Rachel's Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

wheelchair.
    J.D. had hoped he’d be able to carry her out asleep. Vanessa assured him she’d explained the arrangements to Rachel, but J.D. figured if she was awake, she might refuse to get in his truck with him.
    He saw her at once, slumped in her wheelchair in front of the hospital as he drove up. Scrambling fromthe truck, he hurried around to open the door for her. Then he faced Rachel.
    “Betty fixed the back seat so you’ll be comfortable,” he assured her. “Shall I lift you into the truck?”
    “I think that would be the only way I could get in,” Rachel said in a whisper, glancing away. The nurse gave him a suspicious look. J.D. decided he’d better move quickly before the woman accused him of being an ax murderer.
    He placed Rachel on the soft pillows Betty had put at one end so she was propped up a little, and wrapped the blankets around her. Immediately she closed her eyes and appeared to again be sleeping.
    “You have all her medicines and the instructions the doctor gave you?” the nurse asked.
    “Yes, I do. And she’ll be under a nurse’s care within three hours, I promise.”
    “Good. She should sleep at least that long. The doctor gave her a sedative so the trip wouldn’t strain her.”
    “Good thinking. Thank you.”
    He closed the truck door and got in on the driver’s side. Dallas was a nice place, as cities went, but he was ready to get back to the wide-open spaces of West Texas.
    Once he was on the road, the traffic demanded most of his attention. He could glance back over his shoulder and barely see her face, snug in the covers. Once he got past Fort Worth, the traffic thinned out, and he picked up his pace. If she woke before he got her home, he wouldn’t know what to do for her.
    Thank God for Madge.
     
    O NE WOULD’VE THOUGHT he’d rung an alarm when J.D. pulled up beside the house he’d been born and raised in. Before he could kill the engine, Madge came out of the house, followed by two cowboys carrying a stretcher between them.
    “I’ve been so anxious for you to get here. How is she?” Madge asked, peering in at his own personal Sleeping Beauty.
    “The doc gave her a pill to put her to sleep. I haven’t heard a peep out of her. What’s the stretcher for?”
    “To get her in the house, of course.”
    “We don’t need that. I can carry her.” He was determined to hold her in his arms once more. He looked at the two cowboys. “Vivian packed her a couple of bags in the back. Can you grab those?” Then he said to Madge, “Do you have her bed ready?”
    “Of course I do. The cover’s even turned back, waiting for her.” Madge was always ready, no matter what he asked of her.
    J.D. slid his hand under the blankets, feeling Rachel’s warmth through the soft flannel. “She may be running a fever.”
    “Wouldn’t be surprised. It will be a couple of days before we get rid of the fever. Did you bring the antibiotic drips?”
    “Yeah. They packed them on ice for me. They’re in the back of the truck, too.”
    “I’ll get one started right away. We still have that metal tree we used for your mother. I put it beside her bed.”
    He lowered Rachel to the bed after Madge hadpeeled away the blankets from the truck, so Rachel would be comfortable while she slept. A sigh escaped her pale lips as she snuggled down under the coverlet, curling away from him.
    Madge put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s going to be fine, J.D. You did a good job getting her here. The boys need to talk to you about a problem that came up while you were gone. They’re having coffee in the kitchen. You can leave Rachel to me.”
    He didn’t want to. But he reminded himself of his promise to keep away from her. Right. He’d turn his thoughts to cows.
    And later, when Madge had gone to bed, he’d check up on Rachel.
     
    E VERY EVENING for the next few days, J.D. listened to Madge’s account of Rachel’s day, telling him what she’d eaten, how long she’d slept, what her temperature had