Counterfeit Cowboy (25 page)

“Not in so many words, but, hell, Shel and I are real close. We always know what each other is feeling. And I’m feeling she’s got it bad for you. Now let me watch the game.”

“You better be telling the truth, boy.” Jordan headed for the bedroom. “Because I’ll be catching the next plane to New Brunswick. Joe, consider this my resignation. Travis, you’ve just become the band’s lead vocalist.”

“Well, what do you think of that? Am I a great cupid, or what?” Travis grinned at the bus driver as the door slammed behind Jordan.

“Yeah, great.” Joe grinned over at him. “Just don’t start prancing around in a diaper, with a bow and arrows. You’ve got an image to maintain.”

“You’re right.” Travis’s forehead furrowed. “Damn, Joe, the full impact of what I’ll be taking on didn’t hit me until just now. Taking over from Jordan Brooks… Man! I never in my wildest dreams saw that coming.”

“You can do it, boy. I’ve watched you on and off the stage. You’re the man for the job. Now, grab a cola and keep me company for the rest of the game. That was part of Jordan’s job, too.”

****

It was snowing hard when Jordan’s plane touched down at the Carleton airport. As he waited by the carousel for his luggage, impatience gored him. All he wanted was to get to Shelby as fast he could, tell her how he’d quit his job, how he was free to live on her farm with her, but most of all how much he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

He drew a deep breath as he hefted the last of his bags off the revolving luggage carrier. It wouldn’t be easy, not after what that bum Crowell had done to her, but he was nothing if not persistent. He reached for his cell for what he figured had to be about at least the fiftieth time, then let his hand drop. Calling wasn’t the way to do it. He had to see her face to face, where she couldn’t hang up, and make her listen, make her understand. Grabbing the last of his luggage, he headed for the car rental booth.

“Have you got anything with four-wheel drive?” He pulled his wallet from his pocket and was searching through it for his driver’s license.

The agent glanced up at him, then did a double take. “Jordan Brooks? Jordan Brooks! I’d recognize you anywhere.” He gaped, mouth open.

“Good to be recognized. Now about the vehicle?”

“Sorry, Mr. Brooks, we’re all out. In fact, all we’ve got left is one car, and the only reason it’s still in the lot is that it hasn’t had winter tires installed.”

“I’ll take it.” Jordan pulled out a credit card.

“Mr. Brooks, I can’t rent it to you. I’d lose my job if I rented an unfit vehicle…never mind to a major celebrity…the boss would kick me out on my butt.”

“I have to get somewhere fast.” Jordan threw a bunch of twenties across the desk. “For you. Sign me up.”

Shaking his head, the agent hesitated.

Jordan threw three more twenties beside the first group. Their eyes met.

“Okay, okay.” The agent pulled out the paperwork. “But if you have an accident…”

“Do you want me to sign something relieving you of responsibility? Because if you do, I will.”

“No, no, I’ll take a chance. Just make a huge effort to get that vehicle back here in one piece, okay?”

“I’ll do my best. And thanks.” Jordan scribbled his name at the bottom of the rental agreement, snatched up the keys, and headed out into the blowing snow.

Chapter Twenty

“Looks as if we’re heading into the worst blizzard of the winter.” The weather forecaster stood in front of his map and indicated the Carleton area. “Motorists are advised to stay off the roads except in cases of extreme emergency. White-out conditions are being reported along Chaleur Bay and other coastal areas. Power outages can be expected.”

Shelby pulled the quilt more securely about her and huddled back on the couch in front of the television set. Thank heavens no one she knew was out in this terrible night. As the wind rattled the windows and howled down the chimney, she gazed into the fire on the hearth and suddenly thought of Jordan. Where was he tonight? Had his show been cancelled because of the weather? Was he having a well-deserved rest?

She remembered him making hot, sweet tea when Midnight Fantasy had died, and a warm sensation settled around her heart. He was a good man. She wished it could have worked out for them. But it hadn’t, and never would, so there was no point in speculating.

“This just in. There’s been an accident on the shore road about ten miles out of Carleton.” The newscaster’s voice broke in on her daydreams and she perked up to listen, hoping it wasn’t a friend or neighbor.

“In a single-vehicle accident, a car skidded off a bridge and over an embankment. The driver, identified as country-western music star Jordan Brooks, had to be removed from the vehicle by the Jaws of Life. As yet we have no report on his condition, only that he’s been taken to Carleton General Hospital. More details as they come in.”

“Oh, my God!” Shelby leaped to her feet. Jordan injured, no way of knowing how badly. He had to have been on his way to Ebony Farm. There was no other place he could possibly have been headed. He must have had something important to say to her, as important as what she should have said to him. Now…

For a few moments she stood in a frenzy, not knowing what to do. She didn’t have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, only the old farm truck that definitely couldn’t handle the snow-clogged roads.

But she did know someone who did. She pulled out her cell and dialed.

****

“You picked one hell of night to want to go for a drive.” Andy Crowell, muffled in a sheepskin-lined rancher’s coat, looked over its wooly turned-up collar at her as she jumped into his SUV in a snowsuit, mittens, and toque.

A slow grin cracked his lips, and she remembered that, above all, they’d always been friends.

“Thanks, Andy. I’m really, really grateful.”

“That Brooks guy is one lucky bugger, is all I can say.”

He heaved a deep breath and shifted into drive.

“You’ll find someone, Andy. Someone away better than me.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. Fasten your seatbelt. This promises to be a wild ride.”

****

“He’ll be okay.” Andy Crowell covered the hands she held clasped into white knuckles with one of his big, warm ones as they sat in the family room outside the ICU.

“I wish I could be sure of that.” She looked over at him and batted back tears.

“You really love the guy, don’t you?” Sincere brown eyes looked into her face, and she couldn’t deny it.

“Sorry, Andy, but I do. I know it’s crazy. His lifestyle and mine are light years apart, but still…”

“Maybe not, Shel. He was coming back to you. Maybe he’s decided to quit being a rhinestone cowboy and become a genuine horse wrangler.”

“Too much to hope for. He has those boys in his band to take care of, and…”

“Family of Jordan Brooks?” A doctor in scrubs stepped into the room and looked questioningly at the only two inhabitants.

“Fiancée and brother.” Andy was on his feet with a quick reply, as Shelby did a sharp intake of breath at his lie. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s out of surgery and regaining consciousness.” The doctor drew a deep breath. “Looks hopeful, but he’ll need to stay here a week or more, and then there’ll be a lot of recovery time, somewhere quiet. Jumping around on a concert stage definitely won’t be on his agenda for several months, at least.”

“We have just the place, don’t we, Shel?” Andy turned to her, and she saw the kindness and concern of a true friend in his expression.

“Yes, we do.” She reached out to take his hand. “A nice, quiet farm with people who love him and will give him the best of care.”

****

“Jordan?” She spoke softly as she took a chair by his bed. “Jordan, it’s Shelby.”

She’d been appalled when she was ushered into the room with machines blinking and beeping and saw his head swathed in bandages down to his forehead. One leg, lying on top of the sheet, was encased in a heavy cast. But it had been only for a moment. Then she’d rallied.

Slowly his eyes opened, narrow slits in a bruised and battered face. He moved dry, cracked lips to silently mouth her name.

“Don’t try to talk.” She put her hand over his bandaged one that sprouted an IV tube. “I’ll be right here as long as you need me. And as soon as the doctor says it’s okay, I’m taking you back to Ebony Farm to recover. It’s beautiful out there now. You can watch the horses run in the snow. Of course, that albino gelding you gave me is hard to spot…”

Her attempt at a joke choked her, and she had to cough aside tears. Beneath her hand, his fingers stirred.

“I love you, Jordan Brooks.” She looked up at him, feeling the tears swimming in her eyes and not caring. “I love you, and I’ll always be there for you, no matter where you travel with your band. I want to marry you, and I’ll be proposing to you just as soon as you’re well enough to respond. So start thinking about your answer.”

Again the feeble movement of fingers, and his lips twitched at the corners in what she took as an attempt to smile.

“You have to leave now, Doctor.” A nurse touched her gently on the shoulder. “Mr. Brooks needs to rest.”

“Of course.” Shelby bent and placed a gentle kiss on his discolored cheek. “But I won’t be far. Sleep and get better, my darling.”

****

“So?” Andy Crowell greeted her back in the waiting room.

“So, looks good.” She sank into a chair and felt a wheeze of relief escape. “Andy, I told him I’m going to propose to him as soon as he’s well. Crazy, huh?”

“Not crazy at all…if you love the guy. Who says women should wait for us men to make a move?” He sat down beside her and grinned.

“Thanks, Andy. And I’m truly sorry it couldn’t have been you and me. We’ve been friends so long.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t much of a friend when I jumped into bed with Michelle, was I?” He clasped his hands between his spread knees and focused on them. “I was just so crazy jealous of you and Mr. Superstar that I decided to show you I could bed a celebrity, too. Pretty high school, right?”

“Kind of. Especially since you know Michelle as well as I do and that you’d just be another guy in her queue.”

“I wasn’t expecting happily ever after.”

“Good. Then you weren’t disappointed.”

“How about a coffee?” He changed the subject and stood. “There’s a cafeteria down the hall.”

A tall, dark, pretty nurse walked by, smiled at him, and his gaze followed her.

“She’s probably headed in the same direction, for her break.” Shelby winked up at him. “Come on, my friend. Get back in the game. It’s about time.”

“Ya think?” A grin quirked up one corner of his mouth. “Yeah, sure, why not? If I can’t have a doctor, a nurse might just fill the bill.”

He winked and started off in pursuit. Shelby heaved a sigh of relief. Things were shaping up.

****

“Mrs. Brooks? It’s Shelby, Shelby Masters.” Shelby clutched her cell to her ear after Andy had left in pursuit of the nurse. “I’m at the hospital with Jordan now. He’s going to be fine. Yes, I know the newscasts made it sound bad, but, trust me, he’s out of danger. No, I don’t think there’s any need for you come immediately, not with such bad road conditions.” Shelby fingered her cell for a moment, then sucked in a deep breath and continued, “Mrs. Brooks, I hope you won’t think I was taking advantage of your son while he’s vulnerable, but I told him I’m going to propose to him as soon as he’s well…and he squeezed my hand. Do you think that might mean he’s going to accept?”

She listened with bated breath, and then a smile broke over her lips. “Yes, I think so, too. I’m glad you’re happy. Now I have to go. I see Jordan’s doctor coming down the corridor, and I want to speak to him again. Yes, yes, most definitely I’ll keep you posted. No, don’t start out in this storm. If my plans work out, I’ll be inviting all of your family to come to Ebony Farm later this winter, when the weather is more cooperative.” She paused, then finished, “I love your son, and I’ll do everything in my power to make him happy.”

She signed off, then hurried after the doctor, a warm glow in her heart.

“Doctor…” She caught up to him. “Any more news?”

“Yes.” He stopped and turned to her, a slow smile kinking his lips. “He appears to have taken a sudden turn for the better after your visit. Maybe something you said?”

“I hope so, Doctor. I sincerely hope so.”

****

Two days later, Shelby went into Jordan’s hospital room to find the bed empty. Her heart froze. Surely he hadn’t taken a turn for the worse, surely he…

“Doctor Masters?” the pretty brunette nurse that had caught Andy’s eye came in behind her, smiling when Shelby turned to her. “He’s in the solarium. Doctor Bradly said he could get up for a while.”

“Thank you.” A huge wave of relief gushed over her as she turned and headed down the hall to the door the nurse indicated.

“Oh, and Molly?” She paused and turned back at the entrance.

“Yes?” The nurse looked at her.

“I’m glad you took my friend Andy up on that date. He’s a great guy.”

“He seems to be. Anyhow, we’ll see what develops.”

With a smile, Molly Murdock turned back in the opposite direction.

Playing cupid, Shelby? For shame. But it doesn’t hurt to push things along.

“Howdy, cowboy.” She paused at the door of the bright room where Jordan sat in a wheelchair staring out at the sun-diamonded snow. “How’re you doin’, my man?”

At the sound of her voice, he turned too quickly and grimaced. “Good, but not good enough.”

She stooped and planted a kiss on the top of his bandaged head. “You’re looking much better.”

“I hope so. I couldn’t look much worse than I did when I got my first glimpse in the mirror yesterday.”

“You’re always the handsomest, sexiest man I know.” She sat down across from him and drew her chair close to his. “But you look positively pensive, even worried. Why? Your prognosis is terrific. With time, you’ll be right as rain and…”

“Shelby, it’s Paulie…Paul, the keyboard member of my band. His girl broke up with him and he fell off the wagon.”

“Fell off the wagon…?”

“Back on drugs. Got away from Joe and bought a stash. He’s in hospital in Toronto, not in good shape. I should be with him. If I hadn’t left them alone, this wouldn’t have happened. Thank God Joe found him before the cops did, but still…”