Rebecca Winters - Made For The Rancher

“Drink this. You need the sugar.”

“Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “If you hadn’t come when you did...”

“Don’t think about that.”

He moved over to the pilot and hunkered down next to him. “The paramedics will be here any moment. Are you feeling severe pain anywhere besides your head?”

“No. A hawk... It flew into the propeller and shattered the windshield.”

“You deserve a medal for getting both of you out of this crash alive. There aren’t that many open pockets in this area.”

“Rob’s an incredible pilot,” his companion acknowledged. “He told me exactly what to do.” She took a few more sips of the drink.

He glanced at her, noting that she wasn’t wearing a ring. “You were brave to try to pull him away from the plane.” As he spoke, several ambulances from Stevensville and the Bronco he’d called for drove into view.

The driver recognized Wymon and called out to him. Quick as lightning, two of the men with him started draining fuel from the wings of the plane in the hope of preventing a fire. Another one got busy removing the battery.

To Wymon’s relief, the paramedics came running over to take care of the crash victims. “I’m all right,” the woman said. “It’s Rob who needs help.”

“He’s getting it,” Wymon told her. “But you need to be checked out, too. Let the paramedics do their job.”

They worked with both of them while getting names and addresses. Wymon discovered the woman’s name was Jasmine Telford. She lived in Philipsburg. The name Telford rang another bell. He knew why when one of the paramedics murmured to his partner that she was related to Commissioner Telford and did legal work for a friend of his.

Digesting that information, Wymon hurried over to the plane to take pictures inside and out with his cell phone. Soon the patients were placed on stretchers and ready to be transported to the hospital. He recovered his blankets and walked beside Jasmine to the ambulance. “I’ll follow you to the hospital and make sure you and Mr. Farnsworth get your luggage back.”

“Thank you again for everything you’ve done.”

“I’m only glad I happened to be driving up here today.” He’d been on his way to meeting with some rangers, but that was obviously not happening anymore.

The paramedics lifted Jasmine inside the ambulance and shut the door. Wymon walked over to the other ambulance. “I’ll see you at the hospital, Mr. Farnsworth. Anything I can do, just let me know,” he said, not expecting a reply.

Wymon got into his truck and followed the ambulances down the logging road that led back to Stevensville.

A sigh escaped him, and he thought that you never knew what was going to happen when you got up in the morning. He checked his watch. Eleven thirty and he was suddenly headed for the hospital. When he got there, he’d call the ranger station and explain why he’d never made it.

Once in town, he pulled in to the hospital’s public parking area and entered the emergency entrance behind the paramedics. While both patients were transferred to cubicles and attended to, Wymon held on to their luggage.

Two police officers who knew him came inside to ask him questions since he’d been the one to call 911. After they’d talked to the patients, they left, leaving Wymon to wait until the doctor had seen to both Rob and Jasmine. It was Dr. Turner, the husband of a close friend of his brother Eli’s wife. They’d met at Eli and Brianna’s wedding in March.

“Wymon? Good to see you. I understand you were the knight in shining armor. Ms. Telford’s words, not mine.”

He scoffed. “How is she doing?”

“Surprisingly well for surviving a plane crash. We’re cleaning up her cuts and will watch her for a while, but I expect she can be released in a few hours, barring any complications.”

Relieved to hear that, he asked about Mr. Farnsworth.

“Representative Farnsworth suffered a blow to the forehead, but no broken bones or internal damage. So far, so good. We’ll do a CAT scan and an MRI, then put him in a private room. He’ll have to stay overnight, maybe several nights to recover from his concussion.

“After what I found out in talking with her, they dodged several bullets today. She said he’d been a pilot in the military, and you pulled him out of the plane to give him CPR. Because you took care of them at the crash site, they’re both in amazing shape considering what happened.”

“I didn’t do much. Can I go in to see her? I’ve got their luggage. She’ll probably want a change of clothes.”

“Of course. We’ll talk later.”

Wymon picked up the suitcases and walked down to Jasmine’s cubicle. “Ms. Telford?”

“Yes? Come in.”

He removed his sunglasses and pulled the curtain aside. His wandering eyes took in the sight of her lying in the bed with her blonde head raised. She was a natural beauty with her classic features. Even in a hospital gown, or because of it, her shapely figure was evident beneath the sheet. Her cuts had been tended to. She looked to be in her midtwenties, but age could be deceiving.

“You don’t mind? I’ve brought in your cases.”

“You’re our savior, Mr. Clayton,” she said with a warm smile. “The doctor said he knew you and wasn’t at all surprised that the head of the Sapphire Ranch was the one to help us.”

“His wife and my new sister-in-law are close friends.” He set the cases by the wall before snagging a chair with his boot. “I understand Mr. Farnsworth will have to stay in the hospital for a few days, but you’ll be released soon. How can I help?”

“You’ve already saved our lives.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“No.” She shook her head. “If you hadn’t called 911 and come when you did, I wouldn’t have been able to pull Rob out of the cockpit by myself. The plane could have burst into flames. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”

Neither did he. “Tell me something. How did you get out of the plane? I took pictures, and your side was so dented the guys had to use a crowbar to pry it open.”

“I was desperate to get Rob out of the plane and crawled out the broken windshield.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t cut yourself more or break your leg jumping down. Because of your bravery, both of you will live to see another day.”

His admiration for her was as intense as his unwitting attraction. He hadn’t been this strongly drawn to a woman in years.

* * *

JASMINE COULDN’T HELP staring at the tall, fit, gorgeous cowboy dressed in a Western shirt sitting next to her. She’d seen him in the news recently, fighting to reintroduce grizzly bears to the area. Rob had been fighting against them, but this man had always been with a group of ranchers, and she’d never seen him up close before.

Her breath caught when he took off his cowboy hat, revealing wavy black hair. Below black eyebrows, his light gray eyes were fringed with thick black lashes. With his chiseled jaw, the kind that didn’t seem real, he had to be the most attractive man she’d ever seen in her life!

“Your hotshot pilot knew what to do to bring you home safely, Ms. Telford. He’s to be commended.”

She blinked. For a minute she was so blown away by him, she lost the thread of their conversation.

Rob wasn’t her hotshot pilot. But he was always in the news, and at this point she realized both men had come up against each other on more than one occasion. She could see why this man considered Rob a hotshot type. He flew his own plane and was an outspoken legislator on his way to the top.

After having turned down Rob’s marriage proposal, she wasn’t sure how things were going to be between them once he’d recovered.