Page 167 of Cowboy Daddies

“Are you stating your word is no good?”

“Of course not!” Well, not when he’d reminded me of how bartering had gotten me to agree to that specific subject to draw. “I’m just saying that I believe realism helps in drawings of living things, and since I don’t have any true experience⁠—”

“Yet—” Lincoln cut in to say which had my face beginning to feel a trifle hot.

“Um, right. So, I’m afraid there won’t be any such drawing⁠—”

“Yet—”

This time when he cut me off, he dropped his hand beneath the table’s surface to pat against my hip which had my mind going completely blank.

“Ummm, ummmm…”

“Livvy, I washed your clothes but, Lincoln, I’m afraid… oops, never mind.”

Saved by the bell!

“No, no, it’s fine, and thanks, Kate, that was really sweet,” I said as she set a pile of folded clothes on the table.

Lincoln gave my hip another pat and then straightened. “What can I help you with, Kate?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I ran it through the cycle twice and used bleach, but I’m afraid your sheet is ruined. Next time you eat in bed, leave the barbecue sauce in the kitchen.” Kate showed him a bundle of cloth she was holding. There were definite stains on its surface.

“It’s not barbecue sauce, it’s blood,” Lincoln said as he moved back around the table.

“Blood? Oh my god, Luther, you didn’t tell me anyone was hurt!” Kate whirled around to glare at Luther who was elbow deep in soapsuds.

“No one was hurt, babe…”

“Hey, she wasn’t no one!” I said causing Kate to spin again to stare at me.

“Oh, Livvy, I thought you’d just sprained your ankle! How can you even think of taking her out of the hospital, Lincoln! She’s lost a lot of⁠—”

“She’s a cow!” Lincoln and I said at the same time, which had me connecting dots of a puzzle I should have already completed.

“I’m guessing she’s one of yours?” I asked as Kate sank down into the chair I’d just vacated.

“And I’m guessing you’re the one who played Florence Nightingale and provided first aid out in the field?”

“Well, it was more like in the middle of the woods, but, yes.”

“Hold on!” Kate lifted her hands and then grimaced as she dropped the sheet to the floor. “Start from the beginning.”

Which was how instead of feeling abandoned while the others went about their day, they rejoined me at the table as Lincoln and I caught them up. By the time Kate’s blood pressure was back to normal, I’d also been brought up to speed and learned that my patient had not one new baby but two.

“Let’s go,” I said, swinging my ankle off the stool. When Lincoln growled, I was ready and reached over to tap at his watch. “According to your math, I’m good to go. In fact, I gave it an extra couple of minutes.” As his eyes dropped to check the time, I stood and learned that there was no exact moment that all healing was magically complete. I shifted my weight onto my good leg. “Um, would you hand me my crutches, please, Daddy.”

It was actually sort of sweet to watch the tug of war going on in Lincoln’s head, or perhaps it was his heart, as he hesitated.

“I promise, if my ankle really begins to hurt, I’ll let you know. But, please, I really, really, really, really want to see the babies.”

“Fine, but I’m holding you to that, and I’m drawing the line at stairs, deal?”

Pretty certain not making the deal would assure I’d be sitting here the entire day, I stuck out my hand. “You drive a hard bargain, Daddy, but it’s a deal!”

He chuckled as he shook my hand. “Babygirl, you let me catch you breaking that deal and you’ll learn the definition of hard. Understood?”

And I don’t think he means the good kind of hard.