More to Texas than Cowboys

Greer started to object. But after an inspection of her hands, she realized how badly she was shaking, and quickly reconsidered. “You can’t put your horse in our corral. Several rail sections are down. I’m pretty sure I have a lead rope under the back seat of the Blazer. That cedar looks sturdy, and there’s plenty of shade. Will he be all right tied on a lead?”

“He’ll be fine.” The words were barely out of Noah’s mouth before he’d pulled off Jasper’s saddle and placed it on the porch behind the swing. He made short work of staking out his pinto, then hurried back to Shelby’s side. “I’ll be as careful as I can moving you to the car, squirt, but I won’t lie—it’ll probably hurt. You go right ahead and cry, if you need to, okay?”

She did, with loud gulping sobs.

Despite her earlier thoughts, Greer was grateful that Noah Kelley had appeared out of nowhere when he had. She dropped her purse twice after belatedly remembering to run in and retrieve it from the kitchen counter where she’d tossed it that morning.

“Are you all right?” Noah murmured, steadying Greer with a hand to her waist as she climbed into the backseat of the Blazer and ended up tripping over a loose, floppy sneaker. “Whoa there.” He scooped up her shoe. Clasping her upper arms, he turned her to face him. “You’re very pale. Are you in danger of fainting?”

“I’m fine. Well, no, I’m not. I’m queasy as all heck.” She put a shaking hand to her head. “Considering Shel’s a tomboy, I’m surprised this is our first incident of its kind. But it is, and it’s unnerving as anything. I promise to get a grip, Father Kelley. And I won’t forget I owe you for all the help you’ve given me today.”

Noah had finally managed to settle her next to Shelby and restore her dangling shoe. He shut her door and slid into the driver’s seat, and for a heartbeat he let his eyes connect with hers in the rearview mirror. He scowled as he shoved the seat back a few notches to accommodate his longer legs. “Just being neighborly,” he said tersely. “No payment required or wanted.”

Backing out with a spinning of wheels, Noah swung from the lane to graveled road with a bump that had Shelby crying out in pain.

“Sorry, peanut.” He was more careful after that to miss chuckholes. Before long, he engaged the injured child in subjects he thought might interest her in order to take her mind off her pain. He discovered that like him, she loved horses and dogs. She nattered on about Miranda’s dog, Dusty. Shelby had owned a horse in Denver, and from what he gathered she’d have another once the corrals were secure. The matter of a dog was obviously a touchier issue between the girl and her mother. Shelby pulled a sad face and announced, “Mama says I’ve gotta wait till next summer to get a dog. I don’t wanna wait that long. I told her I can train him after school, and he can sleep on the floor in my room. He’d be good company for when I come home from school, too. Especially since I don’t have any friends to play with way out here.”

Greer, who was supporting Shelby’s broken arm, reached over with her free hand and lightly pressed two fingers to her daughter’s mouth.

But the girl kept talking. She rattled on about what kind of dogs she liked even after they’d parked and Noah carried her into the clinic. Greer tuned her out, he noticed. Either this was an old discussion, or she was still numb from the fright caused by the accident.

Kristin Gallagher met them at the door and after brief introductions, ushered them straight into a pristine examining room. Her blunt-cut strawberry-blond hair brushed the shoulders of her lab coat as she bent to remove Noah’s splint.

He darted a guilty glance toward Greer. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know she’d cut your laces. Maybe a store in town has spares.”

“Not to worry. I’m sure I have extras in one of my moving boxes. I generally wear boots to work around the ranch, anyway.” Nervous, Greer paced the small room and read the plaques hanging on the walls. According to them, Kristin possessed B.S. degrees in nursing and psych, plus was certified as a physician’s assistant.

The P.A. focused her attention on her patient. “I usually see a lot of injuries like this the day school opens. But that’s been a few weeks. Were you swinging on the monkey bars?” she teased Shelby.

“I was helping Mama wash windows at our new ranch.” Shelby sniffled and wiped her good hand across a runny nose.

Kristin gave her a tissue, but aimed a sharp look at Greer’s bowed shoulders, as if she wondered whether her new patient might be the victim of parental abuse.

Before Greer could speak, Shelby herself disabused Kristin of that thought. “Mama said the only window I was supposed to wash was the one I could reach from standing on the porch. I figured the porch rail was wide enough to hold me. It was old and rickety, I guess.”

Visibly relieved, Kristin handed Greer a clipboard filled with a colorful packet of forms. “Maybe you could complete Shelby’s medical history for me while I set up to X-ray her arm. I gave our receptionist and my assistant the day off.”

Greer took the clipboard. “I was so rattled when Shelby fell. I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring her vaccination record. Really, she’s been remarkably well except for the occasional winter cold that everyone in Denver seems to get.”

“You’re from Denver?” Kristin moved a portable X-ray unit from one side of the examining table to the other.

Noah, who lounged with a shoulder negligently propped against the casing of the open door, hurried to help her. He supplied a missing piece of information. “I happened to be out exercising Jasper and rode past their ranch at the time Shelby fell, so I volunteered to drive them to the clinic. Greer and Shelby are our new neighbors, Kristin. At the Dragging F.”

Greer rolled her eyes. “Ghastly name. I may run a contest and have my first guests rename the ranch.”

“I’m sorry this is your welcome to Homestead,” Kristin said, grimacing. My father-in-law said Jase Farley was the type to get a kick out of a name like the Dragging F. I can’t wait to go home and tell Ryan we now have good neighbors all the way between us and the river.” She sent Noah a wide smile.

That comment caught Greer’s attention. She swung her head between the two. “Oh, then you and your family live in the other ranchette? Ed Tanner said a developer had built two before the bottom fell out of the real estate market here.”

“No. My husband, Ryan Gallagher, manages his dad’s ranch. The Four Aces borders you on the north and east.”

“Oh. Gallagher as in state senator?” Greer’s eyes rose from the page she was filling out. “I, ah, used to live in Homestead. Garrett’s a year younger than me, so I knew him the best of the Gallagher boys. If Trevor hasn’t changed too much, I could probably pick him out of a crowd. Ryan…I’m guessing he’s Garrett and Trevor’s older brother?”

Kristin nodded. “Wow, so you’ve come home, too? Like Ryan and Miranda. And Callie Montgomery, but she’d been gone a long time. You likely haven’t had a chance to eat at her café yet. Best family dining in town.” Kristin removed the film plate. “I need to go develop this. There’s no doubt that her arm’s broken. I have to be sure the bones are aligned and that there’s no restriction of blood.” She smiled down at the supine child. “You lie still as a mouse until I get back. Let your mom finish those forms. Noah, you could take a seat in the waiting room. The new Western Horseman magazine is out there.”

“Thanks, Kristin, but I’ll stay and keep Shelby company. We’re old buddies. We both like horses and dogs. She’ll have a cast, right? Maybe I’ll tell her about the time I broke my foot playing soccer and had to start my school year wearing one.” He pulled up a chair and sat next to the exam table. “Casts aren’t so bad. Everybody gives you sympathy, including teachers. And the kids all want to sign their names on the plaster.”

If the P.A. leveled a questioning glance in Noah’s direction, he was impervious. Shelby, it seemed, didn’t want to talk about casts, but pumped him for information about the care and feeding of dogs. She asked about different breeds, and Noah shared what he knew. She prattled on even after Kristin returned.

“Alignment’s good,” the P.A. said. “But I still have to deaden the arm in order to straighten out the bones. If anyone’s squeamish, you’re excused.”

Greer blanched but set the clipboard aside. Noah saw that pain filled her gold-flecked hazel eyes as she gently combed her fingers through Shelby’s tangled hair. “Shel, I want you to hold my hand tight so Mrs. Gallagher can fix your arm good as new.”

Noah rose to stand opposite her. “If you’re not up to this, just say the word. I’ll be glad to supply the muscle needed to hold her still.”

The eyes Greer raised to meet his were glossy with tears, but he recognized in them a rock-steady determination. Reaching across Shelby’s legs, Noah briefly squeezed Greer’s hand. That move earned him a second inspection from Kristin, who made no remark, however, except to give Shelby permission to go right on talking about dogs. Which, of course, she did. Nonstop.

Later, Greer would think her daughter had brought up every pet a friend had owned, and remarked on every cat or dog she’d seen on the street. When Shelby’s porous pink cast graced her arm from fingertips to just below her elbow, Greer’s ears rang and her nerves were shot. But had Shelby run down? No. She examined the pros and cons of big and little dogs until she fell asleep on the drive home.

Noah let five minutes elapse before posing a worried question to Greer. “You’ve been very glum since we left the clinic. Is something wrong? Are you worried about her arm healing properly? Or is it a concern about not having insurance? I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing you ask Kristin about a payment plan.”

Greer leaned back and shut her eyes. “It’s all of that and more. I think whoever said you could never go home again was right. I’m beginning to think chucking everything in Colorado to move here was a mistake. The condition of the ranch was bad omen number one. Shelby’s accident is number two. I’m wondering what’ll happen next.”

“Where you went wrong,” he snorted, “is believing there’s such a thing as good and bad omens. Life is all about having faith in a higher power. Place your trust in His hands, Greer.”

“Yeah, right! The last thing I need is a sermon.” Her voice rose and woke Shelby, who started to cry, claiming her arm hurt.

Greer awkwardly gathered the gangly girl into a hug, not a simple matter because they both wore seat belts.

“Mama, will you ask Father Kelley to put in my favorite CD?”

“Shh, honey bunny, don’t you remember I had you bring the CD case into the kitchen? We’ll be home soon. Until our furniture arrives, I’ll make you a bed on the porch swing and you can listen to music there.”

“That’s not going to be very comfortable,” Noah interjected. “How about if we stop at your place and leave a note for your movers on the door with my phone number. You two can spend the afternoon at my house. I’m sure my living room couch is more comfortable than your porch swing. I’ll ride another of my horses back to your ranch and collect Jasper.”

“Thank you, but no,” Greer said primly. “You’ve done quite enough. I wouldn’t presume to take you away from the people in your congregation.”

Noah could hardly miss the brittle edge to her voice. Every so often he slanted a curious glance in the mirror. Each time she pursed her lips and turned aside.

It was clear to Noah when he pulled in and stopped outside her house that Greer couldn’t wait to see the last of him. Playing back the afternoon’s events, he was unable to put a finger on what he might have done wrong. But he was a pretty good reader of body language. Greer wanted to carry Shelby from the Blazer to the porch swing without accepting his help. At nine, the kid wasn’t much shorter than Greer. And she was all arms and legs. Shelby fretted, whined and cried, saying, “Ouch, Mama, I hurt. Please let him carry me. He’s bigger and stronger.”

The tears in Shelby’s eyes moved Greer to give in, albeit reluctantly. She gathered up the blankets and pillows from the car that Shelby had curled up in on their driving trip. Bustling about, doing her level best to ignore Noah, Greer spread pillows and blankets on the swing so he could put Shelby down.

“Do you have a cell phone?”

“Yes,” she said, but didn’t elaborate or offer her number.

He reached for his wallet and took out a business card that listed his numbers at home and at the church office. He passed it to Greer. She stuffed the card in her purse, then abruptly went into the house. The screen door banged shut. She opened it just enough to tell Shelby, “Honey, you need to thank Father Kelley so he can get along home. I’m going to fetch the CD player and CDs.”