At Wolf Ranch (5 page)

“I found her collapsed on the side of the road. She’s got possible frostbite on her toes and a severely bruised hip.”

“Anything else?” Tina asked.

“My ankle hurts,” Lela admitted.

He frowned down at her lying on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, avoiding him.

Tina handed her a clipboard. “Fill these out, including your insurance information. You can take her into room three to the right. There’s a gown on the table. Take off the pants and sweater and put it on, ties in front. I’ll get Dr. Bell.”

“I don’t know him. Is he any good?” Gabe asked.

“She is young, but excellent. Super smart. Graduated medical school top of her class at twenty-two. Did four years surgical residency in Bozeman and is specializing in orthopedic surgery. Dane keeps on with his reckless ways, he may need her some day.”

Gabe nodded, because she might be right about Dane needing a specialist if he kept getting thrown by broncos and bulls. Nature of the game in rodeo. Gabe had the aches and scars to prove it.

He carried Lela into the exam room, set her gently on the padded exam table, sitting with her legs out, hands braced at her back. He gave her a few minutes to rest and filled out the form himself with the pertinent information and set the clipboard on the end of the table.

Gabe handed her the gown. “Need my help to get your clothes off and that on?” he asked without the slightest trace of an innuendo in that simple but loaded question.

Ella shook her head no.

He walked back out the door, turned, and said, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Ella didn’t doubt he meant a minute. So far, he didn’t seem the type to leave her alone for long when he insisted she get medical care for what she believed were only minor injuries.

She pulled her sweater over her head and drew the gown up one arm and then the other. She’d just managed to pull it closed in front when she rolled her aching shoulders and groaned. Everything ached after the bone-chilling cold sucked up all her energy.

A knock sounded on the door a second before it opened just enough for Gabe to be seen. He kept his eyes on the door frame and asked, “Are you decent?”

“Barely.” Most people would say not at all about her lifestyle, but in this case, she was covered. She liked his manners and the way he averted his gaze until she gave him the all-clear.

He came into the room and closed the door behind him. His gaze locked on hers when he stood next to her, leaned in, and grasped both sides of the sweatpants and pulled. She planted her hands on the table and lifted her hips so he could pull the pants down her legs. His eyes never dropped to her bare skin, but remained on her face, even when he reached for the sides of the gown and pulled them down to cover her thighs. Finished, he traced a finger over her brow, drawing her damp hair away from her face and tucking it to the side. She held her breath having this big man so close she could see the flecks of dark brown in his honey brown eyes. Strange, she didn’t feel the need to pull away, but wanted to get closer.

“Are you okay?”

“Stiff and sore, but I’m fine.”

His frown said he didn’t believe her. His warm eyes said he cared. He took a slow step back before he shifted his gaze and took a seat in the chair in the corner to wait for the doctor.

Ella bit her bottom lip and tried to think. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get to the house and figure out why her sister came here. “If you’ll bring in my bag, clothes, and boots, you can go.”

“You are just hell-bent on getting rid of me. Yesterday you ordered me to stay away from your palace, city girl.”

“It’s just a house.”

“In case you didn’t notice, this isn’t exactly the place of mansions and luxury cars you’d find clustered around the ski resorts. Around here, we drive trucks and live in normal houses.”

“My house is normal.”

“Only if you’ve got a family of fifteen living there.”

“It’s not that big.”

“Just over ten thousand square feet. Five bedrooms, seven baths, an apartment over the garage, and a guest cottage out back. Stables for forty horses, timberland for miles, a pond overflowing with trout, three rivers that run across the property for more fishing. Nearly seven thousand acres of prime land, including three solar-powered wells, several hundred acres of dryland hay, and thousands of acres of rangeland you haven’t stepped foot on in more than ten years.”

Because she couldn’t go back there after her parents died. She couldn’t be in that place and remember everything she’d lost. The love. The laughs. The memories they’d shared under that roof. It was too painful. Now, to return without her sister. The only one left in her family, besides her uncle and some distant cousins, it didn’t bear thinking about. “How do you know all that? Why do you care?”

The door opened, preventing him from answering. Dr. Bell walked in carrying a folder. Surprised to see someone so young in her position, Ella relaxed at the sight of the doctor’s warm smile and intelligent eyes.

Dr. Bell picked up the clipboard and tucked it under her folder. “Hi there. I heard you were stranded out in the freezing cold.”

“Yes.”

“Could you elaborate?” Dr. Bell coaxed.

“I found her on the side of the road about twenty-five miles outside of town. I don’t know how long she’d been out there, but she might have frostbite on her toes, though they look considerably better now that I’ve gotten her warm,” Gabe answered. “Her hip is banged up. Her foot was all caught up in her bag strap and her ankle hurts. Though the cold made her tired and less than coherent at first, she’s got all her brain cells firing again as far as I can tell.”

Dr. Bell reached out and covered Ella’s hand with hers, smiling softly. The simple gesture calmed and reassured Ella that Dr. Bell would take care of her. “How did you end up on the road alone in this weather?”

“You said
he
left you there. Who?” Gabe asked.

“Some guy named Travis. Bev at the diner asked him to give me a ride, because he was going that way, I guess. Next thing I know he wants—let’s see, how did he put it—‘a little somethin’, somethin’’ for his trouble.”

“You told him to go fuck himself, and he got handsy with you,” Gabe guessed, a menacing look in his eyes, pulling his lips into a tight line.

“I kicked him in the nuts and he dumped me on my ass on the side of the road. Literally. He still has my suitcase, which I need back.”

“Son of a bitch. We’ll get it back, or I’ll take it out of his hide.”

The way he said it, the flex in his forearms when he clenched his hands into fists sent a wave of heat and awareness through her.

“Sorry, Doctor,” Gabe said.

The doctor gave him a smile that he returned, and Ella felt a twinge of jealousy for no reason. She didn’t know this man. Of course, he’d saved her life, kept her warm, and got her to a doctor. She hated to admit she needed one. Everything hurt, but nothing so much as her heart and soul, missing her sister, feeling lost and alone.

She looked up and caught Gabe studying her. She immediately turned her gaze to the doctor, who gave them both a look.

“Let’s start with the easy stuff. What’s your name?”

Ella swallowed hard. Moment of truth. Up until now, she hadn’t corrected Gabe’s assumption. Mostly because she’d been kind of out of it. Plus, she let it go because it reminded her of all the times she and Lela traded places and tricked people. This was probably the last time it would work. She hated to stop the charade and live in the reality that Lela was dead.

She took too long to answer, so Gabe did it for her. “She’s Lela Wolf.”

Her gaze met Gabe’s. She opened her mouth to correct him, but the pain of losing Lela choked off her words. She tried to hold it together and not think that no one would ever mistake her for Lela again now that she was dead.

“Thanks, but I wanted her to answer this time.”

“I didn’t hit my head or anything. After being so cold, I’m tired, but my head is clear. Really, I’m fine, except for my hip and ankle.”

“All right.” Dr. Bell turned to Gabe. “If you’ll give us a few minutes alone, I’ll check her injuries.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Gabe held Ella’s gaze. “I want to stay while the doc checks you out and make sure you’re okay.”

“You don’t need to stay. Just get my things from your truck. Please.”

“I’m staying. Don’t mind me.”

“A little privacy would be nice,” she shot back.

“I’ve already seen you half naked. Believe me, right now, all I’m interested in are your injuries.”

Right now. As in later might be a different story. Maybe that was her own wishful thinking, because this man did all kinds of weird things to her insides. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him to go. And, oh God, how stupid of her, she wanted him to wrap his arms around her again and tell her everything was going to be okay.

“If you’re okay with him staying, let’s check you out,” Dr. Bell interrupted their stare down.

Ignoring him, Ella pulled the gown away from her right side to show the doctor her side. “Travis shoved me out the door. I landed on my hip. My bag got caught on my ankle. He tried to slam the door, but smashed my foot instead. My ankle hurt, but then I walked on it for quite some time, slipping and sliding on the ice and snow, making it worse.”

“Jeez,” Gabe said, shaking his head, a deep frown on his face, and rage in his eyes.

“Lie back and let me take a look at this side,” Dr. Bell said.

Ella settled on the table facing the wall. The gown fell down her back as the doctor ran her fingers over the worst of the bruised area, checking the bone. She bit back several yelps.

“Good, Lela. Now I want you to lie flat on your back.”

Every time someone called her Lela, a fist squeezed her heart, making it hurt all over again.

Ella complied and gave the doctor an appreciative smile when she closed the gown over her breasts. The lace bra barely hid a thing. Her nipples stood out against the black material. The doctor pressed on her side and over her abdomen. Satisfied she didn’t have any belly pain, the doctor clasped her hand and checked her fingers. She did the same with the other hand.

“Your hands look okay. No signs of frostbite.”

“The prickly needles stopped in the car a little while ago. My feet are taking a lot longer.”

“Her boots and socks were soaked through, along with her pants and jacket. Her hair was soaking wet and covered in ice. I got her into the truck, stripped off her wet things, and cranked the heater.”

“Fast thinking. Keeping her in those cold, wet clothes could have made the situation worse,” the doctor confirmed, working her way down her right leg, pressing on her calf, moving down to her ankle. She wrapped her hand under her heel and lifted her foot. Even that slight movement hurt when her ankle flexed. “Which way hurts more? This way? Or this?”

“Both,” Ella bit out.

“Looks like you’ve got a bad sprain, and a couple of pulled tendons and muscles. I’ll get you a brace to wear to stabilize your ankle while it heals. Your toes look okay. Do they still hurt?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“I’ll give you some pain meds before you go. All in all, I’d say you are very lucky. No broken bones, but that hip will ache for weeks. The bruise goes down to the bone. That will take time to heal.”

“Thanks to the weather and pulling the trailer, I wasn’t going that fast. I hate to think . . . man, if I’d missed seeing you out on that road . . .” Gabe hung his head and ran his fingers through his short dark hair, raking it back.

She understood just how he felt. The gravity of what happened to her sister hit her hard on the plane after she’d had time to come off the adrenaline high and everything settled in her mind. The wave of grief and guilt would come again when she had too much time to think. Gabe felt that now. He’d finished his tasks to keep her safe and make sure she didn’t die on him—like she could have if he hadn’t stopped and saved her.

“Gabe,” she said softly, drawing his attention to her. “I’m fine.”

Dr. Bell turned to the cabinet under the sink on the other side of the room and rummaged through a couple of drawers and found a black brace. She undid the straps and came back to slide it over her foot, securing the straps around her ankle. The added support did make it feel better.

“You’ll want to ice your hip and ankle a couple of times a day to help with the swelling. If it’s not getting better over the next week, come back and we’ll take another look. I expect it will take a couple weeks before it’s completely healed.

“Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll grab your meds and come back with your paperwork.”

The doctor left. Gabe stood and gently pulled the gown off her arms and tossed it to the top of the exam table without a word. He grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head. At this point, she figured her hair looked like a rat’s nest, so she barely ran her fingers through the shoulder-length strands to get them away from her face. Gabe’s fingers lightly traced the bruises on her hip and the side of her thigh. The soft contact made everything in her go still.

“You must be in a lot of pain. I’m sorry that son of a bitch did this to you.”

Taken off guard by his sincerity, she put her hand on his hard shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“I’m not done yet.” He snagged the sweatpants and pulled them up her feet and hips.

She read the letters down her leg. Texas A&M University. “I take it these are yours.”

“Even we backwoods hicks go to college.”

“I never said—never mind. Thanks for letting me borrow them,” she finished, not knowing what she’d said to earn that defensive comment.

He stared at her for another long moment. “There’s something different about your eyes.”

She sucked in a breath and held it. People didn’t really notice the subtle difference in her and Lela’s eyes. They could fool just about everyone if they styled their hair the same and wore similar clothing. They resembled each other so closely, but if you looked at their eyes and noted the small flecks of yellow in hers, compared to Lela’s darker green flecks against the jade, you could tell them apart.