Stone Cold Cowboy(16)
“She was having another nightmare, thrashing around in the bed. I touched her shoulders to steady her and keep her from hurting herself. She woke up, saw me, and I don’t know . . . She freaked out.”
“What did you do to her?” Luna demanded.
“Nothing,” Rory bit out.
“Panic attack.” Bell tapped the monitor by the bed. “Her heart rate is coming down. She passed out. She’ll wake up soon.”
Sadie’s heart rate might be slowing down, but his stopped when her eyes rolled back in her head and she went limp. He fell back into the chair he’d sat in all night and raked his hands through both sides of his hair and tried to hold it together. He’d barely slept. His back ached from the uncomfortable seat. He needed a huge dose of caffeine and a chance to set the record straight with Sadie. If she called him the devil one more time, he might lose it. He hated that she thought he’d hurt her.
Bell’s hand settled on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’s okay.”
“Do you think these nightmares and stuff will last long?”
“I don’t know. It depends on her and how well she’s able to cope with what happened.”
“Sadie’s tough.” Luna touched her hand softly to Sadie’s leg, staring down at her friend. “She’ll get through this.”
“She needs time to heal both her body and her mind. What she went through out there?” Bell frowned and her eyes went soft with sadness. “I can’t imagine it, Rory.”
“Me either. I just want this to be over for her.”
Luna stared across Sadie at him. “Dr. Bowden told me you found her. Thank you for saving my friend.” Tears welled in her eyes.
Rory nodded, unable to say or do anything else.
The nurse finished checking the IV line and monitors and slipped out the door.
“Do you need anything?” Bell asked.
“I’m good.”
“You should go home and get some sleep.”
“I can stay with her for a little while,” Luna offered.
“Later. I need to talk to her.”
“About the cattle?” Bell asked.
“Fuck the cattle,” he spat out, then realized he’d let his anger override his good sense. “Sorry, Doc. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
She smiled. “It’s okay. I get it. You’re worried about her.”
“How long does she have to stay here?” Luna asked.
“Depends on how she feels when she wakes up. If the cops decide to take her in—”
“She didn’t do anything,” Rory snapped.
Bell’s hand contracted on his shoulder. “If they don’t see it your way, I’ll make up an excuse to keep her here another day if you’d like.”
“That might give me enough time to find her brother and make him answer for this instead of her.”
“I hope you do. Someone needs to teach him a lesson.” The determined look in Luna’s eyes said she’d like to see Connor pay for hurting her friend.
“So you think he’s involved with this, too?” Rory asked.
“Not think. Know. If Sadie is in the middle of it, it’s because she rushed in to help him.” Luna frowned down at Sadie. “In this case, it’s probably more accurate to say she tried to stop him. I wish I’d known what happened yesterday. I didn’t find out until I went in to work this morning. Everyone is talking about it.”
“I’ll see what I can do to keep her here if it comes to that. I’ll keep the deputy waiting outside until she’s up to talking to him. I have another patient to check on before Dane and I leave to go to breakfast. Your favorite girl is outside waiting to see you.”
He smiled, thinking of the little blond angel who’d stolen his heart. “Send her in.” He pressed his hands on the chair arms, making his hand sting again. He caught Bell before she walked out the door. “Hey, Doc, can I have some antiseptic and ointment for this?” He held up his hand, showing her the wound.
“Did the barbed wire get you?”
“Not nearly as bad as it got her.”
“When’s the last time you got a tetanus shot?”
“About four years ago. I’m good.”
“Be right back.”
Rory eyed Luna eyeing him. “What?”
“You’ve been here all night?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Because you want your cattle back or compensation for them? Or some other reason?”
“No. And yes.”
“Always a man of few words. Wanna tell me why you’re still here?”
“No.” Truthfully, he had a hundred reasons and none. Nothing really made sense, except he couldn’t leave her.