Page 12 of Cam
“Ha! Like Cinderella!” Shep said around a mouthful of bread.
I nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t see her again until tonight. Until I went to Wild Wild Wilderness to check on a lame horse.”
“That’s right. She said she worked there,” Ma commented.
Bray and Katie nodded. Clearly, they knew that, too.
I glanced down the table at Ma. “When? When did you meet her?”
“At the hospital. You were taking care of Junior at the clinic.”
That was Lainey’s horse that had been drugged in her trailer before the barrel racing competition.
“She came to the hospital?” I asked, wide eyed. “To see Pops?”
Ma nodded. “She was the one who told Colt about Rod. What he’d done. Apologized. Even offered to work here on the ranch to pay for the medical bills.”
“See?” I tossed out. “Even she thinks she’s responsible.”
“Because she’s a good girl,” Ma said. “Of course, she feels bad about it.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Pops added.
“If she didn’t date that fucker, then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt,” I reminded.
“If Lainey didn’t barrel race, I wouldn’t have gotten hurt either,” he countered.
I frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“She didn’t do it!” Shep said, mouth full. “That’s what he’s saying. Stopif-ingthe poor girl. Come on, Cam, get with it. She got hooked up with a loser and got used. Hard core. The guy stole her prize money. Probably other things she didn’t mention.”
Rod Severs stole her prize money? Because of Lainey, I knew it was often quite a bit of money.
“The guy’s a dick and I wish he was behind bars,” I muttered.
The short time I knew Taylor, she was sweet and funny. Sexy and wild. I couldn’t see her with a guy who hurt people and animals to steal money. Hell, I couldn’t see her doing any of that. I didn’t know her, but I felt like Iknewher. Saturday night at the bar, I’d felt the instant connection, like I’d been the one kicked by a drugged horse. I’d known then and there she was the one. I wouldn’t have taken her behind the building and found out how good her pussy tasted or how she looked when she came if she wasn’t.
If I’d had to do the bingo card thing with Amber, I’d have given her a peck on the cheek and maybe asked for a hair tie or something. Or handed her off to Ace or Cody. But I hadn’t. In fact, I’d pretty much growled at them staking my claim on Taylor.
She was mine. Mine!
Was everyone at the table right? Had I made a huge fucking mistake because I was still so angry and upset with Pops getting hurt? Had I lashed out at her recklessly and unnecessarily?
Wait. She’d run off after I made her come all over my face because I told her my name. She hadn’t known before that moment who I was until I told her any more than I knew who she was until the stable at Wild Wild Wilderness. She’d run off because I was a Wilder.
“Agreed,” Bray added. “But him being a dick isn’t her fault.”
That was true. I had no idea she’d gone to Pops’ hospital room and apologized… for something she hadn’t actually done.
I’d made a huge mistake.
I’d yelled at Red. Made her feel like shit. Blamed her for somethingshe didn’t do.
“Call her and have her stop by,” Pops said.
I frowned down at my plate, realizing the only person I should be mad at right now was myself. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”
“Why not?” Ma asked, passing Shep the plate of rolls.
