Solitaire. Lindsay McKenna

by his offer to care for Cat, yet nothing he’d ever done had ever felt so right. Gratefully, he shook each man’s hand.

      * * *

      Inez kissed her daughter’s cheek. Cat had been transferred to a private room and the entire family, minus Millie, who, since the baby wasn’t allowed in the room, was in the lounge, stood around her bed.

      “You take care, honey,” Inez said. She patted Cat’s hand gently.

      Cat blinked up at her mother. “You’re all leaving?” There was a catch in her voice. She saw Rafe nod, his cowboy hat clasped between his roughened fingers.

      Slade went to the other side of the bed and grasped Cat’s left hand, while giving her a devastating smile meant to neutralize her questions. He hadn’t talked to her about the arrangements and he knew the Kincaids hadn’t either. Cat wasn’t even aware of the agreement, but in all honesty, Slade felt Cat would thrive in the environment he could provide her. His initial reason for contacting her had been to offer her a lucrative business deal. Now, that all seemed unimportant.

      “Everything’s been taken care of, Cat. All you have to do is just lie there, look beautiful and heal up.” He patted her hand, giving her a conspiratorial wink. Her green eyes widened as she stared blankly up at him.

      Rafe leaned down, kissing her hair. “I’ll be in touch, Cat. Slade’s given us your phone number and I’ll give you a call every couple of days to see how you’re coming along.” He smiled. “I’ll keep you posted on what Goodyear and Nar are up to. They’ve had a lot of run-ins with each other lately.”

      Sam Kincaid was next, giving his daughter a slight smile. “You’re in the best of hands, Cat.”

      “But–”

      “Now, now,” Slade soothed, “just relax, Cat.” He wished they would hurry through their farewells and leave before Cat upset his carefully constructed applecart. Dal and Jim Tremain came over, saying goodbye.

      “Slade promised us you’d be in good hands,” Dal told her sister. “We’d love to have you stay with us, but I don’t think you’d get any rest with the baby around. I hope you understand.”

      Cat looked from Dal to Slade. His features looked suspiciously beatific.

      “Well, uh, sure I understand. And Alessandra probably takes up all your time, anyway.”

      Dal looked relieved that she understood and pressed another kiss on Cat’s waxen cheek. “Listen, we’ll call you once you get to Texas. Slade’s ranch sounds perfect for you.”

      Slade’s ranch? Cat turned too quickly, pain causing her to gasp. She shut her eyes, all the questions purged from her mind. Slade gave her a game smile and waved goodbye to the departing family.

      “Well, we’ll be seeing you, Cat,” her dad said, opening the door. “We’ll call you once a week and see how you’re comin’ along. Bye, honey…”

      Cat tried to speak, to beg them to stay. When the pain finally subsided, the door had shut and silence filled the void. She looked up at Slade, her eyes narrowed. Slade was still holding her left hand, his fingers warming her cooler ones. She wanted to jerk out of his grasp but had better sense than to try it, knowing what the movement would cost her in terms of pain.

      “All right, Donovan, what is going down?”

      “Donovan? You were calling me Slade before.”

      Cat compressed her lips, and set her jaw in a well-known Kincaid line that spelled trouble. “What cards do you have up that sleeve of yours? Everyone thinks I’m going to your ranch. No one’s asked me. If you think you can shanghai me, you’ve got another thing coming.”

      Slade tried to look properly chastised and continued to run his thumb in a feather-light circle on the back of her hand. “Shanghai you?” He groaned and raised his eyes dramatically to the ceiling. “Cat, I simply volunteered my plane and my ranch as a place where you can properly recuperate.” He stole a glance at her to see what effect his teasing was having. Absolutely none, he realized with a lurch. Slade girded himself for battle as spots of color came to Cat’s cheeks and an emerald flame leaped to life in her eyes. She might be sick, but she wasn’t helpless.

      Slade tried to nip her reaction in the bud. “Listen to me, this is no time to get upset, Cat. I told your family that a nurse is three miles away from my ranch. Kai Travis and her husband, Matt, are good friends of mine. Dr. Scott said you’d need a warm, dry climate and the help of a nurse from time to time. Plus,” he went on quickly, trying to stay ahead of her opposition, “your brother, Rafe, has been under a BLM investigation for the past few months and he’s got his hands full trying to catch up on the ranch work. He wouldn’t be able to devote enough time to you. Your mother’s hip operation is in two weeks.” Slade shrugged and managed a hopeful smile. “I offered my ranch because I can take good care of you, Cat, while you convalesce. I did what I felt was best for us at the time.”

      “Us?” came the strangled response. “There is no ‘us’!”

      Looking contrite, Slade released her hand and walked to the end of the bed, holding her outraged stare. “Yes, us.”

      Cat’s mouth dropped open. And then she quickly closed it into a thin line. “You and I are complete strangers.”

      Slade had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Maybe we were a week ago, but I don’t feel that way about you now. Not after everything we’ve gone through together.” His voice became husky. “Before, I respected your work as a mining engineer. And then, when you were trapped, I saw and felt your courage. We both know the chances of your surviving that cave-in were pretty slim.”

      At the mention of the cave-in, a chill wound through Cat. She tried to throw it off, but a suffocating fear rose up into her throat, choking her. Panic followed on its heels and Cat struggled to pretend nothing was wrong. My God, she was breaking out in a cold sweat! What was wrong with her? The fear she felt was all-consuming as it flowed darkly through her. Shakily, she wiped her sweaty brow, refusing to look at Slade.

      Finally back in control, she spoke. “That still doesn’t give you any right to tell my family that they aren’t needed, Donovan!” Her voice cracked. “I want my family, not you.”

      His face softened and Slade came to her side, brushing his knuckles lightly against her tear-stained cheek. “I know how fragile you really are, Cat, remember? I’ve been in cave-ins myself and lived to tell about it. I told your family that I knew what you were going to go through and I felt I was the best one for the job.”

      “I’m not your responsibility, damn it!”

      “Don’t get excited, Cat. The doctors want you to rest.”

      “Then you shouldn’t have bullied your way into a family situation and taken over like you did!” She was breathing hard, each expansion of her ribs a fiery agony. Sweat glistened on her taut features and she lay back, her fists clenched. She turned her stormy green gaze on him. “You’re not doing this out of the kindness of your heart. I wish I could remember where I’d heard your name before. Then, I could put this together.”

      Slade winced. He wasn’t sure himself why he was doing it. Sure, there was his business proposition, but that wasn’t his primary reason for wanting her nearby. He felt like a greedy robber, stealing time to get to know Cat on a personal level. “You’ve a right to be upset and angry,” Slade said, choosing his words carefully. “Rafe wanted to ask you if you wanted to go with me or come to the Triple K. For that, we owe you an apology. Rather, I do. Because I persuaded them that you’d be happy to come to Del Rio, Texas, with me.” He held her angry gaze. “I may kick around the world, Cat, but I do have some roots. The ranch is nothing fancy, but it’s nice. You’re not out of the woods yet with your injuries, and I convinced your family that with qualified medical help nearby, my ranch would be better for you. Besides, when you get better, there’s a business deal I’d like to discuss with you.”

      Cat eyed him suspiciously, somewhat