One Summer At The Ranch: The Wyoming Cowboy / A Family for the Rugged Rancher / The Man Who Had Everything

“Absolutely delicious.”

“That’s good,” he murmured before coughing again.

She moistened her lips nervously for no good reason. “I take it you had to deal with an emergency.”

“You could say that. A couple of college kids out backpacking in the forest didn’t do a good enough job of putting out their campfire. It took several crews of rangers and forest service workers to keep it from spreading too far onto ranch property.”

Her breath caught. That was why she’d felt his tension at the table. “How much did it burn?”

“Only a few acres this time.”

“This time?”

“It happens every year.” Suddenly he was hacking again. “Some fires are more devastating than others.”

“Does that mean you were breathing smoke all day?”

“No. I rounded up the hands and drove them to the fire in shifts, but I took oxygen with me.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t have been near there with your problem,” she said before she realized her voice was shaking.

“There was no one else to do the job. Undeserving as I am, I have to try to save what my grandfather willed to me.”

She got to her feet. “What do you mean by undeserving?”

“Forget my ramblings. It slipped out by accident.”

“And I heard it, which means you inhaled too much smoke today and don’t feel well. You ought to be in bed.”

“A good night’s sleep is all I need. I’ll let you go so you can join your son. It would be better not to tell him about the fire.”

“Agreed.” She couldn’t let him hang up yet. “Carson, how long were you in the hospital?”

“About five weeks. From the end of January to the beginning of March.”

“Were you all suffering from the same illness?”

“On our ward, yes.”

His cough worried her. “Are you getting better?”

“We’re certainly better than we were when we were flown in.”

“I mean, are you going to get well?”

“We don’t know.”

She frowned. “You mean the doctor can’t tell you?”

“Not really. They’re doing studies on us. The day before we left the hospital, a general came to talk to us about asking Congress for the funding to help our cause.”

“The Congress doesn’t do enough,” she muttered.

“Well, at least he came to our floor and said he’s rooting for us, so that’s better than nothing.”

“Then you could have a lifelong ailment.”

“That’s right, but we can live with it, even if no one else can. The ranch house gets pretty noisy when the three of us have a coughing fit together.”

He tried to make light of it, but she wasn’t laughing. “You’re very brave.”

“If you want to talk brave, let’s talk about your husband. Why did he join the Marines?”

“His best friend went into the military and got killed by friendly gunfire. It tore Tony apart. He decided to join up to finish what his friend had started. We were already married, but I could tell he wanted it more than anything. We were lucky to go to Japan together before he was deployed to Afghanistan. It doesn’t happen often that a marine can go there with his wife.”

“You’re right.”

“During 9/11 I saw those firefighters run into those torched buildings and I wondered how they did it. Then I met Tony and understood. It’s in his genes, I guess.”

“Those genes saved lives, Tracy. That’s why you can’t talk about him in the same breath you talk about me and the guys. We’re no heroes.”

But they were.

“You shouldn’t have gone near that fire today.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said it.”

“I’m sorry. Johnny’s been worried about you, too.”

“Tracy,” he said in a deep voice, “I appreciate your concern more than you know. I haven’t had anyone worry about me in a long time. Thanks for caring. We’ll see each other at breakfast. Good night.”

He hung up too fast for her to wish him the same. Afraid he’d be up all night coughing, she knew that if she didn’t hurry to the game room she’d brood over his condition. And his state of mind, which was none of her business and shouldn’t be her concern. But to her chagrin, she couldn’t think about anything else on her way to the ranch house.

* * *

CARSON HAD MEDICATED himself before going to bed, but he woke up late Sunday morning feeling only slightly better. It wasn’t just his physical condition due to the smoke he’d inhaled the day before, despite the oxygen. When he’d phoned Tracy last night, he hadn’t realized how vulnerable he’d been at the time. His sickness had worn him down and caused him to reveal a little of his inner turmoil, something he regretted.

She was a guest on the ranch. He was supposed to be helping to lift her burden for the week instead of talking about himself.

He grabbed his cell phone to call his ranch foreman and get an update on the progress with the fencing in the upper pasture. After they chatted for a few minutes, he dragged his body out of bed to shower and shave.

Once dressed, he walked through the ranch house to the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. He talked to the cook and kitchen help while he drank it, then entered the dining room and discovered a few guests still eating, but no sign of Tracy or Johnny. Ross would know what was going on.

Carson went to the office, but the place was empty. Since Buck wouldn’t be back until lunchtime, he headed for the foyer to talk to Susan. “How’s everything going?”

“Great!”

“Have you seen Ross?”