The Best Catch in Texas

“I’m feelin’ better,” he said. “Just tired of gettin’ in and out of this bed to use the toilet.”

“Well, the medicine will wear off in a few hours and then you can get some good sleep. I might even let you go home in a few hours—that is if you behave yourself. Now raise up and breathe deeply for me,” he instructed.

Dan sat up in the bed, and Ridge listened carefully. After a moment he looked over to Nicolette and motioned for her to join him.

“Have a listen.”

Surprised at his generosity, she took the stethoscope and carefully listened to Dan’s heart and lungs. What she heard put a small smile on her face.

“Sounds pretty good,” she said. “I think he’s on the mend.”

The old man snorted. “I ain’t sick enough to need two doctors!”

“That’s why I’m going home,” Nicolette told him, then leaned across the bed railing and kissed his grizzled cheek. “Mind Dr. Garroway, you hear? And I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded, and Nicolette left the room with Ridge right behind her. Before she had a chance to walk away, he caught her by the arm.

“I just wanted to thank you again, Nicolette. You’ve made this whole night easy for me. And enjoyable.”

There was no flirtatious light in his eyes now; only warm sincerity, and Nicolette found that idea even harder to deal with.

She looked down and away from his brown eyes. “It’s no problem. I’m just glad Dan is improving.”

“I’ll probably release him around noon. Before that, I’m going to put him on medication that will hopefully keep this sort of incident from happening again. I don’t know if he’ll agree to have regular checkups in the future. Maybe you can help me on that count.”

“I’ll do my best,” she said. Lifting her eyes back to his, she did her best to give him a friendly smile. “You’d better wind your night up, too, and rest before morning comes. See ya around, Doctor.”

Nicolette walked away before he could make any sort of reply, but she could feel him watching her walk down the dimly lit corridor. It was a great relief when she was finally able to turn the corner and step into the elevator.

Chapter Three

The next morning when Jacki entered Nicolette’s office, she paused at the corner of her boss’s desk and sniffed with appreciation.

“Mmm. Something smells delicious.” Spotting a flat box with ribbon tied around it, the red-haired nurse picked it up and sniffed at the white cardboard. “It’s in here. What is it? May I have some?”

“It’s Cook’s famous pecan and chocolate chip cookies. And no you can’t have one. Neither can I. She’s sending them to Dan.”

Jacki smiled slyly as she placed the box back on the desk. “Oooh. Do I smell romance along with the cookies?”

Nicolette finished the last notation on the medical chart in front of her before she looked up at Jacki. “Cook has known Dan for many years. She calls him an old codger, but I think she has a soft spot for him. As for romance, I doubt it. Since her husband was killed in the Viet Nam war, she hasn’t shown too much interest in men. Besides, she’s in her early seventies now.”

“So what? A woman’s never too old for romance. Did you ever think about that?” Jacki asked pointedly.

Hoping her expression was vacant, Nicolette closed the chart and handed it to her nurse. “I don’t consider myself too old for romance, Jacki. I’m just not interested.”

Jacki shook her head shook in disbelief. “Why not? Just because your husband was a—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Nicolette said firmly. “What is this, anyway? First my mother and now you start in on me about being single. Is something floating around in the air?”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not about you being single. It’s about you being alone.”

Rolling her eyes, Nicolette leaned back in the desk chair and gestured at the pile of medical charts on her desk. “I’m hardly alone, Jacki. I’m with people from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.”

Jacki shot her a droll look. “It’s not the same and we both know it.”

Jacki was right. It wasn’t the same, Nicolette thought. But it was better than being deceived and manipulated and stomped on by a man.

“I’m happy as I am, Jacki. Let’s leave it at that. Now, how many patients do I have left before lunch break? I need to take these cookies over to the hospital to Dan before Dr. Garroway releases him.”

“There are two. Mr. Mayfield and Mrs. Gates.”

Nicolette rose from her chair and straightened her lab coat. “Good. Let’s deal with them and then we’ll break for lunch.”

She left the room and Jacki followed closely on her heels. “Uh, Nicci, you haven’t told me what happened last night with Dr. Garroway. You only said he called you for help.”

Nicolette had been trying her best to put last night out of her mind, but so far she’d made little progress. From the moment she’d crawled out of bed, she’d thought about the new doctor and all the things he’d said to her. Even the brief moments he’d touched her seemed to be etched in her memory, playing over and over like an unwanted song.

“Nothing happened last night. I talked Dan into taking his medicine. Dr. Garroway thanked me for my help. That pretty much sums up the whole thing.”

Jacki threw up her hands as the two women headed for the nearest examining room. “But you must have talked to the man! What was he like? Did you learn anything about him?”

Nicolette paused to toss an impatient look of warning at the nurse. “Yes. I learned he’s not quite what he appears to be.”

Jacki opened her mouth to press for more, but Nicolette didn’t give her the chance. After knocking lightly on the examining room door, she stepped inside and went to work.

It was ten minutes until noon before Nicolette finally managed to leave the clinic and head to the hospital. She half expected to find Dan gone, but the older man was still there, dressed and sitting on the side of the bed.

He gave Nicolette a broad smile as she kissed his cheek.

“You look much better today,” she said with genuine joy and then teased, “Are you ready to leave this place? Or would you like to stay a little longer?”

“Don’t press me, girl. I’ve had all of this pokin’ and proddin’ that I can stand.”

She chuckled. “Now you know how those cows feel when you vaccinate and brand them and cut off their horns.” She placed the box of cookies next to him. “Looks like Dr. Garroway has you on the mend. Are you taking your medicine like he says?”

Dan nodded and leaned his head thoughtfully to one side. “Yep. I don’t like it, but I guess I can do it. You know that young doctor ain’t too bad after all. He says he has some cows and horses and wants me to take a look at ’em for him. Guess the whippersnapper knows where to come to for advice. I’ve decided to trust him—unless he does somethin’ to change my mind.”

So the new doctor had charmed Dan, Nicolette thought with surprise. The old wrangler was a tough character. If Ridge could win him over, then she needed to be on guard.

Nicolette gestured to the box of cookies. “Cook sent you a little get-well gift. Maybe when you get home you ought to call her and thank her.”

The old man turned a suspicious eye on the box. “What the hell did she do that for? She knows I don’t like her.”

Nicolette shook a shaming finger at him. “Don’t be lying, Dan.”

His expression suddenly sheepish, Dan shifted on the edge of the mattress. “Well, maybe that wasn’t the truth. But the old woman…makes me uncomfortable.”

Nicolette tried not to smile at the idea of Dan calling someone twenty years his junior old. And then she suddenly thought of Jacki’s comments that women were never too old for romance. Maybe the same held true for men.