Page 53 of Embracing Hope

“Take your shirt off, cowboy. I want to touch that torso,” she whispered.

“Here?” he groaned.

“We’re safe.”

Without a millisecond of hesitation, he shrugged out of the chambray and tossed it over a low-hanging limb on the tree.

Her eyes shone like raw diamonds as she stared at his chest, using her finger as a stylus to trace the tattoo and the pitted white scars that held a deeper story. She kissed each one, delivering a powerful sensation rocking through him. She lifted her chin, and her stark glare buried emotion in the center of his bones. She’d found a place inside him he didn’t know existed. A place of an overwhelming need to make her happy and all her dreams come true. Logic blurred in exchange for desire. He was experiencing something he’d never felt before. He never thought it would be in the cards for him.

He couldn’t wait to slide his cock inside her…

But the low moaning of something, or someone, through the patch of woods alarmed him. At first, it sounded like a wounded animal, but then he realized it was a human’s cry for help.

“So we both heard that, right?” she whispered.

“Yeah, we did.” Dragging his hand free of her jeans, he groaned in annoyance. He’d strangle someone if there wasn’t an emergency. “We better go investigate.”

They both shot from the ridge and toward the pasture, searching the tall reeds of grass swaying in the gentle breeze. They saw nothing but the grazing cattle that seemed unaffected.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said.

“There,” she pointed to a cluster of trees.

Isaac dashed through the tall grass, and as he got closer, he recognized the cowboy as Billy. He was leaning against the tree and holding his stomach. His hat obscured much of his face, and his dirty T-shirt had a large red stain.

Isaac crouched down to get a better look at the man. He had a severe wound and blood was seeping from his side. “Billy? Can you hear me?”

He gave a low, throaty response.

“What happened?” Hope said as she finally ran up to the scene, her breaths coming in ragged pants.

“No clue. Billy, stay awake for me.” Isaac checked for a pulse. The man had one but it was racing. “Wake up, Billy!” Isaac rubbed the younger cowboy firmly on the chest.

Billy’s eyes fluttered open. It took him a moment to register where he was. “Knocked in the head. Masked man,” he mumbled. “Then knife to the gut.”

“He’s been stabbed,” Isaac said after lifting Billy’s shirt and seeing the two-inch slice three inches from his belly button. “Looks like it missed any vital organs, but he’s bleeding heavily. Got your phone?” he asked Hope. She nodded. “How do you all do things around here when a hand is down?”

“I’ll contact Keller and ask him to come, and I’ll also reach out to Doc Laferty.” Without waiting for his reply, she quickly took out her phone and began making the calls.

Billy’s eyelids flapped rapidly. A ragged, painful moan bubbled up in his chest. “Peeper. In woods.”

“Peeper?” Right now, Isaac needed to get the man’s injury to stop bleeding. Isaac didn’t have his shirt on so he tore off part of Billy’s shirt and pressed the fabric firmly against the oozing wound. “Stay with me, buddy. Just hang on.”

Isaac wasn’t a stranger to injuries of all severity. On special ops missions, he’d witnessed more trauma than he could count and saved more lives than anyone knew. He’d also lost a few good soldiers too. Billy wouldn’t die on Isaac’s watch.

He worked automatically to staunch the blood flow that now covered his skin.

“Is it bad?” Billy seemed more alert, which counted in his favor.

“Not bad enough that you’re going to die. A few stitches and you’ll be like new,” Isaac said supportively.

“Keller and Doc are on their way,” Hope said.

Within a few minutes, they heard the thudding of the truck tires speeding through the pasture.

Keller, along with several hands, jumped out of the truck and took over Isaac’s position.

He watched as the men worked quickly to help their crew member.

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