Daddy Lessons

“Eddie, does your back hurt?”

“Not too much. Not like my hand.”

“Okay, that’s good. How about your head?” Luke held up two fingers. “How many fingers do you see?”

“Two,” Eddie replied, holding up two of his own on his left hand.

“Good boy,” Luke said, smiling.

“That’s right,” Kate said, forcing a smile. “I’m going to check your leg, sweetie. Hold real still.”

She was very calm now, very motherly as she inspected his limbs. Apparently, Eddie had fallen on the side of his hip, not really his leg, and it was probably bruised.

“I don’t think you broke anything, but let’s get you to the doctor,” Luke said.

“I should call an ambulance,” Kate said.

“Travis told me there isn’t an ambulance in Ranger Springs, and I don’t think this is serious enough for a CareFlight helicopter, do you?”

“Well, probably not.” She looked around as though she was getting her bearings. “I need to take him to the medical clinic.”

“I’ll call ahead.”

“I should have brought my cell phone,” Kate said. “Travis is always getting after me to carry it, but I usually forget. When Eddie runs off, I just go after him.”

Luke didn’t want to say anything about her brother, her errant son or her impulsive behavior, so he kept quiet. She had enough to deal with right now.

“Mommy, I want to go home.”

“I need to make sure you’re okay, sweetie. We’re going to see Dr. Amy.”

“I don’t want to see the doctor! She’ll give me a shot.”

“Come on, buddy,” Luke said, scooping the boy up in his arms and rising. “I’ll bet the doctor is real nice.”

“I wanna go home!” Eddie tried to wiggle out of Luke’s grasp, but he held firm. He wasn’t about to let a six-year-old get the best of him, especially in front of Kate.

“Eddie, be still! You could be hurt,” she said, leaning close. Close enough for Luke to feel her warmth and smell her fragrance of flowers and fear. He wanted to reach out and envelop her along with her son, to tell her everything would be okay. But that wasn’t his responsibility any more than commenting on her personal life was, so he simply headed to his truck.

“You’re going to take Eddie and me to the clinic?” Kate asked, walking quickly to match his longer stride.

He glanced down at her. “Seems like a good idea.”

“You don’t have to. If you’ll just take me home—”

“No, I’m taking you to the clinic.” They reached the fence and he paused. “Go on over and I’ll hand Eddie to you.”

Kate slipped through the rails, apparently unconcerned about how her loose shorts revealed her upper thighs, or how the soft knit fabric of her shirt caressed her curves. Luke knew he shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts as he held her injured son, but he couldn’t help admiring the mother. Quickly, he handed Eddie across the fence, being careful not to brush his fingers against her breasts as he released the little boy.

“I have to get my keys,” he said, stepping between the rails. “Walk toward the truck. I’ll be right there.”

He jogged to the house—not an easy feat in boots—and returned with his wallet and keys. Kate was already seated inside the truck, holding Eddie on her lap.

“Seat belt?” Luke asked.

“Oh, right.” She placed the boy on the bench seat between them and hooked him in. “Are you okay, sweetie? You aren’t hurting too much, are you?”

“I wanna go home. I’m sorry I fell off the zebra.”

“You tried to ride a zebra!” Kate exclaimed. “Eddie, no!”

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” he said softly, about to cry.

“Hey, we can talk about that later, okay?” Kate obviously loved Eddie very much and was at a loss to stop his wandering and inquisitive nature. Being a parent was tough, something he was about to experience firsthand…if he could get his house and his life in order in just twenty-seven days.

Kate hugged Eddie to her and appeared close to tears herself when Luke glanced at her. Then he was on the curving road leading over the hills toward town, and he didn’t look at mother and son again.

KATE BREATHED a sigh of relief when Dr. Amy Wheatley Phillips pronounced Eddie bruised but not broken. No nerve damage, just a contusion on his hip and another on his hand, which he’d scraped raw during his fall.

“You must take it easy for at least a week,” the doctor told Eddie. “No falling around or getting any more injuries, okay?” She looked at Kate and winked. “And you need long, warm baths, Eddie. At least one a day. That will make the bruise go away faster.”

“Baths! Yuck. Do I have to?”

Dr. Amy smiled and stroked Eddie’s mussed hair. “Absolutely, young man. Your mother knows best, so you mind her and you’ll get well very soon.”

Eddie frowned and swung his legs over the edge of the exam table, appearing even younger and more forlorn than Kate ever remembered. The cotton gown wrapped around him like a big, soft tablecloth. Or maybe a receiving blanket, as if he were a baby again.

Oh, those were the days, when she could keep him safe. Protect him from the dangers of life.

“Come back and see me if you have any problems.”

“Thank you, Dr. Amy,” Kate said.

“You’re welcome. And Eddie? Don’t ever try to ride anyone else’s animals. In Texas, back in the old days, that could be considered rustling. Only the bad guys tried to steal someone else’s animals.”

“I didn’t try to steal the zebra!”

“Using anything that doesn’t belong to you is stealing, Eddie,” Kate explained. “Using the zebra for a ride is something that Mr. Simon didn’t want you to do, and that means you tried to steal a ride.”

Eddie folded his arms across his chest and frowned.

“We’ll talk about this at home, young man, after you apologize to Mr. Simon.”

“Gladys told me he brought the two of you in,” Dr. Amy said as she removed her rubber gloves and dropped them into the biohazard trash.

“Yes, I’m afraid I was a bit of a basket case. Your receptionist was wonderful, by the way. Very calm in the face of my near-hysteria.”

“I’m sure it’s very difficult to see your own child lying injured in a pasture.”