Three hours later, after clearing away the tree limbs and replacing the broken windows, Cole watched his men drive away and wondered how much longer it would be before Paige returned. He still hadn’t figured out how he was going to make things right with her.
He stared at the herd of work horses grazing in the east pasture, and then glanced up at the sky. It wasn’t due to start raining until later in the afternoon and there was just something about being on the back of a horse that had always helped him think things through.
Without hesitation, he walked down the porch steps and headed toward the shed, where he’d seen a few saddles that had been salvaged when the barn rubble had been cleared away. Checking to make sure the saddles were intact and any needed repairs had been made, he took one of them, along with a bridle, and headed toward the pasture.
After catching a bay gelding, Cole saddled the horse, mounted up and headed across the north pasture. He didn’t have a destination in mind. He just wanted to roam. The Double R had more than a thousand acres, and he knew every inch of it like the back of his hand.
By the time he reached the creek, he had a good idea what he was going to do. He had ridden within a mile of Royal. He was going to continue into town and check to see if there was any chance of getting a room at the Cozy Inn. The way he saw it, removing himself from the ranch was the only solution. He was a guest in Paige’s house and he had crossed a line. She might put up a token protest, but she’d probably be happy to see him leave. And if he couldn’t find a room, he fully intended to talk to Aaron about overseeing the rest of the Double R build so Cole could head back to Dallas.
He checked his watch. Aaron would be at the TCC, meeting with Gil Addison, the president of the club, to discuss the last of the repairs to some of the clubhouse outbuildings. Maybe he would just skip looking for a room and make the arrangements with Aaron to take over.
Distracted by his dilemma and what he planned to do, Cole failed to notice how close the horse was to the edge of the creek until it was too late. All the rain over the past few days had caused the bank to be unstable and when it gave way under the gelding’s weight, Cole was thrown to the ground as the animal struggled to regain its footing.
Landing at an odd angle, Cole felt a sickening crunch in his knee followed immediately by a searing pain. But like any good rancher, it wasn’t until he saw the horse was upright and walking normally that he assessed the damage to himself. He hoped that his knee was only sprained, but as soon as he tried to get to his feet, he knew it was something a lot more serious.
Unable to stand, he used his cell phone to call Aaron.
“Hey there, Cole. How’s the Double R build going?” Aaron asked cheerfully. Ever since the man had gotten married he seemed to be in a perpetual good mood.
“It’s not,” Cole answered, trying to move his leg to a more comfortable position. He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain the movement produced. “I need you to take me to the hospital.”
“What happened?” Aaron asked, his voice turning serious.
Explaining the situation, Cole gave Aaron directions to a road the ranch hands used to haul hay from one pasture to another. It would bring his friend within fifty feet of Cole’s location.
“You’ll see a gate to your left,” Cole instructed. “I’m sitting about fifty feet from that on the creek bank.”
“I’ll be right there,” Aaron promised.
While he waited on his partner, Cole called the bunkhouse to tell the cook to send one of the ranch hands to the north pasture to get the gelding. When he hung up, he briefly thought about calling Paige to let her know about the situation but decided against it. Aside from the fact that he hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to Aaron about overseeing the crew making the repairs to the ranch, he hated the idea of her seeing him like this. Nothing made a man feel lower than having a woman witness him at his weakest.
* * *
“Did Aaron say what happened to Cole?” Paige asked as she and Stella hurried through the emergency room entrance at Royal Memorial Hospital.
Stella shook her head. “When Aaron called all he told me was to find you, let you know that he was taking Cole to the hospital because he had gotten hurt and to make sure you met them here.”
Paige briefly wondered why Cole hadn’t called her, but then she realized that after the events of the night before, she would most likely be the last person he’d call. She was not only guilty of initiating their lovemaking, but she also had been so embarrassed by her actions that she hadn’t been able to face him this morning.