That Wild Texas Swing Page 17

  “Do you really think that’s why people like you? Shit, then no wonder we’re screwed. That’s how you see yourself? You don’t see yourself as fun and lively and just…the energy you put off. It’s incredible. And you’re good to your mother and your sisters and your friends. I mean, you could have told Mrs. Wachowski to take a hike but you didn’t. You hired her and welcomed her into your shop. You know what that tells me? That you have a big heart. Yeah, you have a reputation, and maybe you earned it. But that’s not all of who you are. That’s not even half of who you are. So maybe, if we continue, maybe you need to make it more apparent to people the truth of who you are, but there’s nothing unworthy about you.”

  She couldn’t catch her breath as she looked at him, his eyes bright in the shadow of the car, as his breath came hot and fast, as if he’d been making love to her with words instead of his body.

  “Killian,” she said cautiously.

  “I love you, Liz.”

  She’d heard the words before, of course, from cowboys who thought that was the only way to get into her pants. But hearing them from Killian, knowing he meant them—or at least believed he meant them—was a whole different kettle of fish. Her vision narrowing, she fumbled for the door handle, popped it open and sprang out of the car. The dry weeds on the side of the road bit into her bare shins, and her flip flops slid in the loose gravel, but she needed space from that…intensity in the car.

  She pushed her hair from her face as the wind whipped around her and she strode away from the car, not sure what she was intending to do, just needing distance.

  “Liz, stop!”

  The command in his voice penetrated and she stopped just as the sound of the rattle registered. Shit, she was a Texas girl, she knew better than to go traipsing through the grass in high summer. Frantically, she scanned the ground for the source of the rattle, but everything was in shadow. Because of the wind, she couldn’t pinpoint the snake’s location. How had Killian even heard it?

  Terrified to move, she swung her head around to see Killian charging toward her, a pistol in his hand. Only fear helped her keep still at the shock of the sight.

  “Jesus, be careful!” she said, scared even to shout it, not knowing what would cause the snake to strike.

  Killian stayed on the pavement, his gaze in the grass. “Do you see it?”

  “No.” Her voice squeaked a little.

  “Jesus, Liz. Jesus. I’m going to get a flashlight. Don’t move. Seriously. Don’t move.”

  She followed directions for once in her life, not even turning her head when she heard the thud of the trunk closing, his approaching footsteps, with the beam of light that bounced in front of him. The rattle grew louder, and tears leaked from her eyes. She was afraid to open them.

  “Do you see him?” she asked.

  “No. Shit. There.”

  She forced her eyes open then and saw the snake between him and her, not a foot away from her. And she knew how long they could stretch their bodies to strike.

  “Have you ever shot a gun before?” she asked, because damn, the snake was close.

  “I have.” His tone was tense, businesslike. “But not when holding a flashlight. Hang on.” Moving slowly, he set the flashlight down on the ground, and it rolled a little, the beam just touching the outside of the coiled creature.

  Then everything happened fast. The snake moved. Killian shot. Something hit her leg, and the flashlight kept rolling.

  The rattle was silent, but she wasn’t sure what had hit her leg. Was she bitten? In case she was, she moved slowly and retrieved the flashlight, shone it down on herself.

  Blood streaked her leg, but when she brushed it, she realized it wasn’t hers. When Killian shot, part of the snake must have flown against her leg. She turned the flashlight beam to the headless snake.

  Liz couldn’t stop shaking as she pulled the convertible in front of the hospital in Live Oak County. She’d done everything she knew to do about a snake bite, washed it out with water, kept his leg lower than his heart so the venom didn’t spread faster. Then she’d pulled the car up as close as possible so he wouldn’t have to walk, tossed him in it, and raced toward the hospital. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, only that her adrenaline was pumping, and Killian didn’t look so good.

  “Rattlesnake bite!” she cried, running through the sliding glass doors, looking for help. “Please, I can’t lift him by myself.” She was so scared that whatever she did would make the venom move faster through his body.

  The nurse behind the desk picked up the phone and called someone, and two big men hurried through a door and toward her. One of them grabbed a wheelchair on the way. She backed away, toward the car. The door handle slipped from her fingers a couple of times before one man reached around her and opened the door and lifted a sweaty pale Killian into the chair.

  “How long ago?” one of the men asked.

  “Fifteen? Twenty minutes?” It felt like forever. “Please help him!”

  They didn’t look at her again, just shoved the wheelchair with Killian through the sliding doors, through the swinging doors where they’d come from. The nurse stopped her from following with a hand on her arm.

  “We need to get information from you, okay? They’ll get him fixed up, then you can see him, but I need information.”

  “We should call his mom. She knows better.”

  “Okay, we’ll do that, but let’s start with his name.”

  The calm words penetrated. Of course they needed to know more about him. She took a deep breath and gave the information she knew. The nurse—Jolie, her name tag said—didn’t seem to recognize his name as mayor, so maybe she lived in Alice instead of Evansville. Liz was surprised she could answer everything except his insurance information, and his mother’s phone number, but they were able to retrieve that from his phone in the car.

  “Do you want to call, or do you want me to?” Jolie asked.

  Liz knew she should, though the cowardly part of her wanted to give Jolie the task. She pulled out her own cell, copied the number from Killian’s, and stepped outside to dial.

  “Evelyn, this is Liz,” she said when the woman answered the phone brightly.

  “Liz.” Her tone changed abruptly. “Is something wrong?”

  Liz took a deep breath. “Killian’s been bitten by a rattlesnake.”

  “He’s been…what?”

  “We’re at the hospital. They just took him back so I’m not sure how he’s doing, but you know more about him than I do and you probably need to be here.”

  She didn’t think Evelyn heard the last part of that sentence, because all she got was a dial tone.

  Liz walked back into the empty waiting room, and, not knowing what to do with herself, walked back to Jolie, who was dealing with paperwork.

  “When can I see him?”

  “You probably don’t want to see him for a while. They’ve got to give him the antivenin and they’ve probably got him on morphine. Did you note how much his leg had swelled before you drove him in?”

  Liz frowned. “I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

  Jolie set her teeth and made a note.

  “Do you get a lot of snakebites? People here know what to do, right?”

  “Actually, we do get our fair share, with the guys in the oilfields. Don’t worry, we have plenty of antivenin on hand, and we know how to mix it.”

  “Does he have to stay in the hospital a long time?”

  “We’ll have to see how bad the damage is. Some guys have left after a couple of days, some almost a week.”

  “A week!” Liz squeaked. “Oh, that can’t—it was supposed to bite me. I thought it was going to bite me. Then he came over to shoot it and it twisted, just like that. I didn’t even see it, everything happened so fast.”

  Jolie reached over and patted her arm. “It’s probably best it bit him. He’s fit, strong, and has more mass than you. He’ll be fine. Why don’t you go sit down? I’ll let you know when he’s ready to see you, th
ough to be honest, it might not be for a long time.”

  Liz left Jolie alone and sat in the empty waiting room. She pulled out her phone and called her mother, and was trying to explain everything when Evelyn and Maggie ran in. They glanced at Liz, who ended the call and rose slowly, but then the women approached Jolie instead. Liz listened while Jolie reassured them, then Evelyn gave the information Jolie needed. Maggie turned to approach Liz.

  “What happened?”

  “We went for a drive, and I got out of the car and walked where I shouldn’t have. We heard the rattle, Killian went back to get his gun, but when he approached, the snake turned on him.” Nausea pitched in Liz’s stomach. “I’m so so sorry. I wish it had been me instead.”

  “Why did you get out of the car?” Evelyn asked, approaching, her usually serene face drawn and pale.

  “We were…having a discussion.” He told me he loved me and I didn’t know how to deal. “He pulled the car over and I got out.”

  “You were fighting,” Maggie said flatly.

  “Not exactly fighting.” She didn’t want to discuss this with his family, not when their own discussion hadn’t ended. “He…scared me.”

  Evelyn scoffed. “Killian would never hurt a woman in a thousand years.”

  But Maggie understood. “Not that kind of scared, Mother.”

  Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it. I knew he was more serious than you. I knew you’d hurt him. I just never thought he’d end up in the hospital because of you.”

  “I never thought something like this could happen. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “You never do. You never have. Act first and damn the consequences.”

  “That’s not fair,” Maggie said softly. “Liz is a successful businesswoman.”

  “And terrible at relationships.”

  “Mother. You’re scared. Don’t take it out on her.” Maggie put her hand on her mother’s arm and guided her to a chair. “Can’t you see how upset she is already?”

  Evelyn opened her mouth to say something else, but instead slumped in the chair, head bent. “They won’t let me see him. Was he in terrible pain?” she asked Liz.

  “He didn’t move for a long time. I didn’t know he was bitten at first, until I saw the blood. Even then, he tried to be brave, didn’t want me to know. I did what I remembered from first aid class back in school, but I don’t know if it helped. I drove as fast as I could to get him here, and yes, he was hurting. We didn’t know what to do. I got him here as fast as I could.” Horrified, she sniffed back tears. She would not cry in front of Evelyn, no matter how scared and worried she was.

  “He’s going to be fine. They know what they’re doing.” Maggie struggled to be the voice of reason.

  “I just want to see him.”

  The automatic doors slid open and Sophia came in, followed by Gracie and Brianna. Liz had never been so glad to see her mother, and collapsed into her arms for a moment.

  “Are you okay?” Sophia pushed her daughter back and inspected her bloody clothes.

  “I’m fine. It’s Killian’s blood.”

  “You should have told me, and I’d have brought you something fresh.”

  “I didn’t think about it.”

  The Salazars had barely sat down before the sheriff strode in. “How is he?” he asked Evelyn.

  “How did you hear?” Maggie asked.

  “Word’s all over town already. How is he?”

  “We don’t know yet. Liz was with him.”

  The sheriff turned sharp brown eyes to her. “Okay, young lady. Let’s hear it.”

  So she repeated the story, and again for Killian’s secretary Norma when she showed up, and two of the councilwomen, and even Sage.

  The once-quiet waiting area overflowed with people worried about Killian, with people who loved him. Part of Liz wanted to flee, not feeling worthy of the company of a man loved by so many. But she would stay until she knew how he was doing.

  Norma Fitzhugh scowled at her. “If I were in charge of things, I would have nipped this little romance in the bud. Though to be fair, I more thought he’d be shot by one of your other suitors instead of bitten by a snake. Never would have guessed that one.”

  “I don’t have other suitors.”

  Norma snorted. “You know what I mean. Those men you sleep with.”

  Liz leaned forward. “You think you know me?”

  “I know your behavior. I know you enjoy having all those men panting after you. That you’ve stuck with Killian this long just tells me that having one man panting after you, for years, strokes your ego just enough.”

  Liz stood, every part of her body stiff as she loomed over the woman. “You know what? Yes. Yes, I like that Killian wants me. Yes, it feels good knowing that. Yes, I’m selfish. I know that. But you know what? Killian knows the best of me, and he knows the worst of me and he loves me.”

  All three of the other women stared.

  “Yes. That’s what he told me that made me freak out and get out of the car. That’s why he got bitten.” She gave a rough laugh.

  Jolie walked into the center of the crowd, plugged her fingers into her mouth and whistled shrilly. Everyone silenced and turned to look at her.

  “It appears there’s no venom in the bite.”

  “What?” David asked, stepping forward from where he was leaning against a post.

  Jolie looked at Liz. “Are you sure it was a rattler?”

  She shuddered. “I can still hear the sound of the rattles.”

  Jolie nodded. “Sometimes the snake is so startled, it doesn’t release venom. At least, that’s what I’m told. It’s called a dry bite, and that appears to be what we have here. But we’re keeping him overnight just to keep an eye on it.”

  “So he’s going to be okay?” Evelyn asked, her voice shaky.

  “He’ll be fine. We just want to make sure.”

  “Can I see him?” Evelyn asked.

  “He wants to see Liz.” Jolie focused on her, and so did everyone else. Her first instinct was to run screaming out of the hospital and never look back.

  But she couldn’t do that. Shit. She had to face him. That she had to force herself to follow Jolie made her feel awful. She should be dancing with relief that he wasn’t hurt worse, she should be racing to his side.

  But all she could think was that he’d told her he loved her, and she still didn’t know what to say.

  She hesitated outside his room. Aware Jolie was watching her curiously, she pasted a smile on her face and stepped inside. While she approached the bed, she stayed out of arm’s reach. He noticed.

  “So it looks like you’re in the clear,” she said, keeping her voice chipper, waiting for Jolie to be out of earshot. “There are a lot of people in the waiting room waiting to see you. Your mom and sister, Sage, the sheriff—”

  “I only want to see you. Maybe my mom in a little bit but…” He shifted on the bed, trying to sit up.

  Part of her wanted to help him, but she knew if she touched him, she could lose her resolve.

  When he finally managed a comfortable position, he directed his gaze at her. “Are you okay?”

  That he would lay in a hospital bed and ask about her made her tear up. She battled the weakness. “I’m fine,” she choked.

  “We need to finish our conversation.”

  “Seriously? You want to do that here?”

  “I told you I loved you and you ran away from me. I’d heard love hurt, but I never thought it’d put me in the hospital.”

  She wanted to smile at his attempt at levity, but she couldn’t. “You can’t love me, Killian.”

  “I do.”

  “We are wrong for each other, and if anything, this weekend showed it.”

  “What do you mean? We had a great time this weekend.”

  They had, but… “You were tense because you were outside of your routine. You knew people were expecting things from you, and you weren’t meeting their expectations, and you were guilty because of it.” />
  “That’s not true. I wanted to be with you.”

  “I’m not saying you didn’t. But I’m saying it tore you in two pieces. I don’t want to be the woman you feel guilty about being with.”

  “Are you breaking up with me in the hospital? For falling in love with you?”

  “This relationship isn’t good for either one of us. We’re not who we’re supposed to be when we’re with each other.”

  “I think we are exactly who we’re supposed to be,” he shot back, his voice rising. “I know I’m who I want to be. I’ve never been in love before, Liz, but I know I’m in love with you. I like who I am when I’m with you, I like who we are together.”

  She took a step back, blocking out all memories of everything good she’d experienced with him. “I can’t, Killian. I’m sorry. So sorry. This isn’t the life I want for myself.”

  He paled, his mouth dropping as if she’d punched him.

  “I shouldn’t have let it go this far. I never meant to hurt you. But I’m not what you need. I’m not that person. I’m sorry, Killian.” She had to force herself to turn away and walk out of the room, knowing every minute she was being a coward for leaving him when he couldn’t follow her.

  But she did it anyway, looking for Jolie to show her a way out without going through the waiting area.

  Once she got outside, though, she realized she’d driven Killian’s car, and had no way home. So she pulled out her phone and called her sister.

  Moments later, her sisters and mother walked out of the hospital.

  Liz wished more than anything she could close the shop the next day. She’d spent most of the night crying, and was barely able to stand upright, she was so tired. She never thought she’d be so thankful for Jessica and Mrs. Wachowski for back-up.

  She was sure he’d get out of the hospital today, and even if he didn’t come in, she was sure his sister or mother would come and give her hell for dumping him.

  For dumping him in the hospital. Even she hated herself for that. It wasn’t fair to him, but she’d been scared. And determined. She’d intended to end it all along, but had let herself get caught up in his romancing. And in his smiles. And in the way he treated her like no man had.