“He’s got another bump on his head, but other than that, he’s fine. The doc will be releasing him soon.”
Good. That was one less thing to worry about, even though this wouldn’t be the end of Shane’s worries. After all, his father had just tried to murder Livvy and Reed. Ben Tolbert would likely to go to jail for the rest of his life.
“I called the station on the way over here, and Ben’s talking, by the way,” Kirby continued. “Jerry’s trying to make him hush, but Ben confessed to setting the cabin on fire and trying to scare Livvy into leaving town. He didn’t want any evidence that could link Shane to Marcie’s murder.”
Reed felt every muscle in his body tighten. He wanted to pulverize Ben for what he’d done. “But Livvy’s the one who cleared Shane’s name.”
Kirby shrugged. “Ben evidently thought Livvy wasn’t done with Shane. He figured she’d keep looking for anything and everything to put Shane back in jail.”
Great. Because of Ben’s warped loyalty to his son, Livvy might have to pay a huge price.
“What about Charla?” Reed asked.
“The medics took her to Austin, to the psych ward. After they’ve evaluated her, they’ll give you a call.”
Kirby had barely finished his sentence, when Reed heard more footsteps. This time, it was Dr. Eric Callahan, the man who’d forced Reed out of the E.R. so he could get to work on Livvy’s gunshot wound.
“How is she?” Reed demanded, holding his breath.
“She lost quite a bit of blood so we gave her a transfusion. She’s B-negative, and thanks to you, we have a small stockpile.”
“You gave her Reed’s blood?” Kirby asked.
Dr. Callahan nodded, but Reed interrupted any verbal response he might have given Kirby. Yes, Reed was a regular blood donor, and he was damn thankful the supply had been there for Livvy, but a transfusion was the last thing he wanted to discuss right now.
“How’s Livvy?” Reed snapped.
“She’s okay. The bullet went through and doesn’t appear to have damaged anything permanently—”
“I want to see her.” Reed didn’t wait for permission. He pushed his way past the doctor and went to the room where they’d taken Livvy nearly an hour earlier.
Reed stormed into the room but came to a dead stop. There Livvy was, lying on the bed. Awake. Her shoulder sporting a fresh bandage. Heck, she even gave him a thin smile, but she looked pale and weak. That smile, however, faded in a flash when Livvy’s gaze dropped to the front of his shirt.
Reed glanced down at what had snagged her attention and immediately shook his head. “It’s not mine.” The blood on the front of his shirt had gotten there during his fight with Ben.
Livvy gave a sigh of relief and eased her head back onto the pillow.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” the nurse on the other side of the room insisted.
“I’m not leaving,” Reed insisted right back. “Not until I find out how you really are,” he said to Livvy.
“I’ll speak to the doctor about that,” the nurse warned and headed out of the room.
Livvy motioned for him to come closer. “I’m fine, really. The doctor gave me some good pain meds so I’m not feeling much.” Her eyes met his. “Well, not much pain anyway. Please tell me Ben Tolbert is behind bars.”
Reed walked closer, the plastic grocery bag swishing against the leg of his jeans. “He is. Or soon will be. I had Ben sent to the county jail. He’s receiving medical treatment for the gunshot wound to his leg, but after that, he’ll be going to the prison hospital.”
“Good.” And a moment later she repeated it.
Livvy might have been medicated, but the painkillers didn’t remove the emotion from her voice or face. She’d been through hell tonight, and Reed had taken that trip right along with her.
He sat down on the right side of the bed so he wouldn’t accidentally bump into her injury and, because he thought they both could use it, he leaned over and kissed Livvy. Reed intended to keep it short and sweet. Just a peck of reassurance. But Livvy slid her hand around the back of his neck and drew him closer. Even after she broke the kiss, she held him there with his forehead pressed against hers.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she whispered, taking the words right out of his mouth.
Reed settled for a “Yeah,” but it wasn’t a casual response. His voice had as much emotion as hers, and he eased back just a little so he could meet her eye to eye. “I’m sorry I let this happen to you.”
She pushed her fingers over his lips. “You didn’t ‘let’ this happen. You did everything to save me.”
He glanced down at the bandage and hated the thought that she was alive in part because they’d gotten lucky. Reed didn’t want luck playing into this.
“You can’t stay,” someone said from the doorway. It was the doctor.
“Give me five minutes,” Reed bargained. He didn’t pull away from Livvy, and he didn’t look back at the doctor.
“Five minutes,” he finally said, and Reed heard the doctor walking away.
“Not much time,” Livvy volunteered.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back after you’ve gotten some rest.” But first, he had something important to do.
He took out the candy bars from the bag and put them on the stand next to her bed.
Her face lit up. “You brought me Snickers?” She smiled and kissed him again. “You know, I could love a man who brings me chocolate.”
The realization of what she’d said caused her smile to freeze, and she got that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.
“Don’t take it back,” Reed blurted out.
She blinked. “Wh-what?”
“Don’t take that love a man part back, because that’s what I want you to do.”
“You want me to love you?” She sounded as if he’d just requested that she hand him the moon.
And in a way, he had.
“Yeah. I do,” he assured her.
But Reed lifted his hand in a wait-a-second gesture so he could lay the groundwork for this. He took out a map from the bag and fanned it open. It took him a moment to find what he was looking for.
“This is Comanche Creek,” he said, pointing to the spot. “And this is Austin.” He pointed to the space in between. “I want to find a house or build one halfway between. That’d give us both a thirty-minute commute to work.”
And because he wanted her to think about that for several moments, and because he didn’t want her to say no, he kissed her. He didn’t keep it tame, either. But then, neither did Livvy. She might have been in the E.R., but it was crystal-clear that kissing was still on the agenda.
She pulled back, ran her tongue over his bottom lip and smiled. “You want us to live together. I’d like that.”
“Like?” he questioned.
Her forehead bunched up. “All right, I’d love to do that. You really have love on the brain tonight.” She winced. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right. Blame it on the pain meds.”
That had him hesitating. “How clearly are you thinking?”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I’m about to tell you that I’m in love with you, and I want to make sure you understand.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re in love with me?”
“Yeah.” And Reed held his breath again. He watched her face, staring at her and trying to interpret every little muscle flicker. Every blink. Every tremble of her mouth.
“You don’t love me?” he finally said.
The breath swooshed out of her and she grabbed him again and planted a very hard kiss on his mouth. “I love you. I’m in love with you. And I want to live with you in a house with a thirty-minute commute.”
She smiled. It was warm and gooey, and in all his life, Reed had never been happier to see warm and gooey.
“Good,” he let her know. Another kiss. Before he moved on to the next part.
“Your five minutes are up,” he heard the doctor say from the doorway.
“Whatever you’ve got to say to her, it can wait,” the doctor insisted.
“No. It can’t.” He looked into Livvy’s eyes. “I don’t want to just live with you.”
She shook her head. “But you said—”
“I want to marry you, and then I want us to live together.”
“You’re proposing?” the doctor grumbled, and Reed heard the man walk away.
“Yes, I’m proposing,” Reed verified to Livvy. “And now, I’m waiting for an answer.”
An answer she didn’t readily give. But she did make a show of tapping her chin as if in deep thought. “Let me see. I have a really hot sheriff that I love with all my heart. He buys me chocolate and jumps out in front of snakes and bullets for me. He’s also great in bed. And he wants to marry me.”
Reed smiled. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”
She pulled him closer. “Yes. With one condition.”
Reed could have sworn his heart stopped. He didn’t want conditions. He wanted Livvy, and he wanted all of her. “What condition?” he managed to asked.
There were tears in her eyes now, but she was also still smiling.
Reed thought those might be good signs. He was sure the lusty kiss she gave him was a good sign, too.
“The condition is—this has to be forever,” Livvy whispered.
Well, that was a given. “It took me thirty-two years to find you, and I have no intentions of ever letting go.”
And to prove that, Reed pulled Livvy closer and kissed her.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4839-1
SHOTGUN SHERIFF
Copyright © 2010 by Delores Fossen
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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*Five-Alarm Babies
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**Texas Paternity
†Texas Paternity: Boots and Booties
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**Texas Paternity
Shotgun Sheriff Page 17
