Page 16 of The Cowboy's Redemption
And Levi would give up a limb to own Nova. Otto had never given him a straight reason as to why he couldn’t buy her from him, but Levi had always suspected it was because Otto liked having him visit and worried the visits might stop.
Dana rode in just as he was heading back to the cabin to check on Dallas and Otto, because Dallas’s assessment was taking too long, at least from Levi’s perspective.
Dana, with loose, wind-blown curls, rosy cheeks, and fine, dark brows pinched in concern, looked lovely on Lady and his heart kicked his chest. The two of them made an eye-catching team. Not much wonder crowds loved them.
She swung from the saddle with the grace of a ballerina. He met her at the doorstep of the cabin just as Dallas emerged.
Dallas wore a frown along with the stethoscope dangling from his neck. “Are you a relative?” he asked Dana.
“No,” Dana said. “Concerned party.”
“He doesn’t have any family. Not that I know of,” Levi amended, because he wasn’t sure. He’d never seen any signs of them, but with Otto, that didn’t mean much.
“You should find out,” Dallas said. His frown didn’t ease up. “I can’t give you a medical report without his permission, but I will say that he shouldn’t be left alone.” He exchanged glances with Levi. “The Endeavour can line up a private nurse for him—if he’ll agree—but all he really needs is someone to keep him company and take care of the place. I’m not sure for how long. A few days—probably no more than a month.”
Levi tried to breathe. Otto was dying. He’d known this day was coming but hadn’t been as prepared for it as he’d assumed.
“I could do it. Or take turns with someone.” He said it half as a question. He wasn’t related to Otto, so any time he’d have to take off from work would be up to the Endeavour.
“I’ll speak to Ryan. Otto’s a neighbor. We’ll work something out,” Dallas said.
Dana’s expression reflected confusion, as if she hadn’t quite come to terms with what they were talking about. “I don’t—Where is the…” Her words and thoughts stumbled over themselves, getting mixed up. She paused, then tried again. “Where is the ambulance? Aren’t you going to take him to the hospital?”
“He’s not incapacitated, and I can’t force treatment on him,” Dallas said kindly. “He’s agreed to pain medication, but that’s it. I’ll write a prescription and Levi can get it filled.”
She finally figured it out. Her eyes filled with tears that dripped onto her lashes and she blinked them away.
The men gave her a polite moment.
Dallas spoke to Levi again. “He asked if you’d call George Cooper for him. You should tell George I said it’s an emergency.”
The weight on Levi’s lungs gained a few extra pounds. George Cooper was an estate lawyer in Grand. “Can you call him? There’s no cell service out here and I don’t want to leave Otto.”
“I’ll stay with him,” Dana interrupted.
A moment was all she had needed. Her tears had dried, and her voice was steady. Her self-control, seemingly back in place.
But she’d been acting out of character of late, and Levi had doubts about the wisdom of leaving her alone with an old man who was dying, no matter how steady she looked. She hadn’t handled Tanner’s death especially well. The circumstances might be different, but the outcome was the same, and she didn’t need the reminder.
He didn’t feel good about it, that was for sure.
“That would work,” Dallas was saying to Levi before Levi could find a nice way to say no to Dana. “He won’t take anything for pain until after he’s spoken to his lawyer, which is smart. Call George and tell him it’s an emergency, then drive into town and get his prescription filled. It’s an opioid so I can’t phone it in.”
He had no choice. Dallas had patients waiting for him, and he was Levi’s ride. But Levi was almost as worried about Dana as he was about Otto.
Almost.
He spoke to Dallas. “Mind if I have a quick word with Otto?”
“Not at all.”
The cabin’s interior was as fastidious as everything else Otto owned. He took the termminimalistto the extreme, but his home was his castle and it showed. He’d rigged a Murphy bed against one wall with a narrow wardrobe beside it. There was a sturdy armchair and a table, kitchen cupboards and a sink. He’d added plumbing at some point, but there was no hot running water. He boiled it on a squat wooden stove that also served as the cabin’s primary source of heat. A sturdy washtub hung from a hook on the wall. A set of flowered porcelain dishes graced a plank shelf above the sink, next to polished pots and pans. He’d inherited them from an aunt—or so he claimed.
The old man lay on the bed with his eyes closed. The drawn cheeks and fine lines pinching his mouth indicated how much pain he was in. He turned his head in Levi’s direction at the sound of his boots against the wood floor.
“Nova’s yours. Promise me you won’t let my other horses go to anyone who doesn’t deserve them,” he said, without opening his eyes. “And make sure that O’Connell bastard doesn’t get his hands on my land.”
Otto was going to name him executor of his estate, then. Relief and guilt warred over the news that Nova was his in return for such a small favor. He cleared his throat. It felt as if he’d been chewing on glass.
