Her Cowboy's Christmas Wish (Harlequin American Romance) by Mcdavid Cathy

Author:Mcdavid, Cathy [Mcdavid, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2011-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Is it gonna hurt?” The little girl’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

“No, I promise, sweetie.” Caitlin dabbed antibiotic ointment onto the girl’s cut with a cotton swab. “There, see?”

“Ow!” She jerked her knee away, although the ointment couldn’t possibly have stung.

The cut wasn’t serious. Caitlin had seen far worse this past week alone.

“I don’t know how she fell.” The mother anxiously smoothed her daughter’s disheveled hair. “I swear she wasn’t out of my sight more than a minute.”

“We were running, and Becky Lynn pushed me.”

The girl sat in a folding chair, the same one Ethan had occupied when Caitlin had examined his shoulder, and again when she’d helped him put his prosthesis back on. She hoped to see him today—safe and sound after his ride, not in the first-aid station for a third time.

“You and Becky Lynn have to be careful.” The mother hovered, watching every move as Caitlin placed a bandage over the cut and pressed down on the adhesive tabs. “There are a lot of people here today. You shouldn’t be running around and not paying attention.”

There were a lot of people. Caitlin hadn’t known how many to expect, considering this was Clay’s first jackpot. Someone mentioned fifty-six entrants had registered and by Caitlin’s estimation at least two hundred people packed the bleachers.

The little girl was Caitlin’s second patient this afternoon, and the event hadn’t officially started yet. She’d also treated one of Clay’s wranglers after a bull stomped on his foot while they were transferring livestock from the paddocks to the holding pens behind the chutes. Though the cowboy’s foot was only bruised and not broken, she’d advised him to take it easy for the rest of the day.

FYI, he hadn’t. She’d seen him twice so far, limping as he went about his tasks.

He reminded her of Ethan.

“Can I go now?”

“Sure thing.” Caitlin rolled down the little girl’s pant leg, covering the bandage.

She hopped off the chair and flexed her knee as if testing the bandage’s sticking power.

“What do I owe you?” her mother asked.

“Not a thing. It’s part of the service.”

“You sure? I really appreciate the help.”

“If you’d like, you can make a donation to the Powells’ Wild Mustang Sanctuary. There’s a collection jar at the chuck wagon.”

“I will.” The woman’s tentative smile bloomed.

Her daughter tugged on her hand. “Hurry, Mommy. We don’t want to miss Daddy’s ride.”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry. The bull riders go last, after the bronc riders.”

Caitlin thought of Ethan breaking Prince yesterday.

“Isn’t it hard watching your husband ride bulls?” she asked the woman, surprised at the boldness of her question. “Aren’t you afraid for him?”

“’Course I’m afraid. I start shaking the second that chute opens, and don’t stop till he waves at me from the other side of the arena fence.”

“Why put yourself through that?”

Why let him do it? was what she really wanted to know.

“My Micky’s no champion bull rider and not likely to ever be one. These jackpots, they’re his moment to shine, you know? For eight seconds, he’s king of the world.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.