This one had gone deep, buried below the cuff of his shirt. Gray worked the pliers in carefully, but when it came free, Matty let out a sharp cry. Blood welled, soaking into his shirt.
“Got him,” Gray said. “Hudson, help me lift.”
I didn’t hesitate. I slid my arms under Matty’s good armand around his waist. He was heavier than I’d expected, limp from the fight drained out of him.
“Stay with me, Matt. Please. Stay awake.”
He mumbled something into my shoulder, too low for me to catch, but I felt the vibration of his voice. That was enough to keep me moving.
We half dragged, half carried him to the truck, rain hammering us now, hail ticking like stones on the hood.
Fuck.
“Get him in the cab!” Gray barked.
I pulled open the passenger door and lifted Matty, cradling him like I would my little girl if she’d been hurt. He slumped against the seat, blood and rain soaking into the upholstery.
“Junebug,” Matty groaned.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got her. We’ll be right behind you.”
As much as I wanted to jump into the cab with him, I knew he would want to know the horse he loved was safe. My throat tightened as I went over to Junebug and untied her from the fence line. The truck was already moving ahead of us.
By the time I swung into the saddle, I was drenched. The rain was coming down harder now. Junebug bunched and danced, but she surged forward, ears pinned, fighting her way home through the hailstones. I crouched low over the horse’s back, gritting my teeth.
“Almost there, girl. Just hold on. We’re almost home.”
When the ranch yard came into view, my shirt was plastered to me, my skin welted and raw, fingers near numb on the reins. Hailstones had pelted hard enough to leave bruises.
I wanted to run straight into the house to see Matty, butduty held me in place. The barn. Always the barn first to take care of the horse that I owed for saving Matty’s life. If not for her, we could have spent hours roaming the property to locate him.
I swung down, legs wobbling, and led Junebug inside. She trembled under me, foam and rain streaking her coat, nostrils wide with every breath. Poor girl had worked hard to bring us home.
I rubbed her down fast, checked her legs, then did a closer inspection to see if she’d been hurt by any of the stones. Pleased to see no cuts, I laid a dry blanket over her back. “You’re safe now,” I whispered into her mane, voice cracking. “And so is he. You’re such a good girl, aren’t you?”
Junebug blew a warm huff against my chest, her body finally relaxing under my hands. I dug into the feed bin and scooped out a measure of oats to add to her bucket. She pressed her nose straight in, crunching loud and steady, and I stroked her neck once more, grounding myself in the sound.
“Eat up, girl. You earned it.”
Only when she was settled with her head deep in the grain did I tear myself away, every muscle screaming to get to Matty. I should’ve waited for the rain to slacken, but I couldn’t. Not when I needed to see him with my own eyes. I bolted across the yard, boots splashing through puddles, hail still bouncing around me like stones, gritting my teeth against the ones that connected.
Ozzie was waiting inside the mudroom with a towel the size of a blanket as if he knew I wouldn’t have stayed away. He threw it around my shoulders before I even got the door shut. “Gray was right that you wouldn’t wait in the barn.”
“Where’s Ivy?” I rasped. She was usually a step behind Ozzie.
“In the kitchen with Gertie. She’s keeping her busy decorating cookies.”
My lungs loosened a fraction. “And Matt? How bad is it?”
Ozzie’s mouth curved into something gentler. “Upstairs. In bed. Gray patched him up and bandaged the worst of the cuts. He’s gonna be all right, Hudson.”
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled. I shoved the towel tighter around me and climbed the stairs two at a time, water still streaming from my hair.
When I eased the door open, Matty was sitting up in bed, shirt stripped off, skin mottled with scratches and angry red slashes where the barbs had raked him. Clean bandages lined his arm. His lashes fluttered, but his gaze found me all the same.
And only then did I let myself breathe.
“Hud?” His voice was raspy but steady. “Come here. You’re soaked to the bone.”
