“Dammit, Jensen. The hunter could still be around. What if he mistakesyoufor an elk?”
I dug my nails into my already tender palms. “Whoever did this is long gone, Tuck. I’m not leaving.”
I heard a muttered curse and something that sounded like “stubborn woman.”
“I’m about thirty minutes out. Be careful.”
“I’ll see you soon.” I hit end and headed back down the path. I settled myself on the ground next to the mare. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” I closed my eyes and sent up a prayer. My relationship with God was a complicated one, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask that He welcome her home with open arms. It didn’t hurt to ask for protection for the rest of my precious mustangs, either.
I hugged my knees to my chest and let time pass. I didn’t know how long it took before I heard Tuck calling, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer him audibly. I simply stood and raised my hand in a wave. He jogged down the path towards me, athletic and agile, unlike my bumbling attempt.
When Tuck reached me, he tugged me to him with a ferocity that stole my breath. “Are you okay?” He pulled back, grasping onto my shoulders, his gaze tracking over my face.
“I’m fine.” I could hear the lie in my voice, and I knew Tuck could, too.
He looked away from me and to the mare a few feet away. A muscle in his cheek ticked.
“We have to find the bastard that did this.”
Tuck’s face hardened. “Youaren’t going to find anyone. That’s my job. You’re going to march your ass back to your SUV and go home.”
My blood began to heat, and I shook off Tuck’s hold on me. “You are not the boss of me.”
Tuck scowled. “Well, this is now an active crime scene, so I could always arrest you for interference.”
My jaw dropped open. “You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t test me.”
I threw up my hands in frustration. “You are the most infuriating—”
Tuck caught hold of my wrist, bringing my hand closer so that he could inspect my palm. “What happened?”
I swallowed, the heat from his hand seeping into my skin. “I tripped.”
Tuck looked heavenward as though praying for patience. “Come on.” He led me up the path.
“Where are we going?”
Tuck kept a loose hold on my wrist. “I’m taking you back to my truck, where I have a first-aid kit.”
I rolled my eyes. So freaking overprotective. “It’s just a couple of scrapes.”
“They could get infected,” he gritted out.
I opted for silence as I followed. Once Tuck had set his mind to something, there was no changing it. He was possibly the most stubborn man on the planet. We made it back to the vehicles in record time. Tuck let down the tailgate of his truck and hoisted me onto it as though I weighed no more than Noah. “Stay.”
“I’m not a dog, you know.”
“Believe me, I know. A dog would listen.”
I stuck out my tongue at Tuck’s back as he dug through the cab of his truck.
“I know you’re sticking out your tongue at me.”
I immediately retracted said tongue. “Was not.”
He turned and headed back to me with a massive first-aid kit. “You know I always know when you’re lying.”
