"You could say that."
     Somehow her cowboy fantasy and all those cattle roaming the range hadn't quite made the transition to the dinner table. She glanced at his face and saw how much she'd offended him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."
     He shrugged. "I've got some things to do." He started for the door, picking up his Stetson on the way.
     "No, really, I mean it. Just because I decided not to eat any more meat, that doesn't mean that you..." They stood still, not moving, staring at each other. She had the impression he didn't really want to leave. Hesitating to say what she really wanted, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She should let him go with a few nice words of gratitude for his help. She was here to be with her mother and father. She shouldn't care whether she'd hurt his feelings. She shouldn't, but she said, "Please, don't go. I didn't mean to insult you."
     "Guess I was being a hot-head." His jaw tensed as she watched him get himself under control. "Should know by the beef futures that the market isn't there."
     She tried a smile. "Am I forgiven, or do you want to meet me at high noon?"
     He looked startled, then grinned. "Got any coffee going? That should settle things."
     Her smile grew. "Mom has some." She opened cupboards and took down a jar. "Instant okay?"
     "Sure."
     She filled two mugs with water and placed them in the microwave, then searched through the sack until she found her tea. The buzzer went off and Cole watched her spoon coffee granules into one mug and dip the tea bag in the other.
     "You don't drink coffee?"
     "Not any more. It's bad for you."
     "Somehow I knew you were going to say that," he teased, making a small joke of it.
     If he could tease her, then he wasn't angry any more. Her spirits lifting, she handed him his mug. "Sugar or cream?"
     "Black," he said and raised the mug to his lips. Joey watched him swallow, watched the lump in his throat move and suddenly realized how much she'd missed moments like these. Small, intimate, sharing moments.
     Turning away, she spooned honey into her cup.
     "Is something wrong? Shouldn't I be here?"
     She gestured at the table. "Let's sit, shall we?" Joey watched him fold his long lean body into the dinette. His legs stretched out as he crossed them at the ankle. She sank down across from him.
     He looked around. "Fancy rig."
     She heard the unspoken questions. "My parents like to travel. After my father retired, they started with a cabover pickup, but they kept trading up. Mom likes nice things and this is their home away from home." She faltered on the last statement, wondering if Poppa would have a chance to enjoy the RV again.
     He reached out to touch her, as if to comfort her, but she drew her hand away before he could. "Did I do wrong, coming here like this?"
     "No," she said slowly, drawing out her words. "I'm...I'm pleased you're here. I wanted to thank you for all the help you've been. It's much more than I would ever expect from a stranger."
     His jaw moved. "I think we've gotten past being strangers."
     "Well, now, maybe. But when you helped me that first night—"
     "Think nothing of it."
     Joey considered that. Why was he having such difficulty accepting her thanks? She toyed with her mug, then lifted her eyes to meet his studying her intently. "What is it?"
     "You," he said flatly. He reached out and touched a dangling cloisonné butterfly earring. "You wear the damnedest things—-all the colors of the rainbow. You look like sunshine in that getup. "I don't know what's gotten into me. I have a son over there, lying strapped to some ungodly contraption, hurting like hell. I have a ranch that needs one hundred percent of my time. With Sam laid up, I'm short-handed. I have business over in Bozeman, yet here I am gawking at you, like some lovesick cowhand. Truth is, I can't stay away from you."
     It was the longest speech she'd heard him make and it rocked her down to her hot-pink toenails. Her heart thumped. He stood up and paced away, boot heels drumming on the floor. He turned and glared at her. "I want to kiss you so bad it hurts. I want to taste you. Just one taste. Then I'll go."
     "Oh my," she said, the merest whisper of sound in the stillness between them. She could only look at him, at this tall, lean man who stared at her with hunger in his eyes, with pulses leaping at his throat. She'd never been in this position before, didn't know how to react.
     Her mother's door opened. Her arrival broke the tension stretching between them. Joey could have sworn she heard the elastic band snap. "Here's my Mom," she announced needlessly. She watched Cole get himself under control. His whole body stiffened, shoulders back, then he relaxed and spoke as though nothing had happened.
     "Hello again, Mrs. Carpenter. Are you feeling better?"
     Amazed at his restraint, Joey barely heard her mother's polite words. She turned from one to the other, following the conversation until Cole picked up his Stetson again and headed for the door.
     He paused and gave her such a commanding look that she obediently moved to him. In a low voice, he asked, "Will you have dinner with me tonight?"
     "I don't think that's such a good idea, Cole."
     "Because of what I just said?"
     "No," she said slowly, although that was certainly part of it. "I don't think I should leave my mother alone. Not while my father's condition is still so unstable."
     He nodded. "I can accept that. I have to go over, check on Sam, then I'm heading into Bozeman. I'll see you later."
     "That's not necessary."
     The pulse beat in his throat. "It is to me."

     Joey sat with her mother in the waiting room, idly flipping through an old magazine, waiting for the nurse to call Marie in for her five minutes. When that was over, they'd go back to the RV for the night. Marie was visibly tired, her face sagging with exhaustion after so many worrying days, but her spirits were better. With each hour, Frank gained ground and the prognosis was looking good. When Joey had seen him last, he'd spoken briefly, thanking her for coming and asking her to look after her mother. She'd made a little joke and he'd smiled. A nurse had shaved him today, and he was beginning to look more like Poppa.
     She recognized the cadence of Cole's footsteps before she saw him. Smiling, she watched him break into a return smile.
     Hunkering before her, he took her hands in his. "How's everything?"
     She pulled her hands away, but she did it slowly, stretching out the contact. "Good. Poppa's much better."
     His smile widened before he spared a glance for Marie. "You holding up?"
     Marie nodded. "Joey told me your son is here, too. How's he doing?"
     "Good. Be a day or so before he's released, then we'll take him home."
     "So soon?" Joey asked.
     Cole grinned. "Nurses will be glad to get rid of him. He's a rotten patient. We'll fix him up with everything he needs at home for therapy."
     "That's good."
     Marie's face fell. "Oh, I just realized...what are we going to do about Frank?"
     Joey looked as serious, then she said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Mom. We'll handle it when the time comes. I can stay as long as it takes."
     "Don't you have a job at home?"
     "Not since I sold the business."
     "A lady of leisure, huh?" He remembered how he'd pegged her as a non-working woman the night he'd met her in the Emergency Room. Now he wondered if that size of that rock on her hand reflected how much that business was worth. What kind of business?
     "Not quite. I manage to...keep busy."
     The nurse beckoned to Marie then. Cole rose with her and when she'd disappeared down the hall, took her seat next to Joey. "Is being here a problem for your kids?"
     If she was surprised by his curiosity, she made no sign of it. "I don't think so. They're good kids, but if it gets to be much longer, I'll have Greg come up. Maybe he can help drive the RV home."
     Cole shifted, taken aback by the dismay he felt at the thought of her leaving. He had no right to feel this way, he just did.
     "Did you get everything done?" she asked.
     "Yup," he answered, glad to change the subject. "Got in and out of Bozeman in no time."
     "How far away is it?"
     When he told her, she gaped at him. "How could you get there and back in only a couple of hours?"
     "I keep a plane out on the ranch. No trouble to get around."
     "Oh." She nibbled at her bottom lip. "You fly it yourself? Isn't that dangerous?"
     "Not if you know what you're doing."
     It took her a moment to work up to a smile, but when she did, warmth flowed through Cole's body like hot coffee on a snowy night. Warmth became heat; heat became desire.
     "So, what are we doing for dinner?" he drawled.
     "I told you, I need to be with my mother tonight."
     "Joey, want to bet your mother won't want company when she gets out of there?"
     Her mouth pursed while she considered that. Watching her made his body harden as though he were a green kid again. He restrained the urge to kiss her, to take that luscious lower lip of hers between his own teeth and nip at it for her. The he'd kiss it again to soothe the hurt. When she glanced up at him, he kept his face impassive, hoping his hunger didn't frighten her away. "There's a nice, quiet little place I know. You can relax, take a break from all this for an hour. Sound good?"
     It sounded like heaven. Until he'd mentioned it, she hadn't realized how sick she was of the hospital and the hospital cafeteria. Feeling guilty by how much she wanted to escape, if only for a little, she studied him silently, wondering what it was about him that made her forget. His strong, masculine body appealed to her more than it should. His hands, large and callused, made her want to hold them between her own, to feel them on her body. And his face, sweet heavens, his face drew her until she feared that she'd do anything he asked. She could read him so clearly. He wanted her, but instead of frightening her, she saw deeper, down into the growing feelings he had for her. That was what alarmed her. How could he come this far so quickly? And heaven help her, how could she resist? What scared her most of all was the growing realization that she didn't want to resist. Her years with Tom had been good ones, but the memories faded under the intent gaze of Cole's expressive, brown eyes.
     She backed away, dredging up images of Tom to reinforce her resistance to Cole, but when she summoned them, the memories wouldn't come. Tremulous, Joey sought Tom's loving face, the sound of his voice and when she couldn't, she edged away. All she could see was Cole's face, his eyes, his mouth. Her pulse rocketed madly with the impulsive desire to touch.
     They stared at each other in the growing silence. Neither heard the clamor of a busy hospital, neither saw anything but the other, neither heard Marie returning.
     "Joey? Joey?" Marie's voice finally penetrated.
     "Damn," Cole muttered. "Every time we're getting someplace-—"
     "Mom?" Joey asked faintly, dragging her gaze away from Cole. She looked up into Marie's tear-stained face and jumped to her feet. "What is it? What happened? Is Poppa-—"
     "Oh, Joey," Marie wailed, "He's going to be all right!"
     "Thank God," Joey whispered and abruptly sat as her legs gave out.
     "That is good news," Cole said as he helped Marie sit beside Joey. "What happened, Mrs. Carpenter?"
     "He used the bathroom—-oh, he needed help, but he's up and around. He's got very little pain now. The doctor said barring complications, he'll be walking in a few days."
     Joey cleared her throat. "That's wonderful."
     "I'm so relieved I could sleep for a week."
     Joey avoided Cole's eyes, but he showed her no mercy. "That's just what you need, Mrs. Carpenter. Are you hungry? We could fix you something before we go out for dinner."
     "Cole!" Joey started to shush him.
     Her mother waved her away. "I don't want anything. I can't even keep my eyes open."
     Cole shot Joey a triumphant look. "C'mon, Mrs. Carpenter. Let's get you settled."
     Following them to the RV, Joey wondered if Cole was going to waltz right in and help her mother into bed. Then, with a shiver, she acknowledged that when he wanted something, he went right after it.
     It seemed he wanted her.

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Chapter Five -- posted October 24, 1997

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Last updated: January 4, 1998