Chapter 1

Grayson

The hospital is so quiet, you can hear a pin drop in the doctor’s lounge. Granted, it’s only eleven o’clock in the morning, and for whatever dang reason, I haven’t been able to figure it out yet, the witching hour seems to be from two o’clock in the morning to around five. There haven’t been any patients registered in the last two hours since I’ve been here, and none of the other doctors are in need of relief in any other of the departments.

“Grayson.” Doctor Lang, the head of the Emergency Department calls me.

“Hey. Good morning.” I say pleasantly, taking a look at a chart from a patient that was in earlier, before I arrived.

“Morning.” He sighs. “This place is a ghost town. Why don’t you head on home for lunch and then pick up at the clinic afterwards.” He gestures to the corridor of exam rooms to our right. “No reason for y’all to be here, anymore. Doctor Stewart’s coming in at noon, and I can cover until then. You were only supposed to be here for the morning anyway, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You seem to have all the luck, Grayson.” He chuckles. “Last time you were in, the place was crawling with patients. Now, you can shoot a cannon through here.”

“It’s either one way or the other when I come around, I suppose.” I comment, removing my smock and placing it in the hamper.

He pats me on the shoulder. “How are you liking it here?”

It’s only been a month or so since I started back at the hospital, and a few weeks before then when I placed my nametag, ‘Dr. Thomas’ on the door at Clint’s, or Doctor Kelsey’s, medical clinic. “I’m liking it just fine, thanks.” I answer honestly.

He pushes his lips together into a manly grin. “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I think I’m in tomorrow. Have a good one.”

“You, too.”

It’s a fifteen minute drive back to the ranch, where Laura, my everything, is. I came here maybe two months ago, after packing up my stuff on a whim, and moving from El Paso to Huttonville, a small town just outside of Dallas. The job I took in Huttonville as a Lead Hand at Kelsey’s Ranch, acquainted me with Laura Warner, the owner of Kelsey’s Ranch. After being in her presence for just a short time, I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love with her, and I’m blessed to say that she’s fallen for me, too.

What I thought was a whim, turned out to be the doorway to a brighter future for me. I left my medical licence back in El Paso, and after Laura’s convincing, and her brother Clint’s support, I’m a doctor again, all thanks to this family. Thought my own family was as good as they come, but somehow, I was wrong. Kurt, my brother, came down here to fill my place so Laura wouldn’t have that burden on her shoulders again, and so far it’s working out great.

As I pull up to Kelsey’s Ranch, I see Lisa, Laura’s best friend, pull up behind me. Chip, our collie, is raising hell at the front door, scratching and barking, like a rabid animal. I remember that bark. It’s the same bark and behavior we saw from a couple of instances that we had recently. Lisa and I exchange looks when we see Chip losing his mind at the front door, and it takes me two strides and two seconds to reach the front door, knowing that Laura is in trouble on the other side of it.

The boys, as Laura calls them, but they’re the ranch Hands, hear Chip, too, and Lloyd and Simon come running as I approach the door. “What’s up, boy?” I say to Chip, and I don’t hesitate to let him dart inside the house. Whatever danger Laura’s in, Chip will find it before I will, I’m sure. The dog’s as sharp as a tack and loves Laura almost as much as I do. He barks, growling, nearly frothing at the damn mouth as we enter the front door.

Laura’s study, where she conducts her business for the ranch, is closed. Chip is scratching, growling, just about doing everything but trying to bite the damn doorknob off, when I open the door. And as I open the door, it’s just what I suspected would be going on.

“You son of a bitch!” I shout. And I’m about to go after the lone gunman, with his handgun pointed at Laura’s temple, but Chip gets there first. I’m afraid that he’s going to shoot our beloved animal, but as much as he points the gun at him, nothing happens. Chip bites his leg, causing him to fall to his knees, and then with teeth bared, he jumps on his chest. Matty Herald, the man who’s been stalking Laura for weeks, is finally taken down.

Lloyd grabs the gun that’s fallen to the floor, and studies it. “Safety’s still on.”

“You okay, honey?” I ask Laura, who is standing stock still, watching Chip eat her assailant alive.

She nods and I walk over so I can see Matty’s face. “I should let him shred your damn face off, you asshole.”

“I’ll call the Sheriff.” Lisa says.

Simon is standing over by Lloyd. “You spent all that cash on a nice pistol. You’d think he’d learn how to shoot it first.”

“I bet the damn thing ain’t even loaded.” Lloyd comments, opening the magazine. He chuckles. “Nope.”

“What the hell did you think you were going to accomplish here, you little weasel!” I seethe, shouting over Chip’s barking. I’m torn between pulling the dog away and taking a couple of shots at him myself and letting the dog finish him off. “You ever come near her again, and you’ll wish the damn dog got to you first!” I kick him in the side. “Unlike you, you sack of shit…I know how to shoot a gun! And I’ve got connections at a ranch nine hours from here, so I know where the hell I can hide the body, you lowlife!”

Matty is in the fetal position, trying to shield himself from Chip and me, but failing miserably. “Until Sheriff Ferguson gets here, your ass is mine!”

“Please.” Matty whines, begging. “Call him off! He’s bit me like ten times already! And I think you busted my rib!”

“Good!” I shout. “You’re lucky I don’t bust all your teeth, too!”

“What are you calling the Sheriff for, anyway?” Matty asks, stupidly, like what he’s done should go unpunished.

Lisa scoffs. “I didn’t call Ralph for you, I called him because I knew that Grayson here wasn’t going to stop until he murdered you.”

Ignoring Lisa’s comment, I continue. “It was you…hiding out in the bushes those times, wasn’t it? Did you get a good look at Laura? You sick son-of-a-bitch!”

Laura, relaxing slightly, chimes in. “Clint said that the security alarm went off at the clinic this morning, was that you, too?”

Matty’s non-answer is telling.

“Just what in hell are you doing to this town, you loser!” I kick him again, bending over so that I can make sure I spit in his face as I speak.

Lloyd pipes up. “Kick him in the nuts, Grayson. Hard enough so the little pissant can’t procreate.”

With that suggestion, Matty brings his legs up to his chest.

“Man like that ain’t no man. His balls are probably the size of goddamn raisins!” I spit at him. We hear Sheriff Ferguson’s siren as he speeds up the street. He’s got a trooper with him, too. “Come on, Chip. Get off him so the Sheriff can take this good-for-nothing loser away for good.” I grab Chip by the collar, pulling him away.

The room is filled. There is no way in hell that Matty can escape. I grab Laura and hold her tight, kissing her head. “You sure you’re okay, baby?”

She nods. “I’m fine. He was only in here a minute when Chip started.”

Sheriff Ferguson and two troopers trot up the steps.

“Laura.” Ralph Ferguson greets as he comes in the door. “You okay.” He says with a nod, as he notices that I’m holding her in my arms. His face is impassive, but he looks concerned. He’s calm and collected.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Matty here pulled a gun on her.” Lloyd says, holding the gun in his hand. “It ain’t loaded, and the safety was on, but still, the intent was there, sir.”

“Hand me that.” Ralph says. He inspects it. “This registered?” he asks Matty.

“No.” he whines. “I stole it from The Arches.” The Arches is a rent-by-the-hour kind of local motel, where Matty’s clearly been staying, since his parents kicked him out. The man is nearly Laura’s age, but he’s as mature as a fifteen-year-old.

“You want me to press charges?” he asks Laura.

She looks at Matty, and by god, I pray to myself that she will not take any mercy on him. I know that there’s a history there. I know that she went to high school with him, and that Matty holds a torch for her, even after all these years. Laura is forever the hopeful, and I would never step in when it isn’t my place, but by God, if she so much as alludes to letting him off with a warning, so help me God. “I’m afraid so, Ralph.” She says, surprising me.

I look at her, and there is a look in her eyes that I don’t recognize. We haven’t known each other for terribly long, but I thought that I knew all of her expressions. This one is new to me. For all I know, it’s new to her, too. “You’re making the right choice, darlin’.” I say, kissing her temple.

“Take him away, boys.” Ralph says, and the two Troopers cuff him and read him his rights.

With a cold, distant look on his face, Matty Herald walks out the door, and I’ve never wished this before in my life, but at that moment, I hope like hell that I never have to see that face again.

“I’ll make sure the county throws the book at him, Laura, if that’s what you want.”

“Yes.” She looks at the floor. “I want him punished to the full extent of the law.” She says with conviction. “He put me in danger, my family, my friends, my staff, and my dog. That can’t ever happen again.”

“I fully agree with you, Laura.” Ralph says.

We each give our statements, and I place a call to Clint, letting him know that I’ll be a little late getting to the clinic. Lisa leaves for work, and the boys head back to work on the grounds as well. When it’s just me and Laura again, she looks at me. “Thank God you came home when you did.”

“Doctor Lang sent me home. The Emergency Department was crazy slow.” I say. “Everything seems to happen for a reason, love.”

“I thought you would kill him.” Laura says seriously.

“I’d have come close, I’ll admit. But no man is worth going to jail for.”

“Those are some wise words, Grayson.” The look on her face says that she’s still a little shaken up.

I pull her close to me. “Do you want me to call Clint and tell him that I need to stay with you?”

A ‘v’ forms between her brows. “No, honey, that’s not necessary. I’m fine. Matty’s in jail now. I just feel bad for his folks. I can’t imagine how awful that must be for them.”

“Some kids are bad eggs, babe. I was one of them once. Good thing my daddy wasn’t alive to see me go to the bottle when I did.”

“How did your mama handle it?”

“She took a few rounds out of me now and then, but ultimately, she’s my mama. I listened to her on an occasion or two, but when you’ve got the itch to drink, nothing except yourself can stop you.”

Laura bends upward and kisses my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I kiss her again, and then give her a big bear hug, rubbing her back, feeling her muscles settle, just to make sure that she’s calm and my head can go back to the clinic.

“Grace will be calling the boys for lunch soon. You should eat and then head back.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“What do you say you and I go out for dinner tonight? Just the two of us?” Laura suggests, which she never does. This is a first.

“Today a special occasion that I’m not aware of?”

“No, not really.” She shrugs, frowning. “We’ve never done that before. I just figure we should.”

I lift a brow and look at her. “Something’s up.”

“Nothing’s up, Grayson. I just want you to myself tonight.”

“Wha, hell, baby. You can have me to yourself anytime you want. Just say the word.” I pull her closer. “But if you have your heart set on taking me out, we can do that, too.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I still feel like something’s up, but no, I don’t mind.” I admit, chuckling.

“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you.” She says, and I can sense her irritation.

“Make what easy on me, darlin’?”

She huffs, pulling away. “Oh, forget it.” A sigh. “It’s okay. We don’t have to go out for dinner. I know how much we both enjoy eating together with everyone as a family. Plus, with all this that’s gone on today, it’s going to be for naught.”

There is something on her mind, but me poking at her is just making it worse. “Whatever you like, sweetheart. As long as you’re happy.”

“Okay.” She nods. “Forget I mentioned anything.”

I kiss her. “Okay.”

But everything is not okay. My baby can’t even look at me while we eat lunch. I can’t imagine how much tension there will be at dinner.

…what is going on with her?