Page 16 of The Texas Cowboy's Rescue

“The good news is that I don’t see any problems with fuel leaking out... at least nothing I can see or smell right now. So we can use the inside to keep our passengers dry until help arrives. I’ll go up to the road and set off a beacon I have, just in case.”

“I can do that. You know this aircraft, and if anything does start, you’ll know it. And you’re a trauma medic, so you’re here just in case. I do have some practice with climbing skills—thanks to my daughter, as you well know. So I’ve got this.” She reached out a hand for the beacon.

“It’s raining.”

“I can see that.” Kenzie reached into an overhead bin and pulled out a plastic rain poncho. “It isn’t very stylish, but it will keep some of the water off me. Now I need to get moving.” She jumped to the ground. He did the same.

She pulled on the poncho.

“Be careful,” he said. “There are some loose rocks along that hillside. The more I think about this, the more I need to go.”

“Arguing is wasting time.” She didn’t give him time to reconsider again. Choosing a path, she began her climb. Five minutes into it, with the rain getting some sting to it when it hit her face, she realized that maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas. Especially since she didn’t need to turn and look down to where she started to know that Deke’s eyes were boring into her back.

Next time, don’t volunteer.

Chapter Nine

“This day justkeeps getting better.” Those words echoed through the empty house and came back to roost on Kenzie’s shoulders with all their weight. The rain was steady outside. Their rescuers arrived twenty minutes after Deke set the craft down. At least they had completed the run, and the patient was secured in a nice, dry space. She left Deke talking to the crew that would be heading out to bring in the helicopter.

The moment she stepped through her front door, a river of water met her at the kitchen door. Actually, it might be a tiny stream, but in her mind, adding what it was going to cost her to get a plumber or whatever was needed to plug up the hole, she wanted to scream... which she did. And it felt good, so she did it again.

A crash made her jump, her brain assessing the fact there was no lightning, so would it be thunder? And then there was the sound of heavy running steps down the hallway and a man came through the opening with a boat oar in his hands like a baseball bat over his shoulder, ready to slug something or someone. He stopped. She stopped. And they faced off.

“Kenzie, are...?”

“What is going on?! Are...?”

They both shouted at the same time, and then there was silence.

“Did you just bust through my front door?” Her voice rose on the last word. That was a warning to people who knew her that she just might be ready to explode.

“I came up on the porch, I heard the scream... I looked through the window, didn’t see you, and then you screamed again. I reacted.”

“With that?” She nodded at the oar, still against his shoulder. That caused him to lower it to his side.

“Sorry, but I didn’t have time to run back home and grab a gun. Thank heavens.”

“You thought I needed help? Someone was in here with me?”

“That’s what it sounded like. Sorry about the door. I’ll fix that right away.” He had the good sense to look sorry.

Kenzie shook her head. “I screamed because I had had enough rain and a day that went into the toilet, and when I walked in and found water all over the floor from another leak, I just needed to let it all out.” She took a breath and then shook her head. “And now there’s a busted door in addition to the leak. I’d say that things can’t get worse, but then I’m sure I’d be proved wrong somehow.” She began walking toward the living room and stopped a few feet from the place where her door was literally hanging from one top hinge, the doorframe splintered along one side.

“You’ll have a new door by this time tomorrow,” Deke spoke up. “And if you’ll let me, I can take a look at the leak and see just what the problem is.”

“You don’t have to do that, and it’s raining, so...”

“So it’s a good time to work on the door and see the leak in action. I need to make a call and then get something from my Jeep, and I will be right back.” He was gone before she could find another reason to decline his help.

“Great. A man who doesn’t listen. Imagine that.” She could be silent and let him knock himself out being Superman—only she didn’t need rescuing. That’s what she told herself as she drew in another deep breath. It was time to get the mop and get busy.

It wasn’t long, and he was back with something resembling a toolbox in his hand. She tried to concentrate on cleaning up the water and then seeing how to stem the flow. Not much to be done with it still raining and no way anyone was getting on the roof. There was some hammering coming from the living room area. She knew it was better to stay out of the room while he did his thing. She had no idea how he was going to get a door put in quickly, but she was just going to take care of what she could do.

That’s why, a half hour later, having cleaned up the water trail as best she could, her worst fear turned out to be not so bad. It wasn’t a leaking roof. It was a cracked tubing behind the refrigerator that ran water to the ice maker. A quick check on her trusty cell phone online, and she found what she needed to do with some heavy-duty tape and the water shut off until she could get a replacement hose. She felt pretty good about taking care of the problem. And then she realized all was quiet in the living room. She went down the hallway and then stopped. There was a different door where the broken one had been.

Deke was on the porch, talking to someone who had arrived while she was working in the back of the house. The man left soon after, and Deke stepped through the door. He smiled.

“We were in luck that the local lumberyard was able to bring out some framing materials, along with the hardware. It was easy enough to switch it all out. Once you pick out the door you would like to have, we’ll order it and put it in place of this plain one. But at least you have a door to secure once again. And I promise I won’t kick in the next one.”

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