Page 12 of Second Chance With a Cowboy

The house had the living room in the front and the kitchen in the back with a long flight of stairs in between leading up to the bedrooms.

More blood was streaked along the stairway wall and pooled at the foot of the steps.

Swallowing the bile rising in his throat as his chest filled with terror and dread, he took a step toward the stretcher as he called out her name. “Leni!”

Relief flooded through him as she stepped out of the kitchen, bouncing the crying baby on her chest. Her eyes were wide as she tried to focus on the stretcher, reaching one hand out to the prone figure who must be her sister, while using the other to try to calm the distraught child.

She had on a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless top, and red blood was streaked along one of her hands and up her arm. Another dab of blood was smudged across her forehead.

He strode toward Leni, sweeping her and the baby into his arms, careful not to crush them, but needing to hold her. “I got you,” he said into Leni’s hair.

Her free arm wrapped around his back, her fingers gripping his shirt as she pressed into his chest. She whispered his name before pulling away, her eyes big and scared as she stared up at him, words tumbling out of her mouth over the cries of the baby. “Lorna. She fell down the stairs. Hit her head. I heard her fall. Somuch blood. I didn’t know what to do. She passed out when she tried to stand up, so I called the ambulance.”

“You did the right thing,” he told her, gently taking the baby from her and rubbing the infant’s back as he tucked her into the spot between his chest and his neck. She was so tiny. He could almost cover her whole body with his palm.

He pulled Leni back into the crook of his shoulder, holding her tightly against him as he offered soft coos and shushes against the downy soft hair of the baby’s head.

Chevy heard another cry and turned to see Max, who had been curled into a small ball in the corner of the sofa, crawl down and launch himself toward them. He squeezed between them, clinging to both Chevy and Leni’s legs.

Leni reached down and cupped his head. “It’s okay, honey.”

One of the paramedics—a tall black man with a reassuring smile—walked toward them as the other one maneuvered the stretcher out the front door and toward the waiting ambulance. “I’m sure your sister’s going to be fine,” he told Leni. “Her ankle is pretty swollen, and she’s probably gonna need a few stitches where she cut her head. We’re taking her to the hospital where they’ll assess her injuries, run a few tests, probably get an x-ray of her leg. You’re welcome to follow us so you can be with her at the hospital, but we’re leaving now.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Leni cried as she looked up at Chevy. “I don’t even have my car here. It’s plugged in at the library. And I can’t leave the kids. But I don’t want Lorna to be by herself.”

He put his keys into her hand. “Take my truck. I’ll stay here with the kids.”

“No. I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll call…” She pressed her hand to her mouth. “I don’t know who to call.”

“You don’t have to call anyone. I’ve got this.” He cupped her chin in his palm, tilting her face up toward his as he spokein a low, calm tone. “She’s going to be okay. I can handle the kids. You follow the ambulance in my truck and call me when you know something. I’m only a phone call or a text away. My number’s the same. Do you need me to give it to you again?” He’d never changed it, just in case she ever decided to reach out to him.

“No, I’ve still got it.” She clasped his keys to her chest as she pressed her lips together, so hard that he knew she was doing everything she could to hold it together.

He shrugged out of his flannel shirt, gently shifting Izzy—who had calmed down and stopped crying as she snuggled into the warmth of his shoulder—and held it out to Leni. “Put this on.”

She must have been in shock because she didn’t argue with him. She just pulled the shirt on. The sleeves were too long, but she didn’t seem to notice as she wrapped the rest of the shirt around her body.

Her eyes still looked glazed, so he gripped one of her shoulders, just hard enough to get her to look up at him. “Listen to me, Eleanor Gibbs you candothis. For Pete’s sake, you told me that you help build spacecraft for a living. Now you’re going to get in my truck, drive to the hospital, and take care of your little sister. Because she needs you.”

She stared into his eyes as if drawing strength from his gaze, then she nodded and pressed a kiss to Izzy’s head before bending down to pull Max into a hug. His small arms wrapped around her neck, stretching the sleeves of his Paw Patrol pajamas as he hugged her tight. “Aunt Leni, is my mommy gonna be okay?”

Leni squeezed him to her, forcing a smile as she used the back of her hand to swipe away the tears from her cheeks. “Yes, of course she is, buddy. I know this seems scary, but those people who were here are taking good care of your mommy. AndI’m going to the hospital to keep an eye on her. Are you okay staying with Chevy?”

He nodded, reaching to take Chevy’s hand. “Yes. I want you to go. I don’t want mommy to be all alone in the big hospital.”

“Oh, sweet boy.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “She won’t be. I’ll be with her the whole time.”

The front door was still open, and Chevy could see the ambulance pulling away. “Better go,” he told Leni.

She hurried to the door and stuffed her feet into a pair of sneakers that had been left there. Gripping the door frame, she turned back to Chevy. “You sure?”

He nodded, giving her his most sincere expression. “Yes. I got this. Go.”

“Lorna just fed Izzy so she should be okay for a few hours. Call if you need me.”

“Go.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed before turning and running across the lawn and toward his truck.

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