Chapter 32 Dolly
DOLLY
“Iam perfectly capable of walking out of here. Let them use a wheelchair on someone who actually needs it.”
Sam clenches his jaw. “Either get in it or I’ll carry you. You choose.”
His hands are already full with the bouquet of white magnolias and the velvety soft giant brown teddy bear he got me from the gift shop while I was sleeping. It has a big yellow bow around its neck, and I’m already sad, thinking that I’ll be forced to cuddle with it instead of him someday.
“You can’t carry me. What will you do with Buttermilk?”
“Buttermilk?”
I point at the teddy.
He steps toward me. “You underestimate me. Come here.”
I want to see how he plans to accomplish this, so I move toward him.
He hands me the bouquet of flowers before he bends down and easily scoops me up.
Buttermilk must be dangling underneath us.
My small tote bag of toiletries and clean clothes that Rosie brought me is already slung over his shoulder.
He strides out of the hospital room, like carrying me is his morning routine. I inhale the rich scent of the magnolias and settle into his arms. Sterling left sometime early this morning to help the guys with bull testing day at the ranch. Sam punches the down button on the elevator.
I want to ask what they did with Ben, but I’m too afraid of the answer. The elevator doors part to reveal two nurses who are chattering until they spot us. Approving smiles cut across their faces as they scoot over to make room for us.
“Good morning,” he says to them.
“Good morning!” they reply in unison, grins widening.
I nibble on my lower lip, laying my head against his shoulder as the doors close again. Sam has some serious stubble on his jawline, which I find myself wishing it were scratching against my inner thighs. My cheeks turn pink, which only causes the nurses to start giggling and whispering.
They think we are the cutest couple they’ve ever seen. Just being mistaken as together makes my insides flutter.
“Ladies.” Sam tips his head to the nurses once we get to the lobby.
We get a few curious looks as we exit the hospital. He readjusts his hold on me when we get into the parking lot, where the morning sun is streaming through the trees.
“Am I heavy?”
He looks at me like the question is personally offensive.
“I could have walked, you know.”
When we get to his white Chevy pickup truck, he opens the door and carefully places me in the front seat. I’m staring at his profile, wondering when he’s going to kiss me again. He reaches around me and buckles my seat belt before meeting my eyes.
“You hungry? We can stop for food.”
I nod. “Sure.”
He puts Buttermilk in the back seat before walking around to the driver’s door.
I wonder if I can convince him that I’m totally physically able to engage in nefarious activities, if he wouldn’t even let me walk out of here on my own…
We’re in Green City, Texas, the town with the nearest hospital.
There’s also a university here, Ole Tex, where Rosie was taking online courses for her nursing degree.
I drove her up here to enroll in courses, and we admired the hot college guys when we were only nineteen. They have an amazing baseball team.
Sam pulls us up to the local deli sub shop and runs in to grab us some food. I start rereading one of my favorite werewolf romance books while he’s in there. Once he gets back out, he insists on me eating right away to make sure my blood sugar doesn’t drop.
“I can wait until we get home,” I protest, despite my stomach growling and the two-hour drive back to Moonlight Ranch.
“No. The doctor wants you to eat every four hours, and all you had earlier was a piece of toast.”
I grumble but pull out the sandwich. I’m trying to eat quietly, and he must pick up on it because he reaches over to turn on the radio.
After finishing my food, I recline my seat a little and start reading my book.
I’m just getting to a scene where the werewolf is chasing the vampire girl through the woods—she wants to be chased—and he’s about to pound her up against a tree and knot in her for the first time.
Sam reaches over and grabs my hand. I yelp in surprise, my heart jumping in my chest.
“Sorry. Jeez, you scared me.”
He tightens his hand around mine, concern etching his features. “Are you reading a scary book?”
“Some people might say it’s scary, I guess.”
“What’s it about?”
“Umm … well, there’s this guy, and he can turn into a werewolf.”
“Like Jacob in Twilight?”
“Yes, exactly like that. So, he has found his fated mate, but she’s a vampire. And their species hate each other, and they’re at war.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, it sucks, but you know, they figure it out.”
I turn to see him studying the road ahead, looking so fine that I could melt.
His reddish-brown curls sweep out from under the edge of his faded blue ball cap.
His shirt is a worn copper-colored plaid button-down, rolled up to his elbows.
The jeans he has on must be his favorite because the knees are threadbare.
“Well, what’s your favorite part?”
My cheeks turn rosy, and my hand starts to sweat in his. I try to think of something about the book that’s not the smutty, chasing-through-the-woods-and-knotting part … but my mind goes completely blank.
“Uh, you know I’m only halfway through it, and I just don’t have a favorite part yet.” I rush the words out, adjusting my glasses with my free hand.
He chuckles. “You’ve always been a really shitty liar, Dollface.”
I squeeze my thighs together. “Well, if you insist, my favorite part is when he knots inside her.”
“Knots?” His interest is piqued.
I nod, feeling the word settle between us.
After a few moments of growing tension, he clears his throat. “Are you gonna tell me what that is, or do you want me to guess?”
I wet my lips.
“Knotting is … knotting is where his … thing … swells up inside her, and it makes her come again and again, but then it stays that way for, like, twenty or thirty minutes, and they can’t break apart. Then, sometimes, they even fall asleep that way. And he can only do it with his mate, no one else.”
Sam’s eyes haven’t strayed from the asphalt in front of him, but I can see him struggling as he adjusts his grip on the steering wheel. He clears his throat again.
“Hmm. That’s an interesting concept.”
“Yeah,” I mumble.
His grip on my hand is so tight that it’s almost bruising, and I can tell we’re both thinking about it.
We’re both wondering how long he could stay hard inside me.
We’re fantasizing about the possibility of trying it out, fucking like animals, like we’re mad for each other and then letting his erection stay inside me until we fall asleep.
It’s at least thirty minutes of silence until we pull up to Redford Ranch and park near the arena. It’s early afternoon, and the ranch hands and my brothers are all around the barn for bull testing day.
“Do you feel up to this? Or are you tired and want to go lie down?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I want to see everyone. I’m not tired.”
He nods and steps out to walk around to my side of the truck to open my door.
“Where is … what did y’all do with Ben?”
He squeezes my hand. “They brought him here and locked him in the tack room inside the barn. We’ll decide later.
He’s still not telling who was helping him or what exactly they had planned.
Warner is doing a background check to find out more about him and who he’s been talking to.
” Warner is our family lawyer. He’s helped us navigate several sticky situations.
I nod, feeling sick to my stomach at the entire situation. I thought he liked me, and I wanted the attention. It’s like what happened with Cain all over again.
I guess I haven’t learned a thing. Still a stupid girl who makes stupid decisions and—
“Hey.” Sam interrupts my spiraling thoughts and tugs me into his broad chest.
Tears prick the edges of my eyes and wet the front of his shirt. A choked sob rises from my throat.
His lips are in my hair. “It’s not your fault. This is on him. He lied and deceived, and it’s in his DNA. You’re innocent and perfect and too sweet for this world.”
I scoff, trying to stop the downpour of tears and failing. “What do you mean, it’s in his DNA?”
He sighs before slowly pulling back and studying me with his pale eyes. “Cain was Ben’s—Stanley’s—biological father. He was in foster care his whole life until he aged out of the system a year ago.”
My world spins. This somehow makes it so much worse.
He wasn’t just some random boy with a cute smile; he was the son of the man who almost raped me and traumatized me for life.
My bottom lip quivers as the tears stream down my cheeks.
I’m speechless, even as a hundred questions whirl through my mind.
“Maybe that’s why he always seemed familiar to me.” I mumble.
“We think someone else encouraged him to pursue you, to lie about his age and try to isolate you and get you to trust him so that …” He trails off, the veins in his neck bulging, like he’s trying to restrain his anger and remain calm.
Both of his hands wrap around the back of my head, and he pulls my face toward his.
“Look at me.” His ocean gaze is so intense that I’m nearly drowning in it.
“I’m going to find out who’s behind this, and they’re going to pay dearly for causing you this pain.
Do you understand me? I won’t rest until you are safe again, Red. You have my word.”
His jaw is set, muscles taut and coiled, like he’s my knight in shining armor, ready to slay every demon in my life and my mind. I find myself nodding. His thumb sweeps across my cheek and brushes my tears away.
“Are you ready?”
I nod, letting him help me down from the truck. “Let’s do this.”
Bull testing day has always been my favorite day. When I was a kid, my mom would make little sandwiches for her and me to nibble on while we watched the boys ride.
After squeezing me so tight that I almost burst, Rosie sits down on one of the lawn chairs on the lifted platform. Birdie is a mama’s girl, so she’s perched on her lap. Bonnie climbs up on mine, hugging her chubby little arms around my neck.
“Missed Auntie.”
“I missed you too, love bug.” I hug her back, overwhelmed with gratitude that I’m here with them and my family.
Someone comes up behind me, hugging me tightly with one arm. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I turn, smiling at the gorgeous blonde. Monroe must have flown in yesterday from Los Angeles, where she lives part of the time with Cash.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
She takes the chair next to me and shields her eyes from the Texas sun. The half-grown kitten in her lap meows, causing the twins to squeal with excitement and run over to pet her.
“Careful, girls. Be gentle,” Rosie says.
“I’m okay, just a little jet-lagged. Cash caught me up on what’s been going on here. I’m just amazed you’re even functioning right now. Are you sure you don’t want a ticket out of here for a few weeks?”
I shake my head, looking out over the arena to see Sam getting ready to ride the next bull. They test them every few months to see which ones will be viable options to sell to the Professional Bull Riders Association and which ones may be used for the Riders.
“I need to be with my family. I was thinking maybe we should take a family vacation somewhere, maybe where there’s snow.”
“Ooh, actually, I love that idea!” Rosie chimes in.
Monroe nods, grinning. “Absolutely. We could rent a big cabin in the woods and hide away for Thanksgiving.”
As much as she loves her job and her fans, I know Monroe lives for secret getaway places, where she can be herself and out of the spotlight.
I nod. “I’d like that. Would be really nice to see some snow and snuggle up by the fire.”
“And a hot tub!” Rosie pitches in.
I shake my head. “I want my own hot tub that none of my brothers and y’all have access to.”
Rosie snorts. “You mean, just for you and Sam? So, we’re looking for a place with at least three hot tubs.”
Monroe’s eyes widen. “You and Sam, huh? Finally.” She looks out over the arena at him.
He’s climbing up on a huge black bull now.
My heart squeezes inside my chest. “Yeah, I guess. At least for a little while.”
Monroe and Rosie both turn to face me, but I keep my eyes trained on the arena despite their heavy gazes.
Sam is mounted on the bull, his hand wrapped up in the rope around the front of the bull.
My stomach tightens, even though I’ve seen him ride and other cowboys hundreds of times over the course of my life.
Duke opens the chute, releasing the animal. Sam holds on, the wild bucking beginning immediately. His baseball cap flies off. I try to remember to breathe as he’s tossed around on the two-thousand-pound wild animal like a rag doll.
After about six seconds, the bull jerks left, and Sam loses his balance and falls off, but his hand is caught in the rope. He’s dangling off the side, nearly being trampled. I scream, jumping to my feet and clapping my hand over my mouth in fear.
My heart is racing at a mile a minute. I grip the side of the steel railing in front of me, gaping in horror as the black bull drags him around the arena, still bucking.
A ranch hand on a horse finally gets close enough to loosen the strap around the bull’s flank.
Once he slows down, Sam is finally about to jerk his hand free and jog away from it toward the fence.
I exhale, taking my seat again. Monroe’s and Rosie’s eyes are on me again.
“I don’t wanna hear it,” I grumble, folding my arms over my stomach.
Rosie leans over, wrapping her arm around me. “I heard he was pretty vicious with Ben. I wouldn’t count on him thinking it’s just for experience at this point, honey. He’s just having a hard time admitting it to himself. And he’s scared shitless of your brothers.”
“Sterling knows,” I blurt out, keeping my voice low.
Monroe leans closer. “I hate to break it to you, but Cash does too. I told him forever ago.”
I whip my head to face her. “How did you know?”
She smiles. “It’s not exactly what I could call a secret. I mean, he doesn’t know it’s progressed, but … it’s pretty obvious.”
My cheeks burn. I shut my eyes, shaking my head as it starts to pound. “I need to lie down.”