Beauty and the Bull Rider (Hotel Rodeo #3)(22)

“We got all the wire off, but he’s hurt pretty bad,” Delaney continued, her worry lines deepening. “Please do whatever you have to. I’ve got a lot invested in that animal, but I don’t want him to suffer.”

After examining the animal, Kevin reported a severed artery in the pastern and went to work stitching and bandaging. “The bleeding’s stopped. He’s weak but I think he’ll pull through,” he reassured Delaney a few minutes later. “Whether he’ll be well enough for future competition, only time will tell.”

“I hope so,” Delaney said. “He’s my best prospect.”

“He still needs some IV fluids,” Kevin said. “We also need to keep him quiet to be sure that artery doesn’t open up again. I’d like to take him back to the clinic so I can keep a close eye on him for a night or two if that’s all right with you.”

“Keep him however long you have to,” she said.

Delaney stepped back to allow the men to move in. In a few minutes, they had the injured animal loaded onto the trailer. “Take good care of my bull, Kevin,” Delaney said. “I’m serious when I say do whatever he needs.”

“You know I will,” Kevin replied.

Zac watched them intently as he latched the trailer door.

“I’ll come by first thing tomorrow to check on him,” she said.

“I’ll look forward to it. I’ve seen far too little of you lately,” Kevin replied with a smile that suggested far more than a strictly professional relationship.

Lately? Zac’s gut twisted. What the f*ck was going on between Delaney and the vet?

“Just been real busy,” Delaney answered.

Kevin gave Zac another speculative look.

Zac answered it with a glower that hung over his brow until well after the vet climbed into his truck and drove off.



After the vet departed with her bull, Delaney turned back to Zac. His jeans were caked with mud and his shirt was torn and covered with blood. Was it his? The bull’s? Or a combination of both? Delaney’s chest tightened at the significance of what he’d done for her. Had he lost control, the eight-hundred-pound bull could easily have crushed him, yet he hadn’t hesitated to help her. “I don’t even know how to begin thanking you for what you did.”

“Just being a good neighbor.” Avoiding her eye, he squatted to retrieve the bloody wire cutters, and tossed them into her cart.

“It was much more than that,” she insisted. “I know I could have lost Romeo today if it wasn’t for you.”

“Seems to me Kevin was the hero of the day.”

She shook her head. Was that what was eating him? Why he looked so sullen?

“By the time he got here, you already had Romeo under control. He couldn’t have done much of anything if you hadn’t. Kevin’s a great vet, but there’s no way in hell he could have out-muscled that bull. I know who the real hero is, Zac,” she finished softly. “You risked your life for my animal.”

He stood and faced her, the harsh lines around his mouth relaxing. “Didn’t do it for the bull, I did it for you. Told you I’d be here if you needed me, and I meant it.”

“I wish I knew how to thank you.”

“I could think of lots of ways,” he replied softly. She could imagine a few ways too, but was quick to quash those thoughts. “How ’bout we just say supper when I get back from Laredo?” he suggested.

She swallowed hard, already fearing where this might lead. One thing for certain, if he kept up this kind of campaign, he was going to lay waste to all her well-made plans. She’d become dangerously attracted to Zac McDaniel. She wondered if she’d be wise to make a polite excuse. She opened her mouth to do just that, but what could she say without appearing ungrateful or rude? She took a breath and replied. “Yes, Zac, I’d like that.”

“Great,” he replied with a terse nod. “Call you when I get back.”

Delaney prayed that if she could keep things light and impersonal, maybe she could get through it unscathed.





CHAPTER SIX


Delaney constantly occupied Zac’s thoughts on the eight-hour drive to Laredo. His gut knotted at what easily could have happened to her out there alone with her bulls on a thousand-acre pasture. What if she hadn’t called him? Eight years of independence had made her strong and self-reliant, but also willful to a fault. Thankfully, she’d turned to him in her need. Did that mean something? Was he starting to gain her trust?

Although he was reluctant to leave her so soon after that incident, he hoped the time apart might work in his favor. He hated this waiting game after he’d laid it all out on the line, but there was no rushing her decision. He respected that too. She desired a baby and he desired her, so he’d offered his services to give her one. Seemed like a simple enough plan when he’d presented it, but so was riding a bull—until you actually got on one of the sons of bitches.

Nothing was simple or easy about Delaney. She was so damned contrary it made his head spin. And what was up with that vet anyway? He’d never felt insecure about a woman before and sure as hell didn’t like the idea of competition. The buzz of his phone jarred him from his thoughts. A glance at caller ID told him it was Ty.

“Hey, pardner!” Zac answered. “Was wonderin’ when I’d hear from you.”