Authors: Jennifer Ryan
D
ane woke up by degrees, assessing the many aches and pains, from his toes up to his throbbing head, as he took in the dim room. Gabe slept in a chair beside him, Ella on his lap, her face snuggled into his neck. Dane squeezed his eyes shut on the too-sweet picture they made and rolled his head on the pillow. Everything ached. He found Blake on his other side, passed out, arms folded across his chest.
He raised his hands, noted the IV lines going into both arms. The slight movement made his ribs ache. He pressed his hand to the bandage around his chest, took a shallow breath, and let it out on a soft groan.
“Six are bruised. One has a hairline crack. It’ll heal in a few weeks,” someone whispered from the end of the bed in a soft, soothing voice. Odd, but that voice eased his mind and warmed his heart.
He glanced down the length of him to find the owner of that sweet voice, but his gaze locked on his leg, suspended in a sling from the ceiling. Everything came back to him. The bull tossed him in the air like a rag doll, hit him in the side, and he fell hard. The crushing, agonizing pain that shot through him when the animal landed on his leg, snapping it like boys did pencils in class to impress girls. The blood. The dark-haired, blue-eyed angel that came out of nowhere. He brought his fingertips to the feather tattoo on his arm.
A hand settled on his other foot. He felt that touch in every fiber of his being and focused on it rather than the nightmare in his head.
“You’re fine, Mr. Bowden.”
“My leg?”
“Two plates, nine screws, an innovative wire mesh to hold the smaller pieces together. Dr. Ford repaired the extensive tissue damage and your torn artery. It’ll take a couple months, but you’ll heal. You won’t be able to walk on it for several weeks, but you’ll get by on crutches. You’re very lucky to be alive.”
Dane finally focused on the woman. Stunningly beautiful, she slowly removed her hand from his foot. He missed that simple touch like he missed the rain in the heat of summer. With her head slightly turned away, she never quite looked right at him. Her beautiful denim blue eyes softened before her gaze fell away again.
“I remember you. Do I know you? Have we met before?”
Ella cupped his face in her hands. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, blocking his view of the woman. “You’re awake. How are you?” Ella asked.
“Sore.”
“I’ll get you some pain medication and leave you with your family.”
“Thank you, Dr. Bell,” Ella said as the doctor walked out the door.
Dane stared at Ella and Gabe standing over her. “Dr. Bell? From Montana?”
“Yes. Do you know her?” Gabe asked.
“No. Just that you guys said she helped Ella and Gillian. What is she doing here?”
“Saving you. You nearly bled out in the middle of the arena,” Blake said, scrubbing his hands over his face and digging his fingers into his eyes.
“Someone want to tell me what the hell happened after I got dumped on my ass.”
“Dr. Bell was in the stands, watching with her sister, when you got hurt. Tony Cortez is her husband.”
“Dr. Bell is married to Tony?” Why that pissed him off, he didn’t know, but it did. A lot.
“No. He’s married to her sister, Katherine.”
Relief shot through Dane. Again, why? He didn’t even know her. Memories floated, but didn’t stick. He remembered her, but from where? Just last night, or another time? Another place? Could she be the girl he’d seen by the river? He couldn’t be sure it wasn’t wishful thinking and his drug-induced haze. The drugs and pounding headache made his mind fuzzy.
“Black Cloud is Tony’s bull.” Dane put at least one of the pieces together.
“Yes. Doctor Bell knew time was critical. She rushed from the stands and got to you, stopped the bleeding for the most part, and rode with you in the ambulance to the hospital,” Ella explained.
“Then Ella threatened the surgeon on staff with a battalion of lawyers if he even tried to amputate your leg.” Blake shook his head.
“What? It was that bad?”
“You were critical and the damage to your leg was extensive, but Doctor Bell assured us that with a good doctor, your leg could be saved,” Gabe said. “The surgeon here didn’t agree with her, so Ella made the hospital grant Dr. Bell special privileges to operate on you. She and the vascular surgeon worked nine hours to save your leg.”
“So, what? I’m all good now?”
“Barring any complications from infection, yes. But you’ll need to stay off it for a few weeks, then you’ll have some rehabilitation and physical therapy once it heals. You’ll probably have a limp,” Ella added, concern in her voice and eyes.
“I don’t care about a fucking limp. I’ve got my leg.”
“They’re pumping you full of antibiotics.” Gabe tapped the bags hanging over him. “We can take you home in a couple of days once they move you to antibiotic pills. Meanwhile, enjoy the painkillers. If you’re hungry, I’ll sneak you in a burger later.” Gabe clamped a hand on his shoulder, and the relief in his eyes touched Dane deeply.
“So, did I miss anything else while I was out?”
“You won,” Blake announced.
The smile crept across Dane’s face reluctantly. The sound of the buzzer went off in his head again, and the adrenaline shot through him as he remembered that fleeting moment of victory last night. Winning the PBR championships, the money, paled in comparison to keeping his leg, but it made him damn happy.
“You did it.” Gabe squeezed his arm. “You’re the three-million-dollar man.”
Yes. He’d won the last of the money to hit that mark he’d set for his retirement from the circuit. He wanted to go home with the money in the bank to set up the ranch the way he wanted. To make his mark, the way his older brothers were making theirs. Enough money to get him started and a buffer to get him through any lean years. Start-up money and a safety net.
Holy shit, I did it. I won. I survived.
The relief hit him like a crashing wave.
A nurse knocked and came in, carrying a syringe. “May I have your name, please? It’s protocol.”
“Dane Bowden.”
She checked his armband, then shot the syringe into his IV line. The rush hit him all at once.
“Damn, what did you give me?”
“Dilaudid. That should help with the pain. I gave you half the max dose. If that doesn’t keep you comfortable, let me know. I’ll give you another half dose. It may make you sleepy. Is there anything else you need?”
“Can you ask Dr. Bell to come back? I need to talk to her.”
“I’m sorry, she left. I can call her if you’d like.”
“Is she coming back later?”
“She’ll be back to check on you this evening, but she didn’t give a specific time. The orders on your chart are to contact her if there is any change in your condition.” The nurse stood next to his leg. “Can you wiggle your toes for me?”
Dane did so, but it hurt like hell. He grimaced in pain. Ella took his hand and squeezed.
“Great. Can you feel this?” The nurse tapped each of his toes with the tip of her pen.
“Yeah. I can feel that.” The relief overwhelmed him. Until now, he’d only been aware of the pain. He wiggled his toes again. The pain made him more aware of his foot and the fact that he still had it.
“Dr. Bell warned not to overwork the muscles right now. You need to keep your leg and foot as still as possible. The tissue damage was extensive, and she wants you to give it time to heal.”
“Why isn’t she here to give me all these instructions?” The sharpness to his words made the nurse narrow her eyes and frown.
“Dane. She’s been up all night with you. She probably went to get some sleep,” Gabe said.
“She’s literally been watching over you and that leg all night to make sure the artery repair held and your toes stayed pink,” Ella said.
“Would you like me to call her?” the nurse asked again.
“No. No, I’ll talk to her when she comes back.”
“Rest. I’ll be back to check on you soon. Use the call button next to you if you need anything.”
The drugs worked their way into his system, relaxing him as the pain ebbed. An image of the dark-haired doctor, her hands clasped as she stood by his feet, popped into his head. That image transformed into a young girl sitting beside him, her hands tangled together in her lap. Her unforgettable blue eyes. The ones he woke up to moments ago. The same ones he’d stared up at as a teen when he’d fallen from his horse by the river on his family’s ranch. The girl who was there one minute and gone the next.
He held his arm up, stared at the blue feather tattoo, and remembered it all. Then and now.
An angel watched over him.
He needed to talk to Dr. Bell—the woman who saved him—again.
D
ane lay in bed, sore and bored out of his mind four days into his hospital stay. His mind wandered back two days to the press conference. Reporters with their notepads, recorders, and cameras had stood at the end of his bed, recording a piece for the TV news and to post on the PBR website, since he’d missed receiving his awards after the competition. The PBR reps had held the huge World Champion trophy above his head. As he’d held his bonus million-dollar check, the buckle, and the title, showing off for the cameras, his brothers and their wives looking on from the corner of his room, he’d wondered why all of a sudden he cared about the empty spot at his side and in his life.
After the press conference hit the airwaves, a stream of buddies from the rodeo came by to visit the last two days, along with several women. Winning the championship and the money brought the buckle-bunnies out of their burrows, looking for a treat from him. Not going to happen. Over the last few months he’d started to realize he wanted something more than a good time for a night or two. He thought he’d been living the good life; all the while, his brothers had found something he’d never thought he’d wanted but now thought more and more about with each passing day—a woman to love, who loved them back with a fierceness and an intensity that everyone, including him, could see.
He’d never left an unhappy woman in his rearview mirror. Still, lately, he thought about all those women, compared them to Summer, Ella, and Gillian, and wondered if he let
the one
get away because he’d been chasing a dream and not a life.
He stared at his leg, his toes poking out of the bandages and brace, and thanked God he was still alive and in one piece. Or at least several tacked back together, thanks to his elusive doctor.
The nurses assured him that Dr. Bell said his injuries were healing and the looming threat that his artery would burst lessened each and every day. Still, he wanted to hear it from her. He needed to talk to her about his recurring dreams. The day, so long ago now, when he’d seen a girl with her eyes, who everyone swore didn’t exist.
“Hey, man, where did you go?” Tony asked from Dane’s bedside, pulling him back to reality.
Lost in thought, he hadn’t heard them come in. Tony’s wife stood beside him, with apology and sympathy in her eyes as she took him in from head to feet.
“Sorry. The meds make my mind drift. What’s up?”
“I spoke to Gabe. He said you were feeling better today and that it might be a good time to visit. Man, I am so sorry about what happened.”
“Nature of the game. Not your fault, or the bull’s. Shit happens.”
“Not like that. You could have been killed. Bell, too.”
Dane cocked his head and studied Tony’s wife. “Katherine, right?” She nodded. “Gabe and Blake told me your sister was in the stands. She saved my life.”
“She certainly did,” Katherine said, pride and dismay in her hazel eyes. Not blue, like her sister’s.
“How the hell did she get into the arena so fast?”
“She came out of nowhere,” Tony said. “One second me and the other guys are trying to distract the bull away from you, and the next, she’s hauling ass to your side. She held your artery closed, even when the bull tried to kill you both again.”
“What?”
“It’s all over YouTube,” Tony said.
“It is?” This is the first he’d heard of it.
Tony pulled out his phone, touched his finger to the screen, and turned it in Dane’s direction.
Dane nearly lost his breakfast when he saw Dr. Bell climb over the railing, pass two cowboy clowns on the run, and skid on her knees to a stop beside him. The blood spurted from his leg, but she didn’t hesitate to find the artery and pinch it closed. If that wasn’t enough, the bull came at them, knocking her and him several feet across the dirt. She didn’t flinch. He did now, and his stomach went tight with dread. He knew the outcome, but seeing it still made his insides knot.
“What the hell was she thinking?”
“She wasn’t,” Katherine said. “If she was, she would have known better than to risk her life like that.”
“Katherine,” Tony said, an edge to his voice. “She saved Dane. If our bull had killed him, well, I couldn’t live with myself.”
“Still, she should have waited until they moved the bull away. I finally have a chance to get to know her, and she does something crazy like that.”
Odd. If they were sisters, why did Katherine have to get to know her?
“This is the best part. That woman has nerves of steel,” Tony said, his eyes glued to the tiny screen and the drama of Dane’s life playing out for the hushed crowd.
The bull swung around in a circle right over him. Dr. Bell literally laid her back in the dirt, her shoulders between her feet. He didn’t know how she bent that way. When she rose up again, her head was bleeding.
“Wait. Go back.”
Tony rewound the video. Dane watched it again, this time watching as the bull’s hoof grazed Dr. Bell’s forehead. “She nearly had her head bashed in.” The disbelief in his voice was just a glimmer of the denial swamping his brain. It couldn’t be. She didn’t just save his life; she’d nearly gotten killed because of him. He owed her his life. As he watched her and the paramedics tend to him, he vowed he’d pay her back or spend the rest of his life trying. She’d given him a second chance at life. Until this moment, when he saw the reality of what happened, he’d thought he was lucky to survive that ordeal. Luck hadn’t saved him. She had. Again.
Dane glanced out the window next to the door and down the hall. Dr. Bell stood with her head down, reading his file. She licked her finger and turned one of the pages, her eyes narrowed in concentration. He loved her short, dark hair. Nearly black. Nothing like Katherine’s honey blonde. Odd, they looked nothing alike. No resemblance at all.
Katherine stood at least five-eight. Golden skin to match her hair. Not heavy, but a woman with curves. Dr. Bell, on the other hand, had a porcelain complexion that contrasted to her dark hair. Not as tall as Katherine, probably five-six, she had a more athletic frame. Lean muscles and soft curves. She certainly filled out a pair of jeans nicely. The V in her red T-shirt showed off the swell of her breasts. Those blue eyes stood out as truly her best, most striking feature.
Bell sensed him staring and turned to face him. He felt the impact of her gaze in his chest when it went tight. He held his breath, falling into the depths of that blue sea filled with worry and something he couldn’t identify.
How the hell did she get under my skin this way?
Why the hell does she act like she doesn’t know me?
She flipped his chart closed and walked toward him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She moved with purpose and ease all at the same time.
Without taking his eyes off her, he asked, “Is she okay? Is that why I haven’t seen her these last few days? She’s not well.”
“She’s fine,” Tony assured him. “She’s only got a couple days of vacation left, so she and Katherine have been taking in the sights before we head home. Of course, Bell will fly with you.”
“She will?”
“Your sister insisted. Your family doesn’t want anything to go wrong when they move you, so Bell agreed to ride back with you to make sure you’re okay.”
His family and the nurses kept him up to speed on his condition, always stressing that he was okay and on the mend. Nothing to worry about. Now he wasn’t so sure. If he needed a doctor on the flight home to look after him, maybe he wasn’t in the clear.
“Seriously, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Tony said. “You’ll be back riding bulls in no time.”
“Not going to happen. Bell said his leg won’t support that kind of physical work again,” Katherine said.
That got Dane’s attention. He took his gaze from the woman approaching his door and stared at Katherine.
“Um, sorry, I thought you knew.”
“I have yet to speak to your elusive sister about my leg.”
“I’m afraid that’s my fault. I guilted her into leaving the hospital. She works so much. We were supposed to use this time to get to know each other better.” Katherine’s steady gaze looked over him to the woman walking toward them. Dane didn’t understand the sadness and regret in Katherine’s eyes.
Tony wrapped his arm around his wife. “It’s okay. You’ll find another opportunity to spend time with her.”
“She’s so apprehensive. It took me a month to coax her into coming here with us.”
Dane turned to the window again and frowned. “Oh shit.”
Four women he knew from various places, who always showed up at the rodeos looking for him or another winning cowboy for some fun, blocked Dr. Bell from coming to his room. Gabe, Blake, Gillian, and Ella razzed him unmercifully about the string of women lining up at his door to see him over the last few days. He didn’t feel any kind of special bond with any of those women who came to see him, then or now. Except for one. She saved him.
Maybe she saved him from continuing down the same path he’d been on, the one he’d thought he loved but had turned into a habit rather than a real life worth living.
Oh God, he needed to get off the pain meds if he was thinking like this. Actually, maybe it was a good thing. His brothers and parents had been hounding him to take a look at his life and decide what he wanted for his future. Until now, he’d balked at giving in to their demands that he come home and settle down, stop living his life with reckless abandon. Maybe he should stop thinking
that
life meant settling for less, when it really was the life he wanted. He’d nearly lost his life. He’d almost missed seeing his niece Lily grow up and Gillian and Blake’s baby come into this world. He’d almost missed finding someone to share his life and have children of his own with.
Hell, he’d almost missed the best part of life.
Up until now, he’d been chasing dreams, money, women, and the thrill of the ride. Nothing compared to what his parents had and his brothers found with their wives. The connection he shared with his family. Knowing they’d put their lives on hold to be with him here. That kind of love meant everything.
Dr. Bell risking her life to save his meant something. That kind of risk and sacrifice deserved a reward. He meant to find out what it was she needed and give it to her. It was the least he could do for all she’d done for him.
A real man pays his debts, and he owed her big time.
Shit. First he needed to save her from his overzealous, if not adoring, fans.
Bell stopped short
in front of the wall of blonde women blocking Dane’s door. Five-six, she felt like a dwarf looking up at the five women who towered over her. She felt like the odd man out at a 1980s-rock-hair convention. The ladies’ long blonde hair, in varying styles of waves and stick-straight, hung down to the middle of their backs. Lean and curvy, they stood before her, looks of anticipation and simmering anger in their hazel to brown eyes. The man had a type. A very definite type.
The exact opposite of her.
Why did she care, anyway?
Men fell for leggy blondes with big boobs all the time. Such a cliché.
They did not choose brainy women with short-cropped dark hair, who looked more like a swimmer than an exotic dancer. Let’s face it, she was no man’s fantasy. In the few instances guys actually paid attention to her, she was the friend they confided in about the girl they really liked.
“Are you Dane’s doctor?” one of the women asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“Can I see him?” pink blouse asked.
“I want to see him first,” white tank top demanded, hands on her denim-covered hips.
“He’ll want to see me,” black skirt that barely covered her ass said, stepping in front of the other women. “I’m his fiancée.”
“The hell you are.” White tank top took a menacing step closer to black skirt and glared. “We’ve been seeing each other for months.”
“Bullshit. We had dinner last week,” blue shirt piped in for the first time.
“You’re not wearing his ring,” white tank top pointed out.
“It’s being sized,” black skirt shot back.
“You’re a lying bitch,” pink blouse accused.
The women closed in on each other. Bell rolled her eyes and stepped in the middle. “Listen up. I’m going to check on Dane. He’s got a couple of friends visiting at the moment, and his family is due back soon. You may all visit with him, one at a time, after I’ve finished my examination and so long as he isn’t overtired.”
“Dane. Tired. Honey, that man can go all night,” white tank top said, licking her lips.
All the women got this far-off look on their faces, thinking about their nights with the same man. She shook her head in disgust.
Why did they want someone who wanted all of them and cared for none of them?
How did being with so many women prove that he was a man? To her, a real man loved one woman. Then again, she couldn’t fault Dane. At least he hadn’t married one woman and stepped out with a dozen more. Black skirt said he’d asked her to marry him, but like the other three women, Bell didn’t quite believe it. Dane didn’t seem the kind of man to settle for one, when chasing after four was a hell of a lot more fun for him. Of course, any man that looked like him didn’t have to chase many women; they flocked to him. Case in point, the bevy of blondes standing outside his room.
Yesterday, three others had been standing around his bed, fawning over him. He’d given them polite smiles and called them all honey, but none of it seemed genuine. Instead of going in to check on him, Bell left to join her sister at the spa for a facial and a massage. Both good things, but Bell didn’t know how she and Katherine were supposed to get to know each other better when they spent practically the whole time with goo on their faces or someone rubbing their backs, neither of them saying anything to the other.
Setting aside thoughts of arrogant, women-chasing men and her family troubles, she addressed the horde. “I’ll be right back. Try not to kill each other.”
Bell opened the door to Dane’s room and stepped in, smiling at her sister and Tony.
“Hey, Bell, we were wondering if you’d make it past Dane’s Dames,” Tony teased.