Masked Cowboy (Men of the White Sandy) (22 page)

Mary Beth shot him a doubtful look.

“No, really, I can.” He pulled Mick to a stop and fished his wallet out of his back pocket. She snatched his license out of his hand, hoping that it had a pre-mask picture, but no such luck. Just Jacob’s normal unreadable scowl. The image could have been a mug shot, more or less a license picture. “I passed the driver’s test two years ago. I’m street legal.”

“I’ve never seen you behind a wheel. That’s a brand-newish truck. You crash it, you buy me a new one.”

Jacob stuck out his hand and Mary Beth shook it. Then, because the man did not fight fair, he kept his grip on her and hauled her halfway out of her saddle to give her one of those searing, possessive kisses that tended to end whatever conversation they’d been having.

“Decided what we’re doing after dinner yet?” he asked when he finally let go of her.

Mary unceremoniously plopped back in her saddle, causing Sue to skitter sideways. “I’m still weighing my options.”

That got a lopsided grin out of him. “I’ll plan for any contingency then.”

So last night had been a bust. So he wasn’t convenient. So nothing about this was normal.

That didn’t make it bad.

Mary Beth picked Kip up at 2:30, which allowed her to see the rest of the children Mrs. Browne taught. A mix of kids—including Lisa, Alex and Gary—paused whatever they were working on to stare at her as she gathered Kip’s things. Mrs. Browne was overjoyed that Jacob was finally taking Kip to a doctor. It was the most excited that Mary Beth had seen the stern woman. “And be sure to ask about that school in Rapid City,” was Mrs. Browne’s parting order.

“Will do,” Mary Beth called over her shoulder.

She walked Kip home and wrapped up a couple of cookies for the drive. Jacob showed up a little before three, and they bundled into the truck.

“I still don’t like this,” Mary Beth grumbled as Jacob pumped the brakes and gas a little too enthusiastically.

“You can drive on the way home,” he said, not bothered by her doubt in the least. “We’ll cut straight up to the highway. I don’t do so good in the dark anyway.”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?” she asked through gritted teeth as he took a corner at an unnecessarily high rate of speed. “Jesus, Jacob! Are you sure you can drive this thing?” She clung to the oh-shit bar for dear life. “I mean, not to criticize or anything, but she’s supposed to be in a car seat for when you kill us all by driving off the edge of the bluffs.”

“Really?” Jacob asked, completely at ease as the truck whipped around another tight curve.

“Yes,” Mary Beth snapped through gritted teeth. “Children up to sixty-five pounds need to be in a booster seat and she’s not there yet.”

“Oh,” he said. Mary Beth couldn’t tell which part of that quiet little
oh
she liked better—the part that said she was right, or the part that made him sound all vulnerable.

“How do you know all this stuff?” he asked as the tires squealed onto Beech.

“I’ve got two nieces and one nephew, all under ten. I do this amazing thing—you should try it sometime—called paying attention. Works great.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

“Honey, does he always drive like this? No wonder you all ride horses instead,” she asked the small white figure in back. No response.

“Sorry,” he said, sounding anything but. “I’d forgotten how much I like driving.”

“Wonderful. Just try not to kill us all, okay?”

“Decided what we’re doing after dinner yet?”

She wanted to punch him in the shoulder, but she also didn’t want to crash and burn. “Depends on if we make it to dinner, doesn’t it?”

Instantly, the speed of the truck dropped down to reasonable levels. Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that they were suddenly on gravel roads that appeared to veer south into prairie. “Trust me, I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize dinner.”

“One thing at a time. Just drive, Jacob.”

So he drove.

The ride was eye-opening. Mary Beth realized she’d only ever been on the edges of the reservation, on open range and at barns. But Jacob was driving past houses that were little more than shacks, with rusted-out cars scattered around them. It didn’t look like America. It looked like a third-world country, only thirty miles from where she lived.

“
This
is the rez?” she asked in awe.

“A little different from Faith Ridge, isn’t it?” He snuck a sideways glance at her. “You really haven’t come in this far?”

Ashamed of her ignorance, Mary Beth shook her head.

“I thought Robin might have brought you.”

A small child without pants on darted in front of the truck. Jacob slammed on the brakes as both he and Mary Beth threw their arms out to brace each other.

“
Wa
h
téšni šíče
,” Jacob muttered. “You okay?”

Mary Beth was already checking on Kip. If possible, she didn’t look like the jolting stop had moved even a hair. “What?” Mary Beth asked.

“Kid,” Jacob explained. “Just a kid.”

“Without pants? It’s the middle of winter!”

“Mary Beth,” he scolded her, “this is the rez. The kid may not have any pants.”

Shame flooded her again. “It’s really that bad here?”

He turned to look her in the face. “Worse.” He slowed as they drove past a hovel of a trailer with a blanket for a door and plywood over the windows. The roof was curled up, looking like one strong puff would pull it free of its moorings. “That? That’s where Tommy lives.”

“But you pay him!”

“And he gives most of his money to his girlfriend so she can buy food for her kids,” Jacob patiently explained. “On the cold nights, he stays with her. She’s got a nice cob house, but there’s at least ten of them living there.”

“I had no idea,” was all Mary Beth could say. She just couldn’t reconcile Tommy with a hovel like that.

“They haven’t gotten rid of us yet,” Jacob said, almost to himself, “but they have tried.”

They
. Mary Beth knew who
they
were. And she was one of them.

“Jacob—”

“We have a nicer trailer,” he blurted out, his cheek fire-engine red. “All the doors, all the windows, heat in the winter.”

A nicer trailer? Compared to Tommy’s scrap heap? Anything had to be nicer than that, but that left a lot of room in shack territory. Mary Beth shuddered at the thought of Kip not being warm enough, but she knew that pity would be misplaced. “Oh,” she finally choked out. “That’s good.”

“I’m working on it,” he continued as the Ram picked up speed. “We’re almost there. You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she muttered, but suddenly she didn’t feel ready at all. It was like she’d studied for a history test only to find herself in an algebra final, the entire semester resting on this one event that she was completely unprepared for.

The truck crested a low hill. At the bottom sat an ugly building, but at least it appeared to have windows and an intact roof.

“That’s the clinic,” Jacob said.

“You been here before?”

“Once.” The way he said it—like it hurt—caught her attention.

She looked at him, at the hard lines on his face. He stared straight ahead, parking the truck without comment. Had he been here the night of the attack? “Jacob…”

He shook her off. “It’s time for her appointment.” He got out of the truck, not giving her a chance to ask.

Fine. Be that way
. As she unbuckled Kip, the door to the clinic opened and out came a huge man wearing medical scrubs.

The man whistled. “Jacob? That you?”

“Hiya, Clarence.” He pointed to the side of the clinic that looked like it was half built. “You expanding?”

Whoa, what had happened to Jacob’s voice? Suddenly, his accent was twenty times stronger. And sexier, dang it.

She went to lift Kip up and was surprised when the girl’s arms went around her neck. “It’s okay, honey,” Mary Beth said in a soothing tone. “You know Jacob will keep you safe. Me too.” But Kip’s arms stayed around her neck, so Mary Beth hefted her up.

“The new doc decided we needed a day care. Building it with her own money. Think her sister’s supposed to come out and run it or something.” He shrugged. “I can’t keep up with the plans. All I know is, she’s a hell of a good doc, and it’s best not to piss her off on a regular basis.”

“Good to know.”

The big man—Clarence—was staring at Jacob’s face. “Nice mask.” It could have come out as mocking, but he sounded sincere. “I thought they saved your nose?”

Mary Beth could see the tension rippling across Jacob’s shoulders. Kip’s grip tightened, just a little. “They did.”

So he
did
have a nose under that mask? But if he did, why did he wear it? And how did this guy know about it when no one else did?

Clarence noticed her—or, more specifically, the girl in her arms. “Is that Kip?”

Mary Beth could tell that this whole conversation was exceedingly painful for Jacob. Actually, she was surprised he was even talking.

“Yes.”

Clarence took a step toward Kip. Jacob took a corresponding step backward, keeping his body between the big man and the small girl in Mary Beth’s arms. “Man, I was so worried about her. When they wouldn’t let her in the ambulance with you?
Man
.” He let out another long, low whistle that told Mary Beth more than any words could. “I held onto her for as long as I could, but Tim said it was a matter for the law. Broke my heart when social services took her. But you got her back.”

“As soon as I got out of the hospital.” Each word sounded like a knife in Jacob’s mouth, cutting its way free.

“That’s good.” Clarence looked like he wanted to pat Kip’s head, but Jacob’s body language made it clear that would be a very bad idea. Then, for the first time, the big man seemed to notice Mary Beth. “Oh, hey.”

“Hi.” Mary Beth couldn’t offer to shake his hand without dropping Kip, so she sort of waved. “Mary Beth Hofstetter, the new vet in Faith Ridge.”

Clarence’s mouth quirked up into a smile as his gaze darted from Mary Beth to Jacob. “That so? Well, welcome to the rez, Doc.”

“Thanks.” What else was she supposed to say? She was afraid if she opened her mouth any further, she’d accidentally wind up grilling this guy for everything he knew about Jacob and Kip and the night of the attack, and if she did that, it was a hell of a long walk back to Faith Ridge.

Because one thing was pretty clear. Jacob and Kip had wound up here at the clinic the night of the attack, and this man had played a big part in saving Jacob’s life.

“Man,” Clarence said, turning his attention back to Jacob, “you should count yourself lucky the new doc wasn’t here when that all went down. She’d have hunted your ass down if you hadn’t shown up for your follow-up appointment.”

Jacob didn’t say anything. Not that it stopped Clarence. He grinned and shook his head. “You be careful in there. Even Nobody’s afraid of her.”

Two things happened at the same time. Mary Beth thought,
Nobody
? And Jacob’s face moved for the first time since the clinic had come into view. He looked positively shocked. “That a fact?”

“That’s a fact. She don’t like to take no for an answer.”

Jacob seemed to mull over this new information while Mary Beth’s mind kept going,
Nobody? Who the hell was Nobody
?

“I’ll keep to the straight and narrow then.” He held out his hand. “Good seeing you, Clarence.”

“Good luck, man. And nice meeting you, Doc.”

“Likewise.” She managed another half wave in Clarence’s general direction. After the big man had gotten into his car and driven off, Mary Beth turned to Jacob. “What—”

“We’re going to be late,” he cut her off again. She scowled at him but decided not to push it right now. They had a long drive home—and she’d be behind the wheel.

The waiting room was empty. A tall, dark and unusually handsome man sat behind a desk, clearly waiting for them. Jacob pushed Kip back into Mary Beth as he stepped forward to the man and extended his hand. “Rebel.”

“Jacob.” They shook. Briefly.

Wait, what?
Maybe she was hearing things, but it had almost sounded like Jacob said—

“Mary Beth, this is Rebel Runs Fast. Rebel, this is Dr. Mary Beth Hofstetter.”

No, she’d heard him right the first time. This man’s name was Rebel. Why not? Apparently there was someone named Nobody running around here. And to think, she’d once thought a name like Yellow Robe was weird. “Hello,” she said, trying to set Kip down so she could shake his hand. But Kip wasn’t having any of it. She hung on with far more strength than Mary Beth would have given her credit for.

So, again, she settled for waving at Rebel. And trying not to look at his long hair. Really long hair. Damn, this man was
gorgeous
.

She immediately came to an important conclusion. While Jacob and Rebel had many things in common, such as their black hair, strong jaws and Lakota heritage, that was pretty much where the similarities ended. Everything that was stony and silent about Jacob was warm and humorous about Rebel. He grinned broadly at her, his whole face lighting up. “A pleasure to meet the new vet. I’ve been hearing good things about your work. Top-notch.”