Hope

Jade grins up at Dan. "Thanks."

Just looking at him a moment, she cocks her head, studying his face. In a bold move, she reaches up and takes off his hat. Taking a step back, her grin widens. "You ought to take this off more often."

Giving it back to his chest, she sidles past. "I'm gonna hose down this mare before I put her out in the pasture. Help me out, then I'll owe you twice."


Following Amanda, Eli listens intently, his worry increasing. "Look, when I got the message, it sounded like she was gonna be okay. If I'da known she'd taken a turn for the worse, I woulda flown instead of driven."

This seems to satisfy Leo for the moment, so he backs off with his complaints. "By the way, I'm her ex."

Eli quirks an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

"Maybe I still care."

Shaking his head, Eli keeps listening to Amanda. Stopping in the middle of the hall, he swallows hard and is silent for a long moment. "You got the right man." He takes his jacket off and tosses it on a waiting room chair. He had no hesitation whatsoever. "When do we start?"

Leo couldn't help just a little surprise. Eli hadn't even questioned the procedure or asked any questions. It was obvious that he cared much more than Leo had thought.

It isn't two seconds later, when JT appears for his next shift, having rested a few hours. He looks immediately to Amanda with hope. "This him?"