the doctor’s wide desk.
“What a day!” Nevada exclaimed. “How many patients did we see anyway?”
Victoria tried to smile. “I quit counting after we hit twenty.”
Reaching up, Nevada began to pull the pins from the braided black bun at the back of her head. Once the last one was removed, the long silky strands fell to her shoulders, and she gave the heavy mane a shake.
“So, what have I done now?” Nevada asked her boss. “Made a patient angry? I know Mr. Tallman complained about the shot I gave him. But honestly, Victoria, the man is a wimp.”
Leaning back in her chair, Victoria chuckled tiredly. “You haven’t done a thing wrong, Nevada. And you’re right, he is a wimp. But none of that is why I wanted to talk to you this evening.”
Nevada looked at her boss with interest. “Oh? What’s happened? Are you going to take off work or something?”
Victoria slowly shook her head. “Actually, I probably should take off work. But right now it’s just not feasible. Dr. Martinez is out of town on vacation and won’t be back for one more week. I have no one to replace me. At least, no one that I would trust with my patients.” Folding her hands atop the desk, she leaned up and looked intently at Nevada. “You see, I’m having a problem. I’m hunting a dependable nurse. Someone I can really count on.”
Shocked, Nevada stared at the other woman. “Oh. You mean, uh—you think I can’t handle all the work around here? I thought you and I worked well together.”
Victoria quickly waved a hand at her. “Nevada, my dear, I couldn’t do without you. You’re my right arm. And I really don’t know how I’m going to get through the next few weeks if you agree to this.”
“This?” Nevada asked carefully. “What is this?”
Massaging her forehead, Victoria said, “I need you to do me a favor. A big favor.”
“Of course. Anything,” Nevada quickly agreed.
“Wait a minute,” Victoria said as her hand fell away from her face. “You’d better hear me out before you agree. This might be a project you won’t want to get yourself into.”
Nevada scooted onto the edge of her seat. “You’ve got me curious now. And you know how much I love challenges.”
Chuckling, Victoria said, “Well, I have a feeling this will be one. You know my cousin Linc was burned badly in the barn fire at the ranch.”
Nevada nodded soberly. “Yes. How is he doing?”
“Actually, he’s going to be released from the hospital tomorrow.”
Nevada shot her boss a bright smile. “That’s good news. From what you told me, his burns were very serious. He must be doing much better.”
“He is. And Ross and I persuaded the doctor that he’d do even better if he was allowed to go home. The doctor agreed. But only if we could find a nurse to stay with him round the clock. I thought of you.”
“Me!” Nevada’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Victoria! I—I couldn’t.”
Victoria leveled a wry look at her. “You just told me you would do anything.”
“Yes, I did. But I didn’t have any idea you’d be asking something like this. I don’t even know your cousin! And I’d practically be living with the man!”
“You would be living with him,” Victoria corrected. “He can’t be left alone. He can’t use his hands in any way. Not yet. So you can imagine how much care he’s going to need.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” Nevada felt awful for Linc Ketchum. Even though she’d never met the man, she understood the pain and suffering he must be going through. She’d attended to many burn patients over her years of nursing and she understood the care he would need. But she didn’t really want to leave her home for two or three weeks. And living with a man? Well, she’d always been adventurous but that was taking it a bit too far.
“But I really don’t think I’m the nurse you need.”
“You’re exactly the nurse Linc needs. These injuries haven’t just disabled him physically, they’ve tugged him down emotionally. Normally, Linc is a gentle, easygoing man. Everyone admires and loves him. But this morning he actually cussed at Ross. He needs to get his mind off the fire and off his confinement. If anyone can do that, you can.”
Nevada let out an incredulous laugh. “How? By playing dominos or poker with the man? Victoria, I don’t know anything about him. I wouldn’t even know how to talk to him.”
Smiling, Victoria said, “You? Not know how to talk to a man? Come on, my dear, that sort of thing comes to you naturally.”
“That’s another thing. I have a life here in town. How could I go out on dates if I’m stuck on the T Bar K? You know that I have boyfriends. They won’t understand.”
“If that’s the case, you don’t need them.”
A long sigh slipped past Nevada’s lips. She’d tried, but she could see there was no talking Victoria out of this. “You really mean this, don’t you?”
“Nevada. I can’t think of anyone better,” she said with a soft voice. “No one else would suit Linc. He’s a man who needs gentle care.”
Nevada studied Victoria’s face and could easily see the signs of worry etching her eyes and mouth. “You love your cousin very much, don’t you?”
Victoria nodded. “I always have. Linc is special—to all of us. He’s like our brother. And yet he’s always wanted to remain independent. I don’t know why. But he’s a strong, compassionate man and it makes me want to sob when I see him like he is now.”
Feeling her eyes grow misty, Nevada walked around the desk and place a hand on Victoria’s slender shoulder. “Don’t worry. You should know I’ll take on the job. I can’t say no to you even when I want to.”
Victoria looked up at her gratefully. “Don’t do this just for me, Nevada. Do it for Linc. Okay?”
Uneasiness rippled through Nevada and made her hesitate. But only for a moment and then she smiled. “All right. I’ll do this for Linc.”
Chapter Two
He was sitting on the porch of his father’s old house when a little white sports car covered with the red dust of T Bar K land pulled to a stop a few feet from the rail fence that enclosed the house and yard, a yard which was little more than a patch of raw mountain land filled with boulders, pine trees and sagebrush.
Rising slowly from his chair, Linc ambled toward the fence as his squinted eyes tried to make out the person behind the dusty windshield. And as he waited for the nurse to climb out of the vehicle he told himself it didn’t matter what sort of person this woman was just so long as she stayed out of his hair as much as possible.
The door to the car finally swung open and Linc caught the glimpse of jeans-clad legs and long, raven-black hair being blown by the evening breeze.
