“You gonna let him get away with this? With hurtin’ her like he’s doin’?”
Chance glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice. He wasn’t ready for Cass to discover the truth. Not yet. Not until he had an opportunity to explain things to her. “There’s nothing I can do, Boots. The old man holds all the cards in this game.”
“Game? This is a game to you?”
He shook his head, adamant in his denial. “No. That’s not what I meant. Dammit. Have you ever known Cyrus Barron to lose at anything?” Boots stared at him and, while it took some effort, Chance steadily returned the man’s gaze.
“Yeah. I have. Her name was Colleen. A damn finer man wooed that woman, married her and produced that little girl in there.”
“Uncle Boots!” Cass’s panicked shout cut off any retort Chance might have made. He beat the older man to the stall by a few strides, then waited in the doorway while Boots eased through and knelt beside her.
“It’s gonna be okay, baby girl. Chance called the emergency vet.”
“How can we pay, Uncle Boots? The vet’ll put him down instead of treating him if we can’t pay.”
Her anguish slammed into Chance’s chest. “I’ll take care of it, Cass. Don’t worry.”
“You? How can you afford it? This could cost thousands of dollars.”
He bit back his first answer—that he had a credit card with no limit. Hell, he had a sports car sitting in his garage that cost as much as some people’s houses. He’d always worked, but he’d never had to worry about getting paid, or having to save up money to buy something, or pay a bill.
“I have it covered, Cass. I promise.” He recognized the argument she started to raise by the look on her face. “And we’ll work out a way for you to pay me back. Not charity. A loan. Okay? Right now, let’s just get the little guy fixed.”
* * *
Boots had a stubborn look on his face—one Cass was extremely familiar with—but he didn’t say anything. After a staring match with Chance, Boots turned his gaze to her. “I’m goin’ up to the house to get a few things. I’ll be back before the vet gets here.” The look he leveled at Chance as he backed out of the stall spoke volumes. Problem was, Cass couldn’t translate it.
“Do the right thing, son.”
And what the heck did Boots mean by that parting shot? Wrung out emotionally and on edge already, she waited until she heard the barn door close before she broached the subject. “What’s he talking about, Chance?”
With a weary sigh, he squatted in the straw across from her and took his own sweet time getting settled with his back against the wall. “It’s a long story. And it doesn’t really matter right now anyway.”
She stared at him from under furrowed brows. “I’ve got nothing but time at the moment.”
Buddy lay down beside Chance and rested his chin on the man’s thigh. The dog closed his eyes as Chance ruffled his ears.
“Traitor.” She muttered the word but both dog and man seemed to chuckle at her. “Why did you come back tonight?”
“I didn’t come back. I just...I never left, Cass. Not in the sense you mean. I have a job. I have bills to pay, too.”