Read Online The Rough and Ready Rancher by Kathie DeNosky - Free Book Online Page B

out?”
    â€œSince we left the gorge.” Flint rode the bay up to the truck, then stepped down into its bed. Lifting the limp cowboy off the horse, he laid Jim on the blankets and elevated his leg with the pillows. “Besides a broken leg, he’s got some bruised ribs and he’s partially dehydrated.”
    â€œDaddy, is Jim gonna be all right?” Ryan asked, his small chin trembling.
    Flint jumped down from the truck bed. Swinging Ryan up into his arms, he assured, “He’ll be fine. We’ll take him to the hospital in Amarillo, and they’ll fix him up good as new.”
    â€œI don’t like hospitals.” Tears threatened to spill from Ryan’s big brown eyes. “People go there and never come back.”
    Flint’s chest tightened at the fear in his son’s eyes. SinceNicole’s death, the child had been terrified of hospitals. Hugging him close, Flint tried to absorb Ryan’s fear. “Hospitals also make people well.”
    Jenna dismounted and walked over to them. “Ryan, would you like to ride back to the house with me while your dad and Whiskers take Jim into Amarillo? We could finish that game of Go Fish.”
    â€œCan I, Daddy?” Ryan asked, looking hopeful.
    Flint’s gaze met Jenna’s. Her reassuring smile had him smiling right back. “Sure. If Jenna doesn’t mind.”
    â€œI’d be more than glad to have the company.” She took Ryan and set him on the bay. “Go on and take Jim to the hospital. We’ll be waiting for you at the house.”
    Flint stared at her a moment longer before climbing into the back of the truck with the injured cowboy. He tried to fight his reaction to her words, the feelings they caused. But knowing she’d be there awaiting his return sent a warmth coursing all the way to his soul.
    Â 
    Jenna sat in the porch swing, her arms wrapped around the sleeping little boy in her lap. She’d always wanted children, and if things had worked out, she would have had a child about Ryan’s age. A sandy-haired little boy or girl with laughing, green eyes just like his or her father’s.
    For the first time in six years Jenna allowed herself to freely remember the gentle young man she’d planned to marry. But no longer was the image of his face so vivid or the sound of his voice as clear as it had once been. The passage of time had healed the hurt of losing him, taken care of the pain. But it had also eased him into a comfortable part of the past.
    A past she had learned to live with, but would never, as long as she lived, forget.
    For a long time she’d waited for someone to awaken her. To tell her it had all been a terrible nightmare, that Danwasn’t gone. But it had happened, and all the waiting in the world wouldn’t change it.
    Now she waited again. Waited for word on Jim’s condition. Waited for Flint.
    In the distance twin beams of light split the darkness as a truck approached the house. Her pulse quickened as the ebony curtain of night closed in behind them. The wait was over. Flint was home.
    After he parked the truck, he and Whiskers climbed the porch steps. “How’s Jim?” she asked, careful not to wake Ryan.
    â€œHe’s gonna be just fine,” Whiskers said, patting her shoulder. He yawned and shook his head. “I’m gettin’ too old for these shenanigans. I’ll see you two in the mornin’.”
    The screen door banging shut behind Whiskers brought Flint out of the daze he’d been in since the truck lights flashed across the porch and he’d spotted Jenna in the swing, his son cradled to her breast. Was there any sweeter sight to a bone-weary man than that of a woman and child holding a vigil for his return?
    â€œHow long has Ryan been asleep?”
    â€œAbout an hour.” She looked down at his son and smiled. “He wanted to wait up for you, but just couldn’t stay awake. I promised I’d