Page 5 of More Than a Little Spark (Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch #9)

Carson

Carson

T o shave or not to shave, that is the question. When I grew the mustache for the party, I fully intended to shave it off right after. Now I’m conflicted. Do I look better with a mustache?

After two minutes, I pick up my shaver. Giving this a second thought is stupid. Daphne isn’t interested. It doesn’t matter a lick if I have a mustache or a squirrel’s tail on my face.

I trim the mustache, then shave clean.

After getting dressed, I check my phone, wondering if Daphne has messaged about anything else she might need. There are always horror stories about hospital food, so maybe I should take her breakfast.

But what if they have her on a special diet of some sort? Why didn’t I get her number?

I drive through the ranch out to the main road, and just before I turn, a message pops up. So I stop.

Rose: Hi, Dallas gave me your number. Daphne’s phone died just after you left yesterday. I’m sorry to text so early, but she said you were bringing a charger up to the hospital. If not, that’s fine. I can run and get one for her.

Me: I’m just leaving the ranch to head that way. Any restrictions on what she can eat?

Rose: No. And if you bring her coffee, we’d all appreciate it. Lots of cream and sugar. The coffee at the hospital leaves a lot to be desired.

Me: I’ll do that. Be there soon.

I stop by Sweets on the way through Stadtburg. Then armed with donuts and three cups of coffee, I drive to the hospital. The charger and brick are sitting in the passenger seat. I swung by an open-all-night truck stop late last night and bought them.

At the hospital, I walk to the information desk, my arms loaded with the goodies I’m taking up to Daphne’s room.

The older lady who is manning the desk smiles. “Hi, how can I help you?”

“I just need a quick place to set some stuff down so that I can text to get the room number.”

She taps on the keyboard in front of her. “I can look it up. What’s the patient’s name?”

“Daphne.” I’m not going to convince anyone that I’m a boyfriend or even a casual friend since I don’t even know her last name. So I send off a text to Rose, asking for the room number.

The older woman blinks, still waiting. “I need a last name for the search.”

“I don’t know her last name. We only met last night.” My helpful commentary is only confusing this woman. “I’m not the reason she’s in the hospital. I didn’t do anything to her. She was in an accident, and I stopped to help her.”

She smiles. “That’s nice of you. But you should text that friend and find out the room number because without a last name, I can’t search.”

I hold up the phone. “She just sent it. Thanks for your help.” With everything balanced just so, I head to the elevators, hoping someone will be there to push the buttons. Otherwise, I’ll be using my nose.

Thankfully, someone is stepping in as I walk up. And I have no trouble making it to Daphne’s room.

The door to the room is ajar, so I tap it with my foot and call out, “Good morning. Is it okay to come in?”

“Yes!” Daphne smiles. “Hi.”

I set the coffees down before they end up on the floor, then hand her the box from Sweets. “The donut shop is kind of a zoo on Sunday mornings.”

“I can imagine. It’s so sweet of you to bring these.” She grins and points to the label on the box. “I’ve heard Dallas talking about how good these are. And it was so nice of you to bring coffee. Even one for the nurse. She’s going to love you.”

I glance around the room. “I actually got it because I thought Rose was here. But it can go to whoever wants it.”

“I sent Rose home last night after they moved me in here. She and Dallas both have tons of work to do. So I really appreciate you coming up here.” She opens the box and holds it out. “Take your pick.”

Instead of confidently choosing what I like, I say, “I will stare at the box for an hour, unable to make a choice for fear that I’d be taking the one you want most. And I’m a little hungry, so if you’d just choose your favorite, I’d appreciate that greatly.”

She picks up a chocolate-covered crème-filled donut. “These are my favorite.”

“Awesome.” I choose the one covered in cinnamon sugar and hold it over my coffee cup as I take a bite. “Oh, let me get that charger plugged in so you can start charging your phone. Rose said it was dead.”

Daphne watches as I find a place to plug in the brick and connect the cord to her phone. “We were headed to the same party, weren’t we?”

“Seems so.” I’m glad for the cup of coffee and donut that give me something to do with my hands.

“December is a funny time to have a costume party, but Dallas suggested it to distract Rose. It was the same night as the big charity event she used to do with her family every year.”

“I heard the party went well. Other than Rose leaving. And I feel bad about that. If I hadn’t changed lanes…”

Daphne shakes her head. “No part of the accident was your fault. Should I blame myself because I didn’t control the car better after being hit?”

“I wasn’t saying that at all.”

“I know. But don’t blame yourself. Okay?” She holds out her hand.

Nodding, I approach the bed, but jump back when the nurse walks in.

She says, “I’m just here to get your vitals. How’s your pain?”

“Tolerable.” Daphne holds out her arm for the blood pressure cuff. “Carson brought you a cup of coffee. Good stuff from Sweets.”

The nurse looks at me. “You are officially my new favorite person.”

I’m not even sure how to respond when someone talks that way. So I just point at the cup. “Help yourself.”

When the nurse leaves with her coffee, Daphne motions to the chair. “You can sit. But you probably have lots of ranch stuff to do.”

I drop into the chair. “I let them know I’d be out for a bit this morning.”

“You took off your costume.” She runs a finger over her upper lip.

Nodding, I question my choice. “I shaved. I only grew it for the party.”

“I like seeing more of your face.” She sips her coffee, never breaking eye contact.

“There’s a lot of it.” I pat my cheek. “Too many donuts.”

“You weren’t at the wedding.”

So far, conversations with Daphne are a bit of an adventure because I never know what will pop up next.

It’ll be interesting to see if that’s because of the accident and medications or if she’s like this all the time.

“I assume you mean Dallas and Rose’s wedding.

And no, I wasn’t there.” I stare at my cup, trying to figure out how much to tell Daphne.

Since she’s just being nice to the guy who came to her rescue, I don’t want to dump my life story on her.

But I also don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to hide Fred.

“Um, things were complicated for a while. They’ve calmed down some.

But Fred and I were out of town that weekend.

Plans were made before the wedding was scheduled. But I heard it was really nice.”

“It was. I was the flower girl.” She flashes a quick smile. “Is Fred your son?”

“Yeah, well, my nephew, but I adopted him. Like I said, complicated.”

She tilts her head, eyeing me. “So you aren’t married or engaged or anything?”

I snort laugh, but she doesn’t even crack a smile. So maybe that wasn’t a joke.

I just made a fool of myself by snort laughing for no reason. “No, there is no anything at all.”

The nurse walks in again. “The doctor wants another set of chest x-rays done.”

Daphne’s shoulders slump. “I really just want to go home.”

“Maybe tomorrow.” The nurse pats Daphne’s arm, then turns to me. “Thank you for the coffee. My patients all thank you as well. I’m a more pleasant person after a good cup of coffee. And we won’t be gone long if you want to wait.”

“I should get going. But, Daphne, you have my number if you need anything.”

She nods. “Thank you for the donuts and coffee. And the charger. You just keep coming to my rescue.”

“It’s nothing.” With a wave, I stroll to the elevators.

Nothing? That’s a lie. I’m going to spend the rest of the day trying to think of a reason to come back up here in the morning.