The Forest Ranger's Promise. Leigh Bale

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СКАЧАТЬ “Sorry. I just wanted to help.”

      Anne didn’t smile and neither did Melanie. Anne had a natural aversion to men. She’d loved her father, but she’d also learned not to trust him. One minute, Aaron was fun and filled with gruff compassion. Then he’d lose himself in a bottle and became a mean drunk. Melanie had tried to shield Anne from her father’s rages, but hadn’t completely succeeded. The worst part about it was that Melanie now felt relieved Aaron wasn’t around to hurt them anymore. She missed him even as she felt joy in his absence. How could a woman feel that way about her own husband? It just wasn’t right and she felt guilty about it.

      “Anne, don’t be rude.” Melanie led her daughter toward the lights of the hospital with Scott by their side.

      In the brightly lit entranceway, he ran a hand down the back of his neck and Melanie sensed his deep frustration. She felt a nibble of guilt for being so curt with him but didn’t dare let down her guard.

      Inside, she sat with Anne on a blue sofa in the waiting room while he stepped up to the front reception counter. Like a mother hen, Melanie kept an eye on him, just in case he needed her. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck in Evanston with no way home until Scott Ennison got checked out.

      She wasn’t certain what she’d do if the doctor decided to keep Scott overnight. Maybe she could drive his truck back to Snyderville without him and contact his office in the morning. His people could come out to her ranch to retrieve his truck and horse.

      A nurse handed a clipboard with paperwork to Scott and he quickly filled it out before reaching in his pocket for his wallet and insurance card. An orderly glanced at Melanie. “Would your wife like to come back with you to the examination room?”

      Melanie almost choked. “I… I’m not his wife.”

      “She’s just a friend.” Scott’s blue eyes rested on her like a leaden weight. His gaze challenged her, as if he waited for her to deny his claim of friendship. The corners of his mouth curved slightly with amusement.

      Melanie bit her tongue to keep from saying something rude and completely ruining all the good values she’d tried to instill in her daughter.

      “Sorry. My mistake,” the orderly said.

      “Would you mind calling Karen Henderson?” Scott asked Melanie. “She’s my office manager. Let her know what happened, but tell her I’m okay. I don’t want to worry her.”

      “Sure.” Melanie nodded and reached for her cell phone as Scott followed the orderly down the hall.

      Melanie called information to get Karen Henderson’s number, then made the call, keeping it short and sweet. Karen answered in a groggy voice and Melanie felt embarrassed. She had obviously woken Karen up, but there was no way around it. She quickly explained the situation, then hung up.

      Sighing with exhaustion, Melanie wrapped an arm around Anne. She snuggled the girl close, breathing in her sweet smell before she leaned her head back.

      Melanie would check on the horses in a few minutes. Right now, she felt absolutely worn out, her eyes gritty with fatigue. At least she had a clear conscience. Good Samaritan or not, God expected nothing less.

      “You heard the doctor. I’m gonna be fine. I just have a mild concussion and a broken finger.” Scott sat in the passenger seat, leaning his head back to rest while Melanie drove them home to Snyderville. He felt loopy from the pain medication, as if everything moved in slow motion.

      Anne sat passed out between them, her small body hanging limp against her seat belt. Thick darkness covered the road, the headlights glinting off damp pavement as Melanie pulled onto the freeway.

      Scott would have called his range assistant to come get him, but he figured by the time Jim got to Evanston, they could already be home. Instead, he’d woken up Karen again to let her know he’d be home by five in the morning. Until Scott could find another child care provider, Karen had agreed to take Shelley when he needed to work on the mountain. Something would need to change soon. Shelley was bored to tears, sitting all day in the office with a woman old enough to be her grandmother. No friends to play with. No mother to love her.

      No wife to love him.

      A sad melancholy settled over him. How he wished he could go back in time and change things. Shelley was the most important thing in his life and she was hurting. He’d have to find a better sitter on his next day off. That would go a long way toward mending Shelley’s broken heart.

      He doubted his own heart could ever be fixed.

      “The doctor said you need to stay awake for a few more hours. Do you have family at home to watch you, to make sure you’re okay?” Melanie asked.

      No, but he didn’t want to tell Melanie that. He could tell that she didn’t want to be near him, but he knew she’d offer to stay with him if he needed her. He could hear the weariness in her voice and wouldn’t ask that from her. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

      “Did you call your wife and tell her what happened?”

      Her voice had a low, growly quality he liked. Not a girly, simpering voice like so many other women he knew. Her assumption that he was married amused him. “My daughter will take care of me.”

      She flicked a glance of curiosity at him. “Is she old enough to watch you?”

      He shrugged. “Probably not.”

      “That’s just the point. You could be unconscious and unable to call for help. Who’s at home? Is your wife out of town?”

      He liked the note of concern in her voice. It’d been a long time since anyone cared about him. But her reminder that he had no one except his daughter made him feel a tad grouchy and he didn’t understand why. “I’m divorced.”

      Now why did he tell her that? It wasn’t her business. Must be the medication loosening his tongue.

      “Oh. I didn’t mean to pry.”

      He moved his left hand, careful not to jar the broken finger and bulky splint the nurse had put on for him. Melanie’s apology softened him as nothing else could. Over the past few years, it seemed he’d done all the apologizing. Now, he wanted to get on with life and forget his sadness. He’d resigned himself to raising Shelley and being alone. A ranger living in remote towns with few single women had little chance of developing much of a social life.

      “It’s okay. I guess you could say I chose my career over the needs of my wife. Not many women like living in podunk towns without a decent grocery store and shopping.”

      Once again, his tongue seemed to blurt out words before he could engage his brain. Melanie McAllister was much too easy to talk to.

      Allison should be here now with him and Shelley. He’d begged his wife not to leave them. He’d even offered to change the career he dearly loved, although he had no idea what he’d do if he wasn’t a ranger. This life was all he knew.

      No amount of pleading had changed Allison’s mind. She’d married a wealthy businessman less than four weeks after the divorce. All her trips to New York to visit her sister finally made sense. She’d been having an affair. When she’d claimed she’d never loved him, Scott wasn’t surprised. Even now, the pain of betrayal hurt so much he thought there must be blood on the floor.

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