Raising a Cowgirl (10 page)

Jolie opened her eyes and looked at the men with pain in her eyes. “Can I get some
Ibuprofen or something?”

“Not yet, young lady, I have to examine you first,” a voice from across the room said
and she turned her head to look at a kind looking older man who carried an
old-fashioned
doctor’s bag. He was short and portly with silver hair, and glasses that sat on
the edge of his nose. She fell in love a little bit with the man, and if he had drugs,
she may offer to marry him.

An hour later Jolie was showered, stitched, drugged up, and happily sleeping. The
guys went downstairs to talk to Timothy and make their phone calls. They had not
wanted to chance calling the guys directly from the ranch, and so Jolly and Steve,
Alex’s honorary uncles were being the information flow center for them.

Everyone was checking in with them at the offices in Colorado. According to Sable
and Lou, Alex’s brothers, Rex and Andre were already on their way to Healing. Dallas
and Noah, Alex’s fathers, were bringing up a security team of Jolly and Steve’s.
Soon they would have a brand new security system, with motion detectors and video
surveillance all in a Command center in the back of the house.

Gage and David listened to the doc as he explained the patient orders for Jolie, making
notes of times she needed medication, and bandage care.

“I would have preferred she was in a hospital, even though it was only a flesh wound.
She is dehydrated and has a fever. So make sure she gets the meds, if it gets any
worse, I will recommend you take her to Cheyenne,” the doctor ordered.

“Got it,” David said and Gage nodded.

They shook the doctor's hand and led him out the front door. Gage turned to David
and frowned. “We need to keep her safe.”

“We will. Where is Sammi?" David asked.

“In the kitchen with Lou,” Gage said, running a hand through his hair, the exhaustion
of the emotional and adrenalin high was going to make him crash. There was no way
he was doing that until they had guards.

They made their way to the kitchen and looked at the men who were playing with Sammi.
The wranglers, the ranch hands, everyone a gooey sickening mess—making faces and laughing
at the charming little girl.

Lou handed them cups of coffee and put her hands on her hips. “Sit, I will get the
stew. I figure you are going to be up for a while, trying to sort this mess out.”

Sable breezed in the kitchen and said, “Our patient is resting nicely. Any word on
when the guards will be here?”

“Not yet why?” Gage asked.

“Finding somewhere for them to all stay. No one knows how many are coming. I hate
to make the guys in the bunk house too cramped,” Sable said and bit her lip. Gage
could see the woman’s brain spinning.

“They can take my place,” David said. “For the immediate future, I will be staying
here.”

Sable looked surprised and then smiled. “Thanks, Sherriff, how many rooms are there,
and where is it?”

Gage listened and waited. He knew where his friend lived. He was waiting for the
rest of the room to find out. They would certainly get a hoot out of it. David had
only found out a few weeks ago, but he agreed to wait for David to tell them, at the
time it was a privacy thing.

“Next door,” David mumbled.

“Wait, what?” Sable looked confused. “No, Desire and her men live to the west.
That nice lady who owns the hair salon, lives across. And some trust owns the land
to the east, it wraps around the rest of the ranch.”

“Yeah, well, my mother's parents left it to me when they passed. I didn’t know about
it until about seven years ago when I turned thirty. My mom died when I was younger,
she was estranged with her parents because of my asshole father. I never met them.
They left me the land and enough to keep it going. The house is way too big for me,
about this size, maybe a little smaller. Use what you need. Only my foreman and
hands live there in the bunk house.” David shrugged and looked around the room at
all of them staring at him in astonishment.

“I thought you lived in town, the small house in back of the station?” Lou laughed.
“In this little town, who the heck kept that secret?”

David felt the red creeping into his cheeks and mumbled, “Mom’s parents had it written
into the will about the trust. Never seemed the right time to set people straight.
The guys pretty much keep to themselves, and Rick, my foreman, is all about privacy.
I stay in town because of the job, and to be truthful that house is too huge for me
to ramble around in alone. Kinda felt weird. All of the furniture is the original,
and not so much my style.”

The guys laughed and Lou and Sable looked at one another with a devious expression.
“We will take care of it if you don’t mind?” Sable said finally.

David shrugged and turned back to Sammi and smiled. “There is a room with a crib
and stuff there, too, you may want to grab that and have it brought over here. Jolie
said she wanted the baby with her.”

Sable nodded and clapped her hands. “Well then, I had better get busy if we are gonna
have a place for this little darlin' to sleep tonight. Though I think having her
sleep with Jolie until she is feeling better is a stretch.”

Gage nodded and said, “Put the stuff in my room, and have another bed brought in for
David.”

“Okkkaaay,” Sable laughed and said to one of the men sitting at the table. “Let’s
get the truck ready and moving.”

Two of the new men nodded and patted Sammi on the back and left. It only took a few
minutes for Lou and Timothy to have everyone organized and off to complete chores,
and other things. When it was only David and Gage in the kitchen, both of them were
silent and thinking about the things that needed to be done.

“We need to make the calls, find out what is going on, and who is coming and when,”
Gage said and David nodded. For the first time since they met, they seemed to be
avoiding a conversation.

Both of them knew what it was about, with all the wacky shit going on, they were still
feeling the awareness to Jolie, and a definite protective instinct to both her and
Sammi. Neither wanted to waste the time to figure all this out, but David felt like
something had to be said.

“We will, but first can I ask you something?” David said slowly.

“Sure,” Gage shrugged and looked down at his coffee, tightening his hands on the cup
as if he knew what was going to be said.

“I, uh, wanted to let you know I felt something with Jolie, something I can't describe,
and I, uh, wanted your thought,” David said slowly. Although since meeting the man
before him, he knew their friendship had become strong, even in the few months they
had known each other.

“Oh, well, sure, you are interested, of course, go ahead,” Gage muttered and stood.
He walked to the pot of coffee and poured another cup. Gage would never begrudge
his friend for being interested in Jolie. Hell, he was interested. But seeing that
he was a ready-made guardian of a baby, and had so many issues, he was going to have
to take a pass on that. Even though he felt the piercing pain in his chest.

“Dumbass. I know you felt something. I was wondering if you were interested in maybe
talking about the possibility of something more,” David laughed.

“More? More what? I am fucked up, man, I have no clue what to do with a child, let
alone a woman who actually wants me to speak to her more than, ‘Hey baby, your place
or mine'?” Gage said sarcastically.

“Not what I am talking about but hey, since you went there, let's deal with it. I
have been in a ménage before, of course not permanent, but I get the gist of it.
A ménage is about three people who just fit. No, I am not saying I want a piece of
your ass, mine is exit only, too. What I am saying is, Jolie is attracted to both
of us, it was obvious. Why make her choose. We could be two men rolled into one
for her. Protecting her, Sammi, each other, and getting the same in return. I would
trust you and you could count on me to make the relationship a priority to work on
and develop,” David said.

“Dude, I'm not sure. Hell, I don’t know up from down right now. All I can think
about is the target. Who is trying to hurt them, and us. After that—who knows,”
Gage said warily.

“Just think about it, I wanted to throw this out there, mostly because I have been
thinking about broaching the subject with you, but more because I have honestly never
found a guy who I would trust with my life, and my woman’s life. I don’t give that
trust easily. I get that we need time to work on this. But if I am right, we may
not get the time if the attraction keeps building and we are all living under the
same roof with each other. It could be stressful. I don’t know how this is all going
to end, I just want to see where it could go. Even if we hadn’t met Jolie, I have
always known I wanted a ménage relationship. You probably can understand why, because
I was afraid to get into a relationship and with my job, I never wanted to leave a
widow. I just had never found a man who I would actually agree to trust enough for
this,” David said and Gage turned and looked at him closely.

“Okay, let’s see where this is going. I can’t make any promises, the only thing is,
I will have an open mind. I will warn you though, until I met Alex’s family, I would
never even have contemplated this. But seeing them and now Alex, Slone, and Sable,
I can tell you I think I get it,” Gage said.

“That is all I ask,” David said, smiled, then held out his hand.

Gage shook his head and shook it and they did the one-armed man hug before laughing
and filling their coffee cups. “Let’s get to this,” David said and they went to the
room where they were going to build a headquarters. They were surprised to see the
phones were already there, as well as a few desks.

“I will call Jolly,” Gage said and picked up the phone and began to dial.

“I will do the board,” David said and picked up a dry erase board that was leaning
against one of the desks and set it on the top of the desk. He felt comfortable with
this piece. It gave him and everyone at a glance exactly what they knew.

David knew from experience that it helped if they were stuck to figure it out. A
few times, David had solved cases with the board because he could make connections
where he had not seen them before.

A man’s voice boomed over the phone, “Gage?”

“Hey, Jolly, what’s the news? David Connor is here, he is the Sheriff around here,
and my boss, I trust him with my life,” Gage said and smiled at David.

“Good to meet you. This is what we have so far,” the deep voice rumbled. “Alex and
Slone are on their way back in the morning. They have the files you requested, although
we will talk about how they got them. Jessie and Drake are traveling with the stuff
that was packed, along with what he took when he went to Jolie’s house. You get to
deal with her, and explain that, and also why you terminated her rental. Thane and
Mason are remaining behind, they are battling the rest of the shit, like the VA, and
the people from the Survivor's Center where the list of people who have called and
tried to find you or family members to find out where you are. So far we are hitting
a dead end, but once Alex and Slone get back with the files you can go through and
see who looks good and who doesn’t.”

“Okay, what about Marie?” Gage said grimly.

“They are doing the autopsy and then we will get reports, we have made the arrangements
you requested for the funeral. Also, we have taken all the birth and doctor records
of Sammi and are sending them to your email. That way you can get her records to
the local doc. Anything else you need we can get?” Jolly said.

Jolie groaned as she tried to roll over. The pain hit her again,
what the hell happened to her,
she wondered. Damn, it felt like she was on a two day drunken spree and waking up
on the third day with her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

She needed coffee and possibly a bottle of aspirin. Jolie pried her eyes open and
looked around.
Wait. Where the fuck was she?
Shit
, the memories slammed back into her and she felt the grief, the terror, even the
helplessness of losing her friend. Marie was really gone.

“Sammi!” she screamed and struggled to sit up to find the small bundle. She had to
be here, after everything they had been through, losing her now would be tragic.

“Jolie,” a voice said.

She refused to listen and kept screaming Sammi over and over. If she was a pain in
the ass they would surly bring the baby.

“Jolie,” the voice said and shook her.

She finally opened her eyes and stared into Gage’s face on one side and David’s on
the other. “Thank God,” Jolie cried and tried to throw her arms around them, but
the pain hit her and she ended up screaming and cupping her right arm close to her.

“Crap, get the pain meds,” Gage barked and Jolie felt the bed dip and move as David
leaned over while Gage pushed her back gently until she was lying against the pile
of pillows propped up.

“What is going on?” Jolie asked confused, she felt like she hadn’t brushed her teeth
in a week, and she felt her hair plastered to her head and neck, indicating she had
been sweating while she slept,
gross
.

“You have a fever, babe. Your wound developed a good infection, the doc wanted to
take you to the hospital, but we hired a nurse. You have been in and out of it for
the last four days. We stayed with you, and finally your fever broke last night,”
David said and poured a glass of water and held his hand out with what looked like
a pharmacy in his palm.

“Sammi?” Jolie asked and took the pills and water David offered. She sighed and leaned
back against the pillows.

“Lou and Sable have been taking care of her. Alex and Slone are back and overseeing
the renovations, but so far you slept through them.” Gage laughed.

“Great, what renovations are we talking about?” Jolie asked tiredly. She was feeling
the meds already, what the hell had they given her.

David and Gage looked at one another and had a guilty expression on their faces.
Jolie caught it, but she was becoming so sleepy that she tried to force herself to
stay awake. However, the last thing she remembered was muttering, “I saw that.”

Over the next few days after Jolie’s fever broke there was a whirlwind of activity
and arguing. Gage was becoming short-tempered about the lack of information they
were receiving, and the lack of help. The only good thing either David or Gage could
say was that Jolie was getting better, and mouthier.

“I am getting up today and that is final. I need to know what is going on here.
It still doesn’t make sense. How in the hell did Marie and Sammi become a target?!”
Jolie yelled.

Gage rolled his eyes, so far they had not given Jolie any specific details because
she was still grieving and upset. Gage understood the feeling, but he was used to
compartmentalizing his emotions.

“We will explain it when you are better, for now just know we are doing everything
we can to get this straightened out,” David said.

“Right and that included giving my apartment up, do you know how hard it is to find
a clean, cheap place to live in San Diego. It took me months to find that place and
you terminated my lease without a flinch.” Jolie glared at both of them.

If it weren’t so serious, David would have laughed at the indignant look on her face.

“Honey, listen, we told you. They found you and Sammi at the hotel, they would have
found your place, and since they shot you without a thought, I am pretty sure your
stuff would not have lasted much longer. They wanted to terrify you,” Gage said dryly.
“And the doc said one more day in bed, then you can get up a few hours a day to build
your strength.”

Jolie snorted, “I am sure you always pay attention to doctors' orders, right. I know
my body and you don’t, I am getting up and sitting in that chair right over there.”

Gage rolled his eyes and knew he was fighting a losing battle. Over the last few
days, they had talked and gotten to know each other a little better. David and Gage
knew she was hardheaded and stubborn, as well as loving and kind. It was a strange
mixture. One that Gage didn’t try too hard to figure out or it would have driven
him nuts.

One thing they had both decided though, is they both had an attraction to the woman,
and Gage and David had talked well into the night the last few nights, talking about
how they would deal with the situation to make it work. It was going to be interesting,
Gage knew.

Alex popped his head in the door and smiled. “Jolie, good morning. Lou wanted me
to tell you that breakfast was on its way, and Sable and the baby are on their way
to join you for breakfast as well. David and Gage, Lex and Andre have something.”

Gage nodded and looked at Jolie and smiled. “Well, if you are going to sit up, let’s
get you there so you won't damage yourself trying to get up on your own.”

Jolie stuck out her tongue and then held her good arm up, the one she was shot in
was still sore and tender, the doctor said she was going to have to start physical
therapy soon since her muscles were weakened a little.

She would never admit it but she like the two men. And they had been hinting around
about her staying in Healing for a while and she was beginning to warm to the idea.
She loved the peaceful atmosphere, and above all, she was not leaving Sammi until
she knew the little girl was safe. Besides, the guys said she couldn’t go home until
they figured out who was after them. It was crazy to think little old her had somehow
gotten a bullseye put on her back.

“Bathroom, Jeeves,” Jolie order Gage when he picked her up. One eyebrow raised at
her tone and she smirked at him.

It was good to have this distraction. Losing Marie and thinking about the pain she
endured was hard. In the late night, that is when Jolie grieved silently and tried
to come to terms with how much her life had changed in the blink of an eye.

Gage carried her through to the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the lovely bathtub
she had yet to swim in. Although she longed to be able to soak for an hour in the
steaming hot water, she was not happy that she had to give herself sponge baths and
rely on the guys to wash her hair. The intimacy was strange but comforting somehow.
For some reason she knew the men were interested in her, just like she was attracted
to them, but she was still not sure she was ready to talk about that with them.

Since they had begun to talk, they had explained more about the small town and its
ways, and Jolie of course had to ask Sable a few questions just 'cause she was curious
about how things worked.

Sable had told her to ask anything she wanted, that she was an open book. It seemed
like she was serious about the questions, too, because Jolie had gotten a brief overview
of how things worked. Although the personal questions like what, went, where, and
how, Jolie had not felt like she should ask yet.

Sable’s friend, Desire, had come over a few times as well, bringing treats for the
baby, and getting to know Jolie. Although she had been a little shy around the women
at first, Jolie was feeling more and more comfortable with them. It was nice to be
able to talk to women easily, it was not something Jolie had ever done before Marie,
and personal relationships were harder than professional. Although Jolie knew intimate
details of her patients' lives, they were certainly not someone she could sit down
with, watch a runway model show or a wedding dress show with, and feel comfortable.

Jolie and Marie had always watched those shows in order with each other, then make
fun of the people or the clothes. There was not too much in between. Now her horizons
had been expanded to tiny beauty queens and dance moms. Sable and Desire had acted
exactly the same as Marie and her, making fun and being offended at the behavior of
some of the mom’s. It was entertaining to listen to them rant and rave while throwing
popcorn and treats at the TV screen.

“When are you going to tell me what is going on?” Jolie asked Gage while she was brushing
her teeth after he handed her a toothbrush.

“I told you, when you are feeling better, there is a lot going on right now. Alex’s
fathers and brothers have been in and out of this place. They are staying over at
David’s right now. It has become grand central, and things are changing fast, I don’t
want to tell you something to make you worry and then tell you something else a few
hours later. Right now you have to know David and I are protecting both you and Sammi,
as well as our friends and families,” Gage said honestly and crouched down so he was
balanced on his toes and looking her directly in the eye.

David appeared in the doorway and grinned when he saw Gage getting closer to her.
Gage took the toothbrush and handed her a glass of water to rinse with, and when she
was done he turned her face until she was looking down at him and smiled. “Until
this is over, we are in this together, and when you are feeling up to it, I think
showing you will be easier than explaining to you what is going on.”

Jolie felt a tingle in her cheek where he touched her and she nodded slowly.
Damn, he was hot, both of them were.
The more time he spent with them the more she was coming to realize they were protecting
her and taking care of her, not because they had to—because they actually cared.

She was a cynic though, meeting a man let alone two when in a stressful situation
was not wise. First of all, the tension and emotion could wreak havoc on your equilibrium.
Second, were two sexy and overbearing men who thought they were protecting her by
not telling her certain things. Jolie knew even if she went down and saw the board,
which Desire and Sable had kept her up-to-date with some of the information, the men
wouldn't explain it. The testosterone in the house at times was even overbearing.
Each of the men had come up and talked to her.

Dallas and Noah gave her Bailey’s phone number because the woman was like a tornado
with shopping. Andre and Rex were both great and had also given her their wife’s
phone number. Of course, the men had gotten her a new one, a phone that Gage and
David supplied her with that was safe to make calls with. However, before she could
even program the numbers into the phone the women had conference called her. Those
three were like a force of nature when they set their minds to it.

Calli, who was Steve and Jolly’s wife, was wonderfully bubbly and sarcastic in a humorous
way. Bailey and Cali designed and sent a little cowgirl outfit, complete with boots
and hat for Sammi, it was even funnier when she sent her a matching one as well.
Red, white and blue were the colors and she loved them. But the women were scary,
the boxes arrived daily from them and she had yet to open the newest and the biggest.
She was a little afraid of what was inside since they were talking about replacing
her business attire with cowgirl ones. She would look like Annie Oakley if she weren't
careful.

“What about the funeral?” she whispered and saw the pain in Gage's eyes as he looked
at her.

“Today, and no we can’t go, but she is with Raider now.” Gage smiled sadly.

“How could you know that?” Jolie felt a tear slide down the corner of her eye. This
was the most she had dared to ask him about Marie and Ted, she needed to know they
were buried together so she could take Sammi when it was safe, and talk to her about
them. With all of the things that were brought here from San Diego, there had been
toys, clothes, and pictures for Sammi.

“I just do.” Gage shrugged and looked over his shoulder.

Jolie sighed and knew she was not going to get a straight answer, but she couldn’t
let it go. “When will we be safe enough to go back?” Jolie asked.

David appeared at her other side, crouching the same way and wiping the tears that
were flowing now.

“Aw, sweetheart, we are trying. But we can’t lose you, too,” he whispered and she
frowned.

“Why?” Jolie asked confused. She saw the two men look at each other, communicating
somehow and then turn back to her.

“Because you are important to us,” Gage stated and then leaned in and kissed her.
Since the first time they had kissed, she knew it was going to happen again. But
over the last few days, a peck on the cheek, or nose wasn’t too hopeful. This kiss
was a statement, slow, soft, and sweet, teasing her lips and getting her to open her
mouth to him. She could feel her breath hitch,
my lord, this was so much better than she remembered.
His lips were firm and forceful making her want to sink into his arms and let the
world fall to the wayside. She needed to feel something other than pain or annoyance.

David waited and when Gage pulled back, he turned her head to him and smiled. “We
are fixing to show you what we mean as soon as you get better,” he said and kissed
her just as sweetly. His lips were a little softer and fuller, but the effects were
still the same.
Damn, these two are lethal to her state of mind
.

When he released her, she ran her tongue over her bottom lip and combined their tastes.
Then it hit her what they said, “Wait, what, we? What are you talking about?” She
knew but she wanted them to declare their intentions right off the bat. She was very
wary and she needed to know what they expected.

“Yep, now, let’s get you out there and ready for your audience, I can hear Sammi coming.”
Gage laughed at her stunned expression.

“But, I asked a question.” She pouted and folded her arms over her chest.

“Yes, you did.” David laughed. “One you know the answer to, you are not the only
one who has spy’s everywhere.”

Jolie groaned and closed her eyes. Sable had laughed when she told her yesterday
the conversation had been on her at breakfast. Lou was convinced the guys needed
to give her a little bit of pampering instead of hitting on her.

Sable laughed when they brought her out. She stood with the smiling Sammi who waved
her hands at Jolie and drooled. “Yep, they tricked me, little bastards.”

Jolie waved her hand at Sammi and smiled, “Of course they did, the big assholes.”

“Nice talk in front of the baby, ladies,” Gage grumbled.

“Stop reading the book ‘What to Expect Now that You have Given Birth’,” Jolie teased.

“Useful information, thank you,” Gage said proudly. Since he had gotten the book,
he had been spouting off ideas for Sammi.

“Yeah, well, some of them are wrong,” Sable said.

“How is that?” David asked.

“Well, the section on changing a diaper said you needed to make sure her unmentionables
were thoroughly cleaned. They failed to say that it did not mean give her a bath
with the spray hose every time she pooped,” Sable said dryly.

Gage frowned. “But the wipe things are thin and give me the creeps. I mean what
if they tear. Nah, easier our way.”

“I agree,” David said and folded his arms across his chest.

Sable laughed and said, “Okay and the bottle temperature, does not mean you have to
use the meat thermometer every single time you heat it up. It said using your wrist
to determine if it was hot enough was good.”

“No, what it said was, that body room temperature was perfect and any hotter could
cause her taste buds to be damaged, and her throat to swell if burnt,” David said
and nodded at Gage.

“Yes it did, it also said microwaving it was not good that heating it on the stove
with water was the best,” Gage pointed out.

“Please, use the freaking tap water on warm. You are creating too many steps,” Sable
growled.

“No, it said the babies need some of the nutrients from tap water, but the bottle
itself should be sterile before putting water into it, and the easiest way to do that
was by boiling the bottle, and using the still hot water to heat the formula.” Gage
said seriously.