Over three hours later, Misty was discharged from the hospital, feeling incredibly lethargic and drowsy. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep; she was surprised that when she asked Clay what time it was, he said 9pm.

     Once they all got back to the ranch, almost two hours later, Misty was dead asleep in the truck. Darlene whispered to Bill, "I think she should probably sleep on the couch tonight. There's no way that she will be able to get upstairs on her own."  

     "Ma'am," Clay leaned forward to talk to Darlene. "I can carry Misty upstairs to her room and make sure she is situated for the night." Clay offered. 

     With no hesitancy, Darlene accepted Clay's offer. "That's very sweet of you, Clay. Thank you."  

     "It's no problem, ma'am." Clay responded, sliding down from his side of the truck to walk to Misty's side. Carefully slipping an arm under Misty's legs, and another behind her back, Clay lifted Misty from the truck, carrying her inside and up to her room. Darlene followed Clay the whole way, opening doors and turning on the lights for him.

     Clay carefully laid Misty down on her bed, giving her a kiss on the cheek before following Darlene out of her room, closing the door behind him. Once they were downstairs, Darlene turned to Clay. "Thank you so much for all of your help with Misty today. We really appreciate it." Darlene's exhausted expression lightened when she forced a smile.  

     "It's no problem, ma'am." Clay replied, smiling back. 

     "Clay, it's late, why don't you just stay the night here? We have a spare bedroom upstairs. I can go up now and clear off the bed for you." Darlene offered.  

     "I don't mind walkin' back to my loft tonight." Clay replied, not wanting Darlene to have to clean up a room just so he can sleep there tonight. 

     "I know, but just stay here tonight." Darlene kindly demanded. 

     Clay let out a chuckle. "Alright, I will stay here, but you don't have to make me a bed, I can just sleep on the couch down here." 

     "Are you sure? I really do not mind makin' you a bed upstairs." Darlene offered for the third time that night. 

     "I really do not mind." Clay smiled, showing he was serious.  

     "Alright. At least let me show you where the blankets are." Darlene said, leading Clay into the living room. After getting Clay a few blankets, Darlene walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to grab a glass of water before disappearing into her bedroom. 

     As Clay was making his bed for the night, Bill came in to the living room. "Darlene told me that you're stayin' here tonight." He said, his voice tired.

     "Yes, sir." Clay replied, pausing to look up at Misty's dad. 

     "I just wanted to thank you for being there to help with Misty today. I don't even want to think about what could have happened if you weren't there when she was charged." Bill said, clapping Clay on the back. 

     "It's no problem. I care about Misty, and will do whatever I can so she isn't in pain." Clay replied.

     "Well, Clay, that is very honorable, and Darlene and I certainly both appreciate it." Bill said with a smile before walking away. Turning around once before slipping into his first floor bedroom, Bill added, "Please make yourself at home. There's plenty of food and drinks in the fridge. Help yourself." 

     "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it." Clay pasted a smile on his face. If it wasn't so late at night and if he wasn't so exhausted, Clay would have asked Bill for permission to date his daughter; he felt like him and Bill had grown closer today.  

     "No problem. Oh, and as always, breakfast is at 7:00am. Work follows immediately afterwards, no exceptions just because Misty's accident." Bill said in a serious voice, any hint of their bonding moment from just a few seconds ago was gone. Bill was back to being Clay's boss, rather than friend. 

     "Yes sir." Clay responded. Once Bill walked away, Clay smiled. Bill seemed like such a hardball sometimes, but really, he was a softy once you got to know him better. 

     As Clay laid down on the couch that night, he thought about everything that happened today. Misty had seemed off, distant; he was sure that was a lot of the reason why she wasn't paying any attention in the round pen. Something had spooked Casper, but if Misty had been lunging him, she could have been able to control him, and if she couldn't, she should have been able to get out of his line of fire. 

     Clay made a mental note to ask Misty tomorrow if something was bothering her, or if he was simply overthinking things. He knew that she was probably upset that he said that he didn't want them to make things official yet, but Clay wants to wait until he can ask Bill for his permission before giving them a label. Getting that across to Misty in a way that she would understand without her thinking that he was just leading her along would be hard, but he knew he could do it. All he had to do was talk to Bill and show that his intentions with Misty are honorable, and will be pleasing to God. Simple, right? Clay certainly hoped so. 

     Sleep found Clay easy last night, due to the long day. Waking up early the next morning, however, was a different story. The couch he slept on last night was much more comfortable than his old, worn out twin mattress in his loft, and the couch was much warmer as well. Noises slipping through the thin walls of the kitchen adjacent to the living room forced Clay to wake up.

     Checking his phone, Clay saw that it was 7:17. He must have forgotten to set his alarm. Jumping up from the couch, Clay quickly folded his blankets and straightened the couch. Grabbing his phone, Clay rubbed his eyes as he made his way into the kitchen. 

     "Good morning, Clay." Darlene greeted from her spot manning the stove. She was still dressed in her pajamas and slippers. 

     "Morning, ma'am. Sorry I overslept. Is it too late for me to grab some breakfast?" Clay asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this tired.

     "Oh, of course. Bill and I slept in today as well, so I am actually just now getting to cook breakfast." Darlene said, grabbing a griddle from below the stove. "I told Bill to text all of the hands telling them that breakfast is at 8, not 7, but I'm not sure if he actually sent it." Darlene let out a chuckle. 

     Clay nodded, pulling out his phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Bill. It basically said that breakfast had been pushed back and hour, and work will follow immediately after. As usual, there was no reasoning for why breakfast was being pushed back, although Clay knew the reason. "Yes ma'am, he sent out a text." Clay said, holding up his phone for Darlene to see. 

     "Great. I apologize if me makin' noise in here woke you up. I tried being quiet, but that's hard when the walls are so thin." Darlene began hustling around the kitchen, pulling ingredients for pancakes out of the cupboards. 

     "You didn't wake me up. I was wakin' up anyways." Clay responded, giving Misty's stepmom a smile. 

      "Okay. I'm glad. So, since you're here, I will let you choose what y'all want with your pancakes. Do you want sausage or bacon with the eggs and pancakes?" Darlene asked, never once pausing her busywork in the kitchen. 

      "Bacon will be fine, ma'am." Clay responded. Taking a step further into the kitchen, Clay asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" 

     Shooting Clay a smile, Darlene looked around the kitchen before replying, "That's very sweet of you. Um, let's see...oh, here, you can stir this." Darlene responded, handing Clay the bowl of pancake mix. 

     "Would you like me to start them on the griddle after I stir them?" 

     "Well, sure, Clay, that would be great." Darlene smiled, putting back the ingredients from the pancakes. Making her way to the fridge to pull out the eggs and bacon, Darlene smiled. "You really are a sweetheart, Clay, you know that?" Darlene set the eggs and bacon on the counter before making a second trip to the fridge. 

      "Thank you, ma'am. I like helpin' y'all out. Y'all have been very good to me, it's about time I pay it back." Clay replied, dropping spoonfuls of pancake batter onto the hot griddle. 

     "You're very welcome." Darlene reached beside Clay, grabbing a glass mixing bowl. "And not to mention what you have done for Misty. Bill told me that you helped her out on the roundup when she got thrown, too. You seem to really care about Misty, and that is a blessed thing. Misty needs a good guy like you in her life." 

     Clay smiled a small smile on the outside, but inside he was beaming from the praise. He was glad that Misty's parents seemed to like him. "It's my pleasure to take care of Misty, ma'am. And I do care about her a lot. I'm just glad that I was able to be there for her during her last two wrecks." Clay replied, flipping the pancakes on the hot griddle. 

     Darlene and Clay worked side by side in the kitchen, preparing the food for all of the hands. They got their work done in half the time it would have normally taken Darlene, so while they waited for the hands to arrive for breakfast, Darlene made them a pot of coffee. Sitting around the small kitchen table, Clay and Darlene sipped their coffee as they made conversation. Their time was filled with laughter and stories; Clay felt like he had bonded with both Bill and Darlene quite a bit these past two days, and Clay was incredibly grateful for that. 

     Once the hands started filing in line to get their breakfast, Clay said to Darlene, "If it's alright, I'll take Misty up a plate of food." 

     "Absolutely. Would you like me to make y'alls plates for you?" 

     "Thank you for the offer, but I don't mind makin' them." Clay replied, grabbing a plate for himself, and one for Misty. As he put two pancakes on Misty's plate, Clay found himself smiling as he thought back to the morning of the first day of the roundup. Misty had knocked an entire plate of chocolate chip pancakes on Clay, temporarily staining his shirt and jeans. What Misty doesn't know is that Clay thought she looked really cute as she apologized profusely; her blushing red cheeks and neck had made her look even cuter, making Clay fall for her even harder. Clay had had feelings for Misty for over a year, but his stubbornness had kept him from telling her his true feelings during that time. 

     Once both his plate and Misty's were filled, Clay headed upstairs to Misty's bedroom. Carefully balancing both plates on one arm, Clay formed a fist with his free hand, softly dropping two knocks on Misty's door. "Misty, it's me, Clay." Clay called through the closed door.

     Down the hall, Clay heard a door open. Seconds later, Junior appeared. "I thought I smelled food. I've been up all morning waiting for breakfast. I'm starving!" Junior said, running downstairs, his feet nor mouth stopping once. 

     "Come in." A groggy voice said behind Misty's door, making Clay turn his attention away from Junior. 

     Clay opened the door, closing it with his foot as he grabbed his plate with his free hand. With a smile on his face, Clay walked over to Misty's bed, setting the breakfast plates on her bedside table. Sitting down beside Misty, Clay laid his hand on her legs. "Good morning, beautiful." Clay greeted. 

     A still waking up Misty mumbled her response, "I'm not beautiful. Especially when I first wake up." 

     Clay chuckled. "You're still beautiful to me." Leaning down, Clay placed a kiss on Misty's forehead. 

     "Thanks." Misty said, her eyes only partially open. 

     "If you want to sleep more, I can leave you alone and come back in a while." Clay said, trying to be considerate when all he wanted to do was stay glued to Misty's side so he could be at her every beck and call. 

     "No, I'm fine. I just feel really tired and groggy still for some reason." Misty replied, opening her eyes to look at Clay. She rested a hand on where his was on her thigh. "What did they give me at the hospital last night?"  

     "They gave you some morphine through your IV and then they sent you home with a prescription for Vicodin, which I am goin' into town with your dad to pick up soon." Clay responded. Looking down at Misty, Clay thought that she was still by far the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen in his life- bed head, grogginess, and all. 

     "Okay. My side hurts so bad." Misty rightfully complained. 

     "I know it does, sweetheart. You broke two ribs; the doctors said that you're goin' to be sore for quite a while."

     "I know. I'm not lookin' forward to my recovery. Doin' practically nothin' for six to eight weeks will be the death of me." Misty let out a chuckle, followed by a groan of pain.  

     Clay hated seeing Misty in pain; he desperately wished that there was something he could do to help her besides just letting her know he's there for her. "I know it's a long recovery, but you're resilient; I know you will heal quicker than you think you will. Besides, even though six weeks is a long time, that just means even more time that you get to spend with me."  

     Misty rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother. Now you just made me want to get healed even quicker."

     "Wow. Am I really that bad to be around?" Clay asked, playing along with Misty's antics. 

     Misty made a face saying that she was contemplating just how horrible it would be to spend even more time with a guy she really liked. "Eh, I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Yeah, I reckon I could manage spendin' even more time with you during my recovery if I had to." Misty smiled. Looking at Clay she saw him wearing a hilarious expression which made her laugh. 

     Clay continued to make goofy faces, only making Misty laugh harder. Misty's laughs were followed by her pleading, "Please stop, Clay. It hurts way to bad to laugh." Misty's laughs dissolved and were replaced with shallow coughs, then a groan. "It really does hurt. Ouch." Misty's hand went to her side, holding her hurting ribs. 

     Clay's smile was gone. "I'm sorry, hon." He said, rubbing his hand on her thigh. Looking down at Misty, Clay immediately felt guilty for her accident. For some reason, he felt like it was his fault that she got hurt. Inwardly he wished that he was the one in bed with two broken ribs. "I'm really really sorry." He mumbled in a whisper. 

     "It's not your fault, love." Misty responded, reaching a hand up to his cheek. 

     Clay nodded, pulling back. He leaned across Misty to grab her breakfast plate. "I know." Clay replied with a smile he didn't mean. He hated that he just lied to Misty, but it hurt him more to see her laying in bed in pain because of him leaving her alone. At that moment, Clay promised he would never turn his back on Misty again. 

     "I brought you up some breakfast." Clay said, reaching across Misty to grab her plate.  

     Pushing herself up further in her bed, Misty took the plate, smiling at Clay. "Pancakes?" 

     Clay let out a chuckle. "Yeah, pancakes." 

     "Don't get to close to me when I'm eating pancakes, I might somehow manage to launch the whole plate on you and soil your shirt just like I did the morning of the roundup." Misty smiled, taking the silverware that Clay handed her.

      "Yeah. Having pancakes thrown at me was certainly a first." Clay let out a chuckle.

     "Hey! I did not throw them at you! I was so nervous that the plate slipped from my hands." Misty said, lifting her fork up to her lips.

     "Oh, I make you nervous, do I?" Clay teased, taking a forkful of eggs on his fork. 

     Misty rolled her eyes, tapping Clay's hand on her leg. "Don't get ahead of yourself there, kid." Misty chuckled teasingly, reaching up to smooth out Clay's hair. "You look really cute with bedhead." Licking her finger, Misty patted Clay's hair again, attempting to tame his hair.  

     "Yeah? Well I thought that you were really cute when you threw those pancakes on me. Especially when your face got real red." Clay said in a sincere voice, reaching out to push some hair out of Misty's face. 

    Misty's eyes drew up from her plate when Clay's thumb stroked her cheek. Rolling her eyes, Misty scoffed. "Oh, puh-lease. You didn't even noticed I existed until that morning." There was a laugh in Misty's voice. 

     "You seriously believe that?" Clay asked, retreating his hand. "Mist, I've liked you for well over a year. I thought for sure that you would never notice a guy like me."  

     "Clay, I've had feelings for you since you first started on my dad's ranch." Misty smiled, cutting into her pancakes. "Wait, a year? You've liked me for over a year? Then why in Sam Hill did it take you so long to tell me?" Misty asked, chuckling.

     "You know, I'm not entirely sure, honestly. I reckoned you would say no if I asked you out. Besides, I thought for sure that you and Jace were datin'." Clay replied, grabbing his own breakfast plate from Misty's bedside table. 

     "Me and Jace?" Misty said quickly, her head shooting up. "Why would you think there was somethin' goin' on between me and Jace?" Misty suddenly felt defensive. She knew she was just projecting, but she couldn't help but wonder if Clay somehow knew about her and Jace kissing the other day. "There's nothin' at all goin' on between Jace and I. We are just friends. That's it." Misty looked back down to her plate, stabbing her fork into a piece of pancake. This was the time that she should have told Clay the truth, that she kissed Jace, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

     "Whoa. Down, girl. I was just teasin' you. I know nothin' is goin' on with you and Jace. I just know that you guys are really close friends. Well, I know that now; I didn't know it before the roundup. That's why I didn't ask you out or tell you I had feelings for you, because I didn't think you felt the same way about me." Clay said, rubbing a hand on Misty's leg.

     "Well, Clay Montgomery, I think it's safe to say that I feel the same way about you that you feel about me." Misty smiled, reaching up to caress his cheek.

      Clay, leaning forward, placed a soft kiss on Misty's lips before pulling back to dig into his breakfast.  

     Misty, however, toyed with her emotions. Was she telling Clay the truth when she said that she doesn't have feelings for Jace, and that there was nothing going on between them? That was between her, Jace, and God.