2.

IT WAS MIDNIGHT before they had Mrs. Collier through the battery of tests that had been ordered. It had been a heart attack, fairly severe. Dr. Jeb "Copper" Coltrain came out into the waiting room to talk to Grace after he'd seen the results of the tests.

"She's bad, Grace," Copper told her. "I'm sorry, but it can't come as much of a surprise. I told you this would happen eventually."

"But there are medicines, and they have these new surgical procedures that I saw on the news," she argued.

He started to put a hand on her shoulder but immediately drew it back before it could make contact. She'd stiffened, something Garon noted with idle curiosity.

"Most of those procedures are experimental, Grace," he said gently. "And the drugs still haven't been approved by the FDA."

Grace bit her lower lip. She had a beautiful bow of a mouth with a natural pink tint, Garon noticed without wanting to, and a peaches and cream complexion that he'd rarely seen on a woman once she took her makeup off. Her hair was a soft, golden-blond. She had it in a ponytail, but when unfettered, it must reach halfway down her back, and it had just a faint wave. She had small, pert b.r.e.a.s.t.s and a small waistline. She was perfectly proportioned, in fact. Looking at her long legs and rounded hips in those tight jeans made him uncomfortable and he averted his gaze back to Coltrain.

"Maybe it was just a little attack," she persisted.

"There will be a bigger one, and soon," he replied grimly. "She won't take her medicine, she won't give up salty potato chips and brine-soaked pickles-even if you stop buying them for her, she'll have them delivered. Face it, Grace, she's not trying to help herself. You can't force her to live if she doesn't want to!"

"But I want her to!" she sobbed.

Coltrain drew a long breath, his gaze drawn to Garon, who hadn't said a word. He frowned. "Aren't you Cash's brother?"

Garon nodded.

"The FBI agent?"

He nodded again.

"I couldn't get the car to start and the phone didn't work," Grace told Coltrain before he could interrogate Garon any further. The redheaded doctor was abrupt and antagonistic to people he didn't know. And Mr. Grier here looked like a man who wouldn't take much prodding before he exploded. "I had to ask him for help," she concluded.

"I see." Coltrain was still staring at Garon.

"I could stay with Granny tonight," she offered.

"No, you couldn't," Coltrain said shortly. "Go home and get some sleep. You'll need it if she gets to come home."

Her face fell tragically. "What do you mean, 'if'?"

"When," he corrected irritably. "I meant, when."

"You'll have them call me, if I'm needed?" she persisted.

"Yes, I'll have them call you. Go to the office and do the paperwork," he ordered. She hesitated for a minute, glancing at Garon. "He'll wait," Coltrain a.s.sured her. "Git!"

She went.

Coltrain stared at the taller man through dark-circled eyes. "How well do you know the family?"

"We've spoken once until tonight," he replied. "They live next door to me."

"I know where they live. What do you know about Grace?"

Garon's dark eyes began to take on a glitter. "Nothing. And that's all I want to know. I did her a favor tonight, but I am not in the mood to take on dependents. Especially spinsters who look like juvenile bag ladies."

Coltrain was indignant. "That att.i.tude won't get you far in Jacobsville. Grace is special."

"If you say so." Garon didn't blink.

Coltrain drew in a long breath and cursed under it. He stared after Grace. "She'll go to pieces if the old lady dies. And she's going to," he added coldly. "Along with the other tests I ordered, I had them run an echocardiogram. Half her heart muscle's dead already, and she'll finish off the rest of it the minute I let her out-if she even lives that long. Grace thinks I sedated her. I didn't. She's in a coma. I didn't have the heart to tell her. That's why I can't let her see Mrs. Collier-she's in ICU. I don't think she'll come out of it. And Grace has n.o.body."

Garon frowned. "Everybody has relatives."

Coltrain glanced at him. "Her mother and father divorced when Grace was ten. Mrs. Collier had to take Grace," he added without explanation, "and never let the girl forget what a favor she did her. Her mother was living out of town when she died of a drug overdose, when Grace was twelve," he said. "Her father had been killed in a light plane crash two years before that. There are no uncles or aunts, n.o.body except a distant cousin in Victoria who's elderly and disabled."

"Why does she need anyone? She's a grown woman."

Coltrain looked as if he was biting his tongue. "Grace is an innocent. She's younger than she seems," he said enigmatically. He sighed. "Well, if you can drive her home, I'll be grateful. Maybe Lou and I can manage something, if we have to."

Lou was his wife, another doctor. They were in practice together with Dr. Drew Morris.

Garon scowled. He felt as if he was being put in charge, and he didn't like it. But he couldn't just walk off and leave Grace, he supposed. Then he had an inspiration. Someone had to be sacrificed, but it didn't necessarily have to be himself. "Miss Turner works for me. She knows Miss Carver," he began.

"Yes," he replied. "Jane was her teacher once. She's the closest thing Grace has to family in Jacobsville, even though there's no blood relationship."

So that was it. He shrugged. "I can spare Miss Turner to help out. She can stay with Miss Carver tonight."

"Kind of you." It was said with faint sarcasm.

Garon didn't even blink. His dark eyes were glittering. He didn't give an inch.

Coltrain, having met his match, drew in a slow breath. "All right. But I'm going to sedate Grace before I send her home. If Miss Turner can stay with her tonight, I'll appreciate it."

"No problem," Garon returned.

COLTRAIN DREW GRACE into the emergency room, into a cubicle, and listened to her heart.

"I'm okay," she fussed.

"Sure you are," he agreed as he turned to pick up a syringe that he'd already filled. He swabbed Grace's arm and shot the needle in. "Go home. You'll sleep."

"I didn't call Judy at the florist to tell her I couldn't make it in the morning," she said dully. "She'll fire me."

"Not likely. She'll understand. Besides, Jill, who works in the ER, is Judy's cousin. She'll tell her what happened long before you can call her," he added with a kind smile.

"Thanks, Dr. Coltrain," she said, standing.

"Your neighbor is going to loan Miss Turner to you. She'll stay with you tonight," he added.

"That's nice of him," she said. She made a face. "He's uncomfortable to be around."

He frowned slightly. "He's in law enforcement. In fact, from what his brother, Cash, told me, he's good at homicide detection..."

"I have to go," she broke in, avoiding his eyes.

"You don't have to like him, Grace," Coltrain reminded her. "But you need someone to help you through this."

"Miss Turner will do that." She turned toward the door of the cubicle. "Thanks."

"You'll get through this, Grace," he said quietly. "We all have to face the loss of people we care about. It's a natural part of life. After all," he added, joining her in the hallway, "n.o.body gets out of the world alive."

She smiled softly. "It's good to remember that."

"Yes. It is."

GARON WAS WAITING, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, pacing. He glanced up as she and Coltrain reappeared. He looked tired as well as irritated.

"I'm ready," she said without meeting his dark eyes. "Thanks for waiting."

He nodded curtly.

"I'll call you if there's a change," Coltrain a.s.sured her. "Honest."

"Okay. Thanks, Dr. Coltrain."

"You're welcome. Get some rest."

She started toward the door without another word. She'd forgotten that her phone didn't work, so how could Coltrain call her?

Garon followed behind her, his hands still in his pockets. He hadn't said another word to Coltrain, who glared after him until a nurse caught his attention.

GARON OPENED THE DOOR for Grace and settled her into the pa.s.senger seat. By the time they pulled out of the parking lot, she still hadn't spoken a word.

He glanced at her as he drove. "You know the doctor well, do you?"

She nodded without looking at him.

"He's abrasive."

Pot calling the kettle black, she thought amusedly, but she was too shy to say it. She nodded again.

His eyebrow jerked. It was like talking to himself. He wondered why Coltrain had given her a shot instead of something to take by mouth. h.e.l.l, he wondered why the doctor was so concerned about her that he wanted someone with her at night. A lot of people had serious illness in their families. Most people got through it without tranquilizers. Especially women as young as this one looked.

Well, it was none of his business, he thought. He pulled out his cell phone and called Miss Turner. She answered at once, obviously still up.

"Can you go home with Miss Carver for the night?' he asked her.

"Of course," she replied without a second's hesitation. "I'll be ready when you get here." She hung up.

He flipped the cell phone shut and laid it in the empty cup holder. "We'll pick Miss Turner up at the house and I'll drive you both over there. Tomorrow, Miss Turner can use the Expedition and drive you to work and then to the hospital. I'll have one of the boys run it over first thing tomorrow and leave the keys with Miss Turner." The SUV was his second vehicle, which he used primarily around the ranch. His foreman and the rest of his cowboys had their own transportation. He didn't tell Grace, but he was going to have one of his mechanics overhaul her car as well. He didn't like having her as a responsibility longer than he had to.

He didn't mind helping out this neighbor, as long as it didn't require any personal involvement with her beyond the minimum. Still, he did feel sorry for her. She seemed to be a misfit in this small town. Obviously she wasn't overly interested in him. She was as far over in her seat as she could get, and she did nothing to try and attract his attention. He hadn't missed the way she flinched when Coltrain had started to lay a compa.s.sionate hand on her shoulder. It raised a red flag in his mind, but he was too worn-out from the travel and the interrupted sleep to pursue it. The sooner he had her settled, the sooner he could go back to bed.

They pulled up at the front door of the ranch house and Miss Turner came out with a small satchel and her purse. She got into the back seat.

"I locked up," she told him. "You'll have your house key with you, of course."

"Of course," he drawled.

"Grace, are you all right? How's your grandmother?"

"She's not well, Miss Turner," Grace replied drowsily. "Dr. Coltrain thinks it's a heart attack. He won't give me a lot of hope."

"Never you mind. He's the best we have. He'll do whatever he can, you know that."

"Yes, I do. Thank you for coming home with me," she added. "It's a big house."

"It is," Miss Turner agreed.

He pulled up at the front door of the rickety old white Victorian house, making a face at the lack of fresh paint. Presumably there wasn't any spare cash for upkeep. Pity. It was a pretty house.

"Thank you for all you've done," Grace said formally, "and for letting Miss Turner stay with me."

She looked as if it were like pulling teeth to say that. She had a fiercely independent stubborn streak that he was just meeting. His estimation of her changed a little.

"Lock the doors," Garon cautioned Miss Turner after she'd exited the car and was helping Grace toward the front porch.

"We will. I'll get up early and come over to fix breakfast, as soon as the Expedition gets here."

"Okay. Good night."

He drove off, already going over the next day's routine in his mind. He didn't give Grace a second thought.

BUT THE NEXT MORNING, awake and rested, he felt badly about the way he'd treated Grace the night before. He remembered how he'd felt when his mother had died; but especially, when the woman he loved had died. He remembered how sad and depressed those events had made him. At the time, he'd had no one to help him get through it. His family was back in Texas, and he'd been living in Georgia, working out of Atlanta, when it happened. He should have remembered how alone he'd felt. He'd been less than sympathetic with Grace.

So he got up earlier than usual, made biscuits, fried bacon and scrambled eggs. He phoned the Collier house and only then recalled that the phone was out of order. He climbed into the car, dressed in city clothes and drove over to get Grace and Miss Turner.

They were dressed, just coming down the steps. Grace was wearing jeans and the floppy sweatshirt again, with her hair in a bun. They both looked surprised to see him.

"I made breakfast," he said without preamble. "Let's go."

"But you didn't have to do that," Grace protested.

He started to take her arm, to herd her out the door, but she stepped back in an instant, her eyes wide, her cheeks rosy.

He glowered at her. "It's only breakfast. I'm not proposing," he added sarcastically.