“It’ll make the annulment that much tougher. Besides, we’re going to be too busy between now and then for much time alone anyway.”
“It was pretty amazing,” he said.
“Yep,” she agreed.
“So what’s on our agenda for tonight?” he asked.
“If you want to come over, we could play dominoes with Daddy,” she suggested.
“Sounds great. I’ll be there at seven-thirty,” he told her.
She sighed and put the phone back in her pocket. From the time she was old enough to know that boys were different from girls, she’d felt something for Paxton Baker. Then there was that incident when he kissed her. The next day she’d made up her mind to apologize for slapping him, but when she found him, he and Amanda Sue Williams were behind the school buses with their lips locked.
“Boys!” she muttered. “They think they’re the only ones who feel rejection?”
She started up the tractor engine, put her earbuds in, and started the playlist in her phone.
* * *
Pax threw his tools in the back of the old ranch work truck and was about to get into the cab when his phone rang. He saw that it was Alana and answered it before he even started the engine.
“I need help,” she said.
“Right now?” he asked.
“This very minute. I got a call from Daddy. Can you go with me to Plainview to get him? He’s confused. I can drive him home, but I’ll need someone to bring my vehicle back,” she said. “He’s sittin’ on the side of the road.”
“Broke down?” Pax started up the engine, then changed his mind.
“No, he’s lost and doesn’t know what to do.”
“I can be there by the time you get your truck fired up if you don’t mind me coming as I am,” he said.
“I don’t care how you look. I’m a mess too. I’d just walked into the house after plowing all day in an open cab tractor,” she told him. “So I’m sure not a beauty queen right now, and I don’t smell like roses.”
“I’m on my way!”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you being able to help,” she told him and ended the call.
Pax was completely out of breath when he jumped into Alana’s passenger seat and strapped the seat belt across his chest. The truck’s air-conditioning felt good on his sweaty body, but he sure would have preferred a dip in that cold creek where they’d spent the night before.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Daddy said that he was coming home from Tulia and got turned around.” Her voice cracked. “He was going to the vet’s for some calf medicine. I was out on the tractor when he called. I figured he’d driven over there and right back home, but he never made it.” She gripped the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white. She sounded as if she would break into tears any minute.
“Pull over and let me drive,” Pax said.
She shook her head. “It’ll take too long.”
“Hold one of your hands out.”
“I can’t.” Those two words were tough for her to get out. “They’re shaking too bad. I need them both to drive.”
“You need to let me drive, darlin’.” He kept his voice as steady as he could. “If you wreck and kill us, who’ll take care of Matt?”
She braked so hard that she left skid marks on the pavement, hopped out of the truck, ran around the back side, and Pax met her coming the other way.
“Need a hug?” he asked.
“Maybe later.” She passed him without even slowing down.
He got behind the wheel and sped down the dirt road. He didn’t slow down until he had to turn south on Highway 27. With her hands still trembling, Alana pulled out her phone and punched in a phone number.
“This is Alana Carey. I’m Matthew Carey’s daughter.” She hit the speaker icon and laid the phone on the console between her and Pax.
“This is Doctor Winslow. What can I do for you?”
She explained the situation. “I read everything you sent home with him, plus I looked up everything I could find on the Internet. Nothing said anything about confusion or memory loss.”
“That’s a side effect of the medicine I gave him, hopefully to slow down the growth of the tumor. Now you have a decision to make. Do you want him to live a little longer or have a clear mind for what time he has left? If you decide on the latter, then simply throw away the pills. I’m so sorry to have to tell you this. The meds