Page 24 of The Wounded Warrior

“Yes, sir. Just tell me what happened. If I have any questions, I’ll save them until the end.”

That part was easy. Horses, truck, gunshots, assholes—boom, boom, boom.

“Do you remember any details regarding the truck? Color? Make or model?”

“Silver GMC king cab.” That much he knew. “I didn’t see the driver, and I sure didn’t see a plate.” They’d started shooting a ways off. “I was parked in the middle of the road, because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

As terrible as it would have been to hit and kill a horse, the person driving would have been in a world of hurt too.

“You had your emergency flashers on?”

“Shit, man, I had set up cones. I didn’t do flares since it was still daylight, and it would have scared the horses.”

“Huh. So, they had to see you.”

“You think?” He was trying not to lose his shit, but he was quickly running out of patience. “Look, they were shooting at me. At Matt. Not at the horses. This was not someone just having fun or pissed off because the road was blocked.”

“Do you have any idea why?”

“Hemorrhoids?”

Lori whacked his arm. “Boss!”

“Sorry. Pain addled, you see. I’m pretty tore up.” ‘Pain addled’, his ass. This was bullshit.

“Well, I’ll let you rest, then. If you think of anything else, here’s my card.”

Lori took the card. “I’ll call. I’m his assistant.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The little deputy stared at her like she was a redneck-eating tiger with a yen for someone who used too much Axe body spray.

Lori snorted. “As if. I’ll call if and when my boss thinks of anything,Barney. Off with you.”

Matt LeBlanc was chuckling, the smell of the chili was actually appetizing, and Rory thought he might live.

As soon as the deputy was gone, Rory glanced at Luke. “Did you see him gawking at my personal assistant?”

“Yep. That was something else. I couldn’t tell if he was afraid or interested.” Luke winked. “Hey, Miss Lori, I don’t suppose you have a cornbread recipe up your sleeve? My last attempt was bad.”

“That’s what smartphones are for, Mr. LeBlanc.” A couple of taps and there was a recipe, called right up.

Luke laughed. “Sure, but I suck at sorting through. I should just buy a box, but I’m stubborn.”

“I don’t know anyone like that,” Lori said, side-eyeing Rory.

“Shut up, you evil old bat.” God, he adored her.

“I’ll come look at your oven and your pan.” Lori rose. “Sleep for a bit, boss. Lead the way, Wheels.”

So PC his Lori.

“I could kill you without leaving a mark, you know,” Luke said, heading toward the kitchen.

“What fun would that be?”

Rory smiled, letting his eyes go unfocused like he wanted to. Lori and the LeBlancs in one place. Again. And he was the one who was half-dead. Go figure.

Life was a weird and wonderful thing.

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