Stone Cold Cowboy(28)

“He’s lost about thirty pounds in the last three months. He smoked for nearly forty years of his life. He up and quit about two years ago, but his cough just keeps getting worse. Now his memory fades. Sometimes he’s so confused he doesn’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”

“Like forgetting he left a pot of chili on the stove.”

“A couple of times he wandered off in the middle of the night. When I found him walking down the road, he said he was going courting my mother.” She gave a soft chuckle that held little amusement. “His mind takes him back to her. Always her.”

“He must have loved her a lot.”

Again, another soft smile that didn’t really hold any happiness. “They were great together. Always smiling and laughing. They’d share these looks . . . Like they had a secret.”

“My mother would look at my dad sometimes when he’d come in from working all day. They said so much with that look.”

“I guess if you love someone that much, words aren’t needed. That feeling is just there between you and it’s enough to fill up the silence.” Sadie shook off the cold and her thoughts with a shiver. “Sorry. Lost myself in romantic fancy there for a minute. Must be the pretty sunset and the waning pain meds.”

“That’s how it should be between a man and a woman.” Rory didn’t know what else to say, because he didn’t want to dismiss what she’d said.

Her gaze met his. She didn’t say anything but must have read in him his understanding of how she felt.

She sucked in a bolstering breath. “Anyway, I suspect my father is suffering from lung cancer and it’s spread to his brain. Probably his whole body by now. Whatever the doctors told him, he’s decided to live out his remaining days here.”

“You think he’s only got days?” Rory stared back at the house, hoping she was wrong. For her sake. He hated the sadness in her eyes. He knew what it was like to lose a parent and although she’d already lost her mother, he didn’t want to see her lose her father. Not now. Not this way. “You and Dane are friends. Bell’s his wife. Call them. She’ll come by and check on your dad. Maybe there’s something she can do.”

“I don’t think anything or anyone can help him now. I want to believe that what I see plain as day in front of me isn’t the truth. I want him to live a good long time and see these hard times turn into good ones.”

Yes, she wanted her father to see Connor turn his life around. Maybe see his daughter get married and have a family of her own. His grandfather nagged Rory daily for a great-grandbaby before he died. If Mr. Higgins truly was dying this young, he’d never see his own grandchild, let alone his daughter happily married.

Rory’s gut tied in knots thinking of her with some other guy. Like he wanted to be with her. He did, but it didn’t seem possible. Rory wanted to get to know her better. He’d like to see her smile. But with this business with her brother and what she had to deal with here at home with her dad, the timing sucked. Not to mention the fact he hadn’t dated a woman properly in years. His skills hadn’t just grown rusty, they’d turned to dust.

“I’m sorry, Sadie. I wish there was something I could do for you.”

“You’ve done so much already.” She eyed him strangely, made some decision he couldn’t guess at, then rushed to him and threw her arms around his middle, locking his arms at his sides.

Stunned by her show of affection, he stood there stone still and took in her sweet scent, the softness of her body against his, the way her head lay against his chest, tucked under his chin.

“Thank you for saving me.” She hugged him tight, then let him loose all at once and rushed up the steps and into her house, leaving him standing there dumbfounded.

What did that hug mean? Certainly not what he wanted it to mean if she ran away from him.

He stared back at the house and the closed door and wondered. They’d shared some personal things over the last day or so, but he wanted more. Did she?





CHAPTER 7

Rory rode back into the barn and dismounted from his horse. He pulled the reins over the horse’s head and tried to contain his fury. Another five head of cattle missing. The asshole was brazen enough to steal an entire herd a week ago, and now he’d come back and taken more. The horse shied and sidestepped, reading Rory’s foul mood. He tried to suck in a soothing breath and calm himself down, but he’d barely slept these last days, thinking about Sadie, dreaming about her. He didn’t mind the nice ones where he kissed her and made love to her all through the night. The ones that turned to nightmares, with her bloody and swinging from a tree, left him awake and staring at the ceiling in a cold sweat. All he did was worry about her. He wondered if her injuries were healing. Had her brother come back home and put her in more danger? Did that asshole who’d strung her up want to hurt her again because she could ID him and send him to jail for what he did to her and for stealing the cattle? Were the cops keeping up with the patrols by her house? Was it enough to keep her safe?