Page 64 of Lone Star Country Protector
“I haven’t heard anything from her perspective,” Jules said. “But I know she was suffering when she left.”
“What do you think about setting up a meeting with her to ask questions?” he asked.
“It’s crossed my mind,” she said. “If only to hear her side of the story. And, I don’t know, get closure.”
* * *
Dalton noticed Blakelyhadn’t said a word in several minutes. Then again, he and Jules had been discussing family. He needed to shift gears because he still wasn’t sure what to think about his mother being in contact with his grandparents or any member of his family after the stunt she’d pulled.Anger.Now, there was a word.Confused.It fit.
Was closure possible or a pipe dream?
Either way, Dalton set his empty coffee cup down and turned his attention toward Blakely. “You probably don’t want to hear all this about our family.”
“I don’t mind,” she said. He realized she’d lost her parents too. “Families are complicated. I get it. Mine is beyond messy right now.”
“Speaking of your family, is there any word on Bethany?”
“My sister lost a lot of blood, so they’re keeping her at the hospital after the surgery to remove a bullet fragment from her neck,” she explained. “If the bullet hit a few centimeters to the left, there would have been no surviving it.”
“It’s strange to think of being lucky when you’re talking about taking a bullet,” Jules conceded. “However, in this case, it sounds like your sister was very lucky.”
“She has a lot of thinking to do about her marriage, so being away from home probably isn’t the worst thing right now,” Blakely continued.
Dalton nodded. “The hospital is secure, and the nurses are watching her room like a hawk.”
“There’s some peace of mind in that knowledge,” Blakely said. Based on the tension lines scoring her forehead, there wasn’t much. He understood. If Jules were in a hospital and he couldn’t be near… Dalton couldn’t even think about it.Everyone in his family had a dangerous job. Everyone was good at what they did, which didn’t rule out the possibility something catastrophic would happen. In order to work the job and sleep at night, he couldn’t let himself go there mentally about everything that could go wrong.
“It’s not much,” he conceded. “Which is why we need to figure out who is behind these attacks so we can put an end to this once and for all.”
“As long as Bethany is in the hospital, she’s safe,” Blakely stated. “Which also buys us some time to figure all this out.”
“Speaking of which, I can get a whole lot more done out there than trying to stay in here,” he pointed out.
“Hold on there,” Jules said. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Out of here,” Dalton said firmly.
“What do you think the doctor will say?” Jules asked.
“I think he’ll tell me to stop taking up bed space when I’m fine and don’t need to be here,” Dalton said, a little heated.
“Whoa!” Jules teased. “I’m just trying to be the voice of reason.”
“Didn’t mean to get riled up,” Dalton said.
“Where will we go?” Blakely asked. He liked the fact she wasn’t trying to bolt. He’d promised to protect her, and that was exactly what he intended to do.
“My place should be safe,” he said.
“That means you have to leave the hospital,” Blakely said. He could tell she felt guilty by her expression.
“My grandfather is awake, and we have every reason to believe he’ll stay that way,” Dalton said.
“You could take Blakely back to the ranch,” Jules offered, but both Dalton and Blakely were already shaking their heads before his sister could finish her sentence.
“Too dangerous for everyone else,” Blakely said before he could.
“Toby’s there, recovering,” Jules said. “I’m staying there when I’m not here at the hospital. We’d be ready.”
