Page 19 of Cowboy Heat
Or she’s driving like a bat out of hell to the hospital.
One of the two.
The non-emergency lobby is smaller than its neighbor and empty. I’m thankful for the quiet and settle down in the seat closest to the vending machines. I’m trying not to pay attention to the dark red on me, but it’s hard.
I’ve never seen someone shot before, never felt them bleeding beneath my hands.
Has Beau?
My thoughts start scattering, and I need a coffee.
The last I saw Beau, he was talking with Deputy Myers before the ambulance doors closed between us. His face was drawn, and the gun was in the deputy’s hands.
Low Low was behind them both, sirens in the distance.
I’ll have to take him something for the morning’s troubles, I think. That is if he isn’t packed up and gone by the time I drive back.
Not that you have a car to do so.
I let out a soft chuckle. It sounds sad to my ears. Somehow, I’ve managed to leave behind two vehicles in as many days.
I sigh and finally fish for my phone in my purse. By the time my hand wraps around it, movement at my side lets me know I’m no longer alone in the lobby.
I try to give the person some privacy—mainly because I want it too—but they stop right next to my chair.
Maybe I should’ve spent more time scrubbing off Alice’s blood. It’s definitely a conversation starter that I can’t quite hide.
I pull on a smile that’s polite but short. An “I’ll say hello but then I’m shutting up” face.
That smile disappears when I see who it is.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
Beau takes the seat next to me without preamble. “I was always going to come, but I had to wait for the deputies to be done.” A simple statement. One that tugs at me.
“You didn’t have to,” I say.
Beau shrugs that off. “Neither did you.”
It was true. In a sense. I didn’t have to come with Alice, but I didn’t want her to be alone. We knew each other but weren’t great friends or anything. Still, the idea of her waking up in the ambulance with strangers didn’t sit right with me.
I don’t want to weigh Beau down with that, so I redirect. “They called her husband, Jon, and he should be here in an hour or so. That’s a long time to wait, but I don’t mind it. You should go back to Robin’s Tree.”
Beau makes a show of stretching his legs out. The seat beneath him can barely contain his size. He smiles. “Yesterday, I was the one trying to get you here, and now you’re the one trying to get me to leave.” He tilts his head a little, apologetic almost. “I’m going to stay. You can keep trying to polite me away, but I’ll tell you now it won’t work. You don’t know me that well yet, Miss Lawson, but I’ve been known to be stubborn. Best save your efforts.”
A part of me unclenches.
I think it’s relief.
I don’t dwell on it. Instead, I accept his decision with a nod.
He pulls out his phone and lays it on his lap. I watch him survey the small room. “Plus, I figured you might need a ride,” he adds.
He can’t see my face because he’s looking at the windows to our right, so I take the moment to smile.
This time, it’s genuine.
I hold on to it for a moment.
