LISA KEPT HERSELF busy most of Sunday morning. She did some overdue cleaning, then took a leisurely bath. Kerry worked on homework so she’d be finished in time for her riding lesson at Eve’s; she couldn’t wait to tell Eve about the new foal.
Gordon asked if he could drive the car to Luke’s ranch. Lisa agreed as long as he, too, finished his homework first.
At two, Eve picked up Kerry, and Lisa walked to the clinic to do some paperwork which seemed endless. She wished she could stop thinking about Jubal but she couldn’t. She kept reliving his kiss, the feel of his body on hers, the ease of being with him. And yet there was another voice telling her she was headed for heartbreak.
She’d been working an hour when she received a call from a frantic husband. His wife had started labor more than six weeks early. Her contractions were coming fast, and she’d had a quick labor with her previous pregnancy.
Lisa asked the husband if he could bring her to the clinic. Since the baby was so early, she would have preferred sending the patient to the Pueblo hospital, which had the facilities for preemies, but she didn’t think there was time. She checked with an air ambulance but none were available at the time. Better here than on the road somewhere.
The patient, Selma Weeks, arrived ten minutes later. Selma was in transition, the final stage of labor. The moment Lisa got her on the bed, she started pushing and screaming. Ten minutes later, the baby’s head crowned. It was small, just five pounds, and its first protesting cry was weak.
“A girl, a beautiful little girl,” Lisa told the mother as she laid the baby on the mother’s stomach.
Because the baby was more than a month early and appeared to be having difficulty breathing, she told Janie to declare an emergency to get an air ambulance faster. She gave the baby oxygen while Janie made the necessary calls, including calling the police to block off Main Street.
The air ambulance finally arrived and Lisa accompanied the mother and baby.
She waited at the Pueblo hospital until all the tests results were back. The baby would have to stay in the NICU while her lungs grew stronger, but the doctors there were optimistic she’d be fine.
It was ten in the evening before Lisa was ready to go. Except she didn’t have her car. It was too late to call anyone, and she didn’t want Gordon driving alone this late at night.
After checking in with the kids to make sure they both got home okay, she decided to call Jubal.
He answered after the first ring.
“Do you always answer so promptly at ten p.m.?”
“Your name showed up on the phone. Not many people call me—the ones that do are usually important.”
“I’m afraid I’m a bit of a damsel in distress at the moment,” she said, relieved that he’d answered the phone.
“How can I help?”
“I’m at the hospital in Pueblo. Not as a patient,” she added hurriedly. “I came with a patient in the air ambulance. I need a ride home and you said you don’t sleep much...”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you so much,” she said, then gave him rough directions. He hung up right after, which was par for the course with him. He’d said more this morning than he’d said in all their other conversations combined.
She looked in on the baby in prenatal care. She was so small. A surge of satisfaction ran through her. She might well have saved a life today. A new one. She’d thought she would miss that in a small town, miss the rhythm of a large hospital’s emergency room, but this was every bit as rewarding.
She went to the urgent care waiting room, knowing there would be coffee. She poured a cup and sat in one of the chairs. Not for long. She was antsy, both from the adrenaline hangover and the fact she’d called Jubal over anyone else.
Why did she do that? Why did she feel so certain he would come? She ended up being right about that, but why did it seem the most natural thing in the world?
Maybe it was the ease of this morning. They had understood each other without many words. Everything about it had just felt right.
There had been a tenderness that couldn’t be feigned, in the way he touched her, looked at her. She felt quite sure he hadn’t trusted the reason he’d left the SEALs with many people, but he’d shared it with her.
Or maybe a small part of her simply wanted to share the awe that she felt in bringing a new life into the world, just as he’d witnessed a few nights ago in Luke Daniels’s barn.
Different but both miraculous.
She had another cup of coffee, then went downstairs to an almost empty front hall. She checked her text messages. There was one from Janie: Are you all right?
She shot back: Fine. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.
She called home for the second time and told Kerry she would be home late and not to wait up. It was about an hour and fifteen minutes before Jubal arrived. She went outside when he drove up and was inside his car before he could get out.
“Thank you,” she said as he turned the car toward Covenant Falls. “I didn’t know who to call.”
“Glad you called me. What happened?”
She told him. “No matter how many times you deliver a baby, it’s always awe-inspiring.” She angled her position so she could see him. “I imagine you felt a little like that with the foal.”
“Except the mother did all the work,” he said. “We were just there for moral support.” He glanced at her. “It must be really gratifying to save lives.”
She felt she was beginning to know him now, understand the nuances of his thoughts even if he didn’t say the words.
“The protectors are as essential as the healers,” she said, thinking about how much she’d changed in the past few days. Like so many who didn’t actually know warriors, it was so easy to stick to the stereotype. She didn’t think anyone could pigeonhole Jubal. He was so much more complex than that.
She studied him. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt. He glanced over and grinned. It was so unexpected she almost didn’t grin back. But she couldn’t help it. They were silly, stupid grins, the kind you get when something extraordinarily good happens that you didn’t expect.
They were silent for several moments, the easy companionship preventing any awkwardness. The traffic slacked off when they left the city limits and headed on a state road toward the mountains.
“Gordon came to the ranch this afternoon,” he said. “He wanted to know if he could pay for lessons by working at the ranch.”
“And did Luke agree?”
“You betcha. He loves free labor. But it’s up to you.”
“What do you think?” She was beginning to trust his instincts with Gordon more than her own.
“I think it would be good for him. His biggest problem is impatience. He wants to do stuff he’s not prepared to do, but he definitely has a feel for riding. I think Luke can keep him in line. Track would also be good for him.”
Lisa stiffened. She suddenly remembered something he said earlier this morning. He wanted to do track and swimming to prepare for the military. Anxiety bubbled inside her. “He hasn’t spoken to you about the military, has he?” The minute the words popped out, she knew they sounded shrill. Not only that, they sounded like a condemnation of all he was.
He stiffened slightly, but didn’t say anything. The comfortable silence was gone.
Lisa wished she could take it back or, at least, change the way it’d come out. But she was scared. She’d already lost so much—a father, a mother, a best friend... The latter to the military. She would fight until her dying breath to keep Gordon from doing the same.
So why was she so attracted to someone who was clearly military stock from head to toe? He was so disciplined. Never a minute late or early. Kept a home so clean you could eat off the floor. That darn competence in everything he did. He never mentioned the military, though; he didn’t have to. You looked at him and just knew.
Of course, he was so much more than that, too. The instinctive bond he had with Gordon, the respect he drew from Luke and pretty much everyone who met him. The softening of his eyes when he showed off the foal. His gentleness that morning. He was a good man. An exceptional man.
But none of that changed the fact that he was also military, and her brother was obviously influenced.
It scared her. It really scared her.
They were nearly to Covenant Falls when he spoke again in that neutral voice. “I’m not encouraging him to join the military, Lisa. Track is good for a lot of reasons, mainly self-discipline.”
“Why Gordon?” she asked. It was the question she’d been wanting to ask from the beginning. “Why have you taken him under your wing like this?”
“Because he came by my cabin.” He took a deep breath. “He was with some other kid I could tell was trouble. I saw myself in him.”
“Were you ‘up to no good’ a lot when you were younger?”
“Hell, yes. I had a lot of rage in me. I channeled it into sports, then the navy. It’s not right for everyone. But it was for me.”
“Even after...what happened to you?”
“Yes.”
That darn simple unapologetic declaration again. He didn’t give explanations or reasons or excuses. It was maddening. And unquestioningly appealing.
“Who was the kid with Gordon?”
“I don’t know him.”
“Then how do you know he was up to no good?”
“Sometimes you just know.”
She looked at him, and she knew he wasn’t going to give a more complete answer, that he was keeping something from her. So much for the trust they’d shared that morning.
He pulled into her driveway and put the car in Park.
“Thank you for driving me home,” she said formally.
He gave her a quizzical look. “Anytime.” He started to get out of the car.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I can make it alone and it’s late.” She didn’t want to face him at the door. She was sure now he was keeping something from her and it punctured the magical bubble she’d created.
She escaped out of the car and up the steps before he could protest. If he accompanied her to the door, she would only look at him and think of how something so wonderful this morning had turned bad so quickly.
Her fault? Definitely. She let fear spoil that which had made her heart spin.
It was just as well. Jubal would be leaving soon, anyway. A tumbleweed, she reminded herself. And she was due back in Chicago in eleven months. How fast the first few weeks had gone.
He had stopped at the car door as she scooted out of the car.
“Thank you,” she said as he stood there.
He gave her a speculative look. “You’re welcome.”
“You don’t have to walk me to the door.”
He nodded.
She went into the house and locked the door without looking back. But then she looked out the window. He was gone.
Gordon came down the stairs. “Did Mr. Pierce just drop you off?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were in Pueblo.”
“I was, but we went by air ambulance. He picked me up at the hospital.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” There was a definite edge in his voice.
“You’ve just started driving. That’s a long, dark road at a late hour.”
“Kerry said you were with him this morning, too.”
She could see where this was going, and it wasn’t good.
She nodded.
“There were a lot of people you could have called for a ride.”
True. “I knew he stays up late.”
“Are you two banging?” He said the crude words with anger. “Is that why he lets me hang around?”
“I seem to remember you were hanging around with him before I even met him,” she shot back. She was appalled at the way he’d asked her. So disrespectful that her resolve not to lie disappeared.
“You didn’t answer the question,” he accused her.
“No, and I’m not going to when you act like this. I’ve had a long day and I’m going to bed.”
All the satisfaction in saving a baby’s life dissolved when she went into the bedroom. Her private life was falling apart. The joy of this morning was made shameful by her brother, and the progress he’d made threatened to crumble. She’d done and said exactly the wrong things.
When she’d expressed her concerns about Gordon to Jubal, had it even been about Gordon or was it about her? When she talked about Gordon’s losses, was it as much about her own? Was she the one who was afraid? Was that why she’d avoided relationships, blaming it on her career?
Although she knew her parents had loved her as much as Gordon and Kerry, she’d always had an ache deep inside that she’d been rejected by her birth mother. Had she subconsciously used Gordon as a reason to nullify the growing feelings she had for Jubal because she was afraid of being left again? She’d taken enough psychology classes to make a case for that scenario.
She turned out the lights but knew she wouldn’t sleep.
* * *
JUBAL REACHED THE CABIN, went inside and finished off the Jameson whiskey Clint had brought. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much left.
He’d almost packed what little he had, thrown it in the car and left for the open road.
But the open road didn’t have the appeal it had a few weeks ago—if it ever really had. He’d manufactured enthusiasm for it while in San Diego. Now he had none.
He’d looked at Clint, saw how happy he was these days. Same with Josh and Andy. Where years ago he would’ve mocked the idea, he now wanted some of that contentment for himself. The time he’d spent with Lisa made him think it might be possible...
But he’d been right in the beginning. She was obviously uncomfortable with the military and that had been his entire life, everything he’d valued. How could they ever reconcile that?
Still, he had commitments now, and he didn’t run away from commitments. He would stay long enough for Luke to find someone to replace him, long enough to learn what he needed to buy a ranch somewhere else. That interest hadn’t gone away. Riding Jacko had helped soothe some of his demons.
He’d heard how much Clint’s dog, Bart, had helped him, and Amos had helped Josh when he’d first came to Covenant Falls. In searching websites about horses, he’d stumbled on several about the role horses played in helping veterans. Maybe there was something to it. The more he read, the more interested he became.
He slept a few hours outside. It was cooler, so he took a blanket. He woke when the sun rose as usual. He decided to skip the swim this morning, and run, rather than drive, to Luke’s ranch. It would clear his head as much as the swim would have.
Luke was already busy feeding the horses. He nodded as Luke came in. “I didn’t hear your car.”
“I ran.”
Luke shook his head. “Well, help me feed these critters. They each have their own menu. It’s listed in front of the stall.”
As they worked, Jubal told him what he had found online about veterans and horses.
“Heard about that,” Luke said. “It’s a good idea. If you’re serious, you might think about getting some rescue horses instead of paying prime prices for blooded stock. You can get both, of course, but it might cut into other income like paid riding lessons and training.”
“I thought about that.”
“Well, think some more. Talk to Al Monroe about it.”
Jubal nodded.
“You may be interested to know the ranch next to ours is going up for sale,” Luke said after a pause. “Ben Carroll’s wife is sick with cancer and he wants to move to Denver where they’ll be close to a good hospital. He’s been getting rid of his horses and only has five he’s kept for sentimental reasons. He’s never ranched for business. It’s been a retirement place for him.”
Luke paused, then looked straight into his eyes. “He doesn’t have the acreage I do, but I’ve been thinking. And what you just said lines up nicely. If you’re interested in buying the property, we can join the land, form a kind of partnership. I like your idea about veterans, and I’ve always wanted to do horse rescue. You can handle pleasure riding, adventure riding and maybe some of that therapeutic work with vets. And I can help train any horses you acquire.”
“What would you get out of it?” Jubal asked.
“Someone close to help if we need it. And I can use the extra pasture for riding.”
It sounded good to Jubal. Perfect, in fact, if it were not for the fact that Lisa and Gordon lived here and they’d surely see each other often. He couldn’t say he loved her. It was way too soon for that. But no woman had affected him as she had. And poor Gordon would be caught in the middle.
“I’ll talk to Monroe,” Jubal said. “Thanks.”
“What for?”
“For taking a chance on me.”
“It’s not taking a chance, Jubal. I’ve seen your work. I’ve seen you interact with people. You don’t say much, but when you do, they listen. I’ve watched you with the horses. You can tell everything you want to know about a man by watching him with horses. My wife agrees.”
“Appreciate that,” Jubal said. “And I’ll think about it.”
“You do that. I wouldn’t want you if you didn’t. Speaking of propositions, that kid Gordon wants to work on weekends to pay for lessons with you. We have a lot of riders and it would take some of the load off. What do you think?”
Jubal wondered what Lisa would think about that. He was honest. “He’s capable and he does what he says he’ll do.”
“Good. Another free hand. I’m not sure what’s happening around here but all of a sudden I’m getting a lot of free help.”
“Looks like I started a trend.”
“Yeah, well, I hope it continues. Let me know what you think about the ranch...”
He nodded, his mind in turmoil as he wondered what in hades he was going to do.