Jesse chuckled. “Ah. That’s why you like him.”
I stifled a giggle. “It did make me feel good.”
He looked down at me as we strode through the hallway again. “Hungry cowboys can’t be too picky, but yeah, I’d say we got an upgrade.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth and laughed. “I’m telling her.”
“You wouldn’t.”
I bit my bottom lip, wondering how he always pulled a smile out of me. “You’re right. I’m not that mean.”
Back in the waiting room, we brought Tag and Bea’s personal items to reception then sat down and waited. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for, only that we needed to be close by until something changed, until we got some sort of word or action plan. Truthfully, the five of us had spent a lot of time together at hospitals. Hopefully that wouldn’t remain a trend.
Of course, Izzy pulled out her stack of cards, urging us to play OldMaid this time. So we gathered around a magazine table and played several rounds, went on a vending machine hunt through the hallways, and read the subtitles on the silenced Fox News channel. By all accounts, the afternoon should’ve been like watching paint dry.
But it wasn’t.
Being around Jesse instantly lifted my spirits. He was funny, relaxed, and so easy to talk to. He was a great dad and didn’t shy away from talking with my girls. Trying not to notice him was like refusing to look at the Rockies in Estes Park—impossible.
But he was watching me, too.
Any time I laughed or smiled or parented my daughters, I felt his gaze.
Whenever I looked up and caught him watching, he flashed me a soft, guilty smile and didn’t rush to look somewhere else. He was completely comfortable with his intent—whatever it was.
I didn’t know how to respond or what to do. If his end game was getting me in his bed, I’d have to try a lot harder to discourage him. But, to my shame, the attention soothed my broken spirit like jumping in a cool lake on a hot summer day.
Bea finally came out to the waiting room with news from the doctors and instructions from Tag. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, and she held a hand over her womb.
The doctors said it would be a miracle if Cooper survived the next couple nights, but if he did, his chances of eventually leaving the hospital were good. The main concern was aspirational pneumonia—the vomit he breathed in caused a rapid, lethal infection to spread through his lungs. But he hadn’t coded again, even though his heart rate remained unstable.
Tag asked us to pick up the Ranger from Janice’s house and go back to the ranch. There was nothing we could do here. Even if Cooper passed, there wouldn’t be anything we could do. There wouldn’t be final goodbyes or rallying around Tag and Bea. We weren’t allowed in the ICU, and that was that. Tag and Bea would likely find a nearby hotel or just spend nights at the hospital.
Before Bea left, Jesse asked, “How is Tag?”
Bea’s throat dipped on a swallow, her voice quaking. “He’s…hanging in there, but he…” Bea’s eyes flicked to me and she hesitated before responding. “He keeps dissociating.”
The wind left Jesse’s lungs as his head flopped down. He ran a hand over his face and his voice rasped with pain. “Oh, Bea, I’m so sorry.”
“He’s—feeling a lot of responsibility right now. You know him.” Bea started to cry again as Jesse pulled her into the sweetest, brotherly hug. She cried. “I’m—afraid.”
Jesse gently pushed Bea back to look in her face. “No matter what happens to Cooper, you hang on tight to Tag, alright?”
Bea nodded. “You know I will.”
“I know. Don’t worry about the ranch. We got everything.”
We.
He probably meant himself and Harlan. Not me. Because I certainly couldn’t be trusted to take care of a ranch. But then, Jesse looked at me, his eyes dead serious. “Don’t we, Hollie?”
I blinked. “Yep. We will take care of everything.”
Bea reached out to hug me next. She spoke over my shoulder. “I have no idea what we would do without you right now, Hollie. You are a godsend. Thank you.”
I squeezed her back. “I love you so much. And Tag.”
“And we love you.” She stepped back and swiped her eye with her collar. “Okay. I need to get back there.”
