Tina Radcliffe - Stranded with the Rancher

Yet Dan Gallagher was. For her. Did he have family waiting for him?

Beth swallowed hard, considering the implications of her dogged decision to get to Gunbarrel.

Calm down.

Dan’s job is dealing with snow emergencies. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back soon.

Right?

She leaned against the seat and stared at the ceiling of the cab. “Please, Lord, keep Dan safe.”

Twice in one day she’d called upon the Lord. The realization stunned her. It had no doubt stunned Him, as well.

Moments later the distant rumble of a snowmobile engine broke the silence.

Apparently He was still listening.

She whispered a thank-you and shoved open the door of the truck.

The moment her booted foot pushed through the deep snow and made contact with the ground, she realized her error. Six inches of March snow covered a slick surface.

Her feet scissored back and forth in a crazed dance as she made a frantic attempt to gain traction on the slippery ground.

“Oomph.”

Beth landed unceremoniously on her left side. Who knew snow could hurt so much? She rolled to her back and lay there, regrouping, as the snowflakes continued to fall on her.

The hint of gas fumes tickled her nose a moment before Dan appeared. She barely knew the man, but as he towered above her, dressed all in black, with the helmet on and his goggles around his neck, she dared to release a small smile.

Oh, he looked good. Very good.

“You okay?” he asked.

Beth met his concerned gaze. “I’ll be fine,” she murmured, as she struggled to a sitting position and then wiped the snow from her face.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m a doctor and doctors don’t lie.” She arched a brow. “Hippocratic oath.”

Dan chuckled, a wry smile curling his full lips before he suddenly sobered. “Loose translation. Besides, I wasn’t doubting your integrity. I was assessing you. No pain in the arm or shoulder? You landed awfully hard on that left side.”

“You saw me fall?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

She sighed and blew strands of hair out of her eyes. Her last attempt at dignity disappeared like the vaporous clouds she exhaled each time she spoke.

“Let me help you up.”

“No, I can—”

Before she could continue her protest, he crouched down, wrapped an arm around her waist and heaved her to a standing position, all in one swift and heroic movement.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

Beth gave a tight little nod and then scooted inches away from him until her backside was flat against the passenger seat of the open cab. He was close, much too close. Close enough that the heat from the tall cowboy reached out to warm her.

The fall she could handle. The genuine concern in Dan’s eyes, combined with the unexpected comfort and strength of his arm... Well, that was another matter. She brushed ineffectually at her limp, wet jeans.

Oblivious to the fact that he was right in the middle of her personal space, Dan leaned against the inside of the door, his broad shoulders shielding her from the weather.

“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

“Bad new first. Always.”

“We’re not going to make it to Gunbarrel tonight.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Really? You’re okay with that?” Confused, he rubbed a hand over his face.

“Let’s just say my priorities have shifted considerably.”

He shook his head as if he understood. “Okay, then, well, the good news is we’re about ten miles outside of Paradise. Closer to the ranch than anywhere else.”

“The ranch.” She nodded. “And your wife, she won’t mind that you’re bringing home a strange woman?”

“Are you strange?”

Beth fought the urge to laugh.

“I’m not married.” He stared at a spot above her head. “Well, not anymore,” he murmured. “We’re going to head to my mother’s. She has a big, old house with lots of room. Now that the family is grown, it’s only her, and my daughter, who stays with her after school.”

“You have a daughter?’

Dan’s face lit up. “Yeah. She’s six.”

“You’re sure that your mother won’t mind the intrusion?”

“Oh, you know how mothers are.”

“Not really.”

Dan narrowed his eyes at her comment. “I can tell you that my mother likes nothing more than feeding people and clucking over them. She’s out of practice, with an empty house.”

“If you say so. What about your cows? I thought you had cows to take care of.”

“The cows are at the ranch.”

Beth blinked, confused.

“My mother lives in the main house at the ranch. My brother and I have our own cabins nearby.”

“Your entire family lives in the same place?”

“Yeah.” He paused, obviously taken aback. “But you make it sound like we should be on a reality TV show or something.”

Beth bit her lip and barely resisted a laugh. “No, I’m sorry. It’s me who’s behaving oddly. Not you. I’m not accustomed to all this familial closeness.”

“I take it you don’t live near your family?”

“Ben and his parents are my only relatives. Plus Sara and the girls now, too, I guess.” And that was enough sharing. She glanced at the backseat. “May I bring my suitcase?”

“I’ll come back for your bag.”

“I need my clothes.”

“Could you shove a few things in your tote bag? I’ve got to take the portable defibrillator with us. Too expensive a toy to leave out here. The snowmobile doesn’t have much storage space, and the defibrillator will take up a lot of it.”

“Sure. Okay, I can do that.”

Dan opened the backseat and Beth leaned in to unzip the side of her suitcase.

“Do you mind turning your head?” she asked.

“Turn my head?” He narrowed his eyes.

“This is rather embarrassing. I have, um, personal items.”

“And I have two sisters.”

“That’s nice, but I’m an only child. So turn your head, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He laughed and the sound—rich, deep and warm—caught her off guard.

Beth smiled as she grabbed her flannel pajamas and a change of clothes. With a quick peek to be sure he really wasn’t looking, she shoved in a few more things.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“We should hurry. The storm is getting worse.”

“How can you tell?”

Dan looked up at the dark gray sky. “See how the wind is kicking up again?”

She tilted her head back. The clouds were moving quickly and the aspens had begun to wave, whipping snow that looked like white dust into the air.

“We won’t be able to go anywhere in whiteout conditions.”

He was besting her worst-case scenario list without even trying.

“And I’m guessing pitching a tent in the middle of a blizzard isn’t on your list of fun and adventurous things to do,” Dan added.

“You’re not serious.”

“Oh, yeah. I am. The snowmobile has an emergency survival kit in the extra storage bin.” Dan moved closer and Beth stepped back, nearly slipping again.

“Whoa.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, keeping her upright.

“Oh!” A cry of pain ripped from her lips.

“You did hurt yourself.” His words were a warm whisper against her hair.

“I’m fine. Possibly a sprain, if anything.”

“We’ll check it out at the ranch.”

Beth frowned. Not likely.

“Okay. Bundle up. It’ll be cold. And wrap that scarf so it covers your mouth.”

Ben lifted the backseat of the snowmobile and pulled out another pair of goggles from a storage space before he put the small portable defibrillator and her tote bag inside the compartment.

He breathed onto the goggle lenses before handing them to her.

“I want you to pay close attention to how I move on the machine. If I lean forward, you lean forward. If I stand, you stand.”