Stranded with the Rancher

“I’m just saying, you know how Joe is about that truck.”

“Pshaw. Now, what do you want us to do?”

“Check the cows and lay out the hay and feed. Oh, and Joe’s herd dogs are in the barn. They’ll want some exercise. And my horses. Stalls need attention, too.” Again Dan looked out the window. “Sure you’re up to this?”

Elsie put her hands on her hips. “Who do you think did the chores when there were no kids around here?”

“Uh, Dad?” he offered.

“Why is it so hard for you to believe that your father and I did them together? We were a team.”

Dan did the math. Joe was the eldest and he was thirty-two. Probably not a good idea to remind his mother that she was talking about thirty odd years ago. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked at Beth, effectively changing the subject. “What’s your specialty?”

“Internal medicine.”

“Delivered any babies?”

“Not since medical school. I let the OB docs do that.”

“Isn’t it just like riding a bike?” Elsie countered.

“Ah, not quite,” Beth answered.

“Better eat up,” Dan told her. “I’ve got a few more supplies to load in the snowmobile and then we’re heading out. There’s no telling when we’ll be back.”

“How far away is it?” she asked.

“Short stroll up the road.”

Beth’s lips parted and then she paused, a confused frown on her face.

“What?” Dan asked, nearly laughing out loud.

“I’m having a difficult time translating ‘up the road’ and ‘not far.’ Apparently they don’t mean the same thing to you as they do to me.”

“You’ve got that right.” Elsie’s laughter trilled out.

“Can I go?” a pajama-clad Amy asked from the doorway. Millie stood at her side, eagerly inspecting the floor. The mutt lived in the hope that crumbs would appear.

“May I.” Elsie corrected. “Sorry, sweetie, but there’s only room for two on the snowmobile. Daddy certainly isn’t going to let Dr. Beth walk in this weather.”

“I was kidding about the stroll.” Dan pulled out a chair for his daughter and brushed her hair out of her face. “Amy, what are you doing up so early?” He glanced around. “What are you all doing up so early?”

“The phone woke me,” Amy said.

“I’ve been awake for hours, just praying,” Elsie stated, gazing out the window at the cows. “My joints ache when the barometer drops.” She turned to Beth. “They say that the low barometric pressure makes the cows drop calves early, too.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said.

“Am I right, Dan?” his mother asked.

Dan glanced at the wall clock and then back to the room full of females. Beth, his mother, Amy, and even Millie were all looking at him.

“You are right as always, Mother. Now, I think that Dr. Rogers and I have a baby to deliver, and we had better get going. You could start praying that the barometer doesn’t affect those heifers while I’m gone, or we’re going to be in big trouble.”

* * *

Beth swiped at the wet flakes on her goggles with a gloved hand. Snow continued to fall as Dan led the snowmobile to their destination “up the road,” which took nearly an hour. But despite the weather, she didn’t mind the long trip. Riding the snowmobile was no longer scary, and if pushed, she might even admit she enjoyed riding tandem with the tall cowboy.

When they arrived at the log cabin deep in the woods, above the town of Paradise, another snowmobile was already there. A huge, cherry-red snowmobile with flame detailing along the sides.

A tall, blond and bearded mountain of a man greeted them at the door.

“Abel,” Dan said as he grabbed the tackle box and approached the house. “This is Dr. Rogers.”

The big man frowned, his bushy eyebrows knit in confusion. “Another Dr. Rogers?”

Dan laughed. “Yeah.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” The giant stuck out a hand. “I’m Abel Frank.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Beth returned. Her small hand was swallowed whole in a gentle grip.

Dan glanced at the snowmobile parked next to his own. “Deke? I thought his father was in the hospital.”

“He is. Emily Robbs made it in on his machine.”

Dan’s eyes widened and he sputtered. “He lent Big Red to Emily?”

“Tell me about it.” Abel shrugged. “Apparently Deke’s sweet on Emily.”

Dan shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

Seriously? They sounded like sixteen-year-olds instead of grown men. Beth cleared her throat.

Both Dan and Abel turned, their expressions sheepish, before they looked back at each other.

Dan opened his mouth, then closed it again.