Page 3 of More Than a Little Spark (Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch #9)

Carson

Carson

I grab Daphne’s phone and purse out of the car, then check with the deputy one last time to make sure he has my info and that I have the correct email address for where to send the footage of the accident.

And once I’m back in the truck, heading to the hospital, I call Dallas.

“Carson, where are you?”

“I witnessed an accident and stopped to help the driver.”

“Is everything okay? Anyone injured?”

“Injured but okay. Are you where you can talk alone?”

Dallas’s tone changes. “Give me a sec.” A door closes, and his end of the line is quiet. “Talk to me.”

“Some guy who was speeding clipped Daphne, and her car rolled.”

“Crap.”

“She’s okay. Talking. Alert. Amazing considering the condition of her car. They are taking her to the hospital because she might have bruised or broken ribs, and her ankle or foot is injured. And they need to check her for internal stuff, but she seemed okay. And she didn’t want Rose to worry.”

“Do you know where they’re taking her?”

“Yeah. I can text you the info. And I have her purse and phone. Should I take it to y’all?” I’m really hoping Dallas says no to that one.

He mumbles on the end of the line, talking to himself in a way that I can’t understand. Finally, he starts speaking words I comprehend. “Could you swing by here and pick up Rose? There are a ton of people here, but I know Rose will want to go up to the hospital.”

“Sure. Good idea. I’ll do that. But if you need me to stay at your house and play host, I can do that too.” Why am I offering an option I hope he doesn’t choose?

His end of the line gets louder. “I’m going to tell Rose you’re coming to pick her up. See you soon.”

I end the call.

When I pull up outside the rec building on Matchmaker Ranch, Rose runs out to the truck. Her eyes are red, so I clearly did not succeed in preventing her from worrying.

Her questions start before she’s buckled into her seat. “Dallas said Daphne talked to you before they took her to the hospital?”

“We had an entire conversation while we waited. She sat in my truck, and we chatted.” I point to the purse and phone on the center console. “She asked me to grab her phone, and when I did, I saw her purse and snagged that too. Didn’t figure it needed to go with the tow truck.”

“Oh, good. I’ll give it to her. Thank you so much for driving me up there.” She flips down the vanity mirror and starts wiping off her makeup. “I didn’t even take time to change out of my Barbie costume, but I can at least tone down the makeup.”

“If you’re Barbie, was Dallas Ken?”

She grins. “Yep. He looks so cute.”

“Dang it. I can’t believe I missed that.”

“Don’t worry. I got a picture of us together before the party started.”

“I definitely want to see it.”

“I’m so worried about Daphne. How’s her car? Hopefully, it’s minor damage.”

I don’t want to describe how awful the car looked because that’ll make her worry. “I’m sure Daphne will tell you about it.”

When we arrive at the hospital, I drop Rose off at the double doors.

She slides out and turns around before closing the truck door. “Thank you so much for the ride. Are you coming up or going back to the party?”

I want to make sure Daphne will be fine, but I don’t want to seem clingy. All the cuddling was because Daphne was scared, not interested. And I know that. But I still want to check on her. “I’ll park and go up for a few minutes. Just to make sure she’s okay.”

“Great. I’ll text you the room number.” She rushes through the double doors.

Parking really isn’t an issue here tonight, which is good. Hopefully, it means the hospital isn’t crowded. Before getting out of the truck, I text Kent and let him know what’s going on.

And I take advantage of the hospital wi-fi and download the footage from the dash cam to my phone.

Then I reach for my coat because now that the adrenaline rush is fading, I’m feeling the cold. But my coat isn’t there. It’s with Daphne.

Also, Daphne’s phone and purse are still on the center console. So I tuck the purse under my arm, shove the phone in my pocket and head inside.

Rose meets me near the elevator. “We can’t see her right now. They are prepping her for surgery. But they won’t tell me anything else because I’m not related. And she’ll kill me if I call her mom.” She rubs her eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Let me think.” I spot the paramedics that were at the scene. “Give me a minute, Rose.”

I stride over to Trudy, hoping she’ll give me a tidbit of info. “Hey. I just arrived with Daphne’s stuff. Is she okay? Where is she?”

She tells the other guys to go on ahead, then pulls me toward the wall. “She had a displaced fracture in her foot. So they’re doing surgery. Let me walk you up to that waiting area.” She walks toward Rose. “Is that woman who looks like she’s been crying with you?”

“Yeah. Daphne’s best friend. She’s worried.” I adjust the purse under my arm.

Trudy smiles at Rose, tips her head toward the elevator, then pushes the up button. “Carson tells me that you’re here for Daphne. I’ll take y’all up to that waiting area. And she should be fine after surgery.”

Rose presses a hand to her heart. “Thank you.”

Trudy reassures Rose that Daphne was alert and talking during the trip to the hospital, and that helps Rose calm down a bit.

After she shows us to the waiting room, she motions me to the side. “Your coat should be with her things. It was good that she didn’t have her arms in the sleeves. We didn’t have to cut it off of her.”

“That is good news. I’m partial to that coat.”

“You did a good thing today, Carson. And she appreciates it. A lot. She talked about you all the way here.”

I shrug. “What was I going to do? Keep driving on by?”

“A lot of people do.” She tips her head toward the elevators. “I need to run, but I’ll tell the nurses to let you know when Daphne is ready for visitors.”

“Thank you.”

Bouncing a knee, I send off the footage to the deputy. Then while waiting, I google foot and ankle surgeries. How long do they take? Are there lasting repercussions? How long is recovery?

Rose paces as she talks to Dallas on the phone.

After an hour, Dallas shows up. And I’m thinking this is my cue to leave.

I stand. “Maybe I should go.”

“No.” Rose grabs my arm. “They might not let me see her if you aren’t here. I heard that lady tell the nurse that you were the boyfriend, so please don’t go. I know it’s getting late.”

“I’ll stay. That’s not a problem. I just didn’t want to intrude is all.” My mind is processing the part about Trudy telling the nurse I was the boyfriend. Anyone who takes one look at Daphne will not believe that. Or maybe a purse under the arm is more convincing than I think.

Dallas shakes his head. “You aren’t intruding. We appreciate that you helped Daphne.”

So I go back to waiting and googling. I’ve confirmed that it is illegal to slash someone’s tires. And so is keying someone’s car. Even if that jerk of a driver completely deserves that and more.

After three hours, the nurse pokes her head in the door. “She’s in recovery. But only one visitor at a time.”

I point to Rose. “You go.”

She doesn’t even argue.

Dallas flops into a chair. “I really hope Daphne is okay. She’s more like family to Rose than most of her actual family.”

“It seems like maybe that’s true the other way around too.”

He shrugs. “Daphne really never talks about her family, so I have no idea. But maybe.”

Tonight didn’t go at all like I planned. If I had it to do over, I never would’ve changed lanes. I feel guilty about that. Not because I did anything wrong, but because if I hadn’t done it, the accident likely wouldn’t have happened. Or it would’ve been my truck that was hit.

But wondering about what-ifs just eats up time. It serves no useful purpose. That doesn’t stop me from thinking of the many ways things could’ve ended differently.