Chapter Nineteen
Rachel
I tried to put the night before out of mind as I checked in on Dancer and Pete as the sun rose. Skipper was by my side and even he was more quiet and obedient than usual, affected no doubt, by the smells and sounds of the medical suite. I’d left my engagement ring, and Daniel, in my bedroom. The one, I’d left for privacy’s sake, the other so he could sleep off the wine and amazing feats of stamina he’d surprised me with the night before.
I knew I should’ve just said “no” and left it there. There were so many ways for us to go wrong still. I’d been with Jason for three years, and in the end, he’d burned me in ways I didn’t realize happened in reality. How could I possibly think that I could have forever with a man who hardly knew me, who hadn’t known me before I was so bruised and damaged to the core? But, he accepted the damage. So, maybe if he still felt the same way once school started and I wasn’t around all the time, we could make it work.
My stomach churned thinking about the attempted character assassination that had followed the car accident, with me as the primary target. Anything and everything that could be said about a woman was heaped on me like compost on a garden bed, and I would not let that happen to Daniel and his family. I planned to wait until after Verica’s welcoming party that night, but then I had to talk to the Hargraves about my experience and damage control. Because I knew the kind of people they were dealing with, who had the money and free time to waste on ruining lives just for the hell of it.
I looked into the medical suite as quietly as I could. Pete was curled up in a ball in the corner, while Verica sat watch with Pretty Dancer. She had a steaming coffee mug in her hand and looked no worse for the wear, for which I was grateful and again marveled at the clockwork organization and effortless running of the ranch under Hannah’s watchful eye. I knocked quietly to warn her of my entry and she turned and smiled up at me before casting a possessive and admiration-filled glance at our sleeping horse master.
“He let me sleep all night. I feel guilty; I’ve only been up for about an hour,” she whispered. Dancer stirred, and a quick check of the heart monitor and oxygen saturation meter brought a sigh of relief and a stupid grin to my face.
“What a strong, brilliant girl you are!” I said to Dancer as I stroked her nose. She nickered and nodded profusely in response, and the jockey and I both had to stifle giggles. I loosened the straps on the sling a little, to allow Dancer some small movement and test her ability to hold her own weight, but left the winches alone until Dr. Pallace returned to reexamine her.
Daniel came up behind me and grabbed me when I jumped. He mouthed “sorry” and put his arms around me, frowning slightly when he held up my hand and the ring wasn’t there.
“I’ve got mucking to do,” I replied to his silent scolding in a stage whisper. “I can’t wear it while I’m shoveling horseshit, even in gloves.” I raised my eyebrows at him, and he grudgingly nodded agreement. I ignored the flip my stomach did and asked him if he’d eaten.
“No, I imagine I had exactly the same first thought you did. How is she?” Daniel asked. He checked the machines as I had just done, and watched me as I forced my hands into latex gloves and checked her mouth, nose, and specifically, the two bite marks.
“Granted, this is my first ‘in real life’ snake bite, but I think she’s doing really well,” I asserted. I shone my penlight into her eyes and her pupils dilated appropriately. “I won’t make any definite claims. That’s for Dr. Pallace,” I conceded. “But, I see nothing that seems to suggest she isn’t getting better.” Verica heaved a sigh behind me.
“I trust your word,” Daniel stressed. “I suggest you ladies go get breakfast while I take the watch, and then we’ll set up a rotation until the doc arrives to confirm what I’m sure is your more than adequate prognosis.” He kissed me gently and shooed us out the door before either of us could contradict him.
We walked quietly for the length of the paddock, as though there was a heaviness that surrounded the entire stable that we couldn’t speak over. As we approached the house, the feeling abated, and Verica thanked me for going to the mat for her.
“I always stand up for the people who stand by their animals.”
Her gushing compliments were difficult to hear. No one should have put this girl, younger even than me, in a position to be grateful because I’d told the truth and done what any decent person should. I shrugged off the compliment and at the sad look on her face, slipped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug.
“Do you know where I am on the list?” she asked so nonchalantly, I had to hide a smile behind my hand.
“After last night, I think you ARE the list,” I confided. Patty met us on the back veranda with a coffee in each hand, switching Verica’s lukewarm cup for the fresh one without a word. She nodded us toward the table and we sat under the dim, flickering strings of light as close as we could to the fireplace that adorned the end of the massive back deck. Warming our behinds with the early morning fire as we warmed our hands with the hot coffee, we sat in quiet companionship until Hannah appeared with hot biscuits, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a plate of thick-cut bacon. Patty was close behind with a tureen of country gravy and a platter of sausage and scrambled eggs.
Verica loaded up her plate and I snatched a couple of big, fluffy biscuits, dropping them on my plate as my fingers stung in complaint against the heat. I split them open and spread churned butter over them, then drizzled them with the honey Hannah harvested from the ranch beehives. The crisp smell of morning was punctuated by the fragrant biscuits and heavenly smells of the bacon and sausage as I closed my eyes and breathed in the wonder of living so close to the earth, exactly the way I had always imagined.
When I opened my eyes, Hannah and Patty were speaking quietly to Daniel, who looked over at me and winked. His slow smile and the utterly masculine way he looked me over made me blush, and I prayed the dim, pre-dawn light hid my dismay from the men who were now loping up to the table, all of whom looked like sleep hadn’t been kind to them. At my questioning look, Hugh yawned and admitted they’d sat with Pete for much of the night, playing cards, helping with snacks, and trying to keep his spirits up.
I sniffed as tears nipped at my eyelashes. Hannah beamed over the table like the proudest momma, and even Jackson slid into an empty seat, rubbing his eyes and groaning his wordless complaints at the early hour.
“Why are you up?” I asked him as I slid several slices of bacon and a biscuit onto his plate.
“I didn’t go to bed until Verica took the watch. I was on the laptop all night, going over symptoms and whatever for Pete.” I glanced at Hannah, who fluttered her hands and clasped them over her heart.
“Pete was real grateful to be able to see that she wasn’t getting worse, even by the online doctors’ articles,” Hugh piped up, lifting a tumbler of juice in a toast to Jackson.
“Good job, Jackson,” I said to him. He nodded and smirked at me with a mouthful of food. Verica chuckled and I rolled my eyes.
“Did you look at her yet, Doc?” Hugh asked. I glanced up expecting to see Dr. Pallace, but surprised that he’d be back so early. To my eternal consternation, Hannah, Patty, the men, even Verica and Daniel were all looking at me.
“’Scuse me?” I choked, trying to swallow and talk at the same time.
“Do you think Dancer is okay?” Hugh repeated. I shot Daniel a look, and he beamed back at me and motioned for me to answer.
“Well, considering I’m not an actual doctor yet…” I cleared my throat and continued carefully. “As far as I could tell, with the limitations of my level of expertise, which is not expert at all, Dancer seemed to be doing remarkably well, especially since she was bitten twice and wasn’t treated as immediately as would have been preferred.” I glanced around at the nodding heads of the men and Daniel’s proud grin.
“Well, men, the chores won’t do themselves, and breakfast is getting cold. Eat up and roll out,” Hannah commanded the hands before she disappeared back into the kitchen. Daniel read the roster and the guys shoveled food into their gaping maws and shuffled off. Suddenly, Jackson, Verica, Daniel, and Patty were the only occupants of the table.
Verica glanced from me to Daniel and back again, surreptitiously sneaking peeks at my unadorned hand in between. Daniel sighed and stared me down, and I slid my hand under the table to change the subject. Of course, Jackson had missed the interaction and dove right in, per his usual fashion.
“Hey, Daniel, did you punk out or what?” he asked, ignoring my glare.
“I did not, as a matter of fact, but we thought we’d hold off on announcements, considering the state of things right now. Let’s make sure Dancer is okay first, Bud.” Daniel averted calamity calmly and deftly steered the conversation back to the most important matter at hand, and saved me from a manufactured explanation.
By the time the sun was over the trees, the four of us had found our way back to the stables and met Dr. Pallace, who as it turned out, had indeed made the drive in the dark to check on our Pretty Dancer before he needed to be at his clinic. He was very upbeat and positive in his prognosis, and even happier when Patty brought out a steaming to-go cup of her amazing coffee, swirling with thick, fresh cream. He cautioned us to keep Dancer still and feed her carefully for the next day, limiting her food intake and watching her fluids, and promised to be back the next day, with the hope of removing her restrictions.
Pete sniffled a little, but managed to avoid unmanly tears as he hung on every word the doctor spoke. He clasped the man on the arm and held on, silently speaking volumes of gratitude, a sentiment echoed by all of us as we stood around Pretty Dancer with bowed heads and clasped hands.
I watched Verica gaze in awe and remembered when I had felt the same response to the family that was Lago Colina. It seemed now that it was a decade ago that I had first realized how special and different the ranch was than the rest of the world. How loyal and committed to the traditions of the family the Hargraves were. My fingers spread over my shirt directly above the scars that marked my loss and worthlessness as a woman and a wife.
I didn’t want to be the one who broke the cycle of strong sons to protect and serve the land that the Hargraves had stewardship over. I bit my lip and focused on breathing normally and not letting my face show my feelings, but I felt Daniel’s gaze like a flame between my shoulders. Without looking up, I felt him move closer behind me and rested my back against his chest. His hands were on my hips as he cleared his throat and asked for the floor.
Immediately, all murmurs and chatter ceased and even the doctor faced him and waited, a bemused look on his face.
“I know we’re all gladder than we can say that due to the quick thinking and actions of our own Rachel Martinez and Pete Call, Pretty Dancer is looking at a full recovery.” The men raised their hands in quiet salute, as not to disturb Dancer or frighten her. “At this time, I’m proud and grateful for the opportunity to tell you all in one place that I’ve talked Rachel into being a permanent member of our family.”
I held my breath and waited for the criticism of our choice. Instead, I found myself in the center of a crush of men, all trying to hug me, or shake Daniel’s hand, without raising the ire of Dr. Pallace or the heartrate of our equine patient.
Dr. Pallace congratulated us and gently suggested that we take the celebration outside to let his patient rest. I tried to escape, but Daniel held my hand and beamed at the congratulations from his friends and employees.
“I’m so glad for you both!” Hannah broke in through the steady hum of chatter from the men. “I suppose this means I can stop pestering Daniel for grandbabies until we’ve planned the wedding!”
I stiffened, but tried to keep my face blank, tugging at Daniel’s hand as I tried to free myself from his grip. He instantly broke in and tried to change the subject, but his mother frowned, and spoke up again, saying that she had waited quite long enough, and reminding her son that he’d be thirty before he knew it, and he shouldn’t wait too much longer.
I knew if I spoke, I would say something I wouldn’t be able to take back. Instead, I yanked my hand away from Daniel and rushed to my quarters, hot tears stinging my face with the realization that a barren woman would not be welcomed into this family, no matter how noble their traditions.