An Accidental Hero (5 page)

Reid scooted his chair back and got to his feet. “Great meal, Martina, as usual.” He carried his plate and silverware to the sink, grabbed his jean jacket from the wall peg and opened the back door.

He was half in, half out when she said, “Where are you going in such an all-fired hurry?”

“Got those new guys starting work today, remember. Don’t want them lollygaggin’, ’specially not on their first day.” He nodded toward the outbuildings. “Might as well put them right to work on that fence.”

Billy was leaning back in his chair, preparing to agree, when Martina said, “Before you go, I have a favor to ask you.”

Reid stepped back into the kitchen. “I’ll do it.”

Her brows rose. “But you don’t even know what it is yet!”

“Can’t think of anything I’d refuse you.”

She smiled, then folded her hands in front of her. “Well, you know how terrible I am with directions.” She bit her lower lip, glancing quickly at her husband before meeting Reid’s eyes. “And you know Billy can’t drive anymore, so I was wonder—”

“Say no more,” he interrupted. “What time were the two of you planning to hit the road?”

“Right after lunch,” Billy said.

Reid put his hands in his pockets and nodded. More than enough time to get this nasty business with Amanda
and
the new ranch hands taken care of. “I’ll just get the boys started, make sure they have enough to keep them occupied till we get back. I have a, uh, errand in town, but I’ll be back by noon. We can head out whenever you’re ready.”

Martina gave a relieved sigh. “I had a feeling we could count on you.” She brightened to add, “I took the liberty of booking a room for you at our hotel.”

The long drive before and after the doctor’s appointment would wear Billy to a frazzle, so despite the fact that he hated hotels, Reid would stay the night.

“All I can say,” Billy put in, “is
this
doc better be worth the trip.” He gave Martina a stern yet loving look. “Those last four quacks weren’t worth their weight in feathers. You’ve run me all over, looking for a—”

“A miracle. Yes, that’s right,” she finished for him. Tears filled her dark eyes. Suddenly, she gripped her husband’s hand, gave it a little shake. “I have faith, mister, and I won’t rest until we’ve exhausted every possible option!”

On his feet now, Billy gathered her close and nuzzled her neck. “Aw, now, honeypot, don’t get all weepy on me.” He pressed an affectionate kiss to her cheek. “Don’t pay me any mind. Y’know I love you to pieces for all you’re doin’ to save my ornery hide, right?”

Eyes closed, Martina nodded and pressed her freshly kissed cheek against his knuckles. If Reid hadn’t already known how absolutely devoted she was to Billy, this scene would have made it obvious.

Her wavering breath pulsed in the quiet room.

So as not to disturb them, Reid slipped out the door, feeling like an interloper for eavesdropping on this very private, very loving moment.

Something nagged at the periphery of his consciousness:

He’d never been one to envy what others had…but it sure would be nice to know a love like that before he met his Maker.

After giving the ranch hands their orders, Reid drove to Amanda’s hotel and found her waiting for him outside the entrance. “I
figured
you’d be driving
some kind of monster truck,” she said, giggling when she opened the passenger door, “so I wore
blue
jeans.”

She sidled up, intent on planting a kiss right on his lips. He gave her his cheek instead, and pretended not to notice the disappointment that registered on her face. She recovered quickly, though—he had to give her that. After a second or two of silence, she snuggled close.

“I hate to sound like an old codger,” he began, pointing at the passenger seat, “but you need to slide right back over there and buckle your seat belt.” He stared straight ahead. If Rose London had been wearing her seat belt thirteen years ago, she might have survived the accident. Since that night, he’d been a stickler when it came road safety.

But Amanda had no way of knowing that, and her wide-eyed expression proved it. “Had a fender bender last night,” he added, “so it’s making me more cautious than usual.”

“How sweet,” was her breathy reply.

Amanda chattered about turbulence during her flight as Reid drove to Georgia’s Diner and parked in the lot, babbled about too few towels in her hotel room as they walked inside, yammered about Amarillo’s gray skies and chilly temperatures as they scanned menus. “You look
won
derful,” she said, once the gum-snapping waitress had left with their order.

Reid knew she expected him to return the compliment, but to say anything flattering right now would only make his speech that much harder to deliver.
No point putting off till tomorrow what you can do today,
he silently quoted Billy. Taking a deep breath, he plunged in, saying it was all his fault that she’d come to believe they had a future as anything but friends. To spare her feelings, he called himself a fool, a self-centered jerk, a boor.

To his amazement, Amanda didn’t resort to tears, didn’t disagree. In fact, she said nothing, nothing at all. Instead, she simply stood and gathered her things before walking woodenly out the door. Groaning inwardly, Reid put a twenty on the table to cover the cost of the food they’d ordered, and followed her. He caught up to her on the entrance to the parking lot.

“Amanda,” he began, “don’t go away mad. There’s no need—”

She threw herself into his arms and held on tight. Reid looked up, as if the answer to this problem was written on the underside of a rain cloud. He was about to offer to drive her back to the hotel when movement across the street caught his eye.

Cammi—in tiny black shoes and a bright white sweater—mouth agape and eyes wide, looking directly at him.

It was as if the world had come to a dead halt. Cammi no longer heard the steady din of traffic, didn’t see sparrows flitting to and fro, pecking the sidewalk in search of food scraps dropped by hurrying pedestrians, couldn’t feel the biting blast of autumn wind against her cheeks. She wasn’t even feeling the rush of satisfaction from the successful interview she’d just come from with the principal of Puttman Elementary that had resulted in a teaching position.
Instead, she was aware only of Reid, locked in an intimate embrace with a tall, striking blonde.

It made no sense why jealousy reared its ugly head, started her heart beating faster.

Reid hadn’t mentioned a woman last night in Georgia’s Diner. But then, why would he? He certainly didn’t owe her any explanations. The sight of him, face half buried in the blonde’s long, gleaming tresses, made her fumble-footed, and she tripped over a protruding blob of hard tar, squeezed into a crack in the curb.

Tires skidded, horns honked, brakes squealed as she landed on hands and knees in the road. She felt ridiculous, crawling around in a small circle, grabbing up the tube of lipstick and ballpoint pens that had spilled from her purse.

She had no idea when Reid had crossed the street, or when he’d knelt beside her. But there he was, lips a fraction of an inch from hers, smiling as she stuffed a rat-tail comb, a pack of tissues and a quarter into her bag.

“We’ve gotta quit meetin’ this way,” he drawled. Cammi giggled nervously, despite the dull ache in her lower back, despite the burning, bloody scrapes on her knees and the palms of her hands.

As they neared the curb, a wave of nausea and dizziness staggered her. But, just as he had the night before, Reid steadied her.

“You okay?” he asked, voice laced with concern.

She was about to answer, when the blonde he’d been hugging so tightly flounced up. “Well,” she huffed, “at least
now
I understand why you wanted to
end
things.” She blinked mascara-blackened lashes
at Cammi. “I hope you’ll be
very
happy, following your rodeo
cowboy
from town to town.” Glaring at Reid through narrowed eyes, she added, “I feel it only fair to warn you, you
won’t
be the only one!” With that, she spun on her stiletto heels and click-clacked off. “And don’t you even
think
about following me, Reid Alexander,” she tossed over her shoulder.

Reid seemed torn between helping Cammi and fixing things with the angry woman. “I’m okay,” Cammi assured him. “Really. Now hurry, or she’ll get—”

He met Cammi’s eyes. “Trust me, Amanda is fine. She’s like a cat…always lands on her feet.” Then his eyebrows knitted with worry. “Wish I could say the same for you,” he added, inspecting her scraped palms. He led her to the bus stop bench and sat her down. “Here, let’s have a look at you, see if anything else is bleeding or—”

“I’m fine, honest.” She nodded toward the blonde. “But she isn’t. You’d better go after her, before—”

Reid tugged a neatly pressed blue bandanna from his back pocket and gently brushed road grit from her hands. “You’ve done a pretty good job of scratching yourself up.”

But Cammi barely heard him as she watched Amanda step into a taxi and slam the door, hard. “Oh, wow. Oh man. Just look what I’ve gone and done this time.” Hanging her head, she sighed. “I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “If I wasn’t such a clumsy oaf—”

“Now, cut that out,” he ordered. “You don’t have a thing to be sorry for.”

Cammi studied his handsome, caring face. She’d
never seen that much concern on Rusty’s face, not in all the months she’d known him. She pointed to the cab. “She’s leaving, and—”

“You can’t end what never began.”

“Maybe I hit my head when I fell,” she said, rubbing her temples, “and addled my brains even more than usual, because that makes no sense whatsoever.”

Chuckling, Reid slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to her feet. “Let me buy you a cup of coffee, and I’ll explain.” He paused. “You were headed for Georgia’s, right?”

She nodded. “Yes. I was in town interviewing for a teaching position at Puttman Elementary and thought I’d go into Georgia’s for a cup of tea.”

“How did the interview go?”

“I got the job.” She smiled. “I’ll be teaching fourth graders.”

“Congratulations!” Reid said. “How about I keep you company at Georgia’s, but what-say we cross with the traffic light this time.”

“Okay, but it’s not nearly as adventurous….”

She liked the sound of his laugh and wished there was a way she could hear a lot more of it. But in her condition…

Reid chose the same table they’d shared last night, ordered coffee for himself and asked the waitress to bring Cammi a cup of herbal tea. “Something to soothe your nerves,” he explained when the girl left. “You might want to make an appointment with an eye doctor.”

“Eye doctor?”

“You had a dizzy spell last night, too, as I recall.”
He shook his head. “Maybe you need glasses or something.”

Cammi took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Might as well just get it out in the open, she thought. “I don’t need glasses, Reid. I need a bassinet.”

Reid grinned, then snickered, then frowned. “A…a
what?
”

“Uh-huh. You heard right. A bassinet.” She nodded as she saw understanding dawn on his face. “I’m four months pregnant.”

His gaze went immediately to the third finger of her left hand, where the thin gold wedding band gleamed in the fluorescent light. “But…but—” He licked his lips. “But I thought… You said… You told me you weren’t married,” he stammered.

“My husband died four months ago. In an accident.” No point spilling
all
the beans, Cammi thought, remembering the shame of hearing who Rusty’s passenger had been. She’d save the “how” and “with whom” for a later conversation. If there
was
a later conversation.

Reid grabbed her hands and leaned forward. “Good grief, Cammi, why didn’t you tell me about this last night?” He slapped one hand over his eyes. “I feel like a monster, bellowing at you the way I did.” When he came out of hiding, he said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Shaking her head, Cammi retrieved her hands, tucked them into her lap. “Nothing for you to be sorry about. I—”

“I kept asking myself,” he interrupted, “what could distract a smart woman like you enough to run a red light.” Reid ran a hand through his hair. “A
widow just four months, and having a…” He blinked. “Having a baby, yet. I’m such a heel!”

She abruptly changed the subject.

“So who was the blonde?” she asked.

“Started following me around the rodeo circuit a couple years ago. I tried to tell her I wasn’t what she was looking for, but—”

“Reid Alexander?” she blurted. “You’re
that
Reid Alexander! Now I know why your name sounded so familiar. Wow. Can I have your autograph? You’ve probably earned more buckles than any cowboy in the history of the rodeo!”

When he blushed, Cammi’s heart skipped a beat. “Tell me all about it,” she said, sipping her tea.

She loved the deep, gravelly sound of his voice, the way his left brow rose now and then, and the way only one side of his mouth turned up with each grin. His green eyes flashed when he talked about the competitions, darkened when he spoke of the shoulder injury that ended his career, dulled when he told her about his friend Billy’s terminal illness.

“We’re heading to Fort Worth later today,” he said in conclusion, “to see if this specialist has a miracle cure.”

“I’ll pray for him,” Cammi said. “And for a safe trip there and back, too.”

She didn’t understand why, but suddenly he seemed angry. Had she said something wrong?

Suddenly, pain like none she’d experienced sliced through her midsection. Biting her lower lip, she grimaced.

He was on his feet and beside her in a heartbeat. “What’s the matter?”

Try as she might, Cammi couldn’t find her voice. Squinting her eyes shut, she gripped her stomach and prayed,
Not the baby, Lord. Please don’t let it be the baby.

Reid slid into the booth beside her, draped an arm over her shoulders. “Is there anything I can do to hel—” He leaned back, eyes focused on the red vinyl seat. “Cammi,” he said slowly, deliberately, quietly, “you’re…you’re bleeding.”