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his businesslike attitude. “I’m glad you got that cleared up. Now, here’s what I want you to do for the next two days.”
    “Unless you want me to die of hunger, let her feed me something besides broth,” Nate begged.
    “I guess if he’s strong enough to sit up all afternoon, he’s ready for some solid food,” Dr. Danforth told Roberta. “Just don’t start him on a diet of steak and beans. Some baked chicken ought to perk up your appetite.”
    The physician had just finished going over what he wanted Roberta to do for the next couple of days when the bedroom door was flung open, and Prudence Goodfellow appeared like a bad fairy.
    “What is that man doing here?” She sounded like a demigod passing judgment on fallible mankind. “He must leave at once.”

Chapter Five
    “He can’t leave until I say so,” the doctor said. “Now go bother someone else.”
    “He was shot during the attack,” Roberta said, trying to reassure Prudence. “He has to stay here until he’s well enough to go back to his ranch.”
    “If he’s one of the attackers, he belongs in jail,” Prudence declared. “I’ll have the sheriff remove him.”
    “He was coming to help,” Roberta admitted. “I shot him by mistake.”
    That revelation gave Prudence pause. “I don’t believe you. You’re not a violent woman.”
    “I’d just seen my father shot. I didn’t know what I was doing.” Roberta followed Prudence’s gaze, which was fastened on Nate’s bare chest.
    “It’s not proper for a respectable woman to be in a house alone with an undressed man unless it’s her husband.”
    “I’m changing his bandage,” the doctor said. “If you don’t like what you see, don’t look.”
    “I don’t care about myself, but Roberta, who shouldn’t be exposed to…” Prudence seemed at a loss for words.
    “Am I so ugly I offend her?” Nate asked.
    “It’s not a question of attractiveness,” Prudence asserted. “No young woman can be alone with a man without endangering her reputation.”
    “I can barely sit up without help,” Nate pointed out. “How can I possibly endanger her reputation?”
    “You’re a man,” Prudence declared.
    “Blame that on my parents,” Nate said. “I had nothing to do with it.”
    “You’re a good woman,” the doctor told Prudence, “but right now you sound like you have less sense than Crazy Joe. Do something about her, Roberta, before I give her an injection.”
    “Come on,” Roberta said to Prudence.
    “I’m not leaving this house while he’s here,” Prudence stated as Roberta pushed her out of the room. “You never know what a man is capable of, even one who’s been shot.”
    Russ, who had been waiting impatiently in the parlor, took exception to Prudence’s aspersion on his boss. “I’ll warrant he won’t be a danger to you.”
    “I’m here to see he’s not a danger to Roberta,” Boone added.
    “Russ is going to send someone to watch Nate at night,” Roberta told Prudence. “I promise to keep my door fastened. Joe arrives early every morning so I’ll be safe.”
    “I mean to take Nate back to the ranch as soon as the doctor says he can be moved,” Russ said to Prudence. “I don’t want him here any more than you do.”
    “Do you think Roberta’s incapable of taking care of him?” Boone demanded.
    When the two men started to argue, Roberta couldn’t stand it any longer. “Stop, all of you. Nate is going to remain here until the doctor says he can go home, and all your fussing isn’t going to change that. One of his men will be here from now on, so it’s unlikely that I’ll poison him or that he’ll attack me. The doctor will make sure I give Nate the care he needs, and Joe will protect my virtue. I think that covers everything, so you can go home. Boone has his saloon to run, Russ has to organize the watch, and Prudence has to get home before dark. I’m depending on the two of you to see that she gets there safely.”
    It would have been hard to