Struck By The Texas Matchmakers

Katie was ahead of Diane. “We’ll have to find somewhere for the two of you to stay. Will you be able to take care of him, Diane? You don’t have much planned except studying for the next few weeks, do you? Mom will worry about—”

Katie’s words reminded Diane of her decision yesterday. “The children!” she said, interrupting her sister’s question.

She could tell from the expression on Jeff’s face that he realized her problem, too.

“What children?” Katie asked.

“I was going to take care of the two children from the wreck while their mother recovers. Now I don’t have anywhere to care for them. How long before the house is livable?”

“I don’t know,” Katie confessed. “We were trying to convince Mom and Jack to rebuild instead of fixing it. The wiring is outdated and dangerous—obviously. We don’t want to go through that again.”

“No, of course not,” Diane agreed, but she was worried. If they decided to rebuild, she would have nowhere to live all summer. “I’ll start looking for something to rent.”

Jeff’s quiet voice interrupted her panic. “Until you find somewhere, you can bring the children here. While you’re watching Paul, you can watch them, too.”

Diane was stunned by his generosity and started to say something.

Jeff assured them both that it wouldn’t be a problem for him. “I’m not here that much. It will be nice to have company, especially company who cooks like Diane.”

“It was only breakfast,” she protested, embarrassed by his excessive praise.

“Are you sure, Jeff, because we can ask around. Some of the older people in town have empty rooms. We could pay them some rent and—” Katie began.

“I won’t hear of it. Besides, it will save me time by housing two of my patients. I can check the boy and Paul before I go to the office.”

Katie seemed satisfied with Jeff’s explanation, but Diane wasn’t. The man made her too…nervous. She didn’t want to spend half her summer in his house. When Katie asked to see Paul before she left, Diane offered to show her to his room while Jeff finished breakfast.

On the stairs, Diane whispered to her sister, “See if you can find a place for us, Katie. I don’t feel right staying here.”

“You don’t like Jeff?” Katie asked in surprise.

“He’s fine, but—he’s used to living alone. I don’t think he’ll enjoy having a full house.”

“I think he’ll like it,” Katie said, a smile on her lips. “I’ve been wondering what we could do for him. He seems lonely to me.”

“Katie Dawson! What are you thinking?” Diane demanded, suspicion filling her.

“Why, absolutely nothing, sis. I’m just trying to be sure everyone’s covered. I’ll ask Mabel or Florence if they have room for you, okay?”

Her promise didn’t exactly satisfy Diane. Mabel Baxter and Florence Greenfield, mother of Cal Baxter and wife of George Greenfield respectively, were known for their matchmaking. In fact, it was Florence’s bet with her friends that resulted in their sons marrying. Doc, as George Greenfield was known, had enthusiastically fallen into the trap and married Florence, too. And then there was Tuck and Spence, their friends, who’d also fallen prey to the bet.

Since then, Cactus had become a hotbed of marriages. Marriage was fine for others, but Diane had no intention of losing her independence now that she was going to finally be earning a salary that would allow her to travel.

“Katie, you tell them no matchmaking. Do you hear me?”

“I certainly do.” She opened the door Diane had stopped in front of and hurried to Paul’s bedside.

“Paul, how are you?” she asked gently.

At that moment he rolled onto his injured arm and the pain was visible on his face. “Damn!” he muttered, then immediately apologized. “I didn’t know it would hurt this much,” he said with a gasp.

“I’ll go bring you some breakfast,” Diane assured him as she left the room.

Jeff was still sitting at the table, sipping his coffee when she entered.

“How’s he doing?” he said.

“He’s in a lot of pain. Can he take another pain pill?”

“Of course. Do you have the second one from last night?” Jeff asked, getting to his feet.

“Yes. I’m taking him some breakfast. Do you have a tray?”

He found one for her. “Don’t give him coffee. I think there’s some orange juice. Try that. I’ll go up and check on him.”

She dished up the scrambled eggs, along with a few sausage rolls and the last of the bacon. Then she poured a glass of juice. After adding napkins and the pain pill she’d left in the kitchen last night, she carried the tray up the stairs.

“But I don’t want another pill,” Paul was protesting as she entered, even though his facial expression told her he was still in pain.

Jeff, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, responded, “If you like to suffer, that’s fine, but it won’t help you get well faster.”

“What do you mean?”

“The pills help your muscles relax, which means you heal faster. I don’t pass out medicine unless there’s a need, Paul. You’re not going to be too active for a few days, but if you follow orders, you might be able to start sooner.”

Paul’s unhappy expression didn’t change.

“Maybe some breakfast will sweeten him up,” Diane said with a smile for her brother. “Katie brought over some sausage rolls.”

“Thanks, sis,” Paul said, nodding to Katie who was standing beside the bed. But he also tried to pull his weight to a sitting position and moaned in pain. Jeff immediately supported him while Katie put pillows behind his back.

“Okay, okay, I’ll take the pill,” Paul said.

“Good for you,” Jeff replied.

Paul picked up a sausage roll and began eating.

“Hey, if you don’t want all that bacon, I’ll take another piece,” Jeff said. Paul nodded his head with a grin, which made Diane feel better.

“Thanks,” Jeff said as he helped himself to another strip of bacon. “Now, I’d better hit the shower. I need to check on the lady from yesterday’s wreck, and see if the children can be released.” He looked at Katie. “Can you stay with Paul while Diane goes to pick them up?”

“Yes, of course. Diane, I brought you a few clothes if you want to change. Since I had the baby, there’s a lot I can’t wear.”

“Thanks, Katie. I forgot about clothes last night,” Diane said. She’d slept in her underwear the night before, not wanting to ask the doctor for a T-shirt. She figured she’d pick up a big T-shirt at the one discount store in Cactus. She had a little money left over from her last semester in school. Not enough for an entire wardrobe, but she’d manage.

Jeff followed her out of the room and said, “I didn’t think about you having nothing, Diane. I would’ve offered you some—well, at least a T-shirt. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not your responsibility,” she assured him as she hurried away. The thought of wearing his clothes was doing strange things to her breathing.