Second Round Cowboy (Second Chance Series) (16 page)

Hell, who was he
kidding? Since Leslie had left two days ago he’d drowned himself in work. He missed her and he’d wanted her to stay, but he wasn’t a begging man and he wouldn’t beseech anyone—even a beautiful woman—to stay when she wanted to leave. He hadn’t chased her when she left the first time and he wasn’t about to do it now, no matter how his heart ached to see her.

He scrubbed a hand through his
moist hair and groaned—it made one of the horses in the pasture look up and across the field. “Sorry, fellow. Go on about your business. You don’t want to hear my tale of woe.” Stryker chuckled.

In
haling a deep breath, he caught the scent of sweet grass and something sweeter. He brought his hand to nostrils and inhaled. He swore he could still smell Leslie and it drove him wild.

Fuck!
He hated feeling out of control. The loose emotions reminded him of how he’d been when he’d realized she’d left for good. He didn’t want to meander down those memories— not now, not ever.

A vibration in his front
pocket made him jerk. He reached in and grabbed his phone, checked the Id, feeling a little disappointed when Leslie’s name didn’t pop up. Instead, it was a private number. He started to hit ignore when a gut feeling warned him that it could be important.

“Stryker
here.”

“Thank goodness you answered.” Beth’s panicked voice sounded from the other end.

“Slow down Beth. Is Lilly okay?”

Before Tessa’
s receptionist finished telling him that Lilly had fallen while playing on their gym equipment and they’d called an ambulance, he was already grabbing his shirt from the wooden post and running for his truck.

“Let Lilly know I’ll meet her at the
hospital.”

He clicked off as he jumped behind the steering wheel and jetted out of the driveway. By the time he reached the highway, he tested the truck
’s ability for a high rate of speed. His mind raced as he made his way to the local hospital.

He needed to get to Lilly.
Fast
. He couldn’t bear the thought of the little girl being alone and hurt. His next thought targeted the one person he wanted here too.

He sped up into the valet parking entrance, jumped from his truck and stomped toward the door. He ignored the man holding the ticket.
He grabbed his phone, still racing toward the emergency department and sent Leslie a text…

“Lilly is in the hospital. Just found out. I’ll let you know when I find out what’s wrong.”

****

Leslie stepped into the sanitary hospital room. Lilly was lying on the bed, dressed in a blue checkered gown, and she was asleep. Movement in the corner caught her attention. Stryker was getting up from the chair. She sent him a confident smile, but she felt anything but assured.

“Hey there,” he said. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and a layer of beard covered his cheek
s.

“I came as soon as
I got your message. I was at the Swift Wind.” She set her purse on the end of the bed and went to stand next to the bed. “What happened?”

“
Tessa took her to the playground and she fell off a swing and hit her head. The doctor ran tests, a cat scan, MRI and it all looks okay. He said she has a concussion, which she’ll recover from, but he wants her to stay overnight for observation.”

“
I was scared to death. I came as fast as I could.” She lifted her fingers to her still quivering lips. “I tried to call twice on my way, but I didn’t get an answer.”

“I’m sorry. My phone died and I didn’t want to leave her.”

“I understand.”

“I’m glad you came. Maybe I shouldn’t have left you the information by text. I wasn’t
thinking, only feeling.”

She nodded. “I probably would have done the same. How are you holding up?’ she asked.

“I’m fine. Now. When I first got here they had already taken her in for a test and I had to wait to see her. Longest fifteen minutes of my life. She was a trooper though. Tessa said she’d cried for a few minutes but after that she was okay.”

“Did I hear my name?”

The familiar female’s voice made Leslie look up. Tessa came into the room carrying two paper cups. She handed one to Stryker.

“I was just telling
Leslie how great Lilly handled the situation.” Stryker stroked his chin.

“Sh
e certainly did.” Tessa frowned. “I feel horrible. I hope you two can forgive me.”

“It
wasn’t your fault, Tessa.” Stryker wrapped his arm around Tessa’s shoulders and squeezed. “It could have happened to anyone.”

“What exactly happened?” Leslie asked.

“She was swinging and the next thing I know she let go of the chain and fell.”

Leslie swallowed. She wanted to be upset, but she could see Tessa was shaken up over the inc
ident. And it was true what Stryker had said, accidents happen with anyone. “She’s going to be fine. We all have misfortunes on playground equipment. I fell a few times myself when I was a kid.”

“
I’m sorry you had to drive all this way, Leslie. Do you have to go back this evening?” Tessa sipped from her cup.

Leslie looked at Li
lly’s sleeping figure. “I can cancel my appointments. That is if it’s okay I stay for a few days?” She glanced up at Stryker.

“No pr
oblem at all. In fact, I think our girl here would be disappointed if you left.”

Leslie hoped she imagined it, but she thought she saw a flicker of disappointment in Tessa’
s dark gaze. Leslie couldn’t blame the other woman if she felt a sense of displeasure. Stryker was a great catch and, no doubt, Leslie wasn’t the only woman who recognized that fact. Men this good didn’t come along often.

Leslie couldn’t help but wonder
if things would have blossomed between Tessa and him if she wouldn’t have entered the picture.

“Would you care for a cup of coffee?” Tessa offered.

“No, I don’t drink coffee, but I may find the little girl’s room. Between nerves and not stopping on the way, well…you know…”

In the bathroom, Leslie did her business and stopped at the sink to wash her hands.
She checked her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. Stryker wasn’t the only one with dark circles. She hadn’t slept a wink since she’d left Hollyville to go back to Shelby.

Splashing her face with cold water, she hoped it’d help.

Leslie finished and pushed through the door to find Tessa waiting by the hall leading into the Emergency Department.

“Can I speak to you a minute?” Tessa asked.

“Sure.”

“How about over here
?” They moved to the seating area and sat down on the couch. Leslie could see the concern in Tessa’s gaze. “We’re both ladies so I’m going to speak frankly.”

“I’d hope
you would. I’m sure this regards Stryker, right?” Leslie wasn’t a mind reader but she was a woman and knew when another female’s feathers were ruffled.

“I figured sooner or later we’d have to talk. Maybe this isn’t the right
time…”

“What time would be better
?” Leslie asked.

“You’re right. I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, Lord knows I’m not a rude woman, but you must know by now that
I’d hoped my relationship with Stryker would have grown into something more. I’ve developed feelings for him and I care for Lilly.”

“
I understand. Stryker is a gentleman and Lilly is a sweetie. What’s not to care for?”

Tessa nod
ded as she rolled a tendril of her hair around her finger. “But I see the way he looks at you. He’s never looked at me like that.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Oh now, come on. It’s obvious he cares a great deal for you.”

“We have a history, and now an obligation together. I think what
you’re seeing is something—”

“No,
Leslie, he still cares. It’s more than the history excuse.” She dropped her hand to her lap and sighed.

“What exactly do you want
to know, Tessa?” Leslie got the idea that the other woman was fishing.

“Are you two getting back together?”

Leslie opened her mouth to answer, but stopped. After all, how would she answer? If she said yes, it’d be a lie. If she said no, it could also be considered a lie. Of course, neither she nor Stryker had even spoken about such a thing, but they had been sleeping together and to some people that was a relationship. As much as she liked Tessa, she wasn’t going to get into the dirty details of things with her. “Tessa, I’m not sure what is happening between Stryker and me. This is all sort of roller-coasterish for me, and for him too I’m sure. Right now, I think we are both concentrating on Lilly and her needs.”

Tessa exhaled
. “I’m glad you have Lilly’s best interest at heart. I feel much better. I’m not sure I have much of a chance with him. I probably never did, but a girl can hope. He’d talked about you before and how you’d left him. I think he holds a lot of resentment and it has somehow stumped his future, as if he couldn’t get over the clinching hold of the past.”

“You care a lot about him, I can tell.”

She nodded. “I do. After all, he is an easy man to fall for, isn’t he? And, if he would decide he’d like to give me a chance to make him happy, I know I could.”

“I’m sure you would
.” The longer they spoke the more confused Leslie became. Tessa seemed hopeful, making Leslie wonder just how close Tessa and Stryker had been before. He’d made their acquaintance seem like a casual dating one and nothing more. In the long run, it didn’t matter and it was none of Leslie’s business. “You need to understand that I’ve grown to care for Lilly a great deal and I won’t be running away, not from her. I hope you respect that.” Leslie would fight tooth and nail for the child, and she most definitely wouldn’t be pushed away. Stryker brought her into the child’s life and she wouldn’t be going anywhere, even if that meant that he found someone to share his life with.

“Then we are on the same page. She deserves to have
people watching over her and it’s nice that she has you,” Tessa said.

“And I feel the same about you
.”

****

Night had fallen and only a dim light lit Lilly’s hospital room. Stryker was sitting on the end of the bed and Leslie was in the chair. She played with her hair as if she were in deep thought.

      
“You seem preoccupied.” Stryker noticed she’d seemed different after coming back from the restroom an hour ago.

“No, just the
events of the day had my adrenaline rushing and now I’m fizzled out.”

“Can I get you an
ything?” He wanted to hold her and tell her how much he’d missed her, but he held back. A man couldn’t divulge too much of his soul at one time.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You can go to the house and rest. I’ll stay,” he offered.

“And leave Lilly? No.
I can’t do that.”

He didn’t mind her sticking around. He liked the company.
“The nurse will be back in a few minutes to check her vitals and wake her. She said they’ll be in every few hours.”

“I definitely want to be here when she is awake
.”

“
She missed you when you left. She liked having a woman around.”
And so have I.

There was a long pause before she responded.
“I missed her, but I had a lot of appointments to catch up on. It’s easy to get behind. One of Duke’s mares is pregnant and we had started a special diet.”

“How is he after the ordeal with
Frances? Any more horses get sick?”

“No, thankfully.
He is worried though.” She remained tense.

“I wish you’d talk to me about what’s on your mind. I know something’s bothering you.” He saw denial rush over her features. “Don’t try to deny it. It’s me you’re talking to.”

“
Okay, I won’t. I do have some things that are troubling me. I’ve been thinking about Lilly.” She picked at her fingernail as if what she was about to say took a lot of courage. “She needs a mother.”

“Funny, I’v
e been thinking about that also.” He’d thought about it every day since Justine died, especially now that Leslie had returned in his life.

“
Have you?” One thin brow curved, her glare nailing him with curiosity.

“Does that surprise you?” Her cheeks slightly flushed and it reminded him of how she looked when he was inside of her. Damn, there went his package—stiff and needy.
She licked her bottom lip and the tremor would have been no different if she’d swept her tongue across the tip of his erection. She leaned forward and her hair skimmed along her chest, drawing his attention to the tops of her breasts exposed by the low neckline of the red shirt. His cock twitched in warning that combustion could happen.