"Look at me, Tom Beck!"
He obeyed, rather reluctantly.
"I have waited, oh, so long, to talk to you! I promised the doctor that nothing should disturb you until you were well. That's one reason why I brought you into the house, instead of leaving you with the men: so you could be quiet.
"But there was another reason, a greater: I wanted you here, in this room, in my house, near me, where I could see and feel and help you, because seeing and touching and helping you helped me!
"I needed your help, Tom! I shall always need you near me!"
"Nobody would agree with you," he protested. "You're the most capable man in the country. You sure can look out for yourself."
"But looking out for myself isn't all. That's just a tiny part of life,"—indicating how small it was with a thumb and fore-finger. "It belongs to the side of me which owns this ranch, which is a cattle woman, which wants to fatten steers and raise calves and prosper....
"There's the other part, the big part, the part that is really worth while: It's my heart, Tom. It's my heart that needs you!"
His brows puckered.
"I wish you wouldn't!" he said huskily. "I can't help that part, I had my chance ... an' I threw it away."