The Rancher Next Door. Susan Mallery

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      By the time she entered the examining room, Stephen had lifted Shane onto the table and was looking at his mouth.

      “His teeth seem fine,” Stephen said, giving her a quick, reassuring smile. “Don’t look so panicked.”

      “I’m not,” she said. Panicked wasn’t the right word at all, although she wasn’t sure what she felt.

      “See, Mom, I’m big and strong,” Shane said determinedly. “I’m not wimpy.”

      Katie leaned against the door frame and winced. Obviously her son had overheard her conversation with his grandfather that morning. Her father was less than impressed with his grandson’s masculinity. In return, Shane was terrified of his grandfather. It was an impossible situation.

      “He did okay,” Jack said quietly, so Shane wouldn’t hear. “And I don’t think Shane started the fight, so don’t be too hard on him, okay?”

      Katie turned toward the man who had once been the center of her universe. Time had honed the good-looking features of a nineteen-year-old into the lean, handsome profile of a grown man. Tanned skin spoke of his days outdoors. He was lean and powerful—a rancher who spent his life battling nature and stubborn cattle.

      His dark gaze was as direct as she remembered, his mouth as firm. Too-long hair still tumbled across his forehead. There had been a time when she’d known Jack as well as she’d known herself. At least that’s what she told herself. But perhaps she’d been wrong about that. Was it possible to ever know another person?

      “Thanks for helping him,” Katie said, hoping that her voice sounded normal and that he wouldn’t be able to hear her rapidly beating heart.

      He gave her a quick smile. “I owed you, remember? Many years ago you came to my defense in a fight.”

      She didn’t return his smile. “What I remember is it was my fault you got beat up in the first place.”

      There was a small scar at the corner of his mouth—a legacy from the day they’d first met. She wanted to touch it, as she had in the past. Actually, in the past she’d kissed it hundreds of times, as if her mouth could heal the wound. Jack had teased her that it was worth that scar and a dozen others just to have her feel so guilty and act so loving because of it. She’d told him she would do anything for him. Her gaze fell on her son. No doubt Jack considered him proof that her love had been nothing but a convenient lie.

      “No permanent damage,” Stephen said, helping Shane jump down from the examining table to the floor. “He’s going to be a bit sore and bruised for the next few days, but otherwise, he’s fine.” He glanced at the boy. “Try to avoid fights in the future, young man.”

      Shane sighed and shuffled his feet. “Yes, sir.”

      Stephen turned his attention to Jack and Katie. “I keep forgetting that you know each other. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in a small town.” He smiled. “Something I can’t relate to.”

      Katie shoved her hands into her pockets and tried not to act nervous. “Stephen is from Boston,” she told Jack.

      “I know.”

      She glanced between the two men. “You know each other?”

      Stephen nodded. “The patient I was telling you about? The woman with the broken pelvis, hip and leg is Hattie Darby, Jack’s mother. I’m her doctor. Of course in a town the size of Lone Star Canyon, I’m nearly everyone’s doctor.”

      Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Why were you talking to her about my mother?”

      As he spoke, Katie’s heart sank. She hadn’t realized…. This was going to make all kinds of trouble.

      Still, she was a professional. She forced herself to smile at Jack. “I’m a physical therapist,” she said. “Just moved back into town a couple of weeks ago and hung out my shingle. Stephen wants me to work with your mother while she’s recovering from her accident. I’ll be heading out to the ranch every day to give her physical therapy.”

      Questions darkened Jack’s eyes, but he didn’t ask any of them. His mouth twisted as if he wasn’t pleased at the prospect of having her back in his life, but then she wasn’t all that excited about it, either.

      Katie sighed. She never had been very much good at lying, especially to herself. While she would admit to a little dismay at the thought of having to face Jack Darby on a regular basis, she couldn’t deny the fact that the man still made her blood run hot and her heart flutter like a trapped butterfly. Despite the miles and years between them, Jack Darby left her breathless. The fact that she’d sworn off men didn’t seem to matter one bit.

      Jack ran his fingers through his hair, then shrugged. “Guess I’ll be seeing you around.” He turned to leave, paused to smile at Shane, then walked out of the office.

      Stephen looked from her to the closing door. “I’d heard about the feud between the Fitzgeralds and the Darbys, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in action.”

      “It’s a sight to behold,” Katie said glumly.

      “Is going to the Darby ranch going to make trouble for you?” he asked.

      “Some, but none I can’t handle.”

      

      “Most people’s mothers act their age,” Jack complained as he sat beside his mother’s bed. She was in a private room in Lone Star Canyon’s only convalescent facility, where she’d been for the past six weeks since being released from the hospital. She was finally well enough to come home.

      Hattie Darby grinned at her oldest son. “You’re in something of a mood. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

      He grimaced at one of his mother’s favorite expressions. “Nothing.”

      “You can’t still be mad because I got hurt,” she said. “It was an accident, Jack. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

      He glared at her. “You were barrel racing at the Thompsons’ barbecue. You’re fifty years old. It’s time you acted your age.”

      “My horse lost his footing. That’s hardly my fault.” Her dark eyes snapped with temper. “And don’t go telling me to act my age. When you’re fifty, we’ll see if you’re ready to act like an old man. I suspect you’ll be as full of life as me. So why don’t you stop pretending I’m who you’re mad at and tell me what’s really wrong?”

      Despite the hospital gown and the casts, Hattie Darby was still an attractive, vital woman. Her skin was a little pale, but otherwise she glowed with health. Her long dark hair hung almost to her waist. The first gray had shown up less than a year ago. She was fit and stubborn, and he knew he was too much like her for comfort.

      They shared both temperament and features. He’d inherited his charm and success with the ladies from his father, but his temper from his mother.

      “You’re coming home tomorrow,” Jack said.

      His mother raised her eyebrows. “Have you been keeping women at the house? Is that why you’re upset? Now they have to leave?”

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