Emily.It suited her. It was a pretty name, and she was a pretty woman, despite the bruises and cuts on her face.
Robert had also informed him she was thirty years old and not married.
He shut off the engine but made no move to get out of his truck. He wasn’t a concerned family member. Concerned, yes, but it wasn’t his place to sit at her bedside. That’s where her boyfriend or parents belonged. Did she have a boyfriend?
Were her family and friends going crazy wondering where she was?
Pulling the keys from the ignition, he resisted the urge to start the truck and drive away.
Coward.
He’d ridden fifteen-hundred-pound bulls and broken wild mustangs. Why was he so nervous to go visit with a pretty woman?
He slid down from his truck, wincing at the pain in his thigh, where he’d gotten kicked that afternoon by the colt he was breaking.
Feeling empty-handed, he rubbed his palms against his thighs as he approached her—Emily’s—room. He should bring flowers or something, but that was probably not appropriate, considering he didn’t even know her.
“Hey, Dale.” Jake greeted the deputy who sat outside Emily’s door, relieved it wasn’t his brother who sat there. Robert would never let him live it down. “I’m going to visit with her for a while. You can take a break if you’d like.”
“Thanks, Jake. It’ll be nice to stretch my legs.”
With Dale walking away, Jake rubbed his hands on his jeans again, this time to dry his damp palms.
What is wrong with me?True, he didn’t date much, but it wasn’t like he was afraid of women. Well, he was afraid of Debbie Wheeler. Ever since she threw herself at him last fall, he was afraid of being alone with her.
He knocked on the door then opened it to see Emily’s eyes closed. Her cheeks held more color than this morning. Should he leave or go in?
She opened her eyes and smiled at him. With a dimple creasing each cheek, she looked younger than thirty.
“Hi, Jake.”
“Hello.” He returned her smile as he entered the room.
“You missed Ben and Amy by half an hour.”
Jake’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of his cousins. “They visited you?”
“I think they felt bad for me. Ben said his dad told them about me, and Amy insisted they visit.”
Amy was thoughtful like that.
“Did they bring the girls?”
“No, they thought it would be too much for me. But they told me about them.”
“They’re little cuties and they’re good girls, but they are busy two-year-olds.” Jake shifted from one foot to the other then snatched the hat off his head. His mother would chew him out for being so slow to remove his hat in a lady’s presence. “You’re probably tired after visiting with them. I should let you rest.”
“I’ve been resting all day. Seriously, these four walls have become very boring.” She motioned to the television. “And there’s nothing worth watching.”
Jake shoved his hands in his pockets. “How are you feeling?”
“A little better, I guess. I hurt everywhere though.” She put her right hand against the left side of her abdomen.
“I’ll bet. The casts will be on a lot longer than it will take for the ribs to heal, but they’ll be the most painful of all.”
Emily cocked her head as much as the neck brace allowed and narrowed her eyes. “You sound like you speak from experience.”
He nodded. “I’ve broken a few ribs before. Waiting for them to heal was the longest three weeks of my life, both times.”
