Page 33 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

He withdrew his head and scanned her face, clutching it between his palms as he made his inspection. “What did he do to you?”

“Just this,” she said, motioning to the busted lip and swollen eye.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all. Call Sully and I’ll fill you in.” He let go of her and she sank to the ground. He knelt beside her, alarmed.

“I’m fine, I swear. Just used up all my adrenaline and need to recover a bit.” She closed her eyes and rested her head on the plane, listening while Cal made his call.

“Sully, it’s Cal. There’s a situation at the ranch and I need you here, ASAP. No, everyone’s fine. Bailey was ambushed, I think. She’s fine. The guy’s…not. Right. Okay. Thanks.” He ended the call and began another. “Jinx, bring me some juice and a snack to the plane. No, it’s not for me, you cursed old coot. Bailey’s feeling a bit puny. Thanks.” He disconnected that call, set his phone on the ground, and slid his arm around Bailey. She rested her head on him.

“He’s a big guy,” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“He could have…” he cut off his own words, swallowing hard.

“But he didn’t,” she said. When she first joined the marines, she’d been so full of herself, so certain of her abilities. She’d had the Hollywood notion she could take anyone, that she could beat a man with her bare fists. It had only taken a few wallops from her instructors to quash that notion. The laws ofnature always had their way. She could not physically overpower most men. Men were bigger; men were stronger. It was a cruel fact of life for someone who viewed herself as their physical equal. So Bailey had learned to fight harder and, as she’d told Cal that first day, dirtier. She did whatever she needed to do to protect herself and those around her. Weapons were a great equalizer. A man and a woman, each armed with a gun, were an identical playing field. But fighting hand to hand as she’d done today took every ounce of her energy, leaving her weak, empty, and depleted until she refueled.

When Jinx arrived a bit later with the snack, she realized she’d fallen asleep. “How you doing, sweet baby?” Cal whispered.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, sitting up away from him. “Also, it’s kind of funny you called me sweet, considering.”

“You’re sweet to me,” he said. “Except that first day when you sent a few thousand volts through me.”

“I regret nothing,” she said.

“Me neither.”

Jinx slid off his horse, eyeing them with concern. “What’s up? You doing all right, Bailey?”

“Take a peek inside the plane,” Cal said, something like pride eking into his tone.

Jinx opened the door and made the same sort of exclamation Cal had. “Where’d that come from?”

“It’s an early Christmas present,” Bailey said, feeling perkier after the nap and juice. “Surprise.”

“That wasn’t on my list,” Jinx said. “He’s waking up. Hello, sunshine.”

The man was moving around, making noise, cursing loudly and moaning. Cal stood up and hauled the man out of theplane, holding him by the scruff of the neck like a rambunctious puppy. The man was big; Cal was bigger.

“Who sent you?” Cal asked.

In reply, the man spit at him. Or at least he tried to. His lip was too bruised and swollen to do much more than a pathetic sort of whistle that made Cal laugh. “Can you stand?” he asked, letting go of the man who wobbled slightly before attaining his balance. “Excellent,” Cal said and then punched him full fisted in the face so the man dropped to the ground, unconscious again.

Bailey watched from her position on the ground with something like envy. She could punch, but not like that. What she wouldn’t give to be able to drop a man with one fist to the face.

Sully arrived a few minutes later, by plane this time. Bailey was able to stand by the time he disembarked, along with his pilot.

“You did this?” he asked Bailey, tapping the man on the ground with the toe of his boot.

“It was nothing,” Bailey replied, tossing a wink to Jinx and Cal who knew better.

“Huh. I recognize that mug. I’ve arrested him twice before, once for assault, once for possession. Both times I handed him over to ICE. They dropped him off over the border, and he hopped back in again. Man.” He kicked the dirt, huffing his frustration.

Bailey was a newcomer, but she shared their frustration. There seemed to be no solution to the endless cycle of crime. And the government seemed unwilling or unable to help, maybe both things.

Sully gave Bailey a statement to fill out while he and his pilot loaded the man into their plane. They would take him to thehospital before jail, to have his nose, fingers, and arm set.

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