The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish. Roxanne Rustand

stomach and began tying it into a tight knot.

      The EMT leaned over so she could look directly into Cade’s eyes. “What’s your name?”

      His brow furrowed, as if he were calling up a distant memory, before he finally silently moved his lips to form his name.

      “Do you know where you are? What town you live in?”

      He stared blankly at her.

      “Do you know what day it is?”

      Again, a blank look.

      The EMT sat back on the bench. “The doctors will be checking him for a concussion. But it’s a really good sign that he’s waking up and that he’s at least oriented to his name.”

      A good sign, maybe, but Jack longed to hear Cade’s voice. To hear him crack a joke—or even renew their old argument about Cade’s decision to marry so young. Anything that would show he hadn’t suffered a serious head injury.

      “I’m here with you and I’m not leaving,” Jack reassured him. “We’ll make sure the docs fix you up good as new.”

      But Cade didn’t answer, and Jack’s heart grew heavier with each passing mile.

      Chapter Three

      At the small community hospital, Mei sat with Jasmine in one of the exam rooms and listened to the bustle of activity several rooms away.

      “We should hear something soon, honey,” she murmured, holding the girl’s trembling hand. “Don’t worry. So far the news has all been good, right? The doc doesn’t think you have any fractures or internal injuries. You’ll be out of here in a little while.”

      During the past several hours, a nurse had been in to clean Jasmine’s scrapes and take a health history. Later, a doctor with Angela Kerber, M.D., embroidered on her lab coat provided an exam and several sutures to close a laceration. Results of the X-rays and the CT of Jasmine’s abdomen were due back anytime.

      But Jasmine’s attention had been riveted on Cade since the accident, and she’d barely paid attention to the doctor’s words about her own condition.

      “I don’t care about me. Cade is the one who fell the hardest. When are they going to tell me about him?” Clad in a thin exam gown and wrapped in a white cotton blanket, Jasmine sat at the edge of her gurney and shuddered. “Maybe … they’re afraid to let me know.”

      “But he’s fully awake and talking now. So that’s a great sign. And we’re both praying for him, right? And I’m sure his brother is also.”

      Jasmine glanced at the big white clock on the wall. “Arabella left for Denver this afternoon with her girls to see Jonathan. I just wish she could be here, too.”

      “When will she be back?”

      “N-not ‘til late this evening.” A tear slid down Jasmine’s cheek. “Wh-what if he doesn’t m-make it?”

      Footsteps stopped just outside, and the curtain rustled. Jack cleared his throat. “All right if I come in?”

      “Absolutely.” Her gaze lowered, Mei slipped out of her chair and made room for him to reach the side of Jasmine’s gurney.

      Even without meeting his eyes, she was all too aware of his strong, muscular build—toned and refined and even more powerful than the boy she’d admired back in high school. He’d matured to a good six feet, with an aura of easy confidence that surrounded him. Did all of the local gals still hang on his every word, and bask in his trademark smile? That charming, sidelong grin had sure melted hearts back in high school.

      She could personally attest to that.

      “Thought I’d better come in and check on you two ladies,” he said, his voice low and warm. He bent down a little to meet Jasmine’s gaze straight on. “Cade is worried about you, so I told him I’d see how you’re holding up in here. Looks to me like you’re in fine shape. Any good news yet?”

      Jasmine grabbed on to his arm with both hands. “I’m okay, but the nurses won’t tell me anything about Cade, and they wont let me go to him, either. Is it bad?”

      “We’re still waiting for the results of his CT scans and X-rays. But so far, so good. He doesn’t seem to have any fractures, anyway.” He searched her face, and gently tucked a long strand of her hair behind her ear. “He cares a great deal about you, but you already know that.”

      “Thank you, Jack. Please tell him that I’m fine. I just wish I could get out of this room and go to him.”

      “I’m heading back to him right now. I’ll let him know.” Jack glanced over his shoulder at Mei and winked. “Keeping Jasmine here all this time must’ve been a challenge.”

      A light, witty response would’ve been perfect.

      Or a thoughtful expression of concern.

      But now, feeling as awkward as she’d been back in high school, Mei could only summon a small shrug in return, and memories assailed her as she watched Jack leave the room.

      “You two have known each other a long time, haven’t you?” Jasmine asked, giving Mei a curious look. “Like, did you two ever date?”

      Surprised, Mei laughed. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

      “He’s handsome. You’re pretty. You’re both nice and about the same age.”

      Oh, the simple logic of youth—imagining that anything in the world was possible if only one wished for it. “No, we never did.”

      Jasmine fidgeted on the gurney. “So tell me all about things back then. When Cade’s mother came to town and all.”

      “Haven’t you and Cade talked about all of that already?”

      Jasmine made a face. “His version. But guys skip all the good stuff.” “Good stuff?”

      “The details.” She shot yet another impatient glance at the clock. “And the way things are going, we could be here forever.”

      “So you’re bored and need a distraction. Okay … very well.” Mei pulled a chair closer to Jasmine and sat down. “This is a small town, and it was even more quiet ten years ago. Jack was a grade ahead of me, but I still remember the day he showed up at elementary school.”

      “Love at first sight?” Jasmine teased.

      Mei folded her arms over her chest. “Not then or now, young lady.”

      “Please—go on.”

      “His mother had just married my uncle Charley, and newcomers in school weren’t that common in this dusty ranching town back then. But although most new kids were withdrawn at first, Jack had a chip on his shoulder from the first day I saw him walk into Ms. Berkow-ski’s fourth-grade classroom. He made no effort to talk to anyone on the playground or anywhere else.” She released a breath. “Now that I’m a teacher, I realize he was probably trying to hide the fact that he was scared. He was facing a lot of changes in his life, with a new stepfather and a new school.”

      Yawning, Jasmine swung her legs up onto the gurney and rested her head on the pillow. “Cade says Jack was mad about his mom’s marriage. He says Jack and Charley never got along.”

      “I wouldn’t know about that. I just know that Lorelei’s marriage to Charley lasted only a few years—not much beyond Cade’s birth—but she and the kids stayed on in town nonetheless.”

      “So did you and Jack ever get to be friends?”

      Mei smiled. “Have you forgotten elementary school? Boys are a lower life-form at that age. Wrestling and yelling and being rowdy.”

      “What about high school?”

      “Different social circles, I guess.”

      Jasmine