Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Good girl,” I said, staggering in and seeing Stef on the phone. Wyatt lifted his head, blinking and bleary.
“Ungen,” Wyatt said when he saw me, smiling big and leaning out a little for me to take him. Ungen was me: uncle and Glenn without the c and l the sweet little boy had trouble pronouncing.
I wanted to grab him, but I couldn’t; my left arm had stopped working. I couldn’t lift it at all, but more troubling was all the blood. Grabbing the dish towel from the handle of the oven, I pressed it to my shoulder and leaned on the counter to steady myself.
“Can you call off the dog?” Button-down said. “She’s freaking us out.”
“No,” I snapped. He’d tried to kidnap a baby, but the dog was being a psycho? Jesus.
“Is my boyfriend okay?” Daisy Dukes asked, tears welling up in her eyes. “Did you kill him?”
“I’m your boyfriend!” Button-down gasped.
Poor bastard. He’d been so used.
“Mr. Holloway?” she prodded.
How did she—ah. It took me a second in all the excitement. “I’m not Rand Holloway.”
Her eyes and Button-down’s got huge.
“I’m his teeny half brother,” I added with a cackle, watching with great satisfaction as they both turned a lovely shade of white.
“Ohmygod, you’re bleeding,” Stef croaked.
The towel was getting a bit damp, it was true. But more importantly, I had just thought of myself, for the first time, as Rand’s brother instead of his cousin. Amazing how many things had changed so quickly.
Stef closed the distance between us and put his head on my good shoulder as Wyatt wiggled and complained because he was getting crushed between us. “Thank you for saving me and my son.”
“You could’ve,” I assured him because I knew him well. “We both know you’re scary as hell.”
“I will be,” he said icily, turning to look at Button-down and Daisy Dukes. “I’ll put Wyatt on the counter, and you watch him while I go get my baseball bat.”
Thank God all the guns Rand owned were on his saddle with him, very far away from home. I was guessing that the two people in front of me would have been in trouble if Stef could have gotten his hands on a firearm. To say he did not look happy was the understatement of the year.
“Is the sheriff coming?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s good. ’Cause I think I’m gonna pass out.”
The last thing I heard was Wyatt calling my name.
TEN
Waking up in the hospital was never fun. Waking up with a stressed-out Stefan Joss was just odd.
“What’s wrong with you, Stef?” It came out all croaky because my voice was weird. I needed some water.
“Oh thank God, you’re awake,” he whispered, deflating with relief, leaning forward in his chair to take hold of my hand and wrist and give me a brave smile.
“For crissakes, I just lost some blood,” I groused. “I’m not dyin’.”
He stood then, leaned over, and hugged me tight. I let him clutch at me for a second before I told him to get the hell off.
“You fainted,” he barely got out, eyes swimming with tears.
“Shit,” I grumbled. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
He sucked in a breath. “I’ve never seen anyone pass out from blood loss before.”
“It sneaks up on ya.”
His mouth fell open. “It’s happened to you before?”
“I grew up on a ranch. Of course it’s happened before.”
“Oh God,” he moaned. “I really don’t know if I even want Wyatt to learn to ride a horse.”
I snickered. “I reckon that decision’s been made already, huh?”
He shrugged.
“Speaking of horses…”
“Juju’s in the stable at the Red. She’s fine. I had Elliot, one of the new grooms, make sure she was all settled in.”
“I’ll get her moved as soon as I get outta here.”
“Or you could just leave her where she is.”
There was a possibility now, with the changes in my relationship with Rand, mainly the new thaw, that it could work. But I didn’t want to talk about that, so I changed the subject. “How long was I out?”
“Almost two hours.”
I grinned at him. “Oh, that ain’t bad.”
“Not bad?” His gasp and how big his eyes got told me he was horrified.
It was nice, how worried and scared he was, but really, I’d been out longer when I was thrown while breaking broncs or riding bulls or the time I was riding a new horse while barrel racing and he drove me into a wall when I overcorrected.
“It really ain’t,” I assured him, reaching out to touch his cheek and give him a little pat. “But so yanno, I’m all right now, so can I have some water?”
He had to call the nurse to ask—he wasn’t taking any chances—and after he did, a young RN showed up—Chambers, the name badge said. She had a perky blonde ponytail and pink scrubs. She explained, even though I knew already from Stef, that I’d been out a couple of hours, but my color was back and I looked much better.