âThank You, Honey, For Giving Me The Most Precious Gift A Woman Can Give A ManâHis Child.â
âI should be thanking you,â Kaylee said softly. âAmber is the best thing thatâs ever happened to me. From the moment I suspected I was pregnant with her, I was thrilled.â
Her quiet statement seemed to rob him of breath. All things considered, most women would have been fit to be tied by an unexpected pregnancy. âWhy, Kaylee?â Colt asked. âWhy were you happy at the prospect of having a baby?â
She leaned back to stare up at him. âBecause I knew the baby was a part of you,â she whispered.
Coltâs heart stalled, then took off at a dead run. Kaylee had welcomed his child, loved and nurtured her, even before sheâd known for sure that Amber was growing in her belly. He had a hard time expressing how much her admission meant to him. Groaning, he simply lowered his mouth to hers, letting her know without words what he was feeling.
Heâd told her they would allow their feelings to build before they took the next step in their relationship. But it had been three long years since heâd made love to her, and the need to once again make Kaylee his clouded his mind. Taking things slowly was no longer an option for them, and as she melted against him, Colt wasnât sure that it had ever been.
To professional bull rider Tater Porter, for taking the time to answer my many questions and for sharing his experience and knowledge with me. Thanks, Tater. Youâre one of the best.
To Dr. Tandy Freeman and physical trainer Dave Lammers, for giving me a tour of a PBR training room and for explaining how they assist injured riders.
And a special thank-you to the Professional Bull Riders for showing me a behind-the-scenes look at this exciting sport. Without their help the Lonetree Ranchers series would not have been possible.
As Kaylee Simpson arranged rolls of gauze and tape on a cart in the training room, the sudden hushed silence of the Ford Center crowd sent a numbing fear straight through her. There was only one reason an arena full of Professional Bull Riders fans became that quietâone of the riders was down and not moving.
Closing her eyes, she held her breath and tried not to think as she waited for the applause that would signal the rider was being helped to his feet. But with each passing minute the likelihood of that happening dwindled considerably. When she heard several sets of boots hurrying down the corridor toward the training room, she knew they were bringing the rider in on a stretcher.
Dear God, please donât let it be anyone I know, she prayed.
âGet his vitals,â Dr. Carson ordered as he entered the room followed by several other men carrying a stretcher. They hoisted it onto the examining table.
Grabbing the needed equipment, Kayleeâs hands shook as she stepped up beside the unconscious cowboy. But the moment she gazed down at the handsome face of the fallen bull rider, her heart slammed against her ribs and she felt the blood drain from her cheeks.
âColt,â she whispered out loud.
The blood pressure cuff fell from her trembling hands to the floor. She barely noticed.
âYou know this guy?â one of the paramedics asked, picking up the cuff on his way back to the arena.
Apparently he had no idea who the bull riders were. But Kaylee knew.
Unable to get words past the huge lump clogging her throat, she took the cuff from him, closed her eyes and nodded. Sheâd grown up around most of the cowboys on the PBR circuit, and until three years ago, most of them had been like brothers to her.
But the one lying on the table in front of her had always been different. Sheâd known Colt Wakefield from the time he was sixteen years old and she was ten. Heâd been her brotherâs best friend, the love of her young life and the man who had broken her heart.
âKaylee, if youâre not going to take his blood pressure, step aside and let one of the others do it,â Dr. Carson said impatiently as he ran clinical hands over Coltâs scalp.
The doctorâs sharp tone snapped her out of her shocked state and she moved to follow his directive. Placing the cuff on Coltâs arm, she pumped it full of air, then listened with the stethoscope. âHis blood pressure is one ten over seventy.â