Home on the Ranch: The Montana Cowboy's Triplets Read online

  “You don’t understand—” she said. Tears poured down her face, but his heart had turned to stone.

  “You’re not welcome here. Get. Out. Now.” He turned his back on her and leaned over Eli, willing him to wake up.

  His dad hurried into the barn with Bunny. She went straight to Cody and Tripp and gathered them up, took them outside. They kept saying something, but it was so garbled from their crying Hunter couldn’t understand them.

  More footsteps pounded the floorboards, and Nash and Kelsey came in. She had a medical bag with her. Nash helped her kneel on the ground, and she grabbed a stethoscope out of her kit. She moved it over Eli’s back, then took his pulse. “Steady but weak.”

  Another man hurried in with a medic bag. “I’m Billy, the crew medic.”

  “Hunter, move back, let them work on Eli,” his dad said.

  “No, I have to stay close.”

  “I understand. We’ll just be right here. But they need room to work. Come on, son.”

  His dad put a hand out, and Hunter grabbed it and stood. They moved back a few feet. Dad put his arm around Hunter’s shoulders. He was numb, dead inside. If anything happened to Eli, he’d never forgive himself.

  Or Mackenzie. How could she have let Eli watch her rehearse? Especially after they’d discussed it?

  Nash and Wyatt stood with them, then Luke rushed into the barn with Kade.

  Kelsey beckoned Hunter over.

  “We’re pretty sure he’s got a fracture in his radius, the lower arm. He’s still unconscious. We need to get him to the hospital in Billings as soon as possible.”

  “I already called the hospital, and they’re sending the Life Flight helicopter. Should be here soon,” Kade said. “I’ll clear these people out.” He walked out of the barn and cleared the group of people watching, waiting for word on Eli.

  Hunter stayed by his son, praying like he never had before.

  It felt like hours to him before he heard the chopper blades outside. Three EMTs rushed in with a gurney. Two of them checked Eli, while the third asked Hunter to fill her in.

  “He must have been up in the rafters and fell.”

  “What was he doing up there?”

  “A stuntwoman has been here with a movie crew, and we think she let him watch her rehearse.”

  “Did she let him go up in the rafters?” the EMT asked.

  Hunter blinked. “I don’t think so—surely she wouldn’t do that.”

  One of the other medics signaled her, and she nodded. “He’s ready to go. You’re coming, right?” she asked.

  He nodded, looked at his dad and brothers. “Can Cody and Tripp stay with one of y’all?”

  They all nodded.

  “I’m going to have Nash drive me to the hospital,” Kelsey said. “We’ll be there as soon as possible.”

  “You don’t need to be driving all the way to Billings in your condition,” Hunter protested, even as Nash opened his mouth to argue, too.

  “I want to be there,” Kelsey said, shutting both of them down.

  “Where’s Maddy?” Hunter asked.

  “Frankie has her, Toby and Johnny,” Nash said.

  As the EMTs wheeled the gurney bearing Eli outside, Hunter’s phone rang. He glanced at the readout and saw it was Bunny.

  “Bunny, we’re just getting on the chopper.”

  “Something you need to know. Mackenzie’s not—” Bunny said.

  “I have to go. I’ll call you later.” He pushed End on the phone and hurried to the helicopter.

  The EMTs got Eli boarded and strapped in, then he climbed in next to his son and buckled himself in.

  “Can I touch him?” Hunter asked the EMT closest to him.

  “Yeah, the connection would be good. He’ll know someone he loves is with him.”

  The door shut and then they were airborne.

  He laid his hand on Eli’s unhurt arm and didn’t let go for the whole trip to Billings.

  Once they’d landed, Eli was unloaded from the chopper and wheeled toward the door on the roof. They took the elevator down to the emergency room.

  Hunter started to follow the gurney as they wheeled it into a big room. A nurse grabbed his arm.

  “I need to go with my son,” he said, trying to free his arm from her iron grip.

  “Mr. Sullivan, I need some information from you first. We’ll be able to help him much faster if you cooperate. Let’s sit down over here.” She led him to a table and chairs in an alcove.

  The secluded area was quieter, and he was able to think a little more clearly.

  The nurse started firing off questions and he froze, not sure how to answer. Then he remembered a little card his ex-wife had given him before she died. He pulled it out of his wallet and handed it over. It had all the information he was too rattled to remember.

  The door to the waiting room opened, and his dad, Nash and Kelsey walked in. Hunter waved them over.

  “How did you get here so fast?”

  “I called in a favor from a neighbor,” his dad said. “Got a ride on the chopper he uses to monitor his stock, then grabbed a rental car at the airport.”

  Kelsey hugged Hunter. “Any news?”

  He tried to shake his head, but it felt all jerky. He was so grateful they were there.

  “Come over here and sit down,” Kelsey said. They took up residence on a couch and chairs in the corner. “Bunny and I talked to Cody and Tripp after you left.”

  “Are they okay? I should have talked to them before we took off, but it was so hectic.”

  “They know you love them, and that you were worried about Eli. Look, what you think—heck, what we all thought—happened, didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “Eli wasn’t imitating Mackenzie. He wasn’t up in the rafters.”

  “He wasn’t?”

  “No. The Triples went to the barn to play and saw the hay bales. They wanted to practice lassoing, so they helped themselves to one of the safety ropes the crew left in the barn. One of the ropes got stuck on a beam, so the boys stacked up two hay bales to try to get it down. That’s how Eli fell.”

  Kelsey told him she’d already given the information to the ER staff, so they’d be aware the fall wasn’t as high as they’d feared.

  He tried to process it, but his worry about Eli consumed his thoughts.

  “Mr. Sullivan, Eli is awake,” the doctor said as he walked up to their group.

  “How is he?” Hunter asked, tears clogging his eyes.

  “His radius is fractured, he has a mild concussion, but otherwise he’s a lucky boy. We’ll keep him overnight for observation. But you can see him now.”

  Hunter wiped his eyes and followed the doctor into a small room. Eli lay on the bed, his arm in a cast. He was pale, but he was alive. Hunter hurried over to the bed and kissed Eli’s face over and over.

  “Daddy, stop it,” Eli said, laughing weakly.

  “Do you know how worried I’ve been? How worried we’ve all been?”

  His son looked down. “I’m sorry, Daddy. We were playing and Miss Mack’s rope got caught. I didn’t want her mad at me for taking it.”

  “Eli, she wouldn’t have gotten mad at you.”

  But she must hate him after the horrible things he’d said.

  “Is she here?” Eli asked, looking hopeful.

  “No, I think she’s at the ranch.”

  “I don’t want her to leave,” Eli said, tears gathering in his eyes.

  “I know, son. I know.”

  “She said she would come visit, but that’s not the same.”

  “When did she say that?”

  “Today.”

  “What else did she say?”

  “That she’s not going away like Mommy did.”

  Hunter’s heart stuttered.
r />   “And she said we could go visit her, and go to Disneyland!” Eli said. “But, Daddy, if she came to live with us, can we still go to Disneyland?”

  Hunter laughed, and he relaxed. “Would you like that?”

  “Yes! We all wanna go to Disneyland.”

  “No, I mean for Mackenzie to come live with us at the ranch.”

  “In our cabin?”

  “You boys love her, right?”

  Eli nodded, moving his head carefully.

  “I’m pretty sure I love her, too. What if she and I were to get married?”

  A smile broke out so wide on Eli’s face Hunter worried he might break his cheeks. “Yay!” he shouted.

  “Shh, better keep it down, son.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” Eli yawned. “Daddy, I’m tired.”

  He kissed his son’s forehead. “You sleep. I’ll be here.”

  He bowed his head and took a minute to give thanks for Eli being fine, for the EMTs and ER staff, for Kelsey and for his family.

  And to pray that Mackenzie would forgive him.

  Chapter 22

  During the long night in the hospital, Hunter tried Mackenzie’s cell phone a dozen times, but it kept going to voice mail.

  Frustrated and anxious to talk to her, to apologize, he finally called Frankie around six in the morning and asked her to go to his cabin and find her.

  Thirty minutes later, Frankie called him back. “She’s gone. She packed up and left. I tracked down Brody, the stunt coordinator, and he said she told them she couldn’t do the last stunt and quit. She hired one of the ranch hands to drive her to the airport last night. Brody said she couldn’t get a flight out till this morning. Her Delta flight leaves in forty-five minutes to LA.”

  Hunter’s heart sank. He’d done this. Caused her to quit and run off.

  “Did you hear me?” Frankie asked.

  “What?”

  “I said move your butt, she’s at the Billings airport.”

  Billings airport.

  He was in Billings.

  “Thanks, Frankie. I owe you big-time.”

  He ran down the hall to Eli’s room and opened the door. He was awake, and Nash and Kelsey were sitting with him.

  “Eli, you okay if I go out for a little while?”

  “Where?”

  “To get Mackenzie.”

  “Yes, Daddy!”

  Nash pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to him. “Rental’s in the parking garage. P2. Go.”

  Hunter ran out of the hospital, then to the parking lot, beeping the key fob until he finally heard the right car. He got in and drove as fast as he could down the two levels, all but threw money at the parking attendant, then hightailed it out of the garage.

  At least traffic was light, and he made it to the airport in record time. He parked as close to the terminal as he could, then dashed inside. Spying the Delta desk, he ran to it and cut in front of a person slowly approaching the counter.

  “Someone is getting ready to board the flight to LA. It’s urgent I reach her before the plane takes off.”

  “The flight to LA?” The counter person looked at her screen. “I’m sorry, sir. That flight took off early and is airborne now.”

  His world caved around him.

  He was too late.

  * * *

  Mackenzie picked her backpack up. She needed to find a shop in the small airport that sold cell phone chargers. She’d left hers at Hunter’s cabin, and her phone had died shortly after getting on the road to Billings. All the Sullivan numbers were on her phone, which was dead dead dead. She’d called the hospital, but they wouldn’t give any information out to someone who wasn’t family.

  She stood up and stretched, aching after sitting in the airport all night. Walking toward the row of shops, she decided to get a cup of tea.

  She unzipped her backpack to get her wallet out, and bumped into someone. “Oh, excuse me—” she said, and looked up.

  “Mackenzie? Mackenzie!” Hunter yanked her into his arms, squishing the backpack between them.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, shock and happiness warring for a spot in her brain.

  “Me? What are you doing here? Your plane just took off.”

  “I couldn’t get on not knowing how Eli was.” She burst into tears. She fumbled in her coat pocket. “Oh, where’s a bloody tissue when you need one.”

  He pulled several napkins from a nearby container and handed them to her. They sat down at a small table by the window.

  “How is he?” she asked, wiping her face and blowing her nose.

  “He’s fine. A fractured arm, mild concussion. They kept him overnight, but we can take him home today.”

  A fresh round of tears cascaded down her face, and she sobbed. “I’m s-s-so happy.”

  “I need to apologize to you. I blamed you thinking Eli was copying you, trying to do your stunt in the rafters.”

  “He wasn’t?” She sniffled, confused. She’d seen the rope lying near him.

  “Cody and Tripp told Kelsey they were using your rope to practice their lassoing. It got caught, and Eli climbed up on the hay bales to try to get it down.”

  She closed her eyes, guilt flooding her so fast her head spun, and she had to lay it down on the table. She’d been sick with grief ever since the accident. She shouldn’t have left the safety equipment in the barn for any length of time. Should have put it away.

  “Will you forgive me?”

  “For what?” she asked, not moving.

  “For being so ugly to you yesterday.”

  She raised her head, then sat up slowly so the room wouldn’t spin again. “You were worried about your son. I understand. I shouldn’t have left anything behind in the barn while I went to eat. Can you forgive me?”

  “I think we need to forgive each other. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you.”

  Could she believe him? Should she? He’d gutted her with his words the day before. They weren’t hers, but in the short time she’d been at the ranch, she’d fallen hard for the triplets. And for Hunter. “You can trust me—I’d never do anything to hurt your boys.”

  “I was terrified. He was so still, not moving. I thought I’d lost him. But I shouldn’t have hurt you.” He turned his hand over, palm up, on the table. “Will you come back with me?” he asked.

  She stared at his hand, not sure what he meant. What he wanted from her. “To the hospital?”

  “Yes, and to the ranch.”

  She hesitated. “Why?” She laid her hand on the table, next to his, a fraction away from his. But afraid to take that last step and trust him.

  “For one thing, you can do the stunt you missed last night. Finish the job. Keep your good reputation.”

  “Wha’ are you sayin’?”

  “The boys love you.”

  “I love them.” A little kernel of hope unfurled in her chest.

  “And I love you,” he said, and closed his hand over hers.

  “You do?”

  “Yeah.” He kissed the back of her hand. “So...what do you think?”

  She smiled. “Well, I suppose I love you, too.”

  The grin on his face grew and grew and grew.

  And then she saw it.

  The love he felt for her was written on his face.

  And she knew. They were meant to be.

  “Me and the boys will pack up and move to LA, wherever you need to be to keep working. Think they have—”

  “Hunter—”

  “—good schools there? Be a big—”

  “You don’t need to—”

  “—change for us, but we’ll get used to it. How big is your apart—”

  She cupped his cheeks. “Would ye stop talking, you bampot?”

  “I g
uess you could go on without us, so you can find your next stunt job. We can look for a house. Need something big for all of us.”

  She laughed. “Well, you could go to LA, but I’ll be here in Montana.”

  “That’s what we’ll do. You fly to LA, we’ll have to get a moving van out anyway. Maybe I can get Kade or Luke to drive my truck...” He stopped talking and looked her in the eyes. “Wait. What? Why would you be here?”

  “I’d much rather live here. I told you once it reminds me of home, right? The land, the wide-open spaces, your family... I love it here.”

  “But your job.”

  “Maybe I can find something to do on the ranch, take an occasional stunt job.”

  “You’d really be happy here?”

  “Yes. I never liked living in LA. Too crowded. This place, your family—I love it here.”

  “Think you could marry a rancher from Montana with triplet sons?”

  “Oh, aye. I think that would be the grandest adventure in the world.”

  He stood and pulled her up and into his arms. Framing her face with his hands, he kissed her. She sank into his lips, knowing without a doubt this was where she belonged.

  Chapter 23

  One month later, and the whole family was sitting down in the lodge dining room for the rehearsal dinner. Hunter checked his watch for the hundredth time. Where the hell was his surprise?

  Everything had gone great the last few weeks. Eli was home safe and sound. The director had rehired Mackenzie, and she’d completed the last stunt and fulfilled her contract. The movie crew was gone, and a semblance of normalcy had returned.

  Until Bunny gathered the women and they went into a frenetic wedding planning mode. Which wasn’t all that bad. He and Mackenzie had opted not to wait too long to get married. The ceremony was tomorrow, and the honeymoon would be in LA, to pack up her apartment and move her to the ranch for good. They’d agreed she would travel from Montana to wherever her jobs took her, and he and the boys would join her when they could.

  But now Hunter was worried his plans for his gift to Mackenzie had fallen apart.

  The waitstaff started bringing out plates and serving everyone dinner. As much as he loved to eat, he didn’t think he could swallow a bite.