Page 10 of Take Me Please, Cowboy
“No problem,” Rye answered.
JB looked at Ansley, appreciation in his eyes.Rye wasn’t about to introduce him.“Let’s get you back to your trailer,” he said, clapping JB on the back.
He got JB moving toward the door and then Rye turned to look back at Ansley, who was still standing there in her baseball cap, pink T-shirt, snug jeans, and white sneakers.She looked like a college cheerleader.Fresh, pretty, young.So fresh and pretty it was hard to walk away from her.
He felt another twinge, the pinch in his chest catching him by surprise.What was she doing to him?“Want coffee?”he asked.
She nodded.
The tightness in his chest made it hard to think.“How do you like it?”
“Milk and sugar.”
“I’ll be back.”
Her eyes locked with his.She seemed to be trying to make a decision, curiosity and wariness warring in her eyes.Curiosity won because her lips curved, and she nodded again.“I’ll be here.”
*
While waiting foran update from the medical staff, Ansley paced outside talking to her mom on the phone, updating her on everything that had happened.Her mom was calm as always and reassured Ansley she’d done everything right, and there was no reason to beat herself up.She asked Ansley to let her know when there was news and then they said goodbye and hung up.
Ansley forced herself to stop pacing and sit down inside and try not to replay the morning’s events over and over in her head but being woken by her uncle’s shout, and then running to discover him on the floor had shaken her to the core.It had been hard getting him to her car, and hard to focus on driving when he’d groaned off and on for thirty minutes.Then, reaching the hospital, there had been nowhere near the entrance to park what with the ambulances and commotion, so she fetched a hospital wheelchair but just getting her uncle into it made him hiss with pain.He’d broken something, she was sure of that.But just what he’d broken she didn’t know.
The sliding glass doors to ER’s patient entrance opened and Rye walked in, tall, lean, handsome.Focused.He also had two large paper cups of coffee with the Java Café logo.Her heart thumped with gratitude, glad to see him, and not just for the coffee.She welcomed the company, needing the distraction.It was hard not knowing what was happening in the exam room.It was hard not feeling responsible.Uncle Clyde’s bathroom had grab bars at the toilet and bathtub from when Aunt Sandy had cancer.But her uncle fell before he even reached the bathroom.She wasn’t sure how to help him or protect him.Maybe a walker would help, something to lean on when he left the bed.
“Any news?”Rye asked, handing her a cup.
She shook her head.“Nothing.”
“By the way, it’s not a drip coffee.The girl at Java Café insisted I try the vanilla caramel latte, saying it was a special drink in celebration of the eighty-fifth Copper Mountain Rodeo.I didn’t know how to disappoint her.”
“Is that what you have, too?”
He looked shamefaced.“No.I have a black coffee.I’m not much for sweet things in the morning.”
“Whereas I love everything sweet—pancakes, waffles, French toast, cinnamon rolls.The more sugar the better.”
“Then you might like the Copper Mountain Rodeo latte.”
“I just might.”She took a sip.The latte was strong, creamy and sweet, and exactly what she needed after the rough morning.“It’s good.Really good.Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”He gestured to the bench outside.“Want to sit there?It’s nice out.The air is fresh.”
“Good idea.”
Outside as they sat down, Rye extended his legs, boots crossed at the ankle, cowboy hat shielding his eyes.He hadn’t been wearing a hat earlier.For that matter, he hadn’t been wearing the blue plaid western shirt, either.
“How did you have time to change?”she asked.
“I’m fast.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing for a cowboy?”
“Fast reflexes are good.Fast rides, not so good.”
She didn’t want to stare but it was hard not to keep looking his way.He was tan, fit, muscles tightening in his forearm as he drank his coffee.“I appreciate you bringing me coffee when I’m sure you have more important things to do,” she said, suddenly feeling shy.
“I don’t, not yet.Later, I’ll head to the arena, do a little riding and roping to get a feel for the stadium, but today is essentially a rest day.”
