by Carol Lynne
With Leo’s larger body lying heavily on top of him, Sammy started to chuckle as he felt the seed begin to leak from his ass as Leo’s cock began to soften. “Tickles.”
Leo opened his eyes and regarded Sammy. “Huh?”
“My cup runneth over and it tickles,” Sammy tried to explain.
Leo laughed and gave Sammy a quick kiss before climbing off the bed. “We should probably take another shower. That’s the only downside to going Free Willy.”
Sammy started laughing. “Oh, my God, I’ve never heard anyone say that.”
Leo handed Sammy a towel. “There are all kinds of things to teach you then.”
Chapter Eight
With lights flashing and sirens blaring, Leo drove as fast as he could to the EZ Does It. Only five minutes earlier, he’d been sound asleep wrapped around Sammy’s warm body, and now they were on their way to help a victim who had suffered a TBI—traumatic brain injury. Because of the severity of the accident, a helicopter had already been dispatched from Sheridan.
Sitting beside him, Sammy hung up his cell phone and rubbed his eyes.
“Get anything?” Leo asked.
Sammy nodded but didn’t answer for several seconds. “Some of Ezra’s cattle broke out of their fence and onto the road. He sent the cowboys out to round them up.”
Sammy’s voice faltered and Leo squeezed the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at Sammy’s hesitation. The only thing he hated about working rescue in a small town was knowing the people involved.
“Neil?” Leo asked, swallowing the bile that started to rise in his throat. He tried to concentrate on the speeding ambulance in front of them.
“Yeah,” Sammy finally said. “He was on his horse trying to get the cattle back across the road when a truck, with its radio blasting, rounded the corner. Neil’s horse spooked and bucked him off.”
Sammy reached across the seat to put a hand on Leo’s thigh. “He hit his head on one of the stone fence posts on the way down. He hasn’t regained consciousness.”
Leo fought to remain professional. If the helicopter wasn’t on scene when they arrived, he knew Jakob would need all the help he could get. “Neil’s too young for this shit!”
Leo pounded his fist against the steering wheel. “He has his whole life in front of him, dammit!”
“Ezra said he doesn’t have an emergency contact for him. Has he ever said anything to you about family?”
Leo shook his head. “He doesn’t have any family, but there is someone I need to try and find as soon as Neil’s taken care of.”
They pulled up behind Ryan’s Sheriff’s SUV and killed the sirens, leaving the lights on. Hopefully, between the three sets of flashing lights, they’d be easy for the helicopter to spot. Leo jumped out of the rescue vehicle and ran towards the gathered crowd, stopping to help Jakob.
He heard the chopper coming and pointed upward. “Leave the gurney. They’ll want to use their own.”
Leo jumped the ditch and pushed his way through the cowboys. Neil’s body was lying at an odd angle. “No one moved him, right?”
“Right,” Jax answered, pushing the cowboys away from Neil’s unconscious body.
Leo turned to yell over his shoulder as soon as he realised the helicopter was setting down in the field. “Sammy, grab the bolt cutters and get a section of that fence down so they can get the stretcher through.”
Leo watched as Jakob efficiently cut the sleeve of Neil’s western-style shirt and started an IV. Within seconds of touch down, the Sheridan paramedics came running with a backboard.
Because he wasn’t properly trained, Leo stepped back and gave the team of professionals room to work. He found Sammy in the crowd and pulled him to the side. “I’m going to the SUV to make a few phone calls, see if I can find Neil’s guardian.”
Sammy nodded and gave Leo’s hand a supportive squeeze.
Leo returned to his vehicle and pulled out a sheet of paper and pen before calling information. When the automated operator came on, he tried to speak as clearly as his nerves would allow. “Rapid City, South Dakota.”
He was then switched to a live operator. I need the phone number for Ben Waters.”
“I have a Benjamin Waters,” the operator said.
“Yes. I’ll try that.”
“Please hold.”
He was once again switched to an automated voice that gave him the phone number. It was another fifty cents on his bill to have them dial it for him, but the way he felt, he’d screw it up anyway.
Leo held his breath as the phone began to ring.
“Hello?” A deep voice answered, obviously startled to be roused from sleep at three in the morning.
“Ben Waters?” Leo asked.
“Yes.”
Leo licked his lips as he stepped out of the SUV. “Do you know a Neil Peters?”
There was a momentary hesitation on the other end of the call. “Yes. Has something happened to him?”
“Yes, sir. This is Leo Burkowski, Assistant Fire Chief of the Cattle Valley, Wyoming Fire Department. I’m afraid there’s been an accident, Mr. Waters. Neil hit his head on a stone fence post. We’re getting ready to airlift him to Sheridan Memorial Hospital.”
“Airlift? Is he…”
Leo could hear the fear in Ben’s voice. “He’s alive, but I think it’s bad.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
The line went dead, and Leo could imagine the man jumping out of bed and frantically getting dressed, just as Leo had done only less than thirty minutes earlier. He sent up a silent prayer that he’d done the right thing by calling. If his suspicions were right, Ben Waters cared a hell of a lot more for Neil than his young friend thought.
* * * *
Sammy handed Leo a cup of coffee before sitting beside him. “Anything?”
“Nothing new,” Leo mumbled.
Sammy rested his cheek against Leo’s shoulder. They’d both spent too damn much time in this hospital in the last month. Although as bad as Zac’s injuries were, at least they knew once they got him to the hospital he’d live. The doctors still couldn’t assure them Neil would regain consciousness.
The elevator doors opened and a harried-looking older man rushed into the waiting room. Sammy noticed the man’s swollen dark grey eyes and knew he must be the man Leo had been expecting.
Leo immediately stood. “Ben?”
The man stopped and nodded. “Are you the one who called me?”
“Yes, I’m Leo.” Leo held out his hand. “I’m a good friend of Neil’s.”
“How is he?” Ben asked.
Leo gestured towards a chair. “Have a seat.”
“I’d rather see Neil if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all, but they won’t let you in for another,” Leo glanced at his watch, “ten minutes or so.”
Sammy tried to give Ben a reassuring smile. “He hasn’t regained consciousness. Dr. Flatts, Neil’s surgeon, performed a decompressive craniectomy. They’re hoping that removing a small section of the skull will alleviate some of the pressure on the brain caused by swelling.”
Ben braced his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. “Did they give you a prognosis?”
“No. They won’t know much until he regains consciousness,” Leo added.
“And no idea when that might be?” Ben asked.
Leo shook his head.
“How’d it happen?”
As Leo told Ben how Neil fell, Sammy couldn’t help but study the man. Attractive didn’t do the man justice. There was something incredibly sensual and…dangerous, about the older man, despite his apparent distress over Neil’s condition. Sammy would have to ask Leo what he knew about the man.
When Leo finished, Ben stood and began pacing the waiting room. “He shouldn’t have been out there in the first place.”
“The cattle broke free of the fence. It was part of his job. A job that he loves, by the w
ay,” Leo said, defending Neil.
Ben stopped pacing and turned to face Leo. “I mean he shouldn’t be here, in Wyoming.”
“From what I hear, he didn’t have much choice after you stuffed some money in his hand and shoved him out the door!” Leo yelled.
Sammy’s eyes rounded. It was the first time he’d ever heard Leo raise his voice to the level it was. He watched as the vein in Leo’s neck began to bulge as his anger rose.
Ben opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut again. “It had to be done.”
Leo’s expression softened. “He’s still in love with you.”
Ben shook his head. “He told me he hated my guts the last time I saw him.”
“And part of him still does. It’s up to you what you choose to do about it.” Leo glanced at his watch again. “They’ll probably let you in to see him now.”
Ben stopped in front of Leo and held out his hand. “I appreciate your call. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see him again. I had no idea he was living so close.”
Sammy spotted Dr. Flatts standing at the nurses’ station. “That man there is Neil’s doctor, you should talk to him before you see Neil.”
Ben nodded and jogged towards the surgeon, leaving Sammy and Leo alone once again.
Leo sat in the chair beside Sammy and wrapped an arm around him. “I can’t decide if I like that guy or not.”
“What’s not to like? He’s obviously as upset over Neil’s accident as you are. That has to tell you something.”
Leo returned to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. “As soon as Ben’s five minutes are up, I think we should head home, grab a couple hours of sleep and a change of clothes. I have a feeling I might be camped out here for a few days.”
Sammy stood and gave Leo a hug. “We might be camped out here.”
“You don’t have to do that. I know you’re not as close to Neil as I am.”
“Doesn’t matter. If he’s important to you, he’s important to me. We’re in this together from now on.”
Leo rubbed circles against Sammy’s back as the two of them held each other. Leo’s arms around him became tighter and tighter. Sammy closed his eyes and tried to pass his strength to the man he loved.
“I need to tell you something about Randy and then I promise to never mention his name again,” Leo whispered.
“Okay,” Sammy replied. He wasn’t sure what Leo was about to say, but he could tell by the way his lover’s breathing had changed it was important.
“My dad died of a heart attack when I was in my early twenties.”
“I’m sorry,” Sammy said, burying his face against Leo’s throat.
“That’s okay, babe, it was a long time ago.” Leo took several deep breaths before continuing. “Eight years ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had always been the strongest woman I’d ever known and she lasted almost five months after the doctors told her they’d done everything they could do for her.”
Leo stopped to clear his throat. “For the last two weeks of her life, I sat at her bedside watching her waste away, and you know where Randy was?”
Sammy shook his head, too choked up to answer.
“I don’t know either. Not once did he come by my mom’s house to check on me, to see if I needed anything, bring me something to make sure I ate. Hell, I’d have given anything just to have him hold me during that time, but he was always busy. He told me he had to work, that he was trying to take up the slack left from the family leave I’d taken. After I found out about his infidelity, I had a good idea what he’d been doing for the two weeks I’d needed him. I think that, more than anything, killed my faith in love.”
Sammy tried to dry his tears without giving away the fact that he was crying like a big ole baby. “He didn’t deserve you.”
Leo set Sammy far enough away to stare into his eyes. “Your willingness to sit with me until I know Neil’s outcome is…huge. It tells me more about you than words ever could. I love you, Sammy. And I can’t thank you enough for giving this old man another chance at life.”
Sammy pulled Leo’s head down for a deep kiss. “Every moment of every day, from here on out, will be my pleasure. I may have a few more years left than you do, but without your love they wouldn’t mean nearly as much to me. I love you, too.”
A throat cleared behind them, and Sammy broke away from Leo.
Ben stood with a broad smile on his face. “He woke up. It was only for a few moments, and he didn’t seem to recognise me, but he was awake. Dr. Flatts said it was a really good sign.”
Seeing the hopeful, but still scared, expression on Ben’s face pulled at Sammy’s heart strings. He gripped Leo’s hand and gazed up into his lover’s eyes. “Let’s go give Ben some of our strength.”
Leo bent down and kissed Sammy. “And that’s another reason why I love you.”
“Regardless of the reasons, I’m just happy you do.”
About the Author
An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. These days, you can usually find Carol either cleaning jelly out of the carpet or nestled in her favourite chair writing steamy love scenes.
Email: [email protected]
Carol loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.
Also by Carol Lynne
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Campus Cravings: Side-Lined
Campus Cravings: Sacking the Quarterback
Campus Cravings: Off-Season
Campus Cravings: Forbidden Freshman
Campus Cravings: Broken Pottery
Campus Cravings: In Bear’s Bed
Campus Cravings: Office Advances
Campus Cravings: A Biker’s Vow
Campus Cravings: Hershie’s Kiss
Campus Cravings: Theron’s Return
Campus Cravings: Live for Today
Good Time Boys: Sonny’s Salvation
Good-time Boys: Garron’s Gift
Good-time Boys: Rawley’s Redemption
Good-time Boys: Twin Temptations
Cattle Valley: All Play & No Work
Cattle Valley: Cattle Valley Mistletoe
Cattle Valley: Sweet Topping
Cattle Valley: Rough Ride
Cattle Valley: Physical Therapy
Cattle Valley: Out of the Shadow
Cattle Valley: Bad Boy Cowboy
Cattle Valley: The Sound of White
Cattle Valley: Gone Surfin’
Cattle Valley: The Last Bouquet
Cattle Valley: Eye of the Beholder
Cattle Valley: Cattle Valley Days
Cattle Valley: Bent-Not Broken
Cattle Valley: Arm Candy
Cattle Valley: Recipe for Love
Karaoke at the Tumbleweed
Legend Anthology: Healing Doctor Ryan
Joey’s First Time
Between Two Lovers
Corporate Passion
Poker Night: Texas Hold Em
Poker Night: Slow-Play
Poker Night: Different Suits
Poker Night: Full House
Men in Love: Reunion
Bodyguards in Love: Brier’s Bargain
Bodyguards in Love: Seb’s Surrender
Bodyguards in Love: I Love Rock and Roll
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