lief of the four overprotective cowboys surrounding her in the examining room. That seemed like forever ago to her now.
Jessie waited for him to wake up. The doctors had told them all that it could happen any time. As the seconds ticked away, Jessie’s worry began to expand.
She’d been stretching out her brain, thinking about what she’d learned during her investigations and interviews, and turning over every fact and discovery, no matter how insignificant. All her mental aerobics were to find any inkling of who might be behind the accidents and danger to the mine, to her, and now, also to her men.
Paul King had been the obvious choice of villain, but he was dead. Who then? No name rose to the surface.
“What time is it?” she asked Denver.
“Five minutes after you asked me the last time, sweetheart.”
Maude snapped, “Don’t be a smart-ass, nephew. Answer her. I want to know, too. You’re our unofficial timekeeper.”
He laughed. “Six fifteen.”
Jessie peeked around the corner at the hospital’s glass doors. The sun was coming up. It had been a very long night. Please wake up, Austin. Her anxiety vibrated inside her like a live wire.
“Honey, did I ever tell you about how I came to Wilde?” Maude asked, clearly hoping to distract everyone.
“Maybe, but tell me again.”
“I came here to talk some sense into my crazy sister’s head. Guess what?”
“What?”
She laughed and grabbed her husbands’ hands. “I went crazy for these two cowboys.”
“Tell me how that happened.”
“You’ve gone and done it, Jessie.” Tobias stood up.
“What did I do?”
“Don’t you want to hear how your dads and I met, son?” Maude giggled.
He shook his head and turned to Jessie. “You’ll enjoy the story. It’s a good one. But after you’ve heard it five hundred times—”
Maude sent him a loving wink. “But you were so cute back then.”
Jessie grinned. “You’ve got to be exaggerating, Tobias. Five hundred?”
“And twenty-five, at a minimum. That’s it. I knew I should’ve gone to the cafeteria with my brothers. Cousins, have any of you thought your girl might be hungry?”
Jackson looked at Jessie. “Are you, darlin’?”
“Actually, I am, but I don’t want to leave the waiting room.”
“I’m on it.” He stood.
“I’m coming with you.” Phoenix rose from the chair. “We’ll get enough food for mom and the dads, too. I doubt they’ve eaten either. Anyone else?”
“You’re good boys. Your momma raised you right.” Maude’s tone was filled with affection. “Bring some of those cinnamon rolls and some coffee. I bet I can get your mom to eat with that combination. Your dads can always eat, so I won’t worry about them.”
“Okay, Aunt Maude,” Phoenix said. Then he, Tobias, and Jackson headed to the cafeteria.
When they were out of earshot, Maude continued with her story. “You wouldn’t know it by looking at the rugged cowboy he’s become, but when I first saw Toby, he was crying.”
“How old was he?”