Lass Small - Taken By A Texan

Rip took a silent, patient breath when he realized the stupid nurse was there. But then she said, “His sister would like to see you.”

Hell.

He’d thought, at that time of the morning, visitors wouldn’t be underfoot. It was for the dog that he was there. The dog was superior. But he was restless and anxious.

Why on earth had the dog gotten tangled up with an owner who was so stupid? Poor dog. Just maybe, the man would allow Rip to take the dog off his hands. If not permanently, at least getting away for a while from the pilgrim would be a respite for the dog.

There was the snippy nurse saying, “—and this is Rip Morris” to a woman who had just approached them.

Rip looked at the pilgrim’s sister with naked eyes of shock. The sun-squint lines beside his eyes disappeared and there were the white lines that had been hidden by the sun squint. His lips parted, and he looked vulnerable. He was.

Rip had not heard her name.

The woman held out her hand and her handshake was a good firm one that didn’t tickle or rub or flirt. Her hand was small but her grip was just right. So were her eyes.

The irises were blue and she wore a hell of a lot of mascara or she’d had those false eyelashes planted. If she blinked the wind from those lashes might knock him back a step. He said, “How do you do.” No question. She needn’t reply.

Then he realized she wasn’t interested in him. Thank God for that. Women tended to be pushy.

She was saying, “—first there. Thank you.”

He nodded. She wasn’t moving her body to call attention to herself. She was just talking about her brother.

Because it had baffled them all, Rip asked the sister, “Why was he out there?”

“I haven’t heard.” That’s what she replied. She did not expand on it. She wasn’t particularly interested in visiting. She just wanted to thank the first person there who had helped her stupid brother.

Of course, she didn’t call her brother stupid. That was only Rip’s I.D. for him. Rip asked again, “Why the hell was he out there all alone, on that plain? The grass was too low even for grazing. Who the hell would be out that way if he got in trouble?”

“You were.”

“That’s only because the dog came limping in, and Tom Keeper called me.”

And she said in a level manner, “Oh. Then it’s Tom Keeper whom I must thank.”

Somehow that stuck in Rip’s craw. “I’ll pass the word along.”

“How nice.”

Rip frowned at her. Snippy. Who cared what she was? Not him. He took the dog over to the hospital bed and told the nurse, “He’s had a bath and been defleaed.”

She grinned.

Now that’s how women were supposed to react. But his face didn’t smile nor did he look at the nurse. He looked at the man on the bed. Andrew Parsons. He looked like a parson from olden times. Probably was a descendant of one. He told the silent man, “Your dog is here to see to you. Open your eyes and look at him so’s he’ll know you’re okay.”

The nurse protested, “He’s drug—”

But with some effort, Andrew opened his eyes and his head turned very, very slowly. The dog put his paws on the side of the bed and he made an anxious throat sound.

Andrew’s hand came slowly, slowly up and sideways until it touched the dog’s neck.

The dog licked Andrew’s hand, the nurse gasped and reached, but Rip’s hands stopped her and he wouldn’t let her go.

She was furious, but she looked up at Rip who was simply watching the dog. So she did also, and the dog licked the man’s hand again.

Rip murmured to the nurse, “Good, clean dog spit.”

She shuddered.

But there was the slightest smile on Andrew’s face. His eyes closed. There was a long exhale of breath and his body seemed to dissolve. There were several gasps there in the room. All female.

Rip looked at the sister. She was watching her brother intently. The nurse took Andrew’s wrist and felt the heartbeat She’d thought he’d died. His breathing was so slow. But it was steady. He had sunk down into deep sleep.

The dog looked at Rip. He told the dog, “He’s okay. You can stay fifteen minutes, then we’ll go home and you can come back this afternoon.”

Rip was actually letting the nurse know how he was going to let the dog come visit. She took a protesting breath, but the floor doctor was at the door.

The doctor came inside the room and took up Andrew’s wrist. The doctor didn’t push the dog aside but left him with his forefeet on the side of the bed.

The doctor lifted one of Andrew’s eyelids and listened to his breaths, then he said, “He’s sleeping very nicely. He needs to sleep. This has been a very tough time.” Then he turned to Rip and smiled. And he said, “Thank you for bringing his dog up. Do it again this afternoon. Andrew has been restless and frowning. Obviously, he’s been worried about the dog. Knowing the dog is all right, Andrew will rest better.”

“When’s the best time?” That was Rip’s response to the obvious logic.

“We’ll stimulate him and shift him. We’ll wake him about two. Come then.”

“Okay.”

“—and bring the dog.”

“Off course.”

As Rip left the room with the dog, the patient’s sister followed. She had not protested the dog or the man, and it was now that she said, “Thank you for bringing Buddy along.”

“So that’s his name?” Rip found himself looking at the snippy woman. She was a looker without doing anything about it. She didn’t have on any makeup other than those eyelashes and her hair was casual.

She said, “Andrew and Buddy are good friends... buddies.”

“That’s why the dog went looking for help.”

“Is that how you found him?”

“The son of our boss, Tom Keeper, saw the dog first. He sent out the alarm. He was on horseback. I had a plane. I took Buddy and flew low and we found him...Andrew.” And again Rip asked, “What the hell was Andrew doing out in that territory?”

“I have no idea.”

About then, the doctor came up the corridor and smiled as he said, “There’s a boy who should see Buddy. Would you mind taking a little more time?”

Being a loner, visiting wasn’t one of the things Rip chose to do. But how could he refuse when he knew the dog was a curious creature? Actually, the dog was nosy. So Rip said to the doctor, “Lead the way.”

The thing that surprised Rip most was that the sister... whose name he hadn’t heard... was following. She must be bored just sitting next to her sleeping brother. But then, what good would that do, just sitting by a man who was entirely out of it?

So what’s-her-name went along. She had a good, easy walk.

The doctor told Rip, “There’s a very lonely boy whose home is a long way from here. He has brothers and sisters who call him, but he doesn’t have any visitors. He, too, has a bad leg. But his is broken.”

The boy’s name was Chuck. He lay in bed with his leg elevated somewhat by a complicated bunch of wires. He was pale and very quiet. He was watching TV.

In an aside, the doctor said to Rip, “Thank God for TV children’s shows.”

Two nurses said softly, “Amen.”

Andrew’s sister asked, “But do the kids get together and watch?”

The doctor nodded. “Those who can walk. Some of them come here, if they’re not too ill.”

The doctor went in the boy’s room. “Hello, Chuck. May I bring in a friend?”

The boy turned his head slowly. “Yeah.”

And the dog came in alertly, looking. Did he expect to see Andrew again? He put his feet up against the high bed and looked at the patient.

The boy was delighted! “Hello!” he exclaimed. “How’d you get inside?”

And the doctor said, “His master is in the hospital. He’s asleep. The dog’s name is Buddy. I thought you might like to know him.”

Chuck smiled and put out his hand. The dog, Buddy, gave the boy’s hand a lick, and Chuck smiled as he petted the dog.

It was a nice thing to watch. But the doctor had to leave and did so quietly.

The nurse said to Chuck, “Don’t put your hand on your face or in your mouth until I’ve washed it.”

They all laughed, but the important laugh was Chuck’s.

After fifteen minutes, the nurse in charge reluctantly signaled Rip to leave. Rip told Chuck, “We’ll see you this afternoon.”

Another visit from the dog was something for the boy to anticipate.

The nurses were charming in their goodbyes.

Andrew’s sister watched those people leave before she said to Rip, “Thank you for coming. Andrew will be so glad to see Buddy again this afternoon. I know keeping the dog and bringing him here takes your time. Is Buddy a problem for you?”

“Naw. He just goes along with me. He likes flying.”

She actually looked at him as she asked, “What sort of flying do you do?”

He returned her look, and he found he liked the way she watched him. He told her, “I look at crops, at the height of grasses, for vans that are off the highway and could be rustlers after cattle...and I look for people who don’t have cellular phones and can be lost.”

She watched him soberly. “...or trapped under a dead horse.”

“I mostly look for our guys. Andrew is my first foreigner.” Well, he wasn’t from another land, so Rip added, “A nonresident...trespasser.” His tongue just added that. It was true. Andrew hadn’t had permission to trod on acreage that was private land.

Andrew’s sister guessed, “He was where he wasn’t supposed to be?”

“Exactly.” Then without his permission, Rip’s tongue just went on, “He could have gone to any highway rest stop and inquired as to how he might go anywhere. There are state cops at almost all the rest stops. They give information. Nobody intrudes on private lands. And to go over a fence and out on the lands and get lost is a great nuisance for the owners and crews on the places. It takes our time and concern. We are busy people.”

“How are you managing?” She gestured. Then, realizing that wasn’t enough, she added, “Coming here and taking care of Buddy?”

Rip looked at Andrew’s sister and thought it was probably a good thing he didn’t know her name. She lured him. He didn’t want that kind of serious, unknowing lure. He sighed and said, “I manage. He’s a good dog. My boss gives me the time to bring him to see the pilgrim.” He almost instantly bit his lip.

“Pilgrim?”

It was not a kind name. Rip had used it to mean a person who’d landed where nobody wanted him. So Rip said, “Uhhh. Well, he was new to us.”

Andrew’s sister nodded. Then she said, “If anything... changes...I could call you and save you the time coming into town. Is there a phone number where I can reach you?”

He asked, “What’s your name?”

“Lu.”

Thoughtfully tilting his head back, Rip questioned, “Wasn’t there a song about a lady named Lu?”

“Probably. My dad named me. He’s a...different person. He baffles my mother.”

Without any warning, Rip found himself blurting, “I never knew my parents.” His teeth went back into his lower lip. They should have stayed there.

Lu guessed. “You left home as soon as you could.”

“Yeah.” They’d left him. He watched her a minute with his eyes slitted. He’d never given his phone number to any woman. “Don’t you give my number to anybody, do you hear me?”

She began to smile. “Women throw themselves in front of your car?”

“Any man gets tired of being hounded.”

“Hounded.” She tasted the word. Then she inquired with the slightest smile, “You’re implying women are...hounds?”