Chapter Twenty-Seven Savannah #2
“Probably.” He doesn’t look at me, just continues to stare at the chaos outside.
“Can’t imagine what else it’d be. We just need to get the fence fixed and be more careful going forward.
” That’s when he finally casts a glance at me over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be alone in this, Savvie. ”
I stand up on wobbly legs and creep toward him. “Thank you for being here. For all of this. I don’t . . . I don’t know what I’d have done if you weren’t around.” Another sob lodges in my throat. “I can’t believe this happened. That Miss Bea’s really gone.”
Nash pulls me into his arms, and I cry into his flannel shirt. He rubs his hand up and down my back, and it’s the most comforting thing in the world to me.
“Hey, why don’t you go and splash some water on your face? Dr. Burgess will be here soon, and I’m going to herd some more of the cattle.”
I shake my head. “No, I want to help. This is my responsibility. I can’t let you do everything. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“Okay.” He opens the door, and we walk outside.
Flashing red-and-blue lights spin out on the main road. My gut clenches.
“Who took her away?”
“Hearts and Hooves, a local company that handles fallen livestock. They got here real quick. They’ll take care of her.” Nash claps a hand on my shoulder. “It’s gonna be all right, Savvie. We’re gonna get through this.”
We walk together out to the far end of the pasture where three of the cattle moan loudly. I run toward them.
“Oh no,” I cry out, skidding to a stop next to Ginger. I fall to my knees next to her. There’s a deep gash on one of her hind legs. Gemma has cuts on her side, and Marcy’s right front leg is a mess of cuts and blood. “You poor babies. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“The doc will fix ’em up nice,” Nash says. “You okay here by yourself? I wanna help out the guys. They’re still trying to find all the cattle that wandered out.”
He points to the farthest pasture, where his friends have already begun to herd the cattle back to safety.
“We need to fix that fence,” I say. “This can’t happen again, especially if we are leasing the land. I’ll pay for whatever top-quality materials are needed to get this taken care of once and for all. Make that a priority for Mikey and Randy.”
“Let’s just get the cattle back here first. Then we’ll take care of the repairs.” Nash goes into the barn, and a few minutes later, he returns with Maxi, one of our horses, all saddled up. “I’ll be back soon. Maxi’s gonna help me round up the cattle out there.”
I nod as Nash mounts her and rides her out to the prairie just over the highway.
“I should have protected you all better,” I say, running my hand down Ginger’s neck. “But I promise, this won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of that.”
The morning sun rises in the sky, the air hot and heavy with foreboding. I look around the perimeter of the ranch. What kids would purposely pull a dangerous prank like this?
I walk over to the fence and frown at the post cracks and busted wire. I guess if some small animal caught their interest, a few of the cattle wandered over to the weak section of the fence and leaned on it . . . yeah, I suppose it could have just given way at some point.
I let out a deep sigh. Jesus, what a mess.
A truck pulls up behind me, and I jump up, relief crashing over me when Tyler’s smiling face greets me.
“Hey, Savvie. I’m so sorry to hear about what happened.” He walks toward me with his bag in hand. “But I’m going to fix these girls up real nice.”
“Thank you so much for coming.” He keeps up a steady stream of chatter as he examines the cattle, and it feels like a much-needed distraction.
There’s something so calming in his command of the situation. He cleans the wounds, patches the girls up, and gives them each a shot.
“Antibiotics,” he says. “Just to prevent infection. You never know what kind of germs linger on old metal.”
“Thank you so much,” I say. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming over here so quickly.”
“Well, it’s a serious situation. I didn’t want to delay.
I’m sorry I couldn’t get here in time to see Miss Bea, but from what Nash said, there wouldn’t have been anything I could do.
A leg that badly broken?” He shakes his head.
“It’s sad, but putting her down is really the most humane thing to do. ”
A knot of tears catches in my throat. “I know.”
“You doing okay?” he asks. “It’s a lot to handle on your own.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” I say. “But I have to keep going.”
“Well, don’t feel like you’re alone. I’m always here.”
I manage a smile. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
He grazes my arm for a long minute, his gaze heavy on me. Then he bends down to pack up his bag once he finishes with the girls. “I’ll stop by tomorrow to check on them. Make sure no infections have set in. The antibiotics work quickly, but there’s no harm in being overly cautious.”
“I’d really like that.”
He holds out his hand, and I take it. He pulls me off the ground until we’re mere inches apart. He pushes his glasses up higher on his nose, his other hand still gripping mine. Our gazes tangle for a second too long before the sound of an engine jolts me.
I turn. Blaze’s truck slows to a stop. He gets out of his truck and walks toward us. I grit my teeth at the murderous look he shoots Tyler. Dangerous energy crackles in the air as he approaches.
“What’s going on?” Blaze asks in a tight voice, his eyes laser focused on our interlocked hands.
I sneak a look at Tyler. He meets Blaze’s glare. “I was here treating some injured cattle. They had a few deep lacerations from the cut fence.”
I cast a cold look at Blaze. “There was an accident here this morning.”
Which you would have known about if you hadn’t cut and run like you always freaking do.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he asks, a twinge of defensiveness in his tone.
“She needed a vet, not—” Tyler’s lips snap together before he can continue his sentence.
“Not what?” Blaze steps closer, his fists clenched at his sides.
Tyler just smiles, and that infuriates Blaze even more. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’ve got it covered.”
“Seems like you’re making yourself real comfortable here, Burgess.”
Tyler shrugs. “Just doing my job. Taking care of things.” He releases my hand, but it’s slow. Almost exaggerated, deliberately so. A peek at Blaze confirms his head is about to spin off his neck.
“I should go. I’ve got some other house calls to make.” He smiles at me. “I’ll call you later to see if you need anything.”
“She won’t need anything. She’s got me,” Blaze interjects, pushing himself between us.
“Does she?” Tyler asks with a lift of his lips. But his smile isn’t the warm one he usually reserves for me. This one is different. Knowing.
He leaves before Blaze can respond.
The silence stretches between us, thick with tension, heavy with so many things unsaid.
“What the hell was that?” I finally ask.
Blaze watches Tyler’s truck disappear down the drive with narrowed eyes. When he finally turns to face me, something dangerous flickers in his hardened gaze.
“Stay away from him, Savannah.”
“Excuse me?” I fold my arms over my chest.
He steps closer, and despite my anger, my traitorous body responds to his proximity. Heat rolls off him, sizzling my skin. “Tyler Burgess. Stay. Away.”
“He’s the town vet, Blaze. And unlike some people, he actually shows up when I need help.”
His expression is eclipsed by a complicated mix of possession, jealousy, and something almost feral. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Savvie.”
“About what?”
He steps so close I can feel his breath against my cheek. “You think you have a choice. You think Burgess showing up, being reliable, being safe, gives you options.”
“It does—”
“No.” His voice is quiet. “It doesn’t. Because no matter how many times I leave, no matter how many times I fuck this up, you’ll still let me back in. You’ll still open that door.” His eyes bore into mine. “Just like you did last night.”
“That’s not true,” I say, my voice weak. Because I am lying through my damn teeth right now.
He’s so close now I can barely breathe anything other than him. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me if I walked away right now, you wouldn’t spend all day wishing I’d stayed. Tell me you wouldn’t answer if I showed up at your door at midnight.”
I want to tell him he’s wrong. I want to say I’m done, that I’d choose Tyler’s steady reliability over Blaze’s chaos any day.
“Hate me all you want,” he says, voice rough.
“But don’t fool yourself into thinking Burgess, or anyone else for that matter, can give you what I do.
Even when I’m destroying you, you can’t stay away.
” He leans in, lips brushing against my ear.
“And that’s not me having you, Savvie. That’s you being mine, whether you like it or not. ”