Chapter Two
Staring up at the ceiling, Josh bit down on his back teeth.
Every time someone bumped against his bed he felt like he was riding out a tsunami in a rubber raft.
It had been days since the explosion and he still couldn’t catch his balance.
At least not one hundred percent of the time—and you didn’t serve in Uncle Sam’s army if you were less than one hundred percent.
A small part of him muttered in the back of his mind to stop bitchin’.
Of all the guys who’d been caught in the blast, his vestibular dysfunction was the least serious injury.
Even the gash in his side no longer bothered him.
On the other hand, his buddies were going to be stuck here for a while, and it was still a coin toss if Kent was going to make it out of the burn ward at all.
“What are you still doing in bed?” Kade appeared at his bedside. “Didn’t you get the memo? You’re being discharged today.”
He would have nodded, but that would bring on the nausea.
“You packed?” Kade glanced around.
Reaching slowly, Josh used the control to lift the head of the bed and gingerly inched himself to an upright position. “Not much to pack. Nurse helped.”
“The pretty one?” Kade teased.
That made Josh smile. “Which one?”
“Damn.” Kade shook his head. “I’ve only seen the brunette. There are more?”
He heaved a deep sigh, not from frustration but more of a wowza response. “Red hair, green eyes, and an hourglass would wither beside her.”
“If I weren’t a happily married man, I might be tempted to request you stay longer so I can get a glimpse.”
While he would be the first to agree that the nurses here were definitely easy on the eyes, he was ready to get out of this place.
What he wasn’t looking forward to was convalescing.
No one would tell him how long it would be before this stupid inner ear thing would go away. Or if it would ever go away.
Not till this moment did Josh realize his buddy was out of uniform. “Did the brass give you the day off to be my chauffeur?”
“Nope. Gave me the whole week.” Kade waved the orderly over to the bedside. “Your getaway ride has arrived.”
Very slowly, he eased off the bed and managed to sink into the wheelchair without getting dizzy. If it wasn’t progress, he was willing to pretend that it was. “You need a week to drive me to housing?”
A grin took over Kade’s face. “No housing.”
His brows pulled up on his forehead. “What do you mean no housing? They can’t kick me out.”
“Not out. Doctors say you need to have someone around to keep an eye on you.”
He huffed—okay, maybe it was more of a grunt. At least it wasn’t a growl. “I haven’t needed a babysitter since I was five.”
“Good, because you’re not getting a babysitter.”
“All right. You do realize, even for you, you’re speaking in riddles. Just get to the point.”
Kade heaved a deep sigh. “Well, I wasn’t going to tell you till we were on the road and too late for you to object, but we’re heading to the ranch. My mother is expecting you so you can’t refuse.”
Of course he could. A bigger part of him did not want to be on the receiving end of anyone’s pity.
He could dang well go to his army housing and lick his wounds in private.
Though he had to admit, he’d taken a real liking to the Sweet family ranch, and the Sweet family.
Kade might just have a point. Fresh air, peace and quiet, and down home cooking would probably go a lot further to improving his physical condition than sulking in a recliner in front of the boob tube.
“I’m going to take your silence to mean you agree.”
Before he could say a word, Kade and the orderly were walking side by side talking about small town Texas as if it were a Hawaiian paradise.
Friendly people, pleasant weather, blue skies, chicken fried steak, and sunsets as far as your eyes could see.
He couldn’t disagree with any of it, which was probably why he hadn’t made any formal objections when Kade announced his plans without consulting him.
Next thing he knew, his bag was in the trunk of Kade’s rental, he was strapped into the passenger seat and the lousy headache he’d had for almost a week was actually fading without meds. Maybe that was a good sign. “You sure your mom doesn’t mind?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Kade shot a sideways glance in Josh’s direction. “You’re lucky she didn’t show up days ago to make sure you’re being well cared for. If I had let you go home she’d be yanking on my ear.”
“Your ear?”
“Yeah. If we dared step even slightly out of line, which trust me was not often, she would grab us by the ear and drag us to face my father.”
“Wow. She seems so nice.”
“She is nice, she just didn’t want to raise a bunch of hoodlums. Besides, Dad was more of a pussycat. He would put on a good show for Mom but he would always take it easy on us.”
“Obviously that worked.”
“Mostly because we were warned, if we didn’t toe the line, he’d throw us back to our mother.”
That had Josh laughing out loud for the first time since the convoy exploded. After his time with Mrs. Sweet, he could see why no one would want to cross the line. Good thing he wasn’t a wayward teen.
Katie had no idea if she had ever slept so soundly in her life.
A city girl, she’d never given any thought to what it might be like to live out in the middle of nowhere.
And West Texas was filled with a lot of nowhere.
Driving across the state, she was honestly shocked when she reached the massive expanse of land with little more than an occasional cluster of cows huddled under the lone tree or shade canopy.
By the time she’d reached the Sweet Ranch, she was flabbergasted by the panorama.
The sun wasn’t quite setting and the sky was painted with startling shades of reds, oranges, and bright pink that would have made any artist proud.
Even though the land seemed to go on forever with little more than varying shades of yellow, it was truly breathtaking.
She’d barely pulled into the front yard when Mrs. Sweet—Alice—came hurrying down the front steps to greet her with the same enthusiasm as a parent embracing their prodigal child.
Anyone would think that Alice Sweet had known Katie her entire life and not just since Jackie’s wedding.
Dinner had been chaotic, hectic and the most fun she’d had since the last time she’d come to Honeysuckle. By the time everyone had excused themselves to head to their own homes, Jackie and Alice had escorted her upstairs to Jillian’s old room.
“You planning on sleeping all day?” Jackie tapped lightly on the bedroom door before nudging it open and popping her head inside.
Stretching like a lazy cat awakened from an afternoon of slumber, Katie smiled at her friend. “Debating how awful would it be to spend my vacation on this bed. Is this a feather mattress?”
Jackie entered the room fully and crossed to sit at the end of the bed. “I think it’s just a feather topper. But it’s heavenly, isn’t it?”
Yawning, Katie nodded. “I really should get up.”
“Alice is making her famous French toast casserole. You’ll want to get it while it’s hot.”
“Does it come with coffee?”
Jackie laughed. “By the gallon.”
“Then I’m in.” She flung the blankets off the bed and swung her legs over the side. Twenty minutes later she was showered, dressed, and stepping into the kitchen. “Oh man. It smells amazing in here.”
“Thank you.” Alice pointed to the table with her nose where Jackie was already cradling a warm coffee.
Katie poured herself a cup and settled into a seat beside her best friend since college.
With a spatula in her hand, Alice scooped out a hefty portion of the breakfast casserole, added a few strips of bacon and set the plate in front of Katie. “I hope you were comfortable last night?”
“Very.” She took her first sip of coffee. Heaven.
“I know we thought you’d be able to use the new guest suite but Kade has a buddy who will be staying here while he recovers from an accident and Kade said going up and down stairs wouldn’t be advisable.”
“Oh, my.” Katie set her mug down. “Of course I don’t mind. That room upstairs is perfect and probably the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, but I do hope it’s not serious. Kade’s friend.”
Alice shrugged. “Not sure yet what we’re getting into. Kade was pretty tight lipped.”
No sooner had the words left Alice Sweet’s lips than the sound of a car door slamming, followed shortly by another, echoed through the house.
Her head lifting, her gaze riveted to the front door, a smile to outdo a kid on Christmas morning took over Alice Sweet’s face.
After only a few minutes, the smile was replaced by a frown and Alice crossed the room quickly, swinging the door open and pretty much marching out onto the front porch.
Her jaw dropped slightly open, ready to say something, and then sighing heavily, she snapped her mouth shut, her gaze fixed on something in the distance.
Suddenly feeling in the way, Katie decided to find something to make herself useful in the kitchen.
Something she couldn’t muck up. Glancing around, she wondered how the Sweet matriarch would feel about her sweeping the floor?
Surely that couldn’t be a problem. Everyone likes help cleaning house—didn’t they?
Only halfway to the kitchen, the back door swung open and Cassie appeared, stomping mud off her boots. “Are they here? Thought I heard a car pull up.”
“It seems so.”
Cassie practically flew past her to the front door making Katie wonder how long had it been since she’d seen her husband.
Next thing to cross her mind was wouldn’t it be nice to feel that way about someone.
She was still standing in the middle of the hall daydreaming about the perfect love when she spotted Alice Sweet slowly making her way up the porch steps, her arms open wide as if ready to catch a flying football.
The sight was odd enough to have Katie inching forward herself.
Not toward the kitchen but toward the front of the house.
Alice led the way back to the house. Cassie walked at her husband’s side, tucked under his arm.
“You’re doing great,” Alice encouraged the man walking behind her.
“Mom,” Kade almost whined from behind his friend, “he’s not a toddler learning to walk. He’s fine.”
“I really am, ma’am.” That voice washed over Katie like a warm blanket on a winter’s night. She stood rooted to the floor, curious to see if the man matched the voice.
Another moment and Alice hurried inside, a tall sandy blond man with broad shoulders and twinkling eyes crossed the threshold. If this was the wounded buddy, he looked awfully healthy to Katie. If she were honest, he looked absolutely delicious.
“Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable.” Alice waved to the living room sofa. “You’ll be inaugurating the guest wing. Kade will get your things.”
“Thank you, but I can grab my bag.” His head whipped around to point at the front doorway when all of a sudden, his eyes went wide, his arms sprung out sideways and he wobbled like one of those children’s toys that wobbled but didn’t fall down. Until he did. On her.