Page 3 of Wounded Cowboy
Spring took charge of their captive until Rory had his boots back on.
“Take her back to her pen,” Spring ordered, handing the rope to Rory with a pointed look.“And make sure she stays there this time.”
“Will do, boss,” Rory replied with a sheepish grin, leading the dripping goat away from the scene.
“Hey, before you take her away, would you two cowboys mind posing for a photo with the goat?” one of the guests asked, holding up their phone.“Daisy’s all over social media, and we’d love to show our friends we met her.”
“Fine,” Spring grumbled, quickly reaching for his own shirt.
It was bad enough when his sister Autumn pestered him for photos of doing“cowboy things.”
She usually insisted he take his shirt off. Which was ridiculous, because who the hell did chores without a shirt on? That was just asking for trouble.
But Spring usually agreed her requests. He knew the publicity from his sister’s photos and videos of Daisy and the ranch was great for business, even if the goat’s antics were a constant headache.
With a forced smile, he took his place, kneeling next to Daisy with Rory on her other side.
He hoped to God Rory remembered to keep a tight hold on the rope.
“Say‘cheese’,” the guest instructed, snapping a few photos while others joined in.
As the camera shutters clicked, Spring couldn’t help but glance toward the ranch house, unable to see the girls from this vantage point.
He told himself that Mom and Dad would keep a close eye on them.
That was when he remembered that his parents had gone into town for a wedding anniversary dinner at The Yummy Cowboy Diner. They were leaving for the Bozeman Airport first thing in the morning for long-awaited Mediterranean cruise.
Which meant Abby and April were alone and unsupervised right now.Fuck!
He came to his feet in one smooth motion.“Sorry, folks, I have to go—” he began.
A pair of screams interrupted him, followed by wails of pain. The sound came from the direction of the ranch house.
Abby! April!Panic gripped Spring’s heart like a vise. He turned and sprinted toward the sounds, leaving Rory and the startled guests behind.
“Abby! April!” he shouted as he ran.“What’s going on?”
His heart pounded, and he tasted steely panic. Even preparing for combat hadn’t been this terrifying.Please, God, let them be okay.
When he arrived, panting, at the ranch house’s back yard a few minutes later, he found his daughters sitting on the ranch house porch steps, tears streaming down their faces.
Kelsey, the annoyingly perky nanny who watched his sister Winnie’s stepson Kegan, was kneeling next to Abby, her hands gently examining the girl’s leg.
Spring’s stomach dropped when he saw blood welling from April’s knee.
“Does anything else hurt?” Kelsey asked softly. Her voice felt like a calming balm on Spring’s raw guilt and sharp terror.
Abby sniffled and shook her head.“Just my knee.”
“Girls, what happened?” Spring demanded, trying to keep his panic from his voice.
Kelsey looked up at him, her dark eyes steady.“They were playing in that treehouse over there. It looks there was some dry rot in the floorboards, and they fell through.”
“Fuck!” The word escaped him before he could censor himself.
He’dwarnedApril and Abby to stay off the treehouse, but apparently the temptation—combined with the absence of adult supervision—had been too much for two girls under the age of nine to fight.
“Daddy!” Abby chided him, tears still glistening on her cheeks.“That’s abadword!”
