Made For The Rancher

She’d just swallowed another bite of her grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. “Seattle.”

“That’s tough luck. At least insurance will pay for a new plane because it was an accident. Unfortunately, I’m sure that’s small comfort for him at the moment.”

“You’re right. He just bought this plane.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” Sorry she’d hurt Rob so terribly right before the accident happened. He had to be suffering for a myriad of reasons. Her greatest hope was that nothing truly serious had happened to him except the concussion. You could recover fully from a concussion.

“More coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

Wymon poured her some from the carafe. “I know he’s an influential representative.”

“A very dedicated one as I’m sure you’ve found out, being on the other side of the grizzly bear issue. How about you? Did you always want to be a rancher?”

He finished the rest of his coffee. “It’s my life.”

She felt the passion of that statement travel through her body, and then it dawned on her. “Toly Clayton. Your brother is the tie-roping state champion!”

Something flickered in the depths of his gray eyes. “That’s right. Toly’s my baby brother.”

“Philipsburg is on the pro rodeo circuit for July 2. I’m a big fan of his. Wouldn’t it be something if he wins the championship in December?”

“That’s his dream.”

“We’ll be rooting for him.”

“Who’s we?”

“My parents and I.”

His half smile turned her heart over. “He’s the famous one in our family.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Three brothers.”

“What are your other brothers’ names?”

“Roce and Eli.”

“Those are good English names.”

He nodded. “Wymon and Elias Clayton, two brothers who were immigrants from Lancashire, England, came to Montana in the mid-1800s. The names got handed down.”

“No girls in your family?”

Another smile broke the corner of his compelling mouth. “My brother Eli got married recently. Now my mother has a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter. That helps.”

So the other three brothers weren’t married. That included the gorgeous male seated across from her.

He finished off another roll. “What about you? Do you have siblings?”

“No. My parents had almost given up on having children when I came along. You’re lucky to have come from a big family.”

“It has its moments, but I wouldn’t trade any one of them.” She heard love in his voice before he said, “If you’re through eating, I’ll walk you back. I know you’re anxious to find out how Mr. Farnsworth is doing.”

Of course she was worried, but she’d also enjoyed talking to Wymon and suffered more guilt for admitting it to herself. “I hope they don’t find anything else wrong with him.”

“He seemed to be all right, and the concussion will heal. As for you, from where I’m sitting, no one would guess that a few hours ago you barely escaped a plane crash.”

“This whole day has been surreal.”

“I can only imagine. After your experience, you’re going to feel aches and pains and need rest, even if you’re fighting it now.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

They got up and went back to the ER. He entered the cubicle with her. “Why don’t you lie on top of the bed and relax? I’ll see what I can find out about Mr. Farnsworth.”

She watched him disappear. The man had a way of being in charge without doing anything overt. He was intrinsically kind. Solid. She knew she could trust him. He was a person she imagined other people leaned on. And you’re thinking about him way too much.

Suddenly exhausted, Jasmine got on the bed and lay down on her side. Poor Rob. This day had turned into a nightmare for him. The only kind of comfort he would want was to hear that she would marry him.

Tears trickled from her eyes because she couldn’t tell him something she didn’t feel. Restless, she turned on her other side.

If only she’d acted on her worry that he was getting way too serious. She should have found an excuse not to go away with him. The thought of hurting him at all was bad enough. But to hurt him right before their accident made everything so much worse. How was she going to get out of that rally she’d promised to attend with him?

Tears of guilt overtaking her, she buried her face in the pillow.

When Wymon returned to the cubicle, he could hear that Jasmine was crying. He stood outside the curtain until her sobs subsided. When he pulled it open, he could tell she’d fallen asleep. Good. It was what she needed. In fact, he was convinced she ought to be given a room for the night.

Before he drove back to the ranch, he asked to speak to Dr. Turner and waited in the lounge outside the doors of the ER until he showed up ten minutes later.

Wymon got to his feet. “I’m going home, but before leaving I wanted to suggest that Ms. Telford be given a room. She ate a good lunch, but went right back to her bed after. I have no idea if or when her parents are going to show up.”

“I already planned to keep her overnight after I went in to check on her and found her asleep,” Dr. Turner told him.

“Perfect. How is Mr. Farnsworth?”

“I haven’t talked to the neurologist since the CAT scan, but I trust I’ll hear from him soon. You’ve done everything you can do here, Wymon, and you need some downtime to relax, too. Leave your name and cell phone number with the receptionist in triage so we can reach you if needed.”

With a nod, he did as the doctor suggested before going out to his truck. Then he drove back to the ranch, passing the main ranch house and Eli’s. A little farther down the road was Luis and Solana’s home.

Luis had come to work for Wymon’s father years earlier. With his dad’s death just a year and a half ago, Wymon and his brothers relied on Luis, who was the best ranch foreman of anyone around. Solana, the housekeeper at the main ranch house where his mother lived, had become a permanent fixture in the Clayton household.

Wymon’s place was farthest up the road. After parking his truck next to the Audi at the side of his log cabin-style house, he headed for the kitchen. Once he’d pulled a cold beer from the fridge, he took the stairs two at a time to the loft.