headed for the door.
“Wait!” he ordered, but he wasn’t really surprised when she kept going. He tried to swing his legs to the floor and fell with a cry.
She stopped and looked at him. Then she moved toward him. He smiled at her, expecting her help to get back into bed. His ankle hurt, but at least he’d stopped her from leaving. Instead, she punched the button for the nurse.
“Yes? How may I help you?” A voice came through the intercom.
“Mr. Randall has fallen out of bed,” she said calmly.
Almost immediately two nurses reached the door. They rushed to his side. He watched the waitress move to the door again. “Please, don’t leave! Make her stop, nurse!” he pleaded.
“Ma’am, please wait. Surely you don’t want to upset the patient.”
After staring at first the patient and then the nurse, she gave the conventional answer, “Of course not,” but he noted the complete lack of concern in her voice.
“Now, Mr. Randall, don’t try to get up again or the doctor won’t release you in the morning,” the nurse warned after they had him settled.
When they left the room, he asked the waitress, “Why would you be willing to drive me all the way to Wyoming?”
“Because I need to get away from here and it would save me the cost of a bus ticket.”
Her simple explanation raised a few questions. “Why do you need to get away?”
“None of your business.”
“It is if you’ve broken the law.”
“Well, duh, if I’m a criminal, you don’t want me to drive you anyway.” She moved closer to the door again.
“Wait! Look, it would help me a lot if you’d drive me. I just didn’t want—I mean—”
“I’m not expecting a wedding ring in exchange for two or three days’ driving.”
He drew a deep breath. “Okay, then I won’t need to call my family. I’ll call them when I get out of this place. But my horse… Hopefully Gabe will be there.”
“Who is he? Family?”
“Yeah, kind of a second cousin.”
“Why doesn’t he drive you home?”
“Because he’s on the hunt for the National Championship. He can’t afford to miss a single rodeo. But he’ll be glad to help with Bella if he’s still in town.”
“Fine. Is Bella hard to load?”
“No, but whoever you get to take care of her can load her for you, and hook up the trailer. Hand me my billfold, please. It’s in that drawer,” he said, waving her in the direction of the bedside table.
She opened the drawer and took out a leather wallet, then handed it to him.
He pulled out three one-hundred-dollar bills. Holding them out to her, he said, “You should be able to hire someone for a hundred, but if you need to pay more, you’ll have it. Before you hitch the trailer up, fill up the gas tank. You might get us some drinks for the trip, too.”
She stood there staring at the money. “Are you crazy?” she finally asked.
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t hand over that much money to a stranger,” she said, as if speaking to a child.
“You’ll need it.”
“I don’t think so.”
Frustration filled him. “Just take the damn money. And tell me your name.”
“Samantha Jeffers,” she said slowly.
“My name is Rich Randall,” he replied, handing her the bills.
She took the money, folded it and slipped it into the pocket of her tight jeans. “I’ll return what I don’t spend.”
“Fine. I should be ready to go by eight o’clock. You can make that, can’t you? Since you’ve already packed.” He regretted his sarcasm as soon as it left his lips. He needed her. It wouldn’t be wise to insult her.
“I’ll be here.” Without another word, she left.
Rich leaned back against the pillow, feeling as if he’d just fought a battle. The woman was difficult. And he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.
GABE RANDALL WAS saying his goodbyes when Sam reached the rodeo grounds. She explained what had happened to Rich, and Gabe offered to stay an extra day to help him out.
She refused his generosity, explaining that Rich had told her that Gabe didn’t have any spare time. She asked him to show her the feed and where to get water, and she’d take care of everything else.
Gabe did more than that. He showed her everything that would need to be done, and he introduced her to several men who worked at the barn. They agreed to help her the next morning.
“You’ve been very kind,” Sam said, shaking Gabe’s hand.
“Are you and Rich, uh, together?”
“No. I’m just helping him out.”
“Well, Rich is a lucky man.”
Sam figured she would be the one everyone would think lucky, if their engagement were real. The cowboy, like his cousin Gabe, was a handsome man.
“Do you have everything you need?” Gabe asked, seemingly reluctant to abandon her.
“Thanks to you, I do,” she assured him.
“Well, I hope I’ll see you again. I’ll be stopping by Rawhide after the Nationals. Will you be there?”
“Maybe,” she said with a grin.
“If Rich is as smart as I think he is, then I will be seeing you again. Tell Rich I hope he heals quickly.”
With a frown, Sam asked, “Will he come back to the rodeo then?”
“Maybe. But I don’t think so. I don’t think his heart is in it.” Then he shook her hand and walked away.
After Gabe left, Sam examined the trailer, hoping it was one of those that had a bed and storage at the front end. But no such luck. However, she could stay in the cab of the truck again, as she had last night. And the rodeo offered bathing facilities for the cowboys who stayed in trucks and trailers.
She made a run to a grocery store and bought some drinks and snack food. She also paid for a cheap blanket. It got cool at night in Flagstaff. But she knew it got downright cold in Wyoming. Then she drove to a gas station and filled the truck. When she returned to the rodeo grounds, she visited Bella. She’d been
