going.
She stilled, her breath cooling a damp spot on his bare skin.
They were both silent for a long moment, while Caleb tried unsuccessfully to bring his emotions under control.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, lips grazing his skin.
“Are you kidding me?” he breathed. He forced himself to draw back, tipping up her chin and gazing into her passion-clouded eyes. “I have never-”
The cell phone in her jeans pocket buzzed, startling them both.
“-ever,” he continued, trying to hold her gaze, reluctant to let the moment go.
The cell phone buzzed again.
“Fortuitous?” she asked, seeming to regain her equilibrium.
“Not the word I would have used.” He sighed.
She shifted off his lap, slipping her hand into her jeans pocket to retrieve the cell phone.
“Abigail,” she announced while she pressed the talk button. “Hey, Abby.”
Caleb couldn’t believe she could sound so normal. He sure wasn’t that capable of turning on a dime like that. Desire was still pulsing its way through his extremities. It was going to be long minutes before he would be able to do anything more than breathe.
“When?” Mandy asked into the phone, her voice going guttural.
Her gaze locked on to Caleb’s, fear shooting through her irises. “I don’t-”
She swayed on her feet, and he instantly leaped to his, holding her steady.
“Where?” she asked hoarsely, bracing herself by grasping his arm. “Yes. Of course.” She nodded reflexively. “Yes.”
She was silent for another moment, her hand squeezing his arm in a vice grip. “Right now,” she told her sister. “I’ll be there. Bye.” Her tone was whispered as she lowered the phone.
“What?” Caleb prompted, his stomach clenching hard. Something had obviously gone terribly wrong.
“My dad,” she managed, blinking back twin pools of gathering tears. “They think it was a stroke.”
“Is he…” Caleb couldn’t finish the sentence.
“The medical airlift is on its way.”
“How bad?”
“Numbness, speech problems, confusion.” She broke away from Caleb’s hold. “I have to get home.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“No, I can-”
“I’ll
Four
All the lights were blazing when Mandy and Caleb drove up to the ranch house. Caleb’s rented SUV had barely come to a halt when she flung open her door, feet barely touching the dirt driveway as she sprinted across the porch. She rushed through the entry hall to the big living room.
There, she saw Seth first, his strong face pinched in concern where he sat on the sofa, holding her mother’s hand. Her sister Abby was furiously hitting keys on the computer, while Travis paced in the middle of the room, obviously ready for action and obviously frustrated because there was nothing he could do to help.
“Mom.” Mandy rushed forward, sliding down beside her mother and wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. Her mother’s face was pale, eyes red-rimmed and hollow looking.
“The helicopter left about five minutes ago,” said Seth.
“They said there wasn’t room for Mom.” Travis sounded angry.
Mandy heard Caleb enter the house and cross the foyer behind her, but she didn’t turn. She felt guilty for being attracted to him, guilty for kissing him, guilty as sin for getting lost in his embrace while her father fell ill and collapsed.
“I’m trying to find her a ticket out of Lyndon for the morning,” Abigail put in.
“They’re taking him straight to Denver,” said Travis. “There’s a specialist there, a whole team with the latest technology for early stroke intervention.”
“That sounds good,” Mandy said to her mother, rubbing Maureen’s shoulder with her palm.
“Damn it. The connection is bogged down again,” said Abigail.
Caleb stepped fully into the room. “My corporate jet’s on the tarmac in Lyndon.”
Everyone turned to stare at him.
Seth came to his feet. “How many of us can you take?”
“As many as need to go.” He captured Mandy’s gaze for a long second.
“I’ll stay here,” Travis put in, drawing everyone’s attention. He glanced at his siblings. “I’m probably the least help there, but I’m the most help here.”
Seth nodded his agreement with the suggestion.
Responding to Seth’s concurrence, Caleb pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll have the pilots meet us at the airport. Mandy, why don’t you put together an overnight bag for your mother?”
Abby swiveled back to the computer. “I’m booking a hotel for us in Denver.”
“See if there’s an Emerald Chateau near the hospital,” said Caleb as he pressed the buttons on his phone. “We have a corporate account. Call them and use my name.” He put his cell phone to his ear and turned toward the foyer.
Mandy squeezed her mother’s cool hand. “Did you hear that, Mom?”
Maureen gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
“Good.” Mandy struggled to keep her voice even. Breaking down right now wouldn’t help anyone, least of all her mother. “I’m going to pack you a few things. You just sit tight.”
“He couldn’t speak.” Maureen’s voice was paper dry, her hand squeezing Mandy’s. “He tried, but his words were all muddled. Syllables sometimes, then nonsense.”
Mandy swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think that’s really common with a stroke. And it’s sounds like they’ve got a great team in Denver. He’ll get the best care.” Her gaze met her brother Seth’s and he motioned with his head for her to go pack.
She nodded in response, gently releasing her mother’s hand. The sooner they got to Denver, the better.
As she headed for the staircase, she passed Caleb in the foyer, where he was talking on the phone to his pilot. “Two hours, tops,” he said. “Right. We’ll be there.”
She stopped and turned back, reaching out to lay the flat of her hand on his chest, mouthing the words “Thank you.”
He placed his hand over hers and gave one quick squeeze then pointed her toward the staircase.
Mandy had never been on a private plane. The flight to Denver was, thankfully, quick and smooth. The Active Equipment jet had room for eight passengers, and Caleb had arranged for a car to take them directly from the airport to the hospital. There, Mandy’s mother was the only person allowed to see her father, and the nurse would let her into his room for only a few minutes.
The doctors were medicating him and monitoring him closely to watch for additional strokes. They told the family they needed to keep him calm. The initial prognosis was for a slow, potentially limited recovery. There was no way to tell how much of his speech and mobility he would regain. A doctor told them the first few days were critical.
Although Abby had booked regular rooms at the Denver Emerald Chateau, a word from Caleb to the front-desk clerk had Mandy, Abby and her mother in a luxurious, two-bedroom suite. Caleb and Seth had taken an identical suite at the opposite end of the twentieth-floor hallway.
It was nearly three in the morning before Mandy’s mother finally got to bed. Thankfully, she fell asleep almost
