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Quickly skirting the bed, Ross looped his arm through Victoria’s and tugged her toward the door. “Sounds like a big job to me. You’d better get out of here and get started on it. Linc and I have important things to discuss.”
“I hope it’s horses,” Linc said from his seat on the bed. “Because I’m sure sick of discussing nurses!”
“Oh, all right, I’m out of here,” Victoria said with a helpless shake of her head. “But just remember, Linc, you can’t get back to work until you heal. And you’ll need a nurse to get you there.”
“Yeah. Well, I guess a man can stand most anything if he has to,” Linc muttered.
***
Later that afternoon, Nevada Ortiz was in the middle of trying to immunize a baby boy, who was displaying a whale of a screaming fit, when her boss, Dr. Victoria Hastings called to her.
“Nevada, as soon as you’re finished there, I want to see you in my office.”
Nevada swiped the baby’s thigh with an alcohol square and tried to still his kicking foot.
“What about Mr. Buckhorn?” Nevada called to her. “He’s in the waiting room and Joyce says he already went outside twice to smoke a cigarette.”
Clearly frustrated, Victoria let out a sigh. “All right. I’ll finish up with him and then I’ll see you in my office.”
“She sounds like she means business,” the young woman holding the baby said. “What have you done wrong, Nevada?”
Since Aztec, New Mexico, was a small town, almost everyone was acquainted with each other. And since Nevada had worked as a nurse in Aztec for six of her twenty-five years, she’d met lots of people, including the young mother holding squalling Henry.
Nevada shrugged and smiled. “Not too much today. But little Henry may disagree.” She rubbed the spot on the baby’s thigh where she’d injected him, and after about two seconds his cries were replaced with a dimpled smile. “Now see there,” she told the boy, “that wasn’t so bad, was it? And look what you get now.”
Reaching into her uniform pocket, she pulled out a red lollipop, removed the cellophane and handed the treat to the baby. Grabbing it, he let out a happy coo and Nevada patted his cheek.
“Be sure that you watch him for any signs of fever or rash,” she told the mother. “Since this is a booster, I don’t expect him to have any problems, but if he does, go ahead and give us a call.”
“I will. Thank you, Nevada.”
Once she was sure mother and baby were on their way out of the examining room, Nevada hurried to the front of the building to retrieve Mr. Buckhorn’s chart from the hundreds that filled the shelves on a wall behind the receptionist’s desk.
Leaning down, she whispered in Joyce’s ear, “Has he been outside again? Or just having a cussing fit?”
The receptionist didn’t have to be told that Nevada was talking about Mr. Buckhorn. He was the only patient left in the waiting room.
“Neither, thank God,” the receptionist answered. “I turned the television on to the Western channel. Sunset Carson is keeping him occupied.”
Smiling, Nevada picked up the elderly man’s chart and walked to the door of the waiting room. “Mr. Buckhorn, you can come back now,” she called to him.
The old Navajo slowly turned his head and leveled an annoyed look at her. “I’ve already waited too long, young lady.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the television. “I gotta see what this cowboy is gonna do with this gunslinger.”
“He’s going to shoot him, that’s what,” Nevada told him. “And Dr. Hastings is going to shoot you if you don’t get back here. She doesn’t have time to wait around on old men like you.”
Mumbling what sounded like Navajo curse words, the old man slapped a beat-up cowboy hat on his head and slowly rose to his feet. By the time he made it to Nevada, though, he was in a better mood and his wide, wrinkled grin made his dark eyes sparkle playfully.
“I’m not so old, missy. I have a girlfriend. See her every day, too.”
“Smells like you have a cigarette every day, too. You know that Doc is gonna be angry with you.”
His chuckles were full of mischief. “She’ll get over it.”
***
More than thirty minutes later, Nevada was finally able to meet with Victoria. The day had been long and both women were exhausted. Nevada practically fell into the stuffed armchair sitting near the doctor’s wide desk.
“What a day!” Nevada exclaimed. “How many patients did we see anyway?”
Victoria tried to smile. “I quit counting after we hit twenty.”
Reaching up, Nevada began to pull the pins from the braided black bun at the back of her head. Once the last one was removed, the long silky strands fell to her shoulders, and she gave the heavy mane a shake.
“So, what have I done now?” Nevada asked her boss. “Made a patient angry? I know Mr. Tallman complained about the shot I gave him. But honestly, Victoria, the man is a wimp.”
Leaning back in her chair, Victoria chuckled tiredly. “You haven’t done a thing wrong, Nevada. And you’re right, he is a wimp. But none of that is why I wanted to talk to you this evening.”
Nevada looked at her boss with interest. “Oh? What’s happened? Are you going to take off work or something?”
Victoria slowly shook her head. “Actually, I probably should take off work. But right now it’s just not feasible. Dr. Martinez is out of town on vacation and won’t be back for one more week. I have no one to replace me. At least, no one that I would trust with my patients.” Folding her hands atop the desk, she leaned up and looked intently at Nevada. “You see, I’m having a problem. I’m hunting a dependable nurse. Someone I can really count on.”
Shocked, Nevada stared at the other woman. “Oh. You mean, uh—you think I can’t handle all the work around here? I thought you and I worked well together.”
Victoria quickly waved a hand at her. “Nevada, my dear, I couldn’t do without you. You’re my right arm. And I really don’t know how I’m going to get through the next few weeks if you agree to this.”
“This?” Nevada asked carefully. “What is this?”
Massaging her forehead, Victoria said, “I need you to do me a favor. A big favor.”
“Of course. Anything,” Nevada quickly agreed.
“Wait a minute,” Victoria said as her hand fell away from her face. “You’d better hear me out before you agree. This might be a project you won’t want to get yourself into.”
Nevada scooted onto the edge of her seat. “You’ve got me curious now. And you know how much I love challenges.”
Chuckling, Victoria said, “Well, I have a feeling this will be one. You know my cousin Linc was burned badly in the barn fire at the ranch.”
Nevada nodded soberly. “Yes. How is he doing?”
“Actually, he’s going to be released from the hospital tomorrow.”
Nevada shot her boss a bright smile. “That’s good news. From what you told me, his burns were very serious. He must be doing much better.”
“He is. And Ross and I persuaded the doctor that he’d do even better if he was allowed to go home. The doctor agreed. But only if we could find a nurse to stay with him round the clock. I thought of you.”
“Me!” Nevada’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Victoria! I—I couldn’t.”
Victoria leveled a wry look at her. “You just told me you would do anything.”
“Yes, I did. But I didn’t have any idea you’d be asking something like this. I don’t even know your cousin! And I’d practically be living with the man!”
“You would be living with him,” Victoria corrected. “He can’t be left alone. He can’t use his hands in any way. Not yet. So you can imagine how much care he’s going to need.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” Nevada felt awful for Linc Ketchum. Even though she’d never met the man, she understood the pain and suffering he must be going through. She’d attended to many burn patients over her years of nursing and she understood the care he would need. But she didn’t really want to leave her home for two or three weeks. And living with a man? Well, she’d always been adventurous but that was taking it a bit too far.
“But I really don’t think I’m the nurse you need.”
“You’re exactly the nurse Linc needs. These injuries haven’t just disabled him physically, they’ve tugged him down emotionally. Normally, Linc is a gentle, easygoing man. Everyone admires and loves him. But this morning he actually cussed at Ross. He needs to get his mind off the fire and off his confinement. If anyone can do that, you can.”
Nevada let out an incredulous laugh. “How? By playing dominos or poker with the man? Victoria, I don’t know anything about him. I wouldn’t even know how to talk to him.”
Smiling, Victoria said, “You? Not know how to talk to a man? Come on, my dear, that sort of thing comes to you naturally.”
“That’s another thing. I have a life here in town. How could I go out on dates if I’m stuck on the T Bar K? You know that I have boyfriends. They won’t understand.”
“If that’s the case, you don’t need them.”
A long sigh slipped past Nevada’s lips. She’d tried, but she could see there was no talking Victoria out of this. “You really mean this, don’t you?”
“Nevada. I can’t think of anyone better,” she said with a soft voice. “No one else would suit Linc. He’s a man who needs gentle care.”
Nevada studied Victoria’s face and could easily see the signs of worry etching her eyes and mouth. “You love your cousin very much, don’t you?”
Victoria nodded. “I always have. Linc is special—to all of us. He’s like our brother. And yet he’s always wanted to remain independent. I don’t know why. But he’s a strong, compassionate man and it makes me want to sob when I see him like he is now.”
Feeling her eyes grow misty, Nevada walked around the desk and place a hand on Victoria’s slender shoulder. “Don’t worry. You should know I’ll take on the job. I can’t say no to you even when I want to.”
Victoria looked up at her gratefully. “Don’t do this just for me, Nevada. Do it for Linc. Okay?”
Uneasiness rippled through Nevada and made her hesitate. But only for a moment and then she smiled. “All right. I’ll do this for Linc.”
Chapter Two
He was sitting on the porch of his father’s old house when a little white sports car covered with the red dust of T Bar K land pulled to a stop a few feet from the rail fence that enclosed the house and yard, a yard which was little more than a patch of raw mountain land filled with boulders, pine trees and sagebrush.
Rising slowly from his chair, Linc ambled toward the fence as his squinted eyes tried to make out the person behind the dusty windshield. And as he waited for the nurse to climb out of the vehicle he told himself it didn’t matter what sort of person this woman was just so long as she stayed out of his hair as much as possible.
The door to the car finally swung open and Linc caught the glimpse of jeans-clad legs and long, raven-black hair being blown by the evening breeze.
He watched her catch her flyaway hair with a brown hand as she turned to greet him.
“Hello,” she called cheerfully. “I guess you must be Linc.”
Dear God, what had Victoria done to him, he wondered. This woman wasn’t a nurse. She couldn’t be. She was very young and looked more like a sexy siren than a caregiver. Her petite body had more curves than the mountain road leading up to the house and her face was full of dimples, sparkling brown eyes and lips the color of a ripe cherry. This was not the sort of woman he needed sleeping across the hall from him.
“That would be me,” he replied, while wondering how he could tell her to go home and still be polite about it.
She walked up to him and smiled. “I’d offer you my hand. But since you can’t take it, I’ll just say I’m glad to be here.”
Topping her jeans was a red jersey shirt that had slipped down on one shoulder. On her small feet were wedge sandals tall enough to break her ankles. Linc couldn’t prevent his gaze from climbing up from her painted toenails to the top of her head and back down again. “Where did Victoria find you?” he asked rudely.
The blunt question lifted Victoria’s delicate black brows. “Well, not out of a hole if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m her nurse. I figured you knew that. Haven’t you ever been to Victoria’s clinic?”
He shook his head while hating the fact that she was making him feel downright stupid. “I don’t ever need to be doctored.” He frowned as his gaze focused on his bandaged hands. “At least, not until the fire.”
“Well, you must be very lucky,” Nevada said while her eyes took in the sight of Victoria’s cousin.
He practically glowered at her and lifted the thick white bandages directly in front of her face.
“Lucky? You call this lucky?”
Unaffected by his sarcasm, she nodded. “If you’ve lived all these years without needing a doctor’s care, you’re a very fortunate man, Linc Ketchum. And as for those—” she inclined her head toward his burns, “better your hands than your whole body being toasted.”
She was right and he knew it, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Still, he thanked God that he’d gotten out of the fire before it had consumed him.
“Yeah,” he said, then walking around her, he peered into the car’s back seat. It was piled with enough luggage to fill two closets. His jaw tightened. “It looks like you’ve come to stay.”
Turning slightly toward him, Nevada frowned. “Of course I’ve come to stay. You need someone here with you at all times.”
He drew in a bracing breath then blew it out. “Well, I don’t want to sound rude, but I don’t think you’re gonna be that person.”
She whirled completely around to stare at him. “What?”
He shrugged as a sheepish expression stole over his lean face. Normally he went to great lengths to handle people gently, the same way he handled his horses. But this firebrand standing in front of him was scratching his hackles in the wrong direction.
“I said I don’t think you’re the right person to stay with me.”
Nevada’s eyes narrowed as her hands came to rest on either side of her waist. “You don’t, huh? Well, just what sort of person would you like to have staying with you?” she asked in a voice that dripped sweetness.
“None! Damn it. I can get along without anybody’s help. And I have no idea why Victoria sent you up here! I don’t even believe you’re a nurse!”
Nevada folded her arms against her breasts. This outburst from her patient wasn’t too big a surprise. Victoria had already warned her that since the fire Linc had been on a rampage. And she’d heard a long time ago that the man was a recluse. She’d asked Victoria about the hearsay and the doctor had confirmed it as true, saying she couldn’t remember the last time Linc Ketchum had ever stepped foot off the T Bar K. Poor man, Nevada thought. He really needed her help.
“Why not?” she asked simply.
He stepped closer and it was then that Nevada allowed herself to really look at him. When she’d first driven up, she’d gotten the impression of long legs, muscles and shoulders broad enough to carry her weight twice over. Now she could study his face close up and as far as she was concerned it was a work of pure art.
A Roman nose, square jaw and chin, and dark-green eyes set beneath a pair of black brows. At the moment he was wearing a cowboy hat the color of creamed coffee, but she could see the hair next to it was slightly darker and curled against his head in a touch-me-please way. Victoria had told her that Linc was thirty-eight and all Nevada could think at the moment was what a hunk of a man Linc Ketchum had grown into in those thirty-eight years.
“Because you don’t look like a nurse. Or sound like one, either,” he answered.
Nevada couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? I guess you must be an expert on nurses?”
He grimaced. “No. But—”
Nevada stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. It was warm, rock-hard and caused her skin to sizzle.
“Listen, Linc. Victoria tried to find a nurse other than me. She couldn’t. No one was willing to come all the way out here and stay for two weeks.”
