“Don’t do it, Tanner. It’s not worth it,” Tabby said.
“Just give me the horse and I’ll be on my way,” he said.
“Drop the gun, Tanner,” Trip yelled. “Drop it now before I blow a hole in you so big—”
Gunfire erupted. Kas grabbed Tabby and pushed her into the empty horse stall, covering her with his body. It didn’t last long. But the sound impact was enough to muffle her hearing. She no longer heard the horses or anyone else.
Kas got up slowly and looked around. Tabby saw Tenterhook in the stall opposite them and she wanted to run to him. She waited for Kas to check the aisle before he opened the stall gate. She started to go to Tenterhook’s stall, but when she turned her gaze to the left, she saw Trip bleeding as he lay on the floor.
“Trip!”
She ran to him, fear squashing every bit of strength she had. He was awake when she got to him, but he was in obvious pain.
“Don’t die on me, Trip. Please don’t die on me,” she cried.
“It’s just a flesh wound, I think. Hurts like hell though.” He bit his lip and grunted. “Did Tanner get away?”
Kas came running up to their side. “Caleb caught him on the way out of the side of the barn. He’s in custody. He’s already called for an ambulance.”
“Good thing. I’m going to need some of those pain pills the doctor ordered for you, Tabby,” Trip said. “Oh, Lord, this twenty-two gage bullet wound is putting me to shame!”
* * *
Tabby brought chocolates to the hospital when she went to visit Trip. He never ate such things in front of her, but she knew he had a sweet tooth, and Brenda had told her Trip always kept a bag of chocolate bars in his desk drawer. She was glad she thought to bring them because his face lit up immediately when she took the box out of the bag.
“You spoil me,” he said.
“I could say the same for you.”
She forced a smile. She was truly glad to see that Trip was doing well, but the news she heard that morning from Kas about him leaving for New York in a few days had her emotions riding a roller coaster she couldn’t get off of.
He’d wanted to stay and said he would. For her. But that wasn’t fair to him. He had a life in New York.
Trip seemed to understand. “I think it’s time for you to fly the old chicken coop,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean?” she asked, propping him up with a pillow. “I just got here.”
“I don’t mean here. Kas came to see me earlier. I know he’s leaving Sweet again.”
“What did he say to you?”
“He didn’t have to say anything. I know.” Trip sighed. “I never married. I never had any children. I’m just an aging cowboy on a big ranch full of stock. The rodeo has been my wife and my life. It wasn’t until seeing your dad again for those months we were working with Tenterhook, and then having you come live on the ranch after your mom and dad died, that I realized what I’d missed.”
“It’s not too late. You can still find someone to share your life with. You’re not ancient.”
“Well, thank you very kindly for putting it that way. That made me feel about a hundred years older than I felt five seconds ago,” he said with a chuckle.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t. You say what’s on your mind. And you’ve brought a bit of laughter into mine because of it. But as much as you have added to my life since you’ve been on the ranch, it would be wrong for me to keep you back from your own life. You like this fella.”
She blushed. He made it sound so innocent and yet, what she felt for Kasper Dobbs was so much more than she’d ever felt for any man. She was in love with him. She was sure of it.
“He’s a good man, Trip,” she said.
“Did he ask you to go back with him?”
“No. I told him I didn’t want to leave.”
Trip gave her a stern look. “Why not?”
“Because. My life is here. And…I can’t leave the Lone Creek. It’s my…home.”
“It’s always going to be your home. Even if you leave and live your life somewhere else. Kasper Dobbs has strong roots in Sweet. He’s going to want to come home to them. He always does. And when he does, you will too. So if you think for one minute leaving here for New York means goodbye, you’d better think again.”
Tabby left the hospital filled with a myriad of emotions. Trip had become a surrogate father to her. She’d always wondered how she could get married to any man without her father walking her down the aisle. Kas hadn’t asked her to marry him. But if he did, she knew Trip would be the man who’d give her away.
* * *
She drove over to Kas’s family home on her way back from the hospital. Katie Dobbs was just leaving when she arrived.
“He’s packing,” Katie said. “He’s in a foul mood.”
“Kas? When is he ever in a foul mood?”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Are you sure we’re talking about my brother?”
She chuckled, even though she felt the weight of tears behind her eyelids.
“Be easy on him,” Katie said, giving her a wink. “I’ve got a date. I’ll see you at the bank.”
“See you.”
As Katie pulled out of the driveway, Tabby walked into the house and searched for Kas. She found him in the laundry room.
“Well, would you look at that?” Tabby said.
Kas’s face immediately brightened when he saw Tabby standing there.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Watching you do laundry. Can I hire you?”
Abandoning the clothes he was folding on the dryer, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh. Don’t tell my maid I do laundry. She’ll start to feel insecure.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have a maid,
