Pippa had risen from her seat and was dragging one of Kinsey’s suitcases from the back. “Have a nice three days, girl.”
Kinsey sat up straight and blinked. “You want me to stay here?”
Pippa shrugged. “Kade suggested it, said he knows the owners and that they had a cabin open for you.”
Kade was now jogging back toward the helicopter. The young couple stood arm in arm, watching him and peering at her too.
A part of Kinsey was intrigued and wanted to embrace staying in this remote getaway for a few days. It would probably do her good. She needed some time away to rest and take a break from the demands of being a traveling nurse. And maybe while she was here, she could also sort out her feelings for Tyler.
Kade opened the door and extended a hand to her. “It’s all set.”
“What is?”
“Your mini vacation.”
She took his hand and allowed him to help her out, this time noting the horses grazing in a pasture of wildflowers on one side of the main cabin, and a large garden on the other surrounded by a tall wire fence. A log cabin barn stood a short distance away with a cow grazing in a penned-in area.
“Camp Ponderosa is one of the prettiest and most secluded camps in the Rockies.” Kade was peering over the landscape too. “Mitch and Anna managed to free up one of the cabins for three days.”
“It is pretty.” She drew in a deep breath.
His attention returned to her, and his expression turned solemn. “I know we did all this behind your back. But I hope you know it’s because we care about you and Tyler.”
A lump pushed up into her throat. “I know.”
“Good.”
“It’ll give me some time to think.” She needed it. She could no longer shove aside her poor way of coping with all that had happened in her family. She finally had to face it with courage. “Maybe I’ll climb my mountain here.”
His brows lifted above questioning eyes, then as understanding dawned at his reference from earlier, he smiled. “Oh yeah, you’ll definitely get your chance to do that here.”
She hoped so. Because when she next faced Tyler, she wanted to have the courage to run to him instead of away.
22
Tyler slammed the stall door shut, then tossed the shovel against the wall, where it fell to the ground with a loudclank.
He was going crazy without Kinsey.
She’d only been gone for eight hours, and it already felt like eight years.
He paced the length of the open center aisle, his boots thumping the cement floor in pace with his heart, which was demanding that he go after her.
He paused and looked at his watch again, as he had for the hundredth time over the past hours. Her flight would have left by now for O’Hare. In fact, she was probably already landing in Chicago, maybe even on her way to her mom’s house, where she stayed between jobs.
Kade had arrived at the ranch with the new nurse hours ago. But it hadn’t been Doreen. Instead, it was Kinsey’s friend Pippa, the one she’d talked about from time to time who had been there to help with her sister’s care.
Pippa had been good so far. But she was much louder and brasher than Kinsey. And bossier. She’d shooed him out of his dad’s room twice already in the past few hours. Kinsey had never done that, had always welcomed—and even encouraged—the family’s visits.
Tyler suspected it wouldn’t have mattered if Florence Nightingale had come back from the grave and offered to bethe new nurse. He probably would have found something wrong with her or something he didn’t like. Because she wasn’t Kinsey.
He paused at the outer barn door and peered over the corral and the new mares along with the other horses that were grazing on the slender shoots of buffalograss. The afternoon was still sunny, but the clouds forming on the western range meant that a storm was brewing. The weather app confirmed they were in for evening thundershowers.
The truth was, if he planned to go after Kinsey, then he needed to do it soon, or he’d be stuck until tomorrow—at least, if he wanted Kade to fly him to Denver.
But the dilemma was whether he should go after her or whether he should give her the freedom that she wanted.
“Shoot.” He palmed the back of his neck, the tension in his muscles almost more than he could bear.
