Teresa Southwick - What If We Fall in Love?

“I’d like spending time with the girls.”

He smiled, and the tension in his face eased a bit. “Okay. I’m going to take you at your word. If you’re sure—”

“I am.”

“No more junk,” he warned.

She put her hand over her heart. “I swear.”

He kissed both of the girls, then left.

“Jensen, my French braid came out.”

“Can you do my hair that way, too?”

“I would be happy to,” she agreed. “I am woman—I can multi-task. But two at once would take more than my two bare hands. So one at a time. Okay?”

“Okay,” they said together, giggling.

As she worked on twisting Stacey’s hair into the intricate style, Jen scanned the arena. The final events had started. She wasn’t sure who should be more grateful to whom. Grady to her for watching the girls while he worked. Or her to him for giving her a distraction against the onslaught of awful memories brought on by the imminent bull-riding competition.

And then there was the question of what was in that lawsuit that Grady O’Connor wouldn’t talk to her about.

After the medical transport chopper left and he dispersed the milling crowd in the arena, Grady hurried into the stands to find his girls and Jensen. Ronnie Slyder was semiconscious after a run-in with the bull he’d ridden to win the competition. The teenager had been airlifted to a hospital twenty miles away. Hannah Morgan, the doctor who was filling in for Doc Holloway at the rodeo and in his office, had gone to the facility with Dev Hart to make sure everything medically possible was done for the kid. As Grady surveyed the area, he noted that the crowd had all but cleared out.

He wasn’t sure whether or not that reassured him. Some creep was suing him, then he’d found out that a stranger had approached his girls and was asking questions. He didn’t like this one bit. All he wanted was to get the girls home.

That was all he wanted until he took one look at Jensen’s tense white face. No matter what he thought of the guy she’d married, Jensen had loved him and he’d been killed in an accident similar to the one tonight. Even though it was ten years ago, she would have to be a robot not to be shook.

He pulled the hand radio from his belt and pushed the button. “Deputy Haines?”

“Yeah, Sheriff?” a voice asked through his receiver.

“Meet me in the bleachers.”

“Right.” There was a click and the line was silent.

Grady walked up the stairs and greeted the girls. “Hey, you guys. Doin’ okay?”

Two identical pairs of solemn brown eyes and one-of-a-kind serious green ones regarded him.

“Is Ronnie going to be okay, Daddy?” Kasey asked.

“I sure hope so, honey. I’m going to check on him as soon as I make arrangements to get you two home.”

They both nodded and he was relieved that he wasn’t going to get an argument. He’d had about all he could deal with tonight.

Deputy Haines walked up the several steps and joined them. He was young, just twenty-one, with black hair and blue eyes and a face that barely needed a razor. But he was trustworthy and would put himself between the girls and trouble. Grady would stake his life on it.

“What’s up, Sheriff?”

“I want you to take my girls home and stay with them until I get there.” He looked at them and noted the big yawns that meant there wouldn’t be any arguments about bedtime. “Kasey, Stacey, I want you guys in bed, and don’t give Deputy Haines any trouble. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” they said, their voices sleepy.

“I’ll take good care of them, Sheriff.”

“I know.”

Grady watched the three as they walked down the stairs. At the far end of the arena a black-and-white SUV belonging to the sheriff’s department was parked, and the three got in and drove away.

With a sigh, he sat next to Jensen. She still hadn’t said a word. “You okay?” he asked.

“Fine.” She reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hand shook, putting the lie to the single word.

“Really?”

“Of course,” she said, clamping her teeth together when she started to shiver.

Since the night was far from cold, he knew she was beginning to react. It was as if she’d held it together for the kids. Now that she was no longer responsible for them, she was letting go. Her whole body was trembling. He was really concerned about her.

Grady put his arm around her, pulling her against him. “It must have been awful when Zach died.”

“Yeah. Awful.”

“Tell me.”

“N-no.”

Grady had a strange sort of déjà vu feeling. The past was knocking up against the present. He wasn’t sure why, but he was creeped out. First Mitch had come back and made things right with Taylor. Now Jen was here. The summons to answer a lawsuit that he’d received tonight. The bull-riding accident had obviously reminded her of losing the man she’d loved—and still did, if the look on her face was anything to go by.

That bothered him, and right now he was in no shape to analyze why. But one thing he knew—as much as he didn’t want to hear anything in hushed, reverent tones about the jerk she’d married, he couldn’t just walk away from her.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he urged, tightening his arm around her.

She looked at him with huge, haunted eyes. For a moment he thought she was going to refuse. Then she nestled against him and sighed.

“It was in Las Vegas. I hadn’t seen him all day. We were supposed to meet before the rodeo, but…”

“What?” he prompted.

She hesitated and he waited for her to tell him that the creep had stood her up. That she’d seen him with another woman. That he’d made some lame excuse to avoid his responsibilities. All typical things he’d done when Grady had known him.

Then Jensen shrugged. “It’s not important. I was in the stands. Like tonight. He had a good ride. The next thing I knew, he was on the ground as still as a stone.”

A shiver shook her and he drew her into his arms, holding her against him, willing his warmth into her. He waited for her to speak again.

“I raced from the stands to the arena, but when I got there, he was already gone. They told me later he died instantly.” She leaned back slightly and he loosened his hold. “It all came back tonight when I saw that boy lying there. Is he going to be all right, Grady?”

“Hannah said—”

“Hannah?”

“Dr. Morgan. She said his vital signs were strong but without diagnostic equipment that was all she knew.”

“At least he was still alive. But…” Her expression was stricken.

“How about if I walk you up to the house and we’ll call the hospital. See if they can give us any information on his condition.”

“Okay.” She started to stand, then hesitated. “You don’t need to baby-sit me, Grady. I appreciate the shoulder to lean on, but I’m fine now. The twins need you, and I’m sure you’re anxious to get home to them.”

“Yeah. And I will.” He stood up. “After I see you home and check on Ronnie.”

“But…”

“I trust Deputy Haines. The girls are in good hands. They need to get some rest. In the morning we’ll have a talk about it. I’ll probably have some good news by then on Ronnie’s condition.” He held out a hand to her.

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Nope.”

She put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet.

A short time later they were standing on the front porch of the ranch house. When they’d arrived, Grady had found Mitch on the phone to the hospital. Ronnie was undergoing tests, but he was conscious and all the signs were good. Hannah had told him that tests were done as much to rule out problems as find them. She was optimistic that the teenager would be just fine.