AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, Boss.” Jim, the little Judas, greeted Brock with a friendly grin. “I saw you over there, feeding Miss Champion’s bulls. Is she all right?”
Brock reined back the urge to bury his fist in that smirking face. “Miss Champion was sick all night. She thinks it must’ve been something she ate. I told her I’d take care of her bulls.”
Jim wasn’t quick-witted enough to hide the shocked expression that flashed across his face. “What about her foreman?” he asked. “I saw him last night. Can’t he take care of the bulls?”
“He’s sick, too,” Brock lied shamelessly. “They both had marinated lamb kabobs at that Middle Eastern restaurant by the Hilton last night. I warned them that it might not be safe. They should’ve taken my advice.”
“So . . . where are they now?” Jim’s face had gone pale.
“In the ER. Neither of them could keep anything down. But they should be all right by this evening. Tess—Miss Champion—doesn’t want to miss the chance to see her black bull buck at a big event.”
Jim looked ill. “But she told me—” He cut himself off.
“She told you what, Jim?”
“Uh . . . nothing. I must’ve been thinking of another time.”
“Well, I’ve got to go back. You and Curtis keep an eye on her bulls as well as ours,” Brock said. “If anything happens to them, I’ll hold you both responsible.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll watch them.” Curtis was older, a good cowboy and a trusted hand. Whatever was going on with Jim, Brock felt confident that Curtis wasn’t involved.
Brock climbed into his SUV, backed out, and drove slowly down the row of rigs. As he passed his own trailer, he saw Jim standing in the morning shadow. He was talking on his phone.
On the way back to the hospital, Brock made a call to Tess’s phone. She answered, breathless.
“Brock, I’m with Ruben! He’s awake and talking! He’s going to be all right!”
Brock could tell she was in tears. He breathed a silentThank you, God. “I’ll be right there,” he said.
* * *
Ruben looked like hell, Brock thought. His head was wrapped, his skin covered with patches of dressing. Oxygen flowed through a clip on his nose, and a saline drip fed into a vein in his left hand. But his wrinkled, brown face was smiling.
“As soon as I touched the doorknob I could tell something was different,” he said. “I jumped back and felt the blast. That’s all I remember.” He gestured toward his ear. “My head hurts, and I can’t hear worth a damn, but the doctor says that will get better.” With effort, he turned his head toward Tess. “I’m just glad it was me and not you,hija.And you”—he fixed his gaze on Brock—“don’t you let anything happen to this girl. Hear? Or I’ll come and take you out myself.”
“I’ll guard her with my life,” Brock said, leaning close so Ruben could hear him or at least read his lips. “And I’m going to catch the bastard who did this and see that he pays.”
“Good.” Ruben sounded tired.
“The doctor wants to keep you a few more days,” Tess said. “Then we’ll bring Shane’s van and take you home. I called Maria and my sisters. They send their love. Right now, you need to get some rest.”
He caught her wrist. “Are you bucking your bulls tonight?”
Tess nodded. “I’ll be helping her,” Brock said.
“The sage is in the truck. Use it if you need to.”
“I will. If you’re awake, I’ll come see you after the rodeo.”
“Don’t worry, I will wait for you,” he said.
She gave him a smile and walked out of the room, with Brock behind her. As the door closed behind them, she sagged, quivering, against him. He wrapped her in his arms. “It’s all right, Tess,” he murmured against her hair. “You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
“What if he’d died?” she whispered. “Ruben’s been like a father to me. And he was blameless. If I ever see the fiend who set that bomb, so help me, I’ll kill him myself.”
“Come on.” He ushered her down the hall with a hand on her back. “Let’s get some breakfast in the cafeteria. I’ll catch you up on what’s happening, and we can plan the rest of our day.”
* * *
