Chapter 36
Cal slowly came to. The pain radiating through him made him wonder what injury he had now. He couldn’t remember what bull he had been on. Then it all came back to him.
Dillon. Hank.
The gun.
His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked against the harsh light of the room. He tried to swallow, but his throat was dry and scratchy.
“Cal? Oh, God, Cal.”
He turned his head at the sound of his mother’s voice to find her rushing to his side. He spotted the chair near his bed that she had been sitting on, reading one of her favorite romance authors, Sawyer Bennett.
She gently touched his face, her watery smile proof that she had been worried. There was happiness mixed with tears in her gray eyes. “Are you in pain? Do you need anything?”
He tried to lick his lips, which was a mistake. He attempted to swallow once more—another mistake. “Water,” he croaked.
“Oh,” she said, flustered and turned around. A moment later, she had a cup in her hand with a bendable straw.
He pulled the liquid into his mouth and let it sit before swallowing. After two more such drinks, he waved it away, knowing from experience that he shouldn’t take too much at once.
“You scared the hell out of me,” his mother said.
Her chin-length pale brown locks were in disarray. She had a habit of running her hands through her hair when she was anxious. Cal used to tease her about it often when he still lived at home.
“I’m okay,” he told her.
She gave him a heavy dose of side-eye as she took his hand in hers. “Here I thought I wouldn’t have any more hospital visits once you quit rodeoing. What you did was crazy. Heroic, but crazy.”
“It worked.” Cal glanced around the small room, hoping he might find Dillon.
His mother patted his hand. “You’re lucky. The bullet missed your heart by an inch. The doctor got it out, but your recovery will be long.”
Cal’s mind replayed the scene where Emmett had lifted the gun toward Dillon. Cal hadn’t hesitated to dive in front of her. He could still hear the sound of the gun’s retort, deafening him for a second.
Then the impact of the bullet entering his body, taking his breath as he plunged to the ground.
“You’re on a heavy dose of antibiotics as well as painkillers,” his mother said.
Cal drew in a breath, grateful for her voice that pulled him from his mind. “I can tell.”
“Are you up for a visitor?”
He immediately perked up. The beeping of his heart monitor caused his mother to glance at the machine, then back at him. It would be just like Dillon to wait in the hall so he and his mother could have some private time.
Cal held her gaze, fighting back the smile at the thought of seeing Dillon. “Yes.”
His mother turned and walked to the door. She opened it a crack and said something he couldn’t hear. The door then opened wider and a body filled the doorway, but it wasn’t Dillon. Instead, he found himself meeting Chet Thompson’s gaze.
“How you doing, son?” the ranger asked.
Cal’s disappointment was profound. Dillon couldn’t still think he had betrayed her, could she?
He thought he had told her why he’d been there, but he wasn’t sure.
His pain had been great, and he’d been fighting to stay awake.
Surely, Chet had told her everything. But if he had, then where was she?
He hadn’t imagined the feelings between them.
They had been real and amazing, something he’d never experienced before.
Something he knew he would never feel with another person.
Dillon’s absence made him face the possibility that she didn’t feel the same for him. Or maybe she wasn’t ready for what was between them. Neither scenario made him feel better, though.
“Cal?”
He blinked and focused on Chet. “Yes?”
“I asked how you were doing?”
“Hurting. But alive.”
The ranger’s lips curved into a crooked smile. “You did what you set out to do. You stopped Hank and saved Dillon.”
The mention of her name was like rubbing salt in his wound. Cal forced a smile as he glanced at his mother. “Anyone who knows us Bennetts knows how muleheaded we are.”
His mother smiled, but her eyes were sad.
“So,” Chet said and cleared his throat, “a lot has happened since you were rushed to the hospital. Emmett has been charged with attempted murder against Dillon, horse theft for stealing Legacy, and several other things I can’t remember.
Dolly’s body is being exhumed, and a pathologist will run some tests after Emmett admitted to murdering her.
Isaac Gomez has also been arrested and will be charged with a myriad of things. ”
“Did you find the stallion?” Cal asked. “I know where he is.”
Chet’s smile was wide. “Hank’s employees willingly revealed Legacy’s whereabouts, and he was returned to the Bar 4, where he belongs.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“I’ve alerted the Texas Rangers about Hank. If he was willing to kill to get land, then it might be wise for them to take a look at his other dealings and associations—especially those he had in his pocket like Sheriff Felps.”
That made Cal grin. “Please tell me the Rangers will dig into his dealings, even though he’s dead.”
“They will. The county is about to get upended. It might take some time to sort things out, but all dirty laundry gets aired out eventually. I suspect Hank’s and Isaac’s is particularly dirty.”
“Thanks for updating me.”
Chet started to turn away when he paused.
“One more thing. A body was found just outside of town. The remains were a male with a gunshot wound to his head. The ME identified the man as Freddy Miller, who was known about town as having worked for Isaac Gomez. He had a wife and two young children who reported him missing a week ago. He was found with a .22 rifle. Forensics identified that one of the slugs pulled from Dillon’s cabinet matches a bullet fired from Freddy’s rifle. ”
“Damn. Do you think Gomez killed him because Freddy didn’t get Dillon?” Cal asked.
Chet shrugged. “Could be. We’ll likely never know. Right now, the authorities are trying to see if they can determine who killed Freddy. If it’s Gomez, he’ll be charged for murder.”
“Let’s hope they find what they need.”
The ranger looked at Wanda and tipped his hat to her. Then he slid his gaze to Cal. “Good luck, son. If you ever want a job with the TSCRA, let me know.”
Cal smiled as Chet walked from the room.
“I’ll be right back,” his mother said and hurried after the ranger.
Cal leaned his head back against the pillow. The pain in his left side throbbed with every beat of his heart. He tried to shift and clenched his teeth in pain. Instead of subsiding, it intensified. He fisted his right hand and squeezed his eyes closed as he battled the brunt of the agony.
Dimly, he heard the door open. He didn’t want to look up and have his mother see him in such a state.
No doubt she’d drag every doctor in the hospital to his room to have a look at him.
Slowly, the pain began ebbing enough that he could relax.
It was only then that he realized that someone had spoken, and it wasn’t his mother.
Cal snapped his eyes open, and his gaze landed on Dillon. She stood at the foot of his bed, her wavy, dark locks flowing freely. She had changed and now wore a black dress that looked like a long T-shirt with slits on either side to show off her gorgeous legs.
“Hi,” she said nervously.
He swallowed, so happy she was there that he could hardly contain himself. “Hi.”
“It seems I owe you an apology.”
“You don’t.”
“I accused you of stealing the deeds.”
“I would’ve done the same in your shoes, I’m sure. Besides, it allowed me a way in with Hank so I could learn all the details I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
She tucked her hair behind an ear, her gaze dropping to the floor. “You saved my life a second time.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Always.”
“I’ll never be able to repay you.”
Cal smiled. “Sure, you can.”
“How?” she asked with a frown.
“Kiss me.”
She quirked a brow and gave him a flat look. “A kiss for a life? That hardly seems fair.”
“It’s what I want.”
Dillon stared at him for a moment longer before she walked to him and leaned down to gently place her lips on his. Cal reveled in her taste before she pulled back.
“Is that it?” she asked. “We’re even now?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. I want a kiss a day for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, really?” she asked with a chuckle, her lips curving into a smile. “You’re really pushing things now.”
“I think it’s fair. I did take a bullet for you.”
Her face sobered. “You did.”
“Don’t,” he said and took her hand in his good one. “I wasn’t lying. I’d do it again.”
She looked down at their joined hands before returning her gaze to him. “You mouthed something when they put you in the ambulance.”
“I sure did.”
“Say it again. Please?” she asked in a soft voice.
Cal looked into her powder blue eyes and said, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she replied with a slow smile.
“Now you’ll never get rid of me,” he joked.
She leaned down for another kiss and whispered, “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”