A Doctor Enemy for the Cowboy

Chapter 2-2

Rex dropped the phone in its receiver, folded up the piece of paper on which he’d written the address, and grabbed his jacket from where it hung on the wall behind him.

“Is everything alright?” Paul, the owner of the corner store where Rex worked part-time, asked with a frown on his face as he watched Rex zip up his jacket in a hurry.

“Do you mind if I leave now?” Rex asked. “I promise I’ll make it up to you next week.”

“That’s not a problem. What’s going on?”

It was a good thing he’d been working today at the corner store, otherwise he would have missed Rose’s call. “It’s Rose. She’s in trouble and needs my help.”

“Your friend, Rose? The one in New York?” Paul knew all about the letters.

“Yes. I need to head up to New York to pick her up.” They’d only exchanged letters all these years, but Rose had been calm in the face of bullies when he’d met her for the first time, so hearing her sound so frazzled had him very worried. He figured she must have gotten the store’s phone number the same way she’d gotten the address. He needed to hurry home to pick up one of their ranch’s trucks, even though it would mean losing precious time, time he needed to get to Rose as fast as possible. Rex had gotten his driver’s license last year, though he’d been driving vehicles on their large property for much longer than that.

“Here, take my car keys,” Paul said.

“Are you sure?” Rex asked.

Paul waved his concern away. “Taking it would be easier for you, and the gas tank is full. Don’t worry, I’ll call my wife to pick me up.” He opened the money box and pulled out a bunch of notes. “Here. Take this as well.”

“I can’t accept that.”

“Take it in case your friend needs it. You can always pay me back later.”

Rex accepted the keys and the money. “Thank you.” The car would definitely help him in getting to New York faster, and though he already had enough money on him, the extra cash might come in handy.

Rex rushed out of the store into the cool evening fall air and hurried over to the Ford pickup truck parked on the curb. He slid in, started the vehicle, and drove it down Main Street until he connected to a narrow road that led to the highway.

He forced his mind to stay calm. Something terrible must have happened to Rose for her to run away from school and not go home. Rex would have to take her to his house, and she’d meet his family, which meant he’d have to figure out what to tell them about her. But he didn’t care about the fallout from that as long as Rose arrived safe and sound. Rex was certain his mom would extend the courteous western hospitality the Dexins were known for to her no matter what.

As he drove along the narrow, deserted road, Rex slowed down, though it was hard to resist the urge to go over the speed limit and hurry to Rose as fast as he could. The sky had darkened, and it was becoming hard to see what was ahead of him. This area of the road had been under construction during the last few weeks, and there’d been quite a few accidents on it, but mostly from out-of-town visitors who didn’t seem to care about the caution signs visible along the way. Rex needed to be careful, but hopefully, he’d be off this stretch of road in a few minutes.

He spotted an intersection coming up ahead, and he let out a sigh of relief. Soon he’d be at the turn-off that led to the highway. The overhead traffic light turned green just as he reached the intersection, and Rex raced through, intent on reaching the turn-off as fast as he could.

Twin lights blinded him from the right, and a heavy truck rammed into the passenger side of Rex’s truck.

The window shattered, raining glass on Rex even as his body hit the steering wheel. But the restraining seatbelt jerked him back as he fought to regain control of the pickup, the sounds of screeching brakes, bending metal, and tires skidding on the asphalt filling the air.

But it was no use.

The pickup spun as the heavy truck hit Rex’s vehicle a second time. His head crashed against the steering wheel, and his body jolted as it received the second blow, the weight pressing down on him even as glass from the blown-out windshield cascaded all over him.

Rex’s vision distorted as he went in and out of consciousness.

Then everything went black.