The Rancher's Family Thanksgiving. Cathy Thacker Gillen

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СКАЧАТЬ Tyler picked up where she left off, as intuitive as ever where Susie was concerned “—I couldn’t help but feel I was missing out on something pretty spectacular.”

      “Yeah.” Susie forced a watery smile. She dabbed at her eyes and took in a deep breath. “Although if we see them again in a month, they’ll probably be fighting over who leaves the toothpaste cap on and who leaves it off.”

      Tyler ruffled the hair on the top of her head playfully. He drew back, smiling now. “And even that will be spectacular.”

      Susie warmed at his attentiveness, even as she cautioned herself not to get used to it. Due to their busy schedules, there were times when the two of them went months without seeing each other, except for the occasional accidental meeting.

      A couple other vehicles left the hospital parking lot. But Tyler seemed in no hurry to depart.

      Nor was she.

      She needed to talk to him tonight. She needed the special brand of comfort only he could give.

      “So what else is on your mind?” he prodded.

      Susie leaned against the side of the pickup truck, the cold metal a contrast with the warmth of Tyler’s tall frame. She folded her arms in front of her and looked up at the crescent moon, peeking out from behind the clouds. “I realized tonight I probably shouldn’t have agreed to my mom and dad’s plan to match me up with someone.”

      Tyler shrugged, unconcerned. He turned so he was standing with one shoulder braced against the truck, facing her. He reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “So tell ’em you’ve changed your mind.”

      Susie studied the strong column of his throat, visible in the open neck of his shirt. “I made a deal. Besides—” she paused, bit her lip “—this is the only way I know to get them to back off for now.”

      “So you’re assuming this won’t work?” Tyler didn’t look unhappy about that.

      Nor, Susie realized, was she.

      Finally, she felt herself begin to relax. And smile. “Well, duh, of course not,” she said wryly. She paused to look deep into his hazel eyes, noticing all over again what a ruggedly handsome man he was. And it was more than just the symmetry of his features. It was his kindness and compassion. The humor he exhibited. The way he picked up on a person’s slightest change in mood, the way he could always make a person feel better, with an offhand comment or smile.

      Tyler McCabe was one man who was beautiful inside and out.

      A man who revered family and friends.

      A man who should not be going through life alone.

      Aware he was waiting for her to continue unburdening herself, she said, “Fix-ups never work.”

      He squinted as if doing some inner calculations, then finally allowed in a matter-of-fact tone, “Statistically, there’s probably a slight chance.”

      Susie blew out an exasperated breath and shifted, her knee nudging his leg slightly in the process. “Not chance enough,” she muttered. The idea of living some real-life fairy tale occasionally dredged up romantic dreams she’d had about her future. But inevitably reality intervened and hit her with a terrible illness, disabusing her of any notion that she lived in a bubble, protected from all the worst things in life. Others might lead a charmed existence. Not her.

      Never her.

      “Some of us aren’t cut out for marriage,” Susie said firmly.

      “I hear you.”

      She smiled. “So don’t look for me to have an engagement ring on my finger, because it’s just not going to happen.”

      Was that her imagination or was that a distinctly male satisfaction gleaming in his eyes, before concern took over once again.

      Tyler studied her with his usual intuitiveness. “So what else is dragging you down?”

      Susie knew there was something more, too, but she couldn’t figure out what.

      She just knew, after she had talked to Tyler today, out at Healing Meadow, that she’d felt depressed. And her low mood had continued through the evening, only abating slightly when she had asked Tyler to go to the hospital with her.

      Tyler’s voice turned husky. His hand cupped her shoulder, transmitting warmth and comfort through the cloth. “Is it about Emmaline?” He paused. “Did Whit Jenkins tell you something tonight before you went to see her that you’ve yet to share with me?”

      Susie shook her head, still holding his eyes. “It’s not that. Whit told me Emmaline’s prognosis was good, that they are expecting her to make a full recovery as soon as she finishes the current course of chemo. Emmaline’s just depressed from the stress of treatment, and needed someone in her life who could relate. Since the hospital doesn’t have a support group for teens—currently she is their only oncology patient in that age group—and she refuses to go to the regular group, he thought—hoped—I would step in to be there for Emmaline.”

      Tyler frowned, all protective male again. “Having no idea how hard that was going to be for you.”

      Susie gave Tyler a look that let the handsome rancher know he did not have to go after Whit. “I’ve visited with adults who were sick and struggling with the disease. I’ve never talked to kids who were the age I was when I got diagnosed. I guess I just wasn’t prepared for how swiftly it would take me back to that place.”

      A place she never wanted to visit again.

      Suddenly aware how cold and damp the evening had become, how thin her sweater was, Susie shivered and wrapped her arms more tightly in front of her. “Or how overly emotional it would make me feel,” she finished, teeth chattering slightly.

      Tyler scowled, abruptly looking like a knight charged with protecting his queen. “I know you want to help Emmaline. She obviously needs comforting from someone who can relate to her. But it doesn’t have to be you,” Tyler instructed her firmly.

      He opened the door to her truck, and guided her inside, his hand lingering on her waist until he was sure she was settled behind the wheel. “I can go see Emmaline, in your place. I can take my aunt Kate. You know she does counseling here. She deals with stuff like this all the time.”

      Susie appreciated Tyler’s desire to shield her from hurt, as always. This time she couldn’t let him shoulder the burden. She was strong now, as capable of helping others as he was. And it was time Tyler realized that.

      Susie fit her truck keys into the ignition. “Kate is wonderful. I’m sure Emmaline would appreciate seeing both of you.”

      Tyler rested a hand on the back of her seat and propped one boot on the running board. Elbow resting on his thigh, he studied her expression and guessed, “But you can’t duck out on her.”

      Not and live with myself, I can’t.

      Susie bolstered her courage even as she turned the key. “I made a promise to her tonight, Tyler.” She waited until he had closed the door for her, then put down her window and stated, just as firmly, “It’s a commitment I intend СКАЧАТЬ