situation.
Get your fucking head together.
“Easy, kitten. I don’t need you passing out on me too,” Clay said, his voice strained.
Shit! Shit!
I blinked. My heart was thumping really hard. I needed to slow it down.
Shot. Clay was shot!
And what the hell could I do?
What was that? That noise?
Phone?
Phone!
I smacked it against my ear. “Are you there?” I yelled.
“Yes, I’m here. What’s happening?” said the dispatcher, her voice calm and reassuring. “Talk to me.”
“One of my hired hands accidentally shot the other. We’re out in a field behind my farm. The victim is awake and aware. But he doesn’t look good.” I swung my head left, right. “Where the hell is that ambulance?”
“Help is on the way,” she assured me. “They’re almost there.”
“I’ve been waiting forever.”
“It seems that way, I know. What is the shot man doing now?”
I looked at Clay. Wow, his lips were pale. Like, white. “Not much of anything.”
“Is he still breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. The paramedics are on your property. How do they find you?”
“Tell them to come straight back, across the pasture and through the line of trees. I’ll meet them.”
Clay grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Thanks, kitten.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I ran as hard as I could. Legs pumping furiously. I crashed through the tree line and nearly took down two EMT’s in the process. To avoid plowing into them, I swerved and collided with a tree.
They immediately turned to me, but I jutted out an arm, pointing in Clay’s direction. I was hurt, yes. But I’d live. I wasn’t so sure about Clay. They needed to take care of him first.
The two men continued on while I tried to recover from my intimate moment with the tree. Several more followed, and I waved them on when they hesitated.
I wanted to get back to Clay for some reason. I felt he needed me there. Crazy, huh? It wasn’t like we were friends. Really, it would make more sense for me to stay out of the way.
Yes, of course it would.
Still, I couldn’t help dragging my banged-up body back through the trees and out into that pasture.
Maybe I was afraid they wouldn’t find him. After all, I’d literally fallen over him. But, as I emerged from the woods, I saw they were gathered around him.
I approached the group but hung back so I won’t be in the way. They had wires and tubes connected to him. And he was lying on a stretcher. Two men carried the stretcher while several others walked alongside with the equipment. I followed them to the vehicle, catching Cockroach talking to a police officer nearby. Once they shut Clay in the ambulance, I approached Cockroach and the officer.
Cockroach looked like he’d been through hell and back. His hands trembled more than normal, and his face was almost as pale as Clay’s. I felt absolutely awful for him. I knew he would never hurt someone intentionally. This was an accident. No doubt about it.
The officer turned to me and began hammering me with questions, starting with my name and progressing to more challenging questions as I responded. I repeated the truth, over and over. But for some reason it seemed he wasn’t believing me. He kept asking me the same questions again and again, as if he believed one time I’d slip up and say what he wanted to hear. After an eternity, I told him I needed to go and he handed me a card and told me to contact him if I had any further information to share.
Feeling as if I’ve just been interrogated (which I had), I watched him go.
What a fucking day!
No sign of Cockroach.
I headed inside the house and collapsed on the couch. It was after seven o’clock already. Holy shit. Over two hours ago, I’d been heading out to thank Clay for helping me catch up with the work on the ranch. Two hours ago Clay had been healthy and whole.
Now... I had no idea.
Was he in surgery? Was he... alive?
I wanted to go see how he was, but I wasn’t a family member. I doubt I would be
Get your fucking head together.
“Easy, kitten. I don’t need you passing out on me too,” Clay said, his voice strained.
Shit! Shit!
I blinked. My heart was thumping really hard. I needed to slow it down.
Shot. Clay was shot!
And what the hell could I do?
What was that? That noise?
Phone?
Phone!
I smacked it against my ear. “Are you there?” I yelled.
“Yes, I’m here. What’s happening?” said the dispatcher, her voice calm and reassuring. “Talk to me.”
“One of my hired hands accidentally shot the other. We’re out in a field behind my farm. The victim is awake and aware. But he doesn’t look good.” I swung my head left, right. “Where the hell is that ambulance?”
“Help is on the way,” she assured me. “They’re almost there.”
“I’ve been waiting forever.”
“It seems that way, I know. What is the shot man doing now?”
I looked at Clay. Wow, his lips were pale. Like, white. “Not much of anything.”
“Is he still breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. The paramedics are on your property. How do they find you?”
“Tell them to come straight back, across the pasture and through the line of trees. I’ll meet them.”
Clay grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Thanks, kitten.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I ran as hard as I could. Legs pumping furiously. I crashed through the tree line and nearly took down two EMT’s in the process. To avoid plowing into them, I swerved and collided with a tree.
They immediately turned to me, but I jutted out an arm, pointing in Clay’s direction. I was hurt, yes. But I’d live. I wasn’t so sure about Clay. They needed to take care of him first.
The two men continued on while I tried to recover from my intimate moment with the tree. Several more followed, and I waved them on when they hesitated.
I wanted to get back to Clay for some reason. I felt he needed me there. Crazy, huh? It wasn’t like we were friends. Really, it would make more sense for me to stay out of the way.
Yes, of course it would.
Still, I couldn’t help dragging my banged-up body back through the trees and out into that pasture.
Maybe I was afraid they wouldn’t find him. After all, I’d literally fallen over him. But, as I emerged from the woods, I saw they were gathered around him.
I approached the group but hung back so I won’t be in the way. They had wires and tubes connected to him. And he was lying on a stretcher. Two men carried the stretcher while several others walked alongside with the equipment. I followed them to the vehicle, catching Cockroach talking to a police officer nearby. Once they shut Clay in the ambulance, I approached Cockroach and the officer.
Cockroach looked like he’d been through hell and back. His hands trembled more than normal, and his face was almost as pale as Clay’s. I felt absolutely awful for him. I knew he would never hurt someone intentionally. This was an accident. No doubt about it.
The officer turned to me and began hammering me with questions, starting with my name and progressing to more challenging questions as I responded. I repeated the truth, over and over. But for some reason it seemed he wasn’t believing me. He kept asking me the same questions again and again, as if he believed one time I’d slip up and say what he wanted to hear. After an eternity, I told him I needed to go and he handed me a card and told me to contact him if I had any further information to share.
Feeling as if I’ve just been interrogated (which I had), I watched him go.
What a fucking day!
No sign of Cockroach.
I headed inside the house and collapsed on the couch. It was after seven o’clock already. Holy shit. Over two hours ago, I’d been heading out to thank Clay for helping me catch up with the work on the ranch. Two hours ago Clay had been healthy and whole.
Now... I had no idea.
Was he in surgery? Was he... alive?
I wanted to go see how he was, but I wasn’t a family member. I doubt I would be
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