Page 27 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

She looked at him, realized he was the cousin. “I—I—can’t—breathe,” she squeaked. “P—panic attack,” she managed to get out. Her hands and legs were going numb. Her ears were ringing, her vision clouding.

“Take a deep breath,” he commanded.

“I—I can’t,” she squeaked.

“Yes, you can. We’ll do it together.” He turned her around to face him, holding both her arms. “Look at me,” he directed.

She did so.

“Now, breathe! In.” He took a deep breath.

She sucked in a sliver of air.

“Good. Hold it for a second and then exhale.”

Her head was spinning like a toy boat caught in a whirlpool. She couldn’t hold the air long but spurted it out, immediately gulping in another breath.

“Try to slow it down. Keep looking at me.”

She did so and felt a little better. The panic ebbed as the feeling started returning to her hands and feet.

“You’re getting better,” he encouraged with a smile.

Her lungs opened as she took in a large scoop of air. “Thank you,” she uttered.

He smiled. “You bet.” His hand went to her face as he pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.

“What the devil are you doing?” Jaxson shouted.

Lemon hadn’t even heard the door open or him come in. It took her brain a second to realize that Jaxson thought she and his cousin were together. A hysterical laugh rattled her throat as she thought of the irony. She was furious at Jaxson because that wretched woman had kissed him, and Jaxson was mad because he thought she was with his cousin.

This is not what it looks like, she wanted to say, but before she could utter a single word, Jaxson’s foot caught on the rug and he fell. He hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Lemon’s heart felt like it was being ripped out of her chest. “Oh, no!” she cried, rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees and attempted to turn him over onto his back. “Jaxson,” she screamed, tears rushing to her eyes. She looked at the cousin who was still in the kitchen, wearing a deer-in-the-headlights expression. Jaxson groaned as he turned on his side, clutching his ribs.

“Help me!” she said to the cousin.I can’t lose you. Not when I’ve just now gotten you back.

The cousin seemed to snap out of his daze as he went to her side. “Let’s get you up,” he said to Jaxson.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” Jaxson sputtered through clenched teeth.

This time, Lemon managed to find her voice. She leaned her face close to Jaxson’s, locking eyes with him. “I don’t know what you think you just saw, but you were mistaken.” She ground her teeth. “Now stop being a stubborn mule and let us help you up.”

Surprise streaked through Jaxson’s eyes, and then his body relaxed. “Okay,” he relented.

“You get one arm,” the cousin directed, “I’ll get the other. On the count of three, we’ll take him to the couch.” He gave her a nod. “One, two, three.”

They heaved Jaxson to his feet and maneuvered him over to the couch where they deposited him as carefully as they could. Lemon clenched her hands as she looked at the cousin. “Should we call an ambulance?”

“I’m okay,” Jaxson grunted. His skin was ashen, his lips thin with pain.

“I think you should call,” the cousin said.

“I said I’m fine,” Jaxson grumbled.

Lemon sat down beside Jaxson. She wished she could somehow shield him from the pain of what he was experiencing. “You don’t look fine.” She moistened her lips. “You took a hard fall. We need to make sure you don’t have any internal bleeding.”

Jaxson’s brows furrowed. “I’ve had worse.” He glared at his cousin. “You know I’m right, Lucas!” His words got cut off in a hiss as he sucked in a breath, wincing in pain. “I’ve taken plenty of falls harder than this bronco riding.”

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