LITMIR.BIZ

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God, don’t… Don’t…

      “Does she know?” McGuire asked.

      “Yes. We needed her permission if the leg can’t be saved.”

      “You should have come to me.”

      “Mr. McGuire, legally your daughter’s an adult.”

      Ethan wasn’t interested in this conversation. He caught the doctor’s attention. “Can I see her?”

      The man glanced uncertainly from Ethan back to McGuire. “She’s been given something for the pain, so she’s pretty well out of it. But family members can go in for a few moments before we take her up.”

      When Ethan started to follow in the doctor’s wake, Cassie’s father grabbed his uninjured arm. The look in his eyes was steely. “I thought I told you to get out of here.”

      Ethan stood as tall as his battered body would allow. He supposed it was now or never. “I’m not going anywhere. I love her, Mr. McGuire.”

      There was a brief throb of silence.

      “Love her?” her father finally said in a surprised, low voice. He moved threateningly close. “What are you talking about?”

      “Cassie and I have been in love for several months. It’s not important right now to explain how it happened, it just did.”

      McGuire shook his head. He looked like a bull that had just rammed a concrete post. “If you love my daughter, you’ll leave her alone. You’re not good for her, and if you ever needed proof of that, this is it.”

      “Cassie’s not a child, sir. You can’t control her life.”

      The man’s face went a shade darker, if that was even possible. Wheeler moved nervously. “How dare you?” McGuire snapped. “Do you think I don’t know what you want? There isn’t anyone in the state who doesn’t know Cassie gets everything when I die.”

      Ethan felt his body go tense and tight. “You think I want her money? You don’t—”

      “I think you’re a badass, amoral drifter without a dime to his name who thinks he’s found a golden goose. I think you’re the worst thing in the world for my daughter. She doesn’t need you. She needs stability, nurturing, someone with good judgment. She’s fragile.”

      In spite of everything, Ethan almost laughed out loud. Cassie—fragile? Her father didn’t have a clue how completely untrue that claim was. She might be quiet, even shy with others, but with him… What would her old man say if Ethan told him how her eyes could flash like blue fire in candlelight? How deep and throaty her voice could sound in the throes of passion?

      He felt a weariness that was almost too much to bear. He couldn’t tell McGuire any of that. Love was one thing, but seduction? Impossible for the man to digest and accept right now. What he managed to say instead was, “You want the Flying M to be a pretty prison for her, don’t you?”

      “Better a prison than a cemetery plot,” McGuire said. He looked suddenly undone, his eyes clouded with tears. “I pray it’s not too late to keep that from happening.”

      He swung around and stalked through the double doors, leaving Ethan weaving on his feet next to Josh.

      The young rancher guided him to a nearby chair. “You’ve done enough damage for now. Sit down.” He blew air through his lips. “Damn. I’ve never seen him this mad.”

      “He’s just afraid for Cassie.”

      “Yeah, but he’s gonna have your ass on a plate if you don’t watch out.” Josh angled a look toward Ethan. “You’re really in love with her?”

      “Hopelessly.”

      “She never told me. I thought we might—hell, right now it doesn’t matter what I thought, does it?”

      Wheeler left him then. Ethan didn’t know how long he sat there, watching the doors that led to patient trauma rooms. He wasn’t going anywhere until he saw Cassie himself, but he couldn’t seem to find the energy to move.

      He was furious with McGuire and scared for Cassie, but his mind wouldn’t let go of one insistent question. Cassie wasn’t the delicate flower her father thought she was, but was Ethan the right man for her?

      It was strange how quickly they had forged a bond once they got past her initial reserve and his belief that she was nothing more than a snotty, privileged Daddy’s girl. Yes, they came from different worlds, but they had some of the same dreams and similar ideas, whispered in the dark as their relationship blossomed into a physical one. And none of it had anything to do with what Cassie would inherit from her father.

      If anything happens to her…

      Josh Wheeler was suddenly standing over him. “You hanging in?”

      Ethan nodded, though just barely.

      “Cassandra’s being taken to surgery soon. Mac has gone to Admitting.” Josh bent to give Ethan a meaningful look. “I ought to have my head examined, but…I’ll keep him there as long as I can if you have any plans. I just don’t want to know what they are.”

      With his good hand, Ethan squeezed Josh’s shoulder as he stood. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”

      He walked with slow deliberation toward the swinging doors that led to patient trauma rooms. The place was busy enough that it was possible nobody would notice one more person rushing past. Before he’d become such a loser, his father had always told him, “Act like you belong, and people will assume that you do.”

      No one stopped him. He went down a long corridor where most of the rooms were occupied. He heard the hiss of equipment, the low moans of someone in pain, and in one room, a cluster of people were weeping softly behind a curtain.

      None of that prepared him for the sight of Cassie. The small room was a mess, cluttered with equipment and its floor littered with bloody bandages. A small pile of rags lay in one corner, and Ethan realized it was her blouse and jeans, obviously cut into pieces to remove them. As for Cassie, she was in the center of all this, on a stretcher, as white as the sheet that covered her.

      He pulled the privacy curtain in place and stepped forward until he could touch her face. His skull was pounding so hard it felt made of glass.

      “Cass,” he whispered. “Cassie.”

      Her eyes were closed, but they fluttered open when he spoke her name. Her brow puckered. Her eyes were blank for a moment and he felt like dying, but then she finally focused. “Ethan…?” The word came out on a raspy whisper.

      “I’m here. It’s going to be all right. You’ll see. I love you so much.”

      “Such…a stupid…mistake.”

      “I know.” He laid the back of his hand against her cheek, which was scraped raw. He wanted so badly to ease her anguish, but he didn’t know how. “I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?”

      “No.” She turned her head slightly away from his fingers. “Don’t…don’t touch.”

      “It will be all right,” he said again quickly, thinking that he’d somehow caused her more pain. “You’re going to come through this just fine, and when you’re all better, we can make new plans.” He bent to place his mouth against her ear. “You and me—we have a date with the justice of the peace, remember?”

      “I want…”

      “What do you want, sweetheart?” he asked, brushing hair away from her forehead. “Some water? A nurse?”

      “I want…” She stopped to lick her lips. Her gaze swung back to him, and again she seemed to be trying hard to concentrate. “I want you…to leave me alone. I don’t want to…marry…you.”

      It felt suddenly as though someone had opened a door in his heart and let in the north wind. He shook

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