Danger on the Mountain by Carolyn LaRoche

Author:Carolyn LaRoche
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Chapter Ten

The sun hurt her smoke-irritated eyes. Layla groaned and turned away from the window, getting herself all tangled up in wires and hoses again. The machine beside her bed beeped like crazy.

"Damn it!" she muttered, trying to find the call button for the nurse. Just as she located it, the door opened.

"Everything okay in here?" a pleasant-faced older woman asked as she hustled over to the IV pump and hit a few buttons. The room fell silent instantly.

"Thank you so much," Layla said as she leaned back against her pillows. "Could you close the blinds too, please? That sun is hurting my eyes."

"Sure will." She pulled the curtains closed, leaving only a small opening for natural light to filter in. "The irritation will go away in a day or two. The doctor will send you home with some drops to soothe them. You are a very lucky girl, you know."

Layla nodded. "So I keep hearing. If Ben hadn't been there—" Her words fell away as she looked at the empty chair beside her bed. He had actually listened to her and left. Her heart ached a little, but she ignored it. It was what she'd wanted, right? "When do I get out of here?"

"As soon as the doc comes by and clears you." The nurse stuck a little meter on her finger and watched as the numbers climbed. When it beeped, she took it away then started removing the oxygen and IV lines. "Your oxygen saturation is much better than last night, almost normal. You're just going to have to take it easy for a day or two. Give those lungs of yours a chance to right themselves." The nurse jotted a few things down on her chart and left.

The room was too quiet. At least when Ben had been there, she had someone to talk to despite the fact that all they seemed to do was argue.

She closed her eyes and thought about what awaited her when she got home. The barn would be nothing but rubble. She needed to call the insurance company and start getting it cleared away. Then there was the issue of shelter for the cows, Domino, and the other horses. She could send her ranch hands to a home improvement store for some kind of temporary shelter. That was about the best she could do for that.

What she really needed to do was find a way home since she’d sent Ben away.

A small part of her had thought he would be stubborn and refuse to leave. Okay, if she were being totally honest, a large part of her had hoped he would see right through her and know she didn't want to be alone. That same part had also hoped he’d gotten over whatever it was that haunted him so he would give whatever it was they’d started a real chance.

A simple touch from Ben set her insides on fire. She wanted to kiss him, repeatedly, every time they were in proximity to each other.

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