Taken by the Cowboy
Read Taken by the Cowboy Online
Authors: Julianne MacLean
the Cowboy
By Julianne MacLean
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by
Julianne MacLean.
Cover Art: Kimberly
Killion
This ebook is licensed
for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved, including
the right to reproduce or transmit this book, or a portion thereof,
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without
permission in writing from the author. This ebook may not be resold
or uploaded for distribution to others. Thank you for respecting
the hard work of this author
This is a work of
fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real
locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and
incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any
resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
of Contents
THE LOOK OF
LOVE—Excerpt by Bella Andre
PRINCESS
CALLIE—Excerpt by Daisy Piper
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my
cousin and critique partner, Michelle Phillips (aka children’s
author Daisy Piper), for many years of shared creativity and
editorial support. Also to Joyce David (aka Joyce Sutherland) and
Lorraine Vassalo, who were among the first to read and critique
this novel in its earliest form. Cathryn Fox, Anne MacFarlane, Bev
Pettersen, Shawna Romkey, and Pat Thomas from Romance Writers of
Atlantic Canada—your editorial contributions were invaluable. And
finally, special shout-out to Julia Phillips Smith for all the
great support on your most excellent blog!
Dodge
City, Kansas
Present day
Jessica Delaney sat in
the waiting room outside the Operating Room, barely able to move,
much less comprehend what had just happened to her brother. “How
much longer?” she said to her parents. “He’s been in there for two
hours.”
Jessica’s mother blew
her nose, while her father sat in silence, squeezing his wife’s
hand. “I’m sure they’re doing their best,” he said. “We’ll hear
something soon.”
Jessica rose from her
chair and walked to the edge of the waiting room to peer down the
long hall at the surgery doors to the O.R. She thought of Gregory
lying on the table under the lights, a team of masked surgeons
working over him. What were his chances? Did anyone ever survive a
bullet wound to the chest?
Feeling nauseous all of
a sudden, she returned to her chair and sat down. She stared at a
framed painting on the wall and wished this day had been different.
Gregory didn’t deserve to be lying on that table. He was too young,
and such a good person.
At least the gunman was
behind bars. The convenience store clerk had noticed the
out-of-state license plate just before he called 911.
An orderly in a white
uniform walked by pushing a cart stacked with folded blue hospital
gowns. Jessica watched him while he steered the cart onto the
elevator. When the doors slid shut behind him, she thought of Liam,
her fiancée.
Should she call him and
tell him they were still waiting for news?
Jessica chewed on a
thumbnail and recalled their conversation hours ago, when she’d
called him at work....
“Liam, something
terrible just happened. Can you come with me to Dodge?”
“When? Now? I’m in a
meeting. I can’t just skip out.”
She fought to keep her
voice steady. “Gregory’s been shot. He’s on his way to the
hospital. I need to go right now, and I’d really like you to come
with me.”
He was silent for a
moment. “God, Jessica...is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know. That’s
why I need to go now—to be with Mom and Dad.”
“Of course. You should
go.”
“Can’t you come?”
She heard him sigh
heavily on the other end of the line. “It’s a really bad time,
Jess. We’ve got clients coming in tonight. It could be a
million-dollar deal. If I’m not there, it might cost me my job —
and you don’t know what kind of day it’s been for me.” He began to
tell her about the mountain of emails and texts he still had to get
through.
Jessica covered her
forehead with her hand. She didn’t want to hear the details. Not
now.
She interrupted him.
“Look, don’t worry about it. I’ll go alone.”
“Let me know how he’s
doing. Call me later.”
“Sure.” She hung up
without saying goodbye and drove from Topeka to Dodge alone….
The squeak of the
surgery doors swinging open pulled Jessica from her thoughts. She
stood up to look down the hall again and saw a doctor in O.R.
greens walking toward them. His shirt was drenched in sweat. “Mom,
Dad…someone’s coming.”
Her parents stood
up.
The doctor, who looked
to be in his mid-thirties, kept his eyes on Jessica as he walked
the length of the hall. A terrible rush of anxiety exploded in her
belly as he came to stand before them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Delaney,”
he said, “I’m Doctor Jake Spencer.”
He shook her father’s
hand, while Jessica put her arm around her mother.
“I’m sorry to tell you
this,” the doctor said. “We did everything we could for Gregory,
but I’m afraid he didn’t make it.”
Jessica stared blankly
at the doctor, who kept his gaze fixed on hers. His eyes filled
with empathy, while hers filled with tears.
Her parents said
nothing for a moment, then her mother let out a sob. “Please,
no.”
The doctor put his hand
on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Delaney. The wound was deep.
The bullet entered his chest and punctured a lung. It lodged in the
wall of his aorta. We tried to stop the bleeding and put a graft in
place, but it bled too heavily, and we couldn’t stop it. We did all
we could do. I massaged his heart to pump it manually, but...I’m
very sorry.”
Jessica’s mother leaned
into her husband and buried her sobs in his chest. All Jessica
could do was stare at the doctor while she listened to her mother’s
weeping and the sound of her own blood rushing through her veins.
She still couldn’t believe what the doctor was saying.
“Will you be all
right?” he asked. His voice was caring. Almost shaky. His green
eyes were compassionate and sincere. He reached out and touched her
shoulder.
Jessica managed to
nod.
“If you need anything
or have any questions,” he continued, “you can contact me at any
time.” He handed her his card.
“Thank you,” she
replied.
He made a move to leave
but turned back. He shook his head in frustration. “I’m sorry,
Jessica. I did everything in my power to save him. I wish I could
have done something to prevent it from happening.”
His expression was
tight with strain, as he bowed his head and walked away.
Her grief swelled as
she stared after the doctor, until the doors to surgery swung
closed behind him. She choked back a sob and turned to embrace her
parents.
It wasn’t until many
hours later, after they left the hospital and went home to call
their friends and relatives, that Jessica wondered how the doctor
had known her name.
One
One
year later
Jessica shifted
nervously in the driver's seat, her fingers like vice grips around
the steering wheel. She'd driven for two hours, slicing through a
rain-battered dusk, wishing that she lived closer to Dodge and her
parents. If she did, she wouldn’t have to spend so many hours
traveling from one city to the other.
Maybe it was time to
move home, she thought, for the tenth time that month. There wasn’t
much keeping her in Topeka anymore—not since she broke off her
engagement to Liam.
She was self-employed
and could write her fitness column from wherever she pleased. All
she needed was a good pair of sneakers for running, her laptop, and
wireless Internet at a nearby Starbucks. Her apartment was a
sublet. She could give a month’s notice and be out of there in a
heartbeat. The change would do her good.
Not that she wasn’t
happy in her work. She loved what she did. There were no problems
in that department, but everything else seemed so uncertain and
unpredictable.
Her brother had gone
out to buy ice cream after supper one night, and he never saw
another sunrise again.
Jessica had imagined
she’d be married by now with a kid on the way, but the man she
chose for a husband turned out to be a self-absorbed child, and she
was suddenly single again, paying off debt from a honeymoon she had
no choice but take alone.
Yet, she was ever
hopeful, waiting for a sign from above, a clue to suggest what she
was meant to do with her life. There had to be some greater
purpose.
Should she stay in
Topeka, or move home to Dodge to be closer to her parents?
They weren’t getting
any younger and wouldn’t be around forever. If she’d learned
anything over the past year, it was to make the most of each and
every day, because you never knew when it could all end — just like
that — with no warning whatsoever.
Come
on, destiny. Which is it? Topeka or Dodge?
A flash of lightning
and an instantaneous thunderclap caused her to jump in her seat.
Rolling her neck to ease the tension in her shoulders, she flexed
her fingers on the steering wheel and repositioned her slick palms.
The windshield wipers snapped noisily back and forth.
Another crash of
thunder overlapped the last. Counting the seconds to keep her mind
occupied, Jessica raked stiff fingers through her hair. She'd just
finished a cup of bitter service-station coffee, and now her brain,
whirling with caffeine, couldn't match the lightning with the
correct thunderclap.
Maybe the radio would
take her mind off things. She tuned into a fiddling festival, then
tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel to "Oh! Susanna." Other
vehicles passed her at dangerous speeds, their tires hissing
through puddles on the slick pavement. She glanced impatiently at
her watch, wondering how much longer she'd have to fight this
storm.
Ahead of her, a white
freight truck lumbered slowly up the incline. Knowing she’d have to
pass, she glanced over her shoulder and signaled to cross into the
passing lane.
She barely managed to
gain any distance when her car suddenly hydroplaned and began to
fishtail. Instinctively, she slammed her red stiletto pump onto the
brake, realizing too late what she had done. Her heart pummeled her
ribcage as she tried to regain control, but it was no use. The
steering wheel was useless as the vehicle spun around in a dizzying
circle.
Oh! Susanna, don't
you cry for me....
The car whipped around
and flipped over, bouncing across the pavement like a child’s toy.
The world spun in chaotic circles. Jessica’s head hit the side
window. Glass smashed, and steel collapsed like tin all around
her.
Frozen with fear, she
felt all her muscles constrict.
Please, stop! Get me out of
here!
Lightning split the
ashen sky. The car lit up and sizzled with one electrifying pulse
after another.
The light...it was too
bright. She couldn’t see. She squeezed her eyes shut.