Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (15 page)

“Emma,”
Gabe bellowed. He kneeled beside her and lifted her onto his lap. He felt the
wetness coating his hand, and rolled her over. Her blouse was soaked with
blood. He placed his fingers on her pulse and felt a fai
nt beat there. Picking her up, he whistled for Dandy, and the horse came
trotting back to him. He slung Emma over his shoulder and mounted the horse. He
then laid her across his lap and spurred Dandy for home. On the way, he phoned
for Sam and an ambulance
. Fearful tears were making
it hard to see. Dear God, please don’t let her die! He prayed. When he rode
into the yard, he saw Jake,
Becca
, Wyatt, and Olivia waiting for
him. Jake ran to him to help.

“Give
her to me.” Jake reached for her. Gabe shook his he
ad,
swung his leg over Dandy’s head, and jumped down just as the ambulance and
Sam’s cruiser barreled up the drive. The paramedics ran toward him with a
stretcher and tried to take her from him, but he shook his head.

“Gabe,
they can’t help her if you don’
t let them,” Wyatt
told him. Nodding his head, he reluctantly laid her on the stretcher. He heard
Olivia and
Becca
gasp when they saw the blood.

“What
the hell happened, Gabe?” Sam Garrett asked with concern even as he tried to
keep a professional manner.

Gabe
shook his head. “I don’t know. She was riding. I heard two shots and tried to
reach her on the two-way, but when she didn’t answer, I went looking for her.”
He swore under his breath. “Who would shoot Emma?”

“Maybe
it was an accident…” Sam started to
say, but Gabe
swung around at him suddenly fisting his hands with anger that Sam would
suggest something so ridiculous.

“Two shots?
I don’t think that’s an accident.” He wasn’t in the mood
to hear such stupid suggestions as to why his wife was nearly bleed
ing to death. He was so angry he wanted to punch something
or someone. Rather than risk striking a law official, he ran to the ambulance
and hopped inside after the paramedics finished loading Emma into it.

Jake
walked over to stand by the open door. “We’l
l be
right behind you,” he told him. Gabe nodded as the doors to the ambulance
closed. The ride seemed to take forever but it was less than ten minutes. He
ran behind them as they wheeled her into the emergency room. A nurse stopped
him at the double doors
leading to the operating
rooms.

“They’re
going to take good care of her. Please have a seat in the waiting room, Gabe,”
the nurse said, directing him to a row of chairs. He knew her. Sherry Watkins
was married to a friend of his and he hoped she was right
. He nodded and moved away from the doors to the waiting
room. He took a seat in a hard plastic chair, resting his forearms on his
knees. He clasped his hands together, and stared at the floor. Less than five
minutes later, his brothers, along with
Becca
a
nd
Olivia, arrived. Jake and Wyatt took seats on each side of him. He could
faintly hear
Becca
and Olivia crying. Hell, he
wanted to cry himself. Emma could die.
And what about their baby?
Emma lost so much blood. Would
that harm the baby? He ran his hands
over his face.
He wasn’t much of a church going man. To him, the people who went to church
were worse gossips and hypocrites than those who didn’t, but he needed to talk
to God now. He clenched his fists and prayed for the life of his wife and baby.
He to
ld him he’d gladly give up his for theirs.

Hours
ticked by, or so it felt, and Gabe never moved, only to shake his head when
Wyatt asked if he wanted something to eat or drink. Out of the corner of his
eye, he saw Olivia pacing and he almost smiled. At one
point,
Becca
had crouched in front of him and
laid her hands over his.

“She’ll
be fine, Gabe. Emma’s a fighter,” she’d whispered then smiled when she saw his
eyes shift in Olivia’s direction. “She paces when that mind of hers is in full
gear. Believe me s
he’s having one hell of a talk with
God right now.”

Gabe
nodded and smiled. “I’d hate to hear that conversation.”

Becca
smiled and stood, and then leaned down to press a kiss to
his cheek. Everyone jumped when the doors opened and a doctor came out dressed
in less than clean scrubs.

“Mister
Stone?” His gaze ran over the three men who’d leaped to their feet as one and
now stood looking at him.

“I’m
Gabe Stone, Emma’s husband.” Gabe stepped forward. The doctor took him aside
and spoke to him in low tones.

“Yo
ur wife has lost a lot of blood but not to the point of a
transfusion. She’s resting now. The surgery went well, she’s in recovery now,
and she’s going to be just fine. Another few inches to the left and it would
have hit her heart.”

Gabe
swallowed hard.
“
The baby?”

The
doctor smiled. “The baby’s fine.” He touched Gabe’s shoulder. “I’ll have a
nurse take you to your wife in a few minutes.”

Gabe
stood staring at the doors where the doctor disappeared back through, and then
suddenly dropped to his knees and f
elt tears roll
down his face. Jake and Wyatt kneeled beside him.

“Gabe?
What is it?” Jake asked in a choked voice.

Gabe
raised his head. “They’re both all right.” He smiled through his tears. He
didn’t care that his brothers or anyone else saw them. He saw
Jake and Wyatt smile in relief. A moment later, the nurse
came to get him and he followed her back to where Emma lay unconscious. He
quietly walked in and stood beside the bed gazing down at the love of his life.
He’d tell her he was in love with her once
he got her
home and she healed. He pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down. He
wrapped his hand around hers, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.

Chapter Eight

The pain
woke Emma. She was thirsty too, and wondering what happened? Where
was she? Moving her head slowly, she saw Gabe sitting in a
chair next to the bed with his head back and his eyes closed. He was asleep.
Why was he asleep in a chair instead of bed? She allowed her gaze to roam over
his face. From the looks of the stubble
on his jaw,
he’d been there awhile. As her sight focused, she realized she wasn’t at home
but in a hospital.

“Gabe…”
Her voice was raspy, her throat slightly sore, so she cleared her throat and
tried again. “Gabe.”

His eyes
snapped open immediately. He sat
up and smiled at
her. “Hey.”

She
smiled back at him. “Hey. I’m thirsty.” Gabe reached for the crushed ice in a
Styrofoam cup and fed some to her with a plastic spoon. Emma chewed and sighed.
It tasted so good on her tongue. “More please,” she whispered. G
abe continued to feed her ice chips. “What happened?”

Gabe set
the cup down and took her hand in his. He kissed her palm and held it against
his cheek. “You were shot. Do you remember anything?”

She felt
the blood drain from her face. “I do remember. I was
walking Ginger and heard a shot. I remember wondering if Jake or Wyatt were
shooting at something. It spooked Ginger. I calmed her down but when I went to
get back on her, I heard the shot almost the instant I felt the pain in my
back. I fell and Ginger r
an.” She gasped when her
thoughts and her hand shifted toward the life inside her.
“The baby?”

“The
baby’s fine. You were lucky, darlin’. The doctor said a few more inches to the
left and it would have hit your heart.” His voice choked up and Emma knew he’
d been scared for the baby. She was sure he’d been scared
for her too, but the baby meant everything to him.

“When
can I go home?”

Gabe
grinned. “You must be feeling better if you’re ready to go home.”

“How
long have I been here?” she asked running her han
d
over his whiskered jaw.

“Three
days. You’ve been in and out, but the doc says it’s normal.” He leaned in and
kissed her. “I’m ready for you to come home too, but we have to see what he
thinks when he comes in to check on you.”

Emma
closed her eyes. She w
as so tired for someone who’d
done a lot of sleeping over the past three days. Who shot her and why? She
opened her eyes and looked at Gabe. “Did you find out who shot me?”

Gabe
shook his head. “No. Do you have any idea what direction it came from?”

“From
the south, I think Wyatt’s direction.” She bit her lip.
“When I heard the first shot, I remember looking in that direction but with the
hills echoing, I couldn’t be sure. But I remember now because of which way my
back was facing when I was getting ready t
o mount
Ginger.”

“I’ll
let Sam know. He can narrow his search down.” Gabe took his cell phone from his
pocket just as the doctor walked in. She took comfort in his putting his phone
away as if Sam could wait. Gabe obviously was more interested in what the
doctor had to say about her.

After
the doctor examined her, he agreed to let her go home the next day, explaining
she was to rest and not over do anything. He told her to expect her back would
be sore, and so he prescribed mild painkillers because of her p
regnancy. Emma already made up her mind not to take any at
all. He wanted to see her in seven days to remove the staples.

After
the doctor left the room, she gazed up at Gabe. “You need to go home and rest.”
When he started to shake his head, she slapped h
is
hand. “Yes, you do, Gabriel Stone. You’re dead on your feet and you desperately
need a shave. I’m going back to sleep, exactly what you need to do too.” She
touched his cheek gently. “Please. Go get some sleep.”

Gabe
stood and stretched. No matter how b
ad Emma felt, she
couldn’t keep her appreciative gaze from roaming over his hard, gorgeous body.
He leaned down and kissed her before telling her he’d be back tomorrow to take
her home. She smiled up at him and closed her eyes. Sleep dragged her under befo
re Gabe was even out of the room.

* * * *

A week
later Emma had had enough of being inside so she decided to visit her new
Paint, Beauty. Taking an apple from the fridge, she headed outside to the barn.
She stopped in front of the stall where Beauty was
housed,
cutting the apple into slices. The horse walked over to her when she smelled
the apple. Emma smiled and delighted in the feel of the horse’s velvet lips
against her palm as the horse took the pieces from her hand. She hadn’t been
able to spend too
much time with her yet, and she
wanted to bond with the horse. She heard more than saw Gabe enter the barn. She
turned to smile at him, but it froze on her lips when she saw his expression.
He looked ready to explode as he strode toward her.

“What
the hell
do you think you’re doing?” His voice
thundered.

Emma
flinched in surprise. “I’m giving Beauty an apple…” She gasped when he grabbed
her by the arm and started to lead her from the barn. She jerked her arm from
his grip and scowled at him. “Let go of me,
Gabe!”

Gabe
wrapped his fingers around her wrist and began pulling her behind him. His grip
was firm, but she pulled against him and her temper rose with every step he
forced her to take. Finally, she dug her heels in and got him to stop and look
at her. “
Gabriel Stone, you let go of me this minute!
I will not be manhandled.”

Gabe
leaned his face close to hers. “You need to be put over my knee! What the hell
are you doing out here? In case you’ve forgotten, you were shot. You need to be
resting.”

Emma put
her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him
then she poked him in the chest with her finger. “I have been cooped up in that
house for a week and three days before that in the hospital. I’m going crazy.”

Gabe put
his hands on her shoulders. “Yeah, yo
u’re crazy all
right. You need to rest, Emma.”