everyone. Better they focus on who she’d become instead of the abandoned and lonely girl inside.
“If this is as smooth as you get, bro, give it up now,” Gabe teased.
Bell’s cheeks warmed. No way was he flirting with her. This was something different. He looked at her like some puzzle to solve. He didn’t get her, so he needed to solve whatever questions still lingered in his mind.
The plane’s engines revved. She felt the vibration rush through her. She didn’t mind flying, she’d just done it so rarely that it made her nervous. More nervous than the man across from her. They sped down the runway and took off. Bell kept her focus on their rise into the sky out the window beside her. Dane kept his focus on her.
“Where’d you get those blue eyes? They’re nothing like your sister’s.”
“We have different mothers.”
“Does your mother have dark hair?”
“Light brown.”
“What about your dad?”
“Do you want a genetics chart for my mother and father to show you how two people who are complete opposites produced a dark-haired, blue-eyed girl?”
“If it’ll get you to answer the question, yeah.”
“It’s not such an oddity.”
“It’s not odd. It’s stunning.”
That caught her attention. She turned from the window to look back at him, but she caught Gabe and Ella, sitting next to each other across the aisle behind Dane, smiling at her.
“What do you do when you’re not working at the hospital or clinic?” Dane asked.
“I’m always working.” To prove her point and stop him from asking more questions, she opened her laptop and pulled up the medical journal article she’d been working on since taking Dane’s case.
She typed for ten minutes before he interrupted her again. “What are you writing?”
“An article about the way I fixed your leg and the innovative wire mesh I used to hold the bone fragments in place to heal.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Can I see it?”
She hit save and handed him her laptop.
Dane read for a few minutes, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.