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"Here, put this on your jaw." Rye pressed a wet towel to my cheek.
"I wanted to kill him when he hit you," Rye said. "I’m sorry we didn’t protect you from him."
"I should have shot him instead of the fucking match," Keane lamented.
"No," I managed to say. "He’ll get worse than that now." Based on the wails of pain floating in from outside, I had no doubt Mr. Garner wished he’d been shot instead, too.
I blinked. "Keane, how did you make that shot?"
"I knew I had to do it to save you, sweet Lily."
"B-but are you trained for that sort of thing?" I stared at him, amazed. I’d never fired a gun, but I knew a shot like that required incredible skill.
"No, darlin’. I’m not. Never even tried it before. Never needed to." He gazed down at me, his eyes full of love. "Whatever you need, whatever it takes to keep you safe. That’s what we’ll do."
"You did it, Keane," Rye said.
"We did it together," Keane answered. "Lily blew out the match to give us more time. You distracted him, and I made a miracle shot. We worked together. All of us."
"My family." I held them both close. My heart overflowed.
14
LILY
* * *
"Lily, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Keane leaned over me, dabbing at my forehead with a wet cloth.
"Don’t wake her," Rye whispered, adjusting the pillows beneath my head.
"I’m awake," I said.
Rye swatted at Keane. "I told you to be quiet."
"I’ve been awake since the sun came up. Just like yesterday. And the day before." I pushed the long sleeves of my nightgown up to my elbows and then crossed my arms over my chest. It was time to set these two straight about a few things.
"You need your rest," Rye told me, giving Keane a withering glare.
"No, I do not. You’ve barely let me get out of bed since the incident with Mr. Garner."
"You were terrified. We were terrified. You need to rest."
I drew in a deep breath and considered my words carefully. They had made Herculean efforts to care for me over the past few days, but, honestly, once I’d had a good bath, a meal, and a decent night’s sleep, I felt fine. It had been terrifying. But as Keane had said, we worked together and took care of each other. Except now they were treating me like an invalid.
"I appreciate that you are both concerned about me." I peered into their worried faces. "But I am fine. I have been fine. I will be fine. You have got to quit fussing over me." I started to push away the covers, and Rye tugged them back into place and tucked them tight beneath the mattress.
"We only want to make sure you’re safe, Lily," Keane said.
"We let you down and want to make it up to you." Rye seemed crestfallen. "We made one promise to you, and we failed."
"No!" I shouted. "You did nothing of the sort. You saved me. You were brave and heroic. But you have to stop coddling me."
Keane patted my hand. "You need some breakfast. I’ll go and get you some tea and toast."
I kicked my way out of the bed and stood up. "Fuck that! And fuck your tea and toast! What’s happened to you two? I wore a plug in my butt for days because you told me you were going to claim me together. That it would join us all. But one little intruder gets onto the ranch and tries to burn me up, and you start acting like I’m a fragile piece of china. Or a goddamn nun."
"Lily, honey, you’re overwrought. Let me help you back into the bed." Rye took my arm and tried to guide me between the sheets.
