Page 28 of The Texas Cowboy's Rescue

“Not that office... the one that flies off to help people, as she put it. I might have promised her she could see it. And... I might have promised her a ride in my helicopter next Saturday... if she graduates and aces her diving test on Thursday. You are the judge of that, by the way.”

“As if her own tree house is not enough of a graduation present?”

“Nope... doesn’t count since it also was for my mental benefit, as well.”

“The two of you together might be a scary team I have to watch out for in the future.”

His gaze softened in the fading sunset’s glow. He cupped the back of her head and leaned forward slightly. His tongue peeked out as he subtly licked his lips. “I like the wordsteamandfuturewhen they come from you. I hope you’ll use them more often. And now, I am aware there is a small face that has been glued to a certain window upstairs for the last five minutes, watching us from her perch. As much as I would really like to take advantage of this moment, I think the best thing is for me to say good night, help you down from this perch, and be on my way.”

She had to hope he couldn’t hear how loudly or fast her heart was beating in that moment. He had been about to kiss her. And she would have let him. Instead, when he offered his hand, she took it, and he led the way down from the lofty new addition. He didn’t let go of her hand as they walked to his vehicle, not until they reached it, and he had to place the last of his tools inside the back. Then he turned, and with a glance to the window, he waved. There was one returned.

“Sweet dreams, Kenzie.” His warm gaze only left hers when he headed the Jeep down the driveway. When her head hit the pillow later that evening, that was indeed what she had.

*

On Thursday, shewas surprised to find that Deke had a pilot subbing for him. She hoped he wasn’t ill or whatever. Her disappointment in simply not seeing his smiling face around the office was an indication to her that she might be headed faster down that slope.

And then she worried. It wasn’t like him to miss any time. It was compounded when she was the only one showing up for a pre-planned lunch date at Coffee, Chat and Etc. with her cousins and Tallie. Tallie met her at the table with a couple of tall, iced tea glasses. “I put your order in already and it should be out in a moment. Looks like it’s you and me today.”

“What’s up with Laurel and Sammi Jo?”

“It’s all hands on deck, evidently, out at the Aces High. In fact, I hear your boss is out there, too, lending a hand with the work crews.”

“Work crews? What gives?”

“It’s all these wildfires. They have regular fire breaks along the fence lines of the Aces High... that is usual. But it seems they want to add some more reinforcements and dig a few more emergency water holes that they are going to truck in some water for. You can’t be too careful. Some of the big ranches out west learned the hard way recently that they hadn’t prepared enough. Sammi Jo and Jaxson always go an extra mile. That means they need extra hands to drive bulldozers, road graders, and move fire equipment to different areas. It’s precautionary.”

“I don’t even want to think what a fire could do out there with all the barns and buildings and livestock,” Kenzie said, feeling a shudder go through her.

“Don’t worry. It’s just better to be safe than sorry. Lives have been lost in flash wildfires in recent years, as I’m sure I don’t need to tell you in your line of work. Let’s talk about something pleasant. Did you know that Alma’s got a whole new line of the cutest skirts coming in this week? I can’t wait to get some new fashion ideas.” The rest of the meal had been about light stuff and she returned to the hospital, but also hoped that Deke was staying safe with whatever he was doing to help his family out. It wasn’t a surprise when the text had come in later that he was having to cancel out on the usual pool lessons. It had been brief and she texted back that she understood. And ended with a “stay safe” admonition.

Friday came, and when Kenzie entered the staff office, her heart fell. The substitute pilot was there, going over the day’s flights, and no sign of Deke. Kenzie quickly found out that Deke was going to be out another day. And that made it a possibility that he might not be able to keep their plans for Saturday. She needed to be ready to break the news to Brooke, who had circled the date on the calendar on their refrigerator and made an X with a red crayon as each day passed. Yes, she would be very disappointed. Kenzie didn’t take time to explore her feelings on the subject.

They had finished dinner, and Brooke had been a big help, placing the plates and silverware into the dishwasher. Kenzie topped it off with glassware and pots. She added the soap, locked the door into place, and Brooke pushed the buttons. She switched off the light.

“I’m going to brush my teeth, Mama, and then pick out my outfit for tomorrow.” She had made it to the second step when Kenzie called her back. “Let’s you and I sit down for a minute. We need to talk about tomorrow.” There had been no word from Deke, one way or another, so she needed to let Brooke know that a change of plans was at hand.

“I promise to behave tomorrow, Mama. I’ll use my best manners.”

“I know you will, sweetheart. But you also...” The phone rang. She looked at the cell phone and it was Deke. “I need to take this, so go on up and brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I’ll be up there soon.”

Kenzie clicked on, and the sound of Deke’s voice on the other end dissolved the knot in her stomach. “Hello.”

“Hi, sorry if I’m calling too late. But it’s the first chance I got today.”

“No problem. Brooke’s getting ready for bed. I know you’ve been really busy helping out at the Aces High and Hawkes’s Ranch.”

“I wanted to let you know that we’re still on for tomorrow... unless you two ladies have changed your mind.”

“You know better than that. Brooke can’t get more excited. She probably won’t sleep at all tonight.”

“That’s great. And you? I hope you might be looking forward to it also.”

“Of course.” Why would he be asking if she looked forward to getting a tour of the machine she spent a good deal of each workday inside? It wasn’t going to be that much of a thrill, but it was the thought that counted, and Brooke would be happy.

“Good. I’d pack swimsuits, just in case we find a swimming hole as we fly around. We can leave after breakfast at the Coffee, Chat and Etc. Plan to be gone most of the day. I might need to make a stop or two to handle a bit of business. But Brooke should get a good intro to flying.”

“We’ll be ready.”

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