Cindy Kirk: A Sweetheart for Jude Fortune

Six years ago she hadn’t been able to make it across even the smallest room without needing to sit down. Now her heart beat strong in a body as toned as an athlete’s.

The walls lining the hallway leading toward her father’s room were filled with pictures and inspiring stories of rehab center “alumni.” With splashes of bright colors throughout and rooms with state-of-the-art equipment discreetly out of sight, the facility had a cheerful feel.

Doing her best to ignore the faint medicinal scent hanging in the air, Gabi stopped in front of room 325 and gently rapped her knuckles against the closed door.

“Come in,” she heard her father say.

She paused. Did he realize it was her and not a nurse or therapist? Pushing the door open only a couple of inches, she paused. “It’s Gabriella. Are you decent?”

Orlando Mendoza’s deep, robust laugh was all the answer she needed. She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Her father sat in a chair by the window, wearing a blue shirt with thin silver stripes and the navy pants she’d altered a couple days ago to accommodate his left leg cast. While the past few weeks had added extra streaks of silver to his salt-and-pepper hair, Orlando Mendoza remained a strikingly handsome man.

He lifted his right hand in greeting, drawing her attention to the cast that encased the arm. Seeing it brought back memories of the day in the intensive care waiting room when the doctor had sat down with her and detailed the injuries: fractured left leg and right arm, bruised kidneys, fractured rib, concussion.

But her father was tough. And determined. Perhaps it was the sight of him dressed in street clothes or the bright smile of greeting on his lips, but for the first time since the accident, Gabi truly believed he’d make it all the way back.

“Papi.” She crossed the room, placing her coffee cup on a tray table before leaning down and wrapping her arms around him. “You look like yourself.”

“As opposed to looking like someone else?” he asked with a teasing smile.

She laughed and pushed back to hold him at arm’s length. If not for the arm and leg cast, Gabi could believe her father was simply enjoying a cup of coffee before heading to the Redmond Flight School where he worked. As a retired former air force pilot, flying had been his life for too many years to count.

When he’d gotten the opportunity two months ago to help run a flight school in Texas, he’d been as excited as a graduate landing his first job. While Gabi had been sad to see him leave Florida, she’d also been happy for him. The position was exactly what he’d been looking for since he’d retired from the air force.

And since the crime rate in the area of Miami where he lived had skyrocketed in recent years, she’d found comfort in the knowledge he was now in a small rural community.

“What are you thinking, mija?” her father probed, his tone gentle.

Gabi expelled a heavy sigh. “I thought you’d be safe in Horseback Hollow.”

“He should have been.”

Gabi turned toward the masculine voice to see her father’s two bosses standing in the doorway. Sawyer Fortune had met her at the airport when she’d flown in from Miami after getting news of the accident. His new wife, Laurel, had remained by her father’s side at the hospital.

In the difficult days that followed, they’d been her rock.

“Are you feeling up to company?” Laurel asked Orlando. She was a tall, pretty blonde with long hair pulled back in a ponytail. “If not, Sawyer and I can stop back later.”

“You’re not company.” Orlando motioned them into the room and gestured to the small sitting area near his bed. “Please, sit.”

After exchanging greetings and hugs, Gabi also took a seat and let her father direct the conversation. She could tell it made him feel good to have Sawyer and Laurel stop by on a workday to see him.

She sipped her coffee, offering a word now and then when appropriate. When the talk turned to sabotage, Gabi straightened in her seat. She fixed her gaze on Sawyer. “Are you saying someone deliberately messed with the landing gear?”

Sawyer raked a hand through his brown hair. Though it wasn’t even noon, weariness clouded his eyes. He expelled a harsh breath. “We don’t know for sure, not yet.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Gabi’s voice rose and broke. An accident was one thing, but for someone to deliberately set out to hurt her father... “He just moved here. He doesn’t have enemies.”

Laurel and Sawyer exchanged a glance.

Gabi’s breath hitched. “Does he?”

“We don’t think it’s about him,” Sawyer said finally. “The sheriff thinks someone may be out to get the Fortunes.”

“Your family?” Gabi struggled to recall what she’d heard about the Fortunes. Wealthy and prominent were the only words that came to mind. “Why?”

“Mija.” The endearment slid off Orlando’s lips as he reached over with his left hand and captured her fingers, giving them a squeeze. “The authorities are still investigating. All this is simply speculation.”

The older man cast a sharp look in Sawyer’s direction as if telling him there would be no more upsetting talk in front of his daughter.

Yet, it was Laurel, not Sawyer, who changed the subject. She shifted her attention to Gabi. “Now that you’ve had some time to settle in, what do you think of Horseback Hollow?”

“It’s a nice town.” Out of the corner of her eye Gabi saw her father nod approval. Even if she hadn’t liked it here, she wouldn’t have said otherwise. But she’d spoken the truth. Though she’d never considered herself a small-town girl, so far she was enjoying her stay. “I find it very peaceful.”

Laurel smiled encouragingly. “Tell me what you’ve been doing to keep yourself busy.”

“Well, I spend most of my days with Papi.” Gabi slanted a glance and he smiled. “Since the weather has been unseasonably warm, I try to go for a run once I leave the hospital.”

“To try isn’t good enough. You mustn’t neglect your exercise.” Her father’s voice brooked no argument. “It’s essential.”

Gabi bit back a sharp reply that would have been worthy of a brash fifteen-year-old rather than a mature woman of twenty-six. Instead she smiled. “I’ve gone for a run every day except the day I flew in.”

“I always feel better when I exercise, too,” Laurel agreed, a look of understanding in her eyes. “But I hope while you’re here, you also take time to get acquainted with the people and the town.”

The image of the man at the Superette flashed before Gabi. Yes, getting to know the cowboy would be a pleasure.

“I’ve gotten acquainted with you and your husband,” Gabi said when she realized Laurel waited for an answer. “Now, when I return to Miami and Papi talks of Sawyer and Laurel, I’ll know just who he means.”

Sawyer inclined his head. “Are you planning on going back soon?”

“Not until my father is home and able to care for himself.”

“You have a job,” Orlando protested. “I won’t put your position in jeopardy. Even the most understanding employer can lose patience when days turn into weeks.”

“I took family medical leave,” Gabi told her father for what felt like the zillionth time. “Staying isn’t a problem.”

“My daughter is a manager at Miami Trust.” Pride filled Orlando’s voice. “It’s one of the largest banks in Florida.”

“My boss was supportive of me coming.” Gabi kept her tone soft and soothing. “You don’t have to be concerned.”

“I can’t help but worry.” Orlando lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “That’s how I am.”

It was true. Gabi remembered the lines that had seemed permanently etched between her father’s brows when she’d gotten sick and needed surgery. Her mother’s worry hadn’t been as obvious, but Gabi knew they’d both spent many sleepless nights fearing for her life.