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While the EMTs laid the backboard down to assess the old man before attempting to lift him to the gurney, he briefed them and the surrounding officers. He moved behind Ally to rest his hands on her tense shoulders, steadying her, so she wouldn’t get in the way and hinder her father’s treatment.
The EMTs made fast work of getting Jesse off the ground, rolling him slightly to wedge the backboard underneath, lifting him to the gurney, and into the ambulance. An EMT turned to look at the small crowd. “Only one can go in the ambulance, sorry.”
Matt glanced to Ally. “Go. I promise I’ll be right behind you.”
She looked at him with such horror in her eyes he wanted to be sick. She hesitated a moment, laid her fingers against his chest then climbed in the back settling next to the old man.
He stood silent in the late afternoon sun, rubbing absently at the spot where she had touched him so softly. He watched the retreating lights and sounds of the ambulance, carrying not one but possibly two of the most important people in his life. The thought scared him to death.
* * *
Ally spentthe entire ride to the hospital replaying the events of the previous few hours. She’d literally been taken from heaven to hell in a matter of minutes. Given the time to think it through, she could not even believe she had actually had sex with her daddy’s foreman. A man she’d known all of about forty-eight hours. She never did those kinds of things. This was definitely an unconventional start to a friendship—not that she wanted to be just friends with the man—but God, he could make her body sing.
Now, however, all of the emotion needed to be pushed aside. Sitting in a waiting area outside the emergency room, she was a bundle of nerves, scared to death for her dad, yet still very thankful he was alive. That fact very possibly had everything to do with Matt Gentry. The man he had called Ross on the cell phone was Dr. Ross Stanford. He couldn’t say enough about the foreman and how it would be a pleasure to work with him again. What was that all about?
Dr. Stanford had been by to talk to Ally a couple times, trying to reassure her that her father was stable across the board but still unconscious. Basically in a coma, resulting from what they already knew was a very serious blow to the back of his head and neck, which had caused swelling around the brain and a severe concussion. He tried to explain to her his brain activity was technically stable, but in cases of trauma such as this, the body put itself in a type of deep sleep in order to heal, so the details could be a bit sketchy at best—at least until the swelling subsided a bit.
“Unfortunately,” the doctor had said, “there’s really no way for us to tell how long the coma might last. But I promise you, Ms. Kincaid, your dad is getting the best possible care.”
She had thanked him for being straightforward with her. She felt oddly comfortable with the doctor, and she almost wished shehadasked him what he knew about Matt when Ross brought him up. Then, she cursed herself for dwelling on the damn cowboy’s questionable history when her daddy was lying in a coma in a hospital bed.
The bad thing was, she couldn’t help but think about him. There wasn’t much else to think about, and it wouldn’t do her blood pressure any good to stress about her daddy when she couldn’t do anything except pray. What help would she be when he woke up if she made herself sick? And speaking of Matt, where was he? He’d said he would be right behind her. It seemed hours had passed since then.
The heavy clunk of booted footsteps assaulted her ears long before she saw his lean body come into the light of the waiting room. Her heart skipped a beat and left her confused by her own reaction. She was shaking with nervous chills but at the same time exhilaration ramped up her heart rate at getting to see him again.My God, I’m a mess!
He came in the room and walked right up to her without hesitation. “Hey,” he said in a deep sexy voice, melting her for the second time in a day.
Damn, she’d been sure she had regained her composure. He rested his fingers on her upper arms in a sweet, nurturing gesture, more like a brother than a lover. She couldn’t help wanting to melt into his solid chest, dying to be close to him again. To feel the strength of his muscles and be tickled by the dusting of hair covering his chest, to inhale the manly scent that was his alone.
Suddenly she stopped her musings, realizing he had done the very thing she had hoped. He’d enveloped her within the security of his embrace, her cheek resting against the open vee of his T-shirt. She wrapped her arms around his waist, fisting the material in her hands at the small of his back. She couldn’t take any more, couldn’t be strong anymore, and with his comfort and warmth surrounding her for what she feared could only be this once, she let everything she’d held back all go. The tears fell, streaming down her face to dampen his shirt.
* * *
Damn,she felt so good in his firm grasp. He must be crazy because he hadn’t meant to hold her like this, but it was what they’d both needed. And how could he be so damn selfish, knowing what she was going through? Truthfully, he had been scared to death when the EMS pulled away from the ranch. Hell, he’d even been tempted to threaten the EMT to let him in the ambulance, too, but he knew better. At one time, he had been the one to tell the family, “Sorry, only room for one of you.” But this time he was on the receiving end, and it sucked—he never realized how much.
He also knew all too well what an ambulance ride was like, watching the one you love, holding their hand, praying, helpless to do anything, struggling to keep it together on the long ride to the closest hospital.
He took comfort in the knowledge that the best of the best in doctors around the area had been waiting for Jesse to arrive. He only wished he could have been there for Ally, but someone had to stay behind to reassure the hands, get them all on task, and make sure everything was in order. Convincing Maribella she couldn’t go just yet took the most time. No sense crying over spilled milk, however. He was there now, and he damn well wasn’t leaving her side again. At least until she pushed him away.
Chapter Nine
Ally awoke with a start. She didn’t remember drifting off, but she must have been having one heck of a dream. She was snuggled into the side of a very firm, very good-smelling, rock hard chest.
She blinked her eyes because the lights were unusually bright.Where am I?
“Oh no,” she whispered. How could she have forgotten the last twenty-four hours? She was at the hospital, where her daddy was in a coma, and she must have fallen asleep while Matt tried to comfort her. That would explain their position on the waiting room sofa.
She hated to, but she needed to get up and see how her daddy was doing. Carefully, she slid her legs off the couch then her body, making sure not to disturb Matt. Sometime during the night, someone must have covered them, so after she was standing, she drew the thin white blanket back over him and left him to sleep. He looked so peaceful. She would wake Matt once she found Dr. Stanford and had some news to share.
She walked down the hall, looking for a nurse’s station and finding a couple of orderlies filing charts. She was going to ask for Dr. Stanford, but he appeared around the corner.
“Oh, Ms. Kincaid, I was coming to find you.”
“Is there something wrong? Is my daddy okay?” Ally’s heart sped up, and she worried things might have gotten worse while she’d slept.
“No, nothing of the sort. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. He has actually begun to respond a little this morning, and his vitals are looking progressively better. The swelling seems to have gone down a bit, which is what I was hoping for.”
“Doctor, that is such good news. Thank you so much. Can I talk to him? Is he awake?”
