Chapter Thirteen #2
“No need.” Brooke pushed past her, ignoring the curious looks shooting their way. Mac set her jaw and followed her former friend out of the diner, taking her arm in a firm hold and pulling her to a stop once they reached the sidewalk.
“There’s every need, Brooke. I’m going to drive.”
*
“Change of plans.” Dylan and Jordan stopped at the gate as Trev followed them out of the house. “I’ve got to go to Bozeman.”
His brother and friend exchanged looks, then Dylan said, “Kind of sudden.”
“Mac is driving Brooke to the hospital there. I’m going to pick up Mac at Deaconess. She left her truck in Marietta, so if one of you guys can drive it home, I’d appreciate it. She left the keys at the Main Street Diner. All you’ve got to do is ask for them.”
Wade had already agreed to collect Raisin from the foreman’s house and bring her over to keep Barney the cat company.
“Who got hurt?” Dylan asked.
“Brooke’s fiancé.”
“Your Brooke?”
“That one,” Trev said shortly.
Jordan pushed back his hat, then seemed to change his mind about asking more questions. Dylan was already on his way out of the gate.
“I’ll explain later.” Once he had a better picture of Mike’s injury and Mac’s state of mind. She hadn’t sounded like a woman simply looking for a ride home. Mac, who tried so hard to need no one, had sounded like she very much needed him.
As he drove he wondered what he would encounter when he got to the hospital. Would Mac have rebuilt her defenses by that time? Or would she realize that she didn’t need to? That he wasn’t going to force her down a path she didn’t want to walk.
It felt like it took longer to find parking at the hospital than it did to drive from the ranch. Finally, he squeezed into a space that was meant for a compact, opened the passenger door, and climbed out onto the landscaping on that side.
Ticket me. I don’t care.
He strode to the emergency room entrance and then stood scanning the area as the doors closed behind him. Mac looked up, then got out of her chair and crossed the room to where he stood. She stopped a foot or so away, then walked straight into his arms, leaning against him.
“They let Brooke in to be with him before he goes to surgery. Ruptured spleen from a horse kick.”
Trev let his cheek rest briefly on top of her head, then took hold of her shoulders and held her away from him. “I can go at any time,” she said. “Mike’s parents will be here shortly to support Brooke.”
“Do you want to wait?” He wasn’t surprised when she nodded.
“At least until Brooke comes back out. I don’t want her to be alone.”
“Are you okay?”
“A little nerve-racked from the drive.”
“That’s understandable.” He was a bit nerve-racked himself. Taking her hand, he led her to the vinyl sofa where she’d been sitting when he arrived and pulled her down to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m okay,” she said as she stared across the room.
“I know.”
“But it was one hell of a drive.”
“Did you obey all the traffic laws?”
She made a noncommittal noise deep in her throat, then dropped her head against his shoulder.
They sat in silence until Brooke’s future in-laws arrived fifteen minutes later.
After they announced themselves to reception, Mac went to speak with them, explaining what she knew and offering assurances that everything was going to be okay.
The parents took seats and Mac returned to where Trev now stood ready to head out the door.
“I think it would be best for Brooke if she didn’t have to face me on top of everything else that’s going on.”
Mac nodded her understanding, then stepped over to Mike’s parents to tell them she was leaving.
“Did you and Brooke work things out?” Trev asked as they left the hospital.
Maclyn nodded wearily. “I don’t think she’ll be working against me anymore.”
*
Mac kept hold of Trev’s hand as they crossed the well-lit parking lot to his truck, which was parked in a minuscule space. He’d been correct about Brooke not needing to come face-to-face with him in time of crisis. That was the kind of guy Trev was.
When they got into his truck, he asked if she wanted to get something to eat before hitting the road, and she shook her head. Food did not appeal. All she wanted was to get back to the ranch, see her little dog. Maybe sleep. It had been an exhausting evening.
She’d been totally in control on the drive to the hospital, talking most of the way in an attempt to distract Brooke, and when they arrived at the emergency room, she’d been the picture of calm efficiency, helping Brooke nail down exactly what was happening.
She’d started her call to Trev, asking for a ride home, with the same calm efficiency, only to have it disintegrate when she heard the genuine concern in his voice. Was she okay? That had been his first question.
He cared. He wanted her to care.
She did and it scared her to death.
They would talk. Soon. Right now, she simply wanted to stare at the dark highway in front of them and not think too deeply. Gather her wits, her strength. Shake off the strange happenings of the day.
Trev put a hand on her thigh, and she automatically covered it with her own, drawing a sense of strength from his warm touch. Sometimes it was best to simply be in the moment, appreciate it for what it was.
If you knew what it was.
“Trev?”
“Yeah?”
She hesitated for just long enough to put Trev on edge. “I have an answer to the question you asked me yesterday.”
His grip tightened briefly, then he relaxed his hand. “Can we talk when we get home?”
“Yes.”
“Promise not to chicken out?” he asked.
The guy understood her too well.
“I don’t chicken out. I come to my senses.”
He cast her a sideways yeah-right look, which was exactly what she needed. She squeezed his hand. “Promise.”
*
Once they got back to the ranch, talking turned out to be more difficult than expected. Mac’s truck was in its usual spot near the foreman’s house, which would have been a great ending to the evening if a veterinarian truck had not also been there, parked beside the well-lit barn.
“Just what we need,” Trev muttered, turning off the ignition. He half turned to Mac. “You don’t have to—”
She was already opening the door.
Jordan met them at the barn door. “C-section. It went well. Big heifer calf.”
“Great.” Trev was relieved that the big event was over. C-sections were a lot of work.
“How’s …” Jordan began, only to have his voice trail off.
“Mike,” Mac supplied. “He’s having surgery for a ruptured spleen, but it looks like he’ll be okay.”
“Good to hear.”
The three of them headed into the barn where Dr. Kelly was loading supplies back into the side compartments of his truck. “Hey,” he said to Mac. “Did that job lead work out?”
“In a way,” Mac replied.
Trev gave her a look, but she kept her profile to him.
Wade was busy cleaning the pen where the C-section had taken place. Dylan opened the gate and held out his hand for the pitchfork. Surprisingly, Wade let him take it. “I’ll go make coffee.” He glanced at the vet. “Do you want to join us?”
“Wish I could.”
“I’ll pass, too,” Mac said. “Do you need me to take one of the night checks?”
Wade looked over his crew of four strapping guys, then shook his head. “Not tonight. Get some sleep.”
“Thanks.”
Dr. Kelly finished packing his truck, promised Wade a bill in the mail, then climbed into the cab to head off to his next late-night adventure.
“You should skip coffee, too,” Dylan said to Trev as the four men followed the vet truck out of the barn. Jordan turned off the light and Wade closed the wide doors as Dr. Kelly drove away.
“I’m making coffee anyway,” Wade muttered as he dropped the latch.
“I’ll join you,” Jordan said. “That other cow is looking problematic, so I’ll probably need the caffeine.”
They headed to the house as a group, then at the gate, Trev peeled off.
Wade pretended not to notice, but when Trev glanced over his shoulder, Jordan cocked an eyebrow, and Dylan gave him a discreet thumbs-up.
Trev was halfway to the foreman’s house when he heard the gate to the main house open and suddenly, he was joined by a dancing poodle-terrier.
“Heading home?” he asked the dog, who gave him a canine grin in response.
So was he, in a way.
He raised his hand to knock on the door a few minutes later, but it opened before his knuckles hit the wood.
Maclyn stood before him, barefooted with an untucked shirt over her jeans, looking as if she’d been surprised while undressing.
She leaned down to cuddle her pup, who’d been supposed to spend the night with Wade.
“You’re here,” she said as she rose back to her feet.
“I couldn’t stay away.”
Bold statement, but she didn’t slam the door, so maybe honesty was going to pay off.
Mac stepped back, holding the door. When she closed it again, the tiny living room was even smaller-feeling than usual. That’s what happened when a place was swamped with big, unspoken feelings.
“I can leave if you need some sleep.”
“No.”
“Mac—”