Page 5 of Wounded Cowboy
“I’m sorry.” He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Realizing he’d put his girls in danger shook him to his core.
What if Abby had broken her neck instead of spraining her wrist? And April, who’d apparently fallen through the treehouse’s rotten floor, could’ve been hurt far worse than a scraped knee and a few bruises.
He absolutely couldn’t let something like this happen again.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” Abby whispered, throwing her good arm around his neck and squeezing.“We promise not to climb the tree until you fix it.”
The screen door banged open behind them and Kelsey emerged with the first aid kit and a Ziploc bag filled with crushed ice. She carried a box of Kleenex tucked under one arm.
As Spring took the big plastic case from her, he noticed how Kelsey’s eyes were filled with warmth and concern. Her long black hair framed her face and poured over her bare shoulders like a silken waterfall. He tried to push away the uncomfortable feeling of attraction that stirred within him.
“I guess you don’t need the tissues anymore,” Kelsey announced cheerfully, kneeling next to Abby.
Spring opened an antiseptic wipe and focused on cleaning April’s scraped knee while Kelsey extracted a roll of elastic support bandage and skillfully wrapped Abby’s injured wrist. Spring guessed she’d had first aid training, and relaxed a little.
April whimpered as the antiseptic stung, flinching in pain as Spring did his best to gently cleanse her wound.
Then Kelsey worked a miracle.“Hey, April, Abby, do you know the story about Princess Lily and her fall from her tower?”
April stopped squirming under Spring’s touch.“No. What’s the story about?”
“Tell us the story, Ms. Kelsey!” urged Abby, her arm resting in Kelsey’s lap as Kelsey continued winding the bandage around her wrist and hand.
“Okay,” Kelsey agreed, smiling.“Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there was a brave princess named Lily who lived in a tall, enchanted tower. One sunny day, while she was playing with her magical bird friends, she slipped and fell.”
April gasped. Her eyes widened.“Oh, no!”
“Oh no!” Abby echoed.
Spring scowled at Kelsey.What the hell kind of story is she telling my girls?he wondered silently.
“Don’t worry,” Kelsey reassured them.“But Princess Lily wasn’t scared, because she remembered her secret: she had a special parachute hidden in her dress!”
“Like a NASA space capsule!” Abby exclaimed.
Kelsey nodded, grinning.“Just like that! As Princess Lily floated gently to the ground, the friendly forest animals gathered around to cheer her on. When she landed safely, they all had a big celebration with flowers, songs, and her favorite treats. Princess Lily learned that even when you fall, you can always find a way to soar again, surrounded by friends who love you.”
“That’s a great story,” April said.“Do you know any stories about dinosaurs?”
Before Kelsey could answer, Spring’s brother-in-law, Nick Evans, approached them with a concerned expression on his face.
“What happened here?” he asked.“I heard screaming just before Kelsey ran over here. Do we need to take the girls to the hospital?”
“The girls fell out of the treehouse,” Kelsey said matter-of-factly.“Just some minor injuries.” She looked over at Spring.“Do you want to take Abby to get her wrist X-rayed?”
Spring nodded, feeling a familiar wave of guilt wash over him.“I’ve been meaning to fix up that treehouse, but things have been real busy since my dad turned the place over to me.”
“Well, Spring, Winnie and I could give you a hand fixing up that treehouse,” Nick began. He smiled wryly.“You know, since we fix up old houses for living.”
It was a tempting offer. Winnie was a licensed general contractor and Nick a well-known historical preservationist.
But the treehouse was Spring’s responsibility, and he’d been raised not to shove off his work on other people.
“I appreciate the offer, Nick, but no thanks,” Spring said briskly.“I’ve got everything under control.”
“Mm-hm.” Nick looked skeptical. He cleared his throat.“Which reminds me—I’ve been meaning to ask you: would you consider hiring Kelsey here to watch your girls while you’re working?”
“Your daughters are so sweet. I’d love to take care of them.” Kelsey looked up from her task, a warm smile gracing her lips.“Besides, Nick doesn’t need me anymore since Kegan’s older now,” she added.“Maybe I could help out with cooking and light housekeeping too, if that’d make things easier.”
