“Oh, my goodness. Michaels, you are a lifesaver. Send me your bill and I got you. Thanks so much for all your help.”
“No problem, Cassie. Let me know if you need anything else.”
She was dying to look at the files, but her stomach was growling. Cassie jumped into the shower, got all dolled up and headed down to the front desk. She got a recommendation from the front desk clerk for a bar called the Hen House. According to the nice lady, the bar served the best burgers in town, this late at night. That’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Cassie settled into a booth in the corner, where she could watch people without them watching her. It was a weeknight, and the bar wasn’t overly packed. She could see this place being overrun with cowboys and their prey on the weekends. Tonight, she was happy for less traffic. She pulled out her phone and began reading over the files that Michaels sent her.
The shock of what she found almost brought her to tears. Her poor cowboy had lost a limb in the attack. Why the hell didn’t he say something? Obviously, he was fully functioning if he could work as a ranch hand. Riding horses all day was no joke. Plus, when they were making love, he didn’t miss a beat. She couldn’t figure out what the issue was.
Well, if Joaquin had an issue with his prosthetic, then she would just have to let him know that she didn’t care. There was nothing about him that she wouldn’t love.
Eight
Joaquin
What the hell was he thinking? Joaquin chastised himself for leaving that fine looking woman alone in the bed. He just couldn’t see that look in her eyes that said she felt sorry for him. He didn’t want to be the cripple that she pitied. He damn sure didn’t need the rejection that was sure to come with it. Why would that sexy woman want him?
He just couldn’t get over how good she felt. Their passion was better than he remembered. It was clear that she missed him. However, he wasn’t the same man she left behind. What would she do if she saw his stump? He was terrified that she would ask him to get naked. There was no way in hell that he would let her see him that vulnerable.
Regret was niggling at his core. Cassie deserved better and he knew it. What did she think when she woke up and found him gone? It was the question that haunted him all night. He lay on his bed trying to fall asleep. His bunkmates were not very accommodating. They were up playing cards and shooting the shit. Of course, they couldn’t resist the easy target that was Joaquin.
“Hey Tanner. We weren’t expecting to see you tonight,” Sam said.
“Damn right. If I had that fine ass woman coming to see me, I would be somewhere between those thick thighs seeing how good she tasted all night long,” Chase added.
“I bet she tastes like sweet cream. I would love to have her in my mouth,” Rocky joined in.
Usually Joaquin was a quiet, stay to himself kind of guy. However, the nasty way the guys were talking about his woman were setting his soul afire. He wanted to smash their faces in and stomp on them with his boots. Maybe feed their dead corpses to the pigs on the ranch down the way. All of those things were running through his head when he shot up from his bunk and glared at them. Then Cody opened his foul mouth and lit the match.
“I bet cha old Tanner didn’t even get a sniff. I tell you what, the next time I see her I’m gonna shoot my shot. Show her how a real man does things.”
That was it. Joaquin could no longer hold in his anger. He flew toward Cody and tackled him to the ground. He pounded his fist into the nasty man’s face over and over until he was a bloody mess. The rest of the guys had to pull him off Cody.
“Somebody, get him off of me,” Cody hollered.
“Fuck you, Buck. I’m more of a man than you’ll ever be. If I catch you anywhere near my woman, I’ll kill you. Don’t look at her. Don’t think about her. And damn sure don’t talk to her. Just one word and it’s over. You hear me?”
The commotion attracted the attention of Buck, the head ranch hand. There was a strict no fighting rule on the ranch. He barged his way into the bunk house and glared at the men. His usual surly demeanor was ten times worse when he saw the disturbance.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
Nobody said anything. There was an unspoken rule among the men. They settled their battles on their own. No one would rat anyone out. If Buck wanted to know what happened, he would have to witness it for himself. If any one of the cowboysdared to speak on what went down in the bunk house, they would be ostracized and possibly targeted by the others.
“So, nobody is going to tell me how Cody’s face got mangled or why Tanner’s fist is bloody? I guess I’m going to have to use my imagination. Cody, what happened to your face?” Buck demanded.
“Nothing. I tripped over a case of beer and landed on my face. Tanner cut his hand trying to help me. I’m fine.”
“Is that right, Tanner?”
Joaquin said nothing but nodded in agreement. He could tell this angered Buck even more. He bet Buck was itching to get the truth from the boys, but he had to know they wouldn’t tell. It was good that the men had a code to live by. Nobody wanted to live with a snitch. Plus, Joaquin and Cody would work things out on their own. Otherwise, one of them would have to leave the ranch.
“Since you all want to act like I’m a damn fool, I’ll leave you to clean this mess up. Then I suggest you get some shuteye. Morning comes fast around here. I won’t be taking any excuses tomorrow. Don’t make me come back down here.”
With that, the surly man stomped out of the bunkhouse and away from the drama. Joaquin, on the other hand, was smack in the middle of it. His anger hadn’t dissipated one bit. In fact, he didn’t give two fucks if he got thrown off the ranch. He needed to make his point to everyone in earshot.
“Listen up! I don’t give a fuck who you are. If I hear you speaking about Cassie like that again, I will take your fucking head off. Keep my girl’s name out of your filthy mouths.”
You could have heard a pin drop as the crew rushed around picking up the disheveled room. Joaquin made hisway into the shared bathroom and washed his knuckles. Then he grabbed a bag of frozen veggies from the freezer to prevent swelling. He winced at the contact of cold on his hand. He reached into the cabinet and popped two aspirin before heading back to his bunk to lay down.
