One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,3

of Lemon Massey floated before his face. He jerked, realizing the direction his thoughts were taking. Daydreaming about Lemon was futile. It had been happening ever since he thought he saw her at the rodeo.

He channeled his thoughts back to the wedding he’d just attended. Watching how Ramsey looked at Hartley as they cut the cake. Well, it kind of got to Jaxson. He pushed aside the despondency with a steely resolve. If he couldn’t have the woman he wanted, he’d just have to love all the rest. He grinned thinly at the thought. When he got home, he’d call Tillie, see if she’d like to go to dinner tomorrow night. Heck, maybe he’d even line up a date for Friday night as well. Angelica liked to dance. He could take her to Randy’s Dance Hall. Or better yet, he’d just go by himself and meet someone new. His spirits lifted. Yeah, that was the ticket … time to explore some new pasture. Maybe the grass really was greener on the other side.

Intermittent raindrops splashed on the windshield. He peered up into the dark sky. A second later, the ceiling gave way, and a solid sheet of water splashed down. He turned on the wipers, reducing his speed. The road was slick. He tightened his hold on the steering wheel, feeling a pinch of alarm when his tires lost traction with the road. An instant later, the tires connected again. His pickup truck didn’t handle great in rain. The bed was too light. Thankfully, he wasn’t far from home. He flinched, his head instinctively ducking into his shoulders, when a loud clap of thunder rattled the windows.

He rounded a corner. It ran through his mind that a woman was standing in the middle of the road, her wet clothes pressed to her slender body. The headlights illuminated the woman’s face. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Not again!

“Lemon?” he gasped, turning the wheel sharply to miss her. The movement sent the truck sliding off the road. Panic raced through his veins as he tried to regain control. He saw the tree coming at him, then felt the brunt force at the same time he heard the splintering crash.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Birdie cried as she rushed into the room, still in a formal dress and heels from the wedding. She ran over to Jaxson’s side. Tears gathered in her eyes as she surveyed Jaxson up and down, her gaze settling on his wrapped ankle, propped up on a stack of pillows.

Jaxson grimaced. “I’m doing tolerably well … considering. According to the doc, I have a couple of bruised ribs.” His torso felt like it had been beat to a pulp. He was forced to take shallow breaths to temper the pain.

Knox stepped up behind Birdie. “You look like you came out on the wrong side of a bar brawl.” His azure eyes radiated concern.

“Tell me about it,” Jaxson grunted.

Knox motioned to his ankle. “What’s the word?”

“I’m still waiting for the x-rays to come back. They think I have a hairline fracture. It’s taking forever to get the results,” he muttered. “This place is slower than a turtle wading through molasses.”

Birdie reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I’m just glad you’re okay. When we got the news …” her voice caught, a fat tear rolling down her cheek “… I feared the worst. The whole family was freaked out, even Ramsey.”

Jaxson’s jaw grew slack. “What? You called Ramsey?”

Birdie nodded. “Right before his plane took off. We told him that you were okay, though. Officer Williams was kind enough to call your daddy and update him on the situation.”

“I’m okay,” Jaxson assured her. “It’ll take more than a tree to do me in,” he bragged with a laugh and then winced in pain.

“Take it easy there, tiger.” Knox gave him an astute look that spoke volumes. Daddy knew how rattled Jaxson was. He also knew his oldest son was using humor to minimize the gravity of the situation. “It’s a miracle that you came out as well as you did,” Knox stated firmly.

“It is,” Jaxson agreed. He’d already said half a dozen silent prayers, thanking God for preserving his life.

“What happened?” Birdie asked in the subdued tone of one still trying to come to grips with all that was happening.

For the past several hours, ever since the paramedics had brought him here to the hospital, Jaxson had been running the events through his mind. Did he dare admit