“I can hear you, and don’t be calling me old, not when you’re older than me, Cody Ryan,” Stevie told him.
“I see what you mean,” Raymond chuckled.
She finished up the job, stood up, and reached for her crutches. Then she took a carrot from one of the pockets of her cargo pants. “There you go, Buttercup. You were a good girl. In another week, you’ll be running wild again. Only, from now on, I want you to watch where you’re stepping.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Raymond said. “I’ve had my grandkids go over every inch of this place, and they didn’t find any more stray barbed wire. I think what happened is the blizzard blew it up here from somewhere else, and she got her leg tangled up in it.”
“You’re probably right,” Stevie said. “I’ll be back on Thursday to take care of her again.” She turned back to the horse. “And next time I’ll bring you a nice ripe apple.”
“I reckon I could do what you’re doing since you’re wounded yourself,” Raymond told her.
“I’ll be fine by the end of the week and maybe even off these crutches,” she said.
“All right then,” Raymond agreed without an argument. “I’ll feel much better about her if you check her out.”
Cody wanted to pick Stevie up and carry her to the truck, but he respected her pride more than that. He did open the door for her and got her settled into the passenger seat. “Feeling coming back yet?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she told him. “I’m ready for a couple of pain pills, but just the over-the-counter ones, not the prescription kind.”
“And maybe ready to sit on the sofa with your leg propped up on a pillow?” Cody asked as he closed the door and jogged around the vehicle to get into his side of the truck. He started up the engine and glanced over at Stevie. She was pale, and from her expression obviously in pain.
“I’ll be glad to be still and let the pain medicine take effect,” she answered.
“Maybe some chocolate would help,” he suggested with a reassuring smile.
She leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. “It sure couldn’t hurt.”
At the end of the lane, Cody turned out onto the main road. “I forgot to ask what Bobby said about your house.”
“He said it has bone cancer.” Stevie’s voice cracked. “Black mold, termites, dry rot. It’s not worth saving, so I guess the only thing to do is euthanize the place.”
“I’m so sorry, Stevie,” Cody said. “But please know, you’ve got a home at Sunflower Ranch for as long as you want.”
“Before I can have it torn down and put the lot up for sale, I’ve got to pack up everything that’s still usable and store it,” she said with a sigh. “Everything in there has a memory of some kind. I’m not looking forward to doing that job, Cody.”
“In my opinion, you shouldn’t do that right now. For one thing, you don’t need to be in a place like that until your leg heals, and for another, you’ve been through enough this past week without reliving every memory. Would you mind if I talk to Mama about getting someone to help you with that?” Cody asked.
“I couldn’t ask Pearl to do that,” Stevie said. “She’s got to take care of Sonny.”
“Mama knows people who would be glad to make a few dollars packing up everything for you,” Cody said. “Remember, she and Dad have lived in this area their entire lives.”
“That would be wonderful,” Stevie agreed.
“Then I’ll take care of that job,” Cody said with a smile. “Now open your eyes.”
“Why, so I can see more of my world falling apart?” she asked.
“No, because when your eyes are closed, all you feel is pain, both emotional and physical. When they’re open, you can focus on things around you and ease that pain,” he answered.
Her eyes popped wide open and she sat up straight. “Did you study psychology as well as medicine?”
“Had to take a few classes in it, and besides, coming from the background I did, psychology interests me,” he answered as he made a turn in to Sunflower Ranch. “We’re almost home. I forgot to tell you that I’m going to drive Dad down to Dallas on Wednesday morning. Mama hates to drive in the city, so she volunteered me to do the job. We won’t be back until Thursday afternoon. He has appointments both days for MRIs, X-rays, and other things. Will you be all right while I’m gone?”
Stevie shook her head slowly.
“You won’t be okay? I can ask Jesse to take him, but the family thought that since I’m a doctor…”
Stevie held up a palm. “I will be fine. If we hadn’t gotten stranded, and if my house hadn’t flooded, I would be living alone and taking care of myself. Sonny needs you, and besides, you will understand what the specialists are saying about him. I just hope that the report is a good one.”
“I really do admire your strength, Stevie, as well as your brains,” Cody said.
“Thanks for that. I don’t feel very strong right now,” she admitted, “but Mama was right, it helps to have friends and family.”
“And to have a Dr. Cowboy in your life?” He parked in front of the bunkhouse and turned off the engine.
She cut her eyes around at him, and almost smiled. “Yes, love…even a Dr. Cowboy in my life.”
Chapter Nineteen
To drive from the bunkhouse to the barn on a bright, sunny day seemed more than a little bit silly, but the ground was still soft from all the melted snow, and crutches would sink with every step.
Cody had kissed her on the forehead at the crack of dawn that morning just before he walked out the door with his duffel bag and briefcase. “See you sometime tomorrow. Addy says to feel free to come up to the ranch house if you get bored.”
“Be safe,” she had said.
Stevie parked the car as close to the tack room door as she could get, and then got out and crutched her way inside. She had planned to go straight to her van and take stock of what was in there since she would be driving it for the first time the next day when she went to check on Raymond’s horse. But her phone rang as she started across the room, so she sat down on the wooden bar stool and leaned her crutches against the worktable.
“Hello, this is Dr. O’Dell,” she answered.
“Oh, Stevie!” Gracie Langston moaned. “My Fifi just had two puppies, and I didn’t even know she was expecting. What do I do? She’s had them in my laundry basket on top of my towels, and they’re all messy.”
“You gently remove the top towel and wash it. Are the new babies nursing?” Stevie asked.
“Yes, they’re fat little things, but how did this happen? I never let her out of the backyard, and I even had it fenced just for her,” Gracie whined.
“Evidently, a male dog dug underneath your fence about two months ago and bred her,” Stevie said. “If you don’t want puppies a couple of times a year, you should have Fifi spayed.”
“I bet it was that evil corgi that lives next door with Eva Taylor. She thinks she’s better than the rest of us here in Honey Grove because her husband was a general in the Army, and they were in England for all those years. I hear she even has tea twice a day and keeps to English traditions.” Gracie’s tone went from a whine to dripping icicles in less than a minute and then back to just above a whimper. “My poor Fifi has to raise half-toy-poodle and half-corgi puppies. They’ll be so ugly that I won’t be able to give them away, and I’ll have to keep them so Fifi won’t be upset with me. Can you come over and be sure that she’s all right?”