Page 26 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

Daniel grunted in pain. Had he been hit by the buck? No, that wasn’t possible. The buck had made a turn at the last moment. Aria scrambled around, turning to find Daniel holding himself stiffly, his eyes not leaving the direction where the buck had returned.

Aria moved toward him, her hands hovering in the air over him. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, carefully getting to his feet. He winced and glanced over his shoulder.

“No, you’re not. I can tell something happened. What’s wrong?” Aria moved around him, and then she spotted it. There was a small tear in the back of his pale blue shirt, and it was tinged with blood. “Daniel,” she whispered breathlessly, “you’re hurt.”

He flinched when she touched his back.

“Do you have a first aid kit? In your pack?” Aria’s voice shook. This was her fault. He’d been injured because she’d insisted on getting a stupid picture. Without waiting for him to respond, she hurried back to the horses. There was a saddle bag on Daniel’s horse, and she dug through it until she found what she was looking for. Bandages and antibiotic ointment. It wasn’t perfect, but it would help keep it from getting infected.

She rushed back to his side. “Take off your shirt.”

He held up a hand to stop her. “No. I’m fine. Can we just head back?”

“I’m not going to let you ride when you’ve got blood on your shirt. Now take off your shirt so we can see what happened.” They leveled each other with hard stares. For a moment she wasn’t sure he would listen. Then he muttered and pulled the shirt over his head with another grimace.

Aria had to stifle a gasp.

There were marks and scars on his chest and his back. He’d been hurt—seriouslyhurt. Her eyes darted to his head as if she could read what he hid in there. Daniel remained stiff as if he knew exactly what gave her pause. He didn’t like that he’d been laid bare before her.

She fell to her knees behind him and placed the first aid supplies at her side. Using the alcohol swabs, she pressed gently against the wound. Daniel sucked in a sharp breath, and she jumped. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He didn’t respond.

Aria worked quickly at cleaning him up, then placed the gauze over the wound. “You should probably change this again later,” she said quietly.

Still, he didn’t move.

Her focus shifted to a long, thin scar along his lower back. She reached out and grazed her fingertips against it. No surprise, Daniel jerked away from her. He jumped to his feet and yanked his shirt over his head. “Thanks for your help,” he muttered. “Let’s get going.”

Left where she knelt, Aria watched him return to his horse, hating the guilt that wouldn’t leave her. She’d have to make it up to him somehow.

11

Daniel

Her eyes were on him. He could feel the way she stared right through his ruined shirt to all the scars and markings he’d hidden for most of his life. Not even his brothers were fully aware of the extent to which he’d been bullied.

Despite having a fresh wound to have to worry about, the other markings burned hotter. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of them. He wasn’t. They were simply a part of his past. Daniel just didn’t like answering the questions he knew she’d ask.

He didn’t want to have to relive the moments when his head had been pushed into the mud while bigger kids hit him with sticks they’d found. Or the time when he’d gone swimming at the creek only to be ambushed and have rocks thrown at his body.

Daniel shut his eyes tight as they rode back to the Palmers’ property. It was too late not to relive the nightmares. He’d hated the stillness that had come between them when she’d seen themarkings. But more than that, he’d hated the way he’d wanted to lean into her soft touch when she’d traced the worst of them.

Aria didn’t speak. She knew what abuse looked like. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t asking him a barrage of questions right now. Or maybe she pitied him.

His scowl deepened and he tightened his grip on the leather reins in his hands. There was some part of him that had actually believed he’d never have to show those scars to anyone. They were the only evidence he had that he’d been weak—that he couldn’t fend for himself.

So why had he let her?

Because he was too stubborn to go to the hospital and he already knew he wouldn’t be able to reach it to clean it himself. He’d been up against a wall with no escape in the matter.

Another burning sensation skittered along the scar where she’d touched it. While he hated that she’d seen them, he couldn’t deny that they were somehow tethered together now. She knew all his secrets. Time would tell if she avoided him now or if she sought him out.

Daniel peeked at her the best he could without getting noticed. She was staring down at her horse rather than looking ahead. He knew that look. The one that said she felt sorry for him.

The second they were back at the barn, Daniel dismounted and strode over to Aria. He didn’t utter a word to her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the saddle. He placed her on her feet and moved to take the reins.

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