Page 59 of Catch Me, Cowboy
After helping Wyatt take care of the horses, Shelby headed back to her truck feeling… numb. The mutton busting was in full swing, and when the little guys were done riding their sheep, the saddle broncs would take over the chutes.
And Shelby had no idea where she would be when that happened.
Did she watch? Did she hide out?’
She’d leave. Her phone rang from inside the truck as she opened the door and she scooped it up off the seat.
“Shelby O’Connor, please.”
Shelby’s stomach tightened at the no-nonsense voice at the other end of the line. Whomever it was meant business. “Speaking.”
“Trooper Russell, highway patrol.”
“Russ…?” She’d gone to school with John Russell, who had the sad distinction of being the first trooper to respond to the Harry Monroe 911 call.
“Yeah. It’s me, Shelby. Bad news. Your grandfather rolled his truck.”
Shelby’s heart hit her ribs. “Rolled… Is he okay?” she demanded. And when Russ didn’t answer in the next split second, she repeated herself. “Is he all right?”
“He’s being transported.”
“He’s alive.”
“He’s alive. I don’t know the extent of the injuries. He was semiconscious when I got there. Where are you?”
“Rodeo grounds.”
“I’m close. I’ll swing by and get you. Three minutes. Okay?”
Shelby nodded, only realizing she hadn’t answered when Russ asked if she understood what he’d just said.
“I understand.” Somehow she pushed the words up through her dry throat. “I’ll meet you at the bridge.”
“Got it.”
“Promise me that he’s okay.”
“I’ll be there in two and half minutes, Shelby.”
*
Ty carried hissaddle down the alley behind the chutes and tipped it up next to a small barrel, before pulling the chaps off his shoulder and shaking them out. The announcer had just declared Wyatt and Shelby the team roping champions and Ty told himself he was glad for her. She’d slain the beast. She was also killing him. Why couldn’t they get it together?
“Hey, Mr. Hollywood. Heard you might have a film crew here.”
Ty raised his head to smirk at Kevin Woods, who was currently second in the standings. “Rumors.”
One guy hardly comprised a crew. He’d met with Buck earlier that day, told him he was ninety-nine percent sure that he would take the deal. And he felt good about it. Even if he choked this season, he’d have given it a shot, and Buck had indicated that there could be future openings at the magazine for someone like him. They hired people with name recognition and Ty had that. He and Shelby had their issues, but he still had his career. And that was what he was focused on today.
He straightened after buckling his chaps behind his thighs, catching sight of flashing red lights heading across the bridge toward town.
“Did one of the kids get hurt?” Ty asked.
The mutton busting was almost finished and while he hadn’t heard any kind of commotion, he couldn’t think of any other reason for a code red.
“Not that I heard, but there was a car accident,” Deke Mahoney said from beside him as he adjusted the knee brace he wore over his jeans before putting on his chaps. “My wife picked it up on the scanner in the truck.” He glanced over at Ty as if making a sudden realization. “It happened close to where you’re staying. County road near the Forty-Six Ranch.”
“No shit.” There wasn’t much traffic on that road—only locals.What if…
