Page 30 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

“How sure are you?” he asked.

“Pretty sure.”

He’d rather one hundred percent certainty, but okay.

“There’s so much blood,” one of the other women murmured.

“I want to get out of here,” another said.

“Ignore them.” Cassie moved in front of them, drawing his attention. Her smile, tentative, but definitely friendlier than nearly every other encounter, ensured his gaze remained there.

Even with a towel around her and with wet hair clumping around her shoulders she was attractive. Her blue eyes held a slight hint of green, her dark lashes making the color pop against her tan. And now, when she wasn’t busy being angry or offended at him, her face held a softness that made him want to try harder to be the kind of man his grandma would’ve been proud of, rather than the one his father had once called a slick faker.

“There.” Jess tightened a bandage.

“Ow.”

She glanced up at him then stood. “Now just because it’s non-venomous doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. This type of garter snake has mildly venomous saliva, and may result in some pain and swelling, but less than you might usually expect in a snakebite.”

“I gotta admit I don’t usually expect a snake to bite me.” Look at him, toughing it out, making jokes, being brave.

“You may end up with some swelling,” Jess continued. “And you need to keep an eye out in case there is an allergic reaction. You should count yourself lucky it didn’t do what it often does when threatened and release a stink bomb of a secretion.”

“Hallelujah,” he muttered. Still, he was grateful for small mercies.

Jess frowned. “We should send you to a doctor.”

“There’s a medic on set.” Although how he was going to get there remained to be seen.

“I’ll drive you back.” Poppy gestured to the bank above. “My car is up there.”

“You don’t have to.”

Jess wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, you’re not going back on a horse.”

“Cassie or Jess can ride Buddy,” Poppy said.

A sigh escaped the woman he’d tried to save. He glanced at her apologetically. “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

“Says the man who refused to leave before.”

Hmm. Clearly his heroics hadn’t dampened all antagonism.

“We should get you back to civilization as soon as possible,” one of the other women said, collecting their things. “Do you need ibuprofen?”

“No, don’t take it,” Jess cautioned. “His blood may be thinned, and it’s already not clotting like it should.” She frowned at him. “Do you have platelet issues?”

“What issues?”

“Your blood platelets. You know, the cells that allow for your blood to clot when you cut yourself.”

“I don’t think so.”

“We’d better get you seen by a hospital doctor to make sure.”

Great. How had a simple afternoon’s ride turned into such a debacle? He glanced at the bride-to-be. “I’m really sorry for wrecking your afternoon.”

“It’s not wrecked. Just a little more dramatic than we expected.”

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