Her Dirty Cowboys

by Roma James

  “Sheriff, over here!” A woman was shouting and waving frantically. “It’s Derek! He needs help and the paramedics aren’t here yet.”

  Prescott took off running in that direction without even closing the door behind him. I craned my neck and could see a man lying on the ground. I couldn’t tell what had happened or how bad it was, but he clearly needed help.

  As a nursing student, I was a trained first responder. I knew that these initial minutes could mean the difference between life and death for the man on the ground. Without thinking, I got out of the SUV and ran over to join Prescott.

  Once I got closer, I could see it was a head wound. I stopped, a moment of panic overtaking me, but then my training kicked in and I knelt next to Prescott. “I’m a nursing student. I can help. Do you have a first aid kit?”

  His brow furrowed and I could tell he was conflicted about the thought of me getting involved. “Back of my vehicle,” he said. “We just need to try and stop the bleeding. Cole and the paramedics should be here any minute.”

  I took off for the first aid kit without another word. I was still nervous, but all the training I’d had over the past couple of years was thankfully overriding my initial surge of fear.

  The ambulance and Cole’s police car were both pulling up as I made it back from Prescott’s SUV with the first aid kit, and I gladly handed it over to more experienced hands. I took a step back, doing my best to stay out of the way while staying as close to Prescott as possible.

  Cole walked up and gave me a curious look but didn’t say anything. Instead, both men turned their attention to the woman who had been tending to the injured man. They took her aside while the paramedics stepped in and started loading the man onto a stretcher.

  “What happened to Derek?” Prescott asked the woman. “Did you see anything?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t see. I was inside when I heard him cry out. He was stumbling up from the barn when I found him. He’d just gone out to check on the horses for the evening and—” She drew a ragged breath and let out a little sob before getting herself back together. “He was bleeding. There was blood everywhere. I tried to get him inside, but he passed out right there. That’s when I called the ambulance.”

  Prescott looked over at Cole and nodded. “Stables.”

  “On it,” Cole said, taking the flashlight from his belt and switching it on.

  The two men took off toward the stables while the woman and I fell in line behind them. Prescott looked back over his shoulder and stopped. “Katie, Daisy Lynn—you two should stay by the house. We don’t know what we’re going to find.”

  “I’m coming,” the woman—Katie—answered, her voice stronger than it had been just moments ago. “If whoever did that to my brother is still down there, well… God help them.”

  Cole and Prescott both raised their eyebrows but didn’t argue. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to go back up to the house by myself.

  I started having second thoughts as soon as they opened the stable doors and peered into the darkness. Oh, my God. If someone jumps out, they won’t even have to come after me. I’ll seriously just die.

  Thankfully, the place looked a lot less menacing once the overhead lights flickered on. “There.” Prescott pointed to a bottle and a syringe lying on the dirt floor. “What is that?”

  Cole produced a small plastic bag from his pocket and carefully picked it up with his shirttails before turning it to read the label. “Monensin. Some kind of… medicine?”

  “Antibiotic,” the woman said, then frowned. “But it’s just for cows. I didn’t even know we still had any because Derek is fanatical about keeping it locked up in the other barn away from the stables. It helps cows, but it’s poisonous to horses.”

  I immediately thought back to Janessa’s animals that had been poisoned. And the ones we’d heard about at the Josephsons’ ranch. If the same person behind the poisonings was also starting to attack the ranchers themselves?

  Yeah, this situation had just started to feel a lot more dangerous.

  Chapter 5

  Daisy Lynn

  The drive back to the police station seemed to take a lot longer than it had to get from the diner to Derek Winslow’s ranch. Maybe because Prescott was actually driving the speed limit this time, or maybe because he hadn’t said much since we’d left the ranch. Or maybe it was all in my head. It was hard to be sure after the night we’d had.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for your help back there,” Prescott said, glancing in my direction. “I obviously would have preferred if you’d stayed out of harm’s way, but… I appreciate what you did.”

  “I wish I could have done more,” I said, thinking back on how frightened I’d been. “It all happened so fast, and I guess I sort of froze up. Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

  “You did great,” he said, and he seemed sincere. Prescott might have been a little—okay, maybe a lot—rough around the edges, but I could already tell he wasn’t the kind of guy who said things he didn’t mean. And even though the compliment had been delivered in a gruff sort of way, there was no mistaking that it was genuine. “It’s too early to know about Derek. As long as there’s no internal damage, he should be fine. I know they’ll take good care of him at the hospital.” Prescott made a frustrated sound as his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I just hope he can tell us who did this to him. There’s nothing I’d like more than to get my hands on the son of a bitch.” He exhaled loudly then glanced at me again. “Sorry. It’s just frustrating. What happened back there was completely senseless. Unprovoked. Uncalled for.”

  I nodded. “I understand. You don’t have to apologize. I’m friends with Janessa, remember? I’ve heard worse language.”

  He laughed. “She’s certainly a firecracker. She comes from a good family, though. The Thoresons are good people. Everyone around here is, in my opinion. Everyone works hard and minds their own business. That’s what makes these poisonings—and now this incident with Derek—so troubling. I just can’t figure out where it’s coming from or what the motive might be.”

  “You’ll figure it out, though,” I said, meaning it. I still didn’t know all the details of the poisonings and had absolutely no clue who might be behind them, but knowing that Prescott and Cole were handling the case made me feel a whole lot better about closing my eyes to fall asleep at night. “You and Cole will find the person behind this craziness and you’ll put them away. I know you will. You’re the good guys.”

  He didn’t say anything else, but I could see a faint smile on his lips as we pulled up in front of the police station. “I just have to file a report and then I can take you back to the Triple J. Thank you for being so patient tonight. I promise I’ll make it up to you really soon.”

  My heart started beating faster as I wondered just how he planned on doing that. I considered teasing him a little by asking, but this didn’t really feel like an appropriate time for flirting. And then when we stepped inside the station and saw Cole, any remaining flirty thoughts were completely squashed.

  “Date night still going on?” Cole asked. It was hard to tell who he was talking to, since he wasn’t looking at either of us. If he was trying to make me feel uncomfortable, though, it was definitely working.

  Prescott stopped in front of Cole’s desk and stared down at him until Cole finally looked up to meet his gaze. “Just gonna file this report and then I’ll be out of your hair,” Prescott grated, his words short and clipped. “Unless you have something to say about that, too?”

  Even from across the room, I could see the muscle in Cole’s jaw clench and relax at least three times before he replied. “You can do whatever you want,” he said with a dismissive shrug. Then he looked over at me and added, “I already know you’re going to anyway.”

  I thought Prescott said something back to him, but I couldn’t be sure. My face was burning with anger and embarrassment. It was one thing for these two guys to have their own little competition or w
hatever the hell it was, but they didn’t need to include me in it. I’d never wanted that, and I’d thought I’d made it clear to both of them.

  Apparently not.

  “I’m just going to go,” I spat, causing both their heads to jerk back in my direction. Thank God my voice was firm and unwavering for once, in spite of my anger. I turned to Prescott first. “Thank you for tonight. I had a really nice time and… and I’m glad I was able to help out a little at the ranch.” Then I turned my attention to Cole. “And thank you for last night. That was fun, too. But…” I paused, drawing in a deep breath. This wasn’t what I wanted, but it was for the best. Especially if there was going to be this ridiculous tension every time we were all in the same place together. “But I think it would be best if I didn’t see either of you again.”

  They both spoke at once, trying to get me to stop and listen, but I wouldn’t. Couldn’t. I turned and hurried out the door, then ducked around the side of the building since I was almost certain they’d be out the door after me in a matter of seconds. I ran down the alley and around the back of the neighboring building, then kept on running until I was completely out of breath and at least a block away.

  I could hear them calling my name in the distance. Their voices sounded angry. Angry at me? Angry at each other? I didn’t know. I didn’t really care anymore.

  I just didn’t want to deal with that awkward tension. Not for something that was only supposed to be a little bit of fun.

  My hands were trembling as I sent a text to Janessa.

  I’m downtown. Come get me. Please hurry.

  “What happened?” Janessa asked as soon as I got into her car.

  “Are you okay?” Becca turned around to look back at me from where she was sitting in the passenger seat. “I thought you were supposed to be with the sheriff, but we passed him on our way here.”

  “I was with him.” I was suddenly feeling exhausted. The events of the night had finally caught up with me, and it was taking all my energy just to keep my eyes open. Trying to explain everything that had gone wrong tonight felt like an impossible task. “But there was this thing—this emergency out at Derek Winslow’s ranch.”

  Janessa gasped and looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Is he okay? What happened?”

  “Someone attacked him. He was bleeding from his head, but I think he’s going to be okay. It’s honestly all sort of a blur in my mind right now.”

  “Oh, my God,” they gasped.

  “That’s horrible,” Janessa said. “And we were so excited for your date. So, is that why you weren’t with the sheriff? Your text made it sound like you were in trouble.”

  “Yeah, we were really worried,” Becca added. “But you’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Just tired,” I answered. “I didn’t really think this through very well. I don’t know how you do it, Janessa.”

  I could see her brow furrow in the mirror. “Do what?”

  “Date two guys at the same time. Two guys who also happen to be good friends.” I shook my head. “Does one of them ever get jealous when you’re with the other? How do you deal with that? How do they deal with it?”

  Janessa paused for several long seconds, then finally shook her head. “It’s not really like that with Cade and Boone. They’re both so sweet to me when we’re all together. And maybe there was a little tension at first, but we’ve talked it out. Plus, I’m pretty sure they had some kind of agreement between the two of them.”

  That made sense to me. Prescott and Cole needed an agreement like that because they clearly didn’t have one right now. I wondered if it would even be possible to get to that point with these two guys. Could they get over their competitive streak and talk it out like Janessa’s guys had?

  I wasn’t sure.

  “Maybe you should just pick one of them and let the other down gently,” Becca said. “Or maybe just stay away from both of them. It sounds like a lot of unnecessary drama to me.”

  “It didn’t feel that way until tonight,” I said. “Until just a few minutes ago, really. And I don’t think it has to be that way… I just don’t know how to make it work.”

  “You need to talk to them,” Janessa said. Her voice was firm, and even though I couldn’t see her face very well through the mirror, I knew exactly what the look on her face was. Determined. Confident. Knowledgeable. “Both of them. Together. Tell them how you feel. Tell them how they made you feel tonight.”

  “Do you think it’ll even help?” I asked. “Will they just think I’m the one being dramatic?”

  Becca snorted. “They can go to hell if they think they’re going to turn this around on you. You don’t need guys like that in your life anyway.”

  Janessa smirked. “I’d agree, but I don’t think they’ll do that. They’re good guys. I’ve known both of them my whole life. If you’re serious about seeing them, you should talk to them. How else will they know?”

  She had a good point. And I knew she was right about one more thing—they were good men. Maybe there was a chance we could make this work. Maybe.

  Because I really did enjoy spending time with both of them. And I really, really didn’t want to choose one over the other.

  “Okay,” I said, making up my mind. “I’ll talk to them. I don’t know how much good it will do—or if it will do any good at all—but it couldn’t hurt, right?”

  “That’s right,” Janessa agreed. “Getting things out in the open is never a bad idea.”

  Even Becca was nodding at that.

  So… right. That’s what I was going to do. I’d talk things over with Prescott and Cole.

  And I’d keep my fingers crossed that the three of us could still have some fun together for whatever time I had left in Bliss.

  Chapter 6

  Cole

  The sheriff and I had been friends for a long time. Not only did we get along perfectly outside of work, but we made damn good partners when it came to taking care of the town and keeping everyone safe. We might argue from time to time, and we might bust each other’s balls over a girl here and there, but at the end of the day we were still two grown men who respected each other and took pride in our work.

  So why was I suddenly questioning everything we were doing?

  I was frustrated that we didn’t really have any leads on whoever was behind the poisonings. Not any leads that were worth a damn, anyway. And seeing Derek Winslow bleeding out on the ground had really hit home for me. It just proved how powerless we actually were when it came to stopping this person.

  And it pissed me off.

  But not nearly as much as it had pissed me off to see Prescott trying to rub his date with Daisy Lynn in my face. And then to bring her to a crime scene? To put her in harm’s way like that?

  I couldn’t let it go. I had to say something.

  Because for the first time in our long friendship, I was seriously considering punching my friend in the face.

  “You shouldn’t have let her leave like that,” I said once we were back inside. Neither of us knew where she’d run off to, but it was obvious she’d just wanted to get away from us. “I think we should take the patrol car out and look for her.”

  “First of all, you know damn good and well that I didn’t want her to leave like that. But what the fuck was I supposed to do? Cuff her? Arrest her? Put her in the holding cell and keep her here?” He shook his head. “She wouldn’t have left in the first place if you hadn’t started in with your bullshit.”

  I opened my mouth to say something else, my fists clenched at my sides. But no. I would have to deal with him later. My main concern in that moment was making sure Daisy Lynn was okay.

  I grabbed the keys from my desk and started toward the door, but Prescott stepped in my way. Jesus, why was he testing my patience like this? Did he want to fight? He might have had a few pounds of muscle on me, but he was also almost ten years older. And as angry as he was making me, I figured it would have been a pretty even match.

  “Don’t bo
ther going to look for her,” he said. “Janessa just sent me a text. Daisy Lynn is with her, and they’re going home for the night.”

  I’d kept walking until I was just a few inches—maybe a foot—away from Prescott. I had already decided that he was either going to step aside willingly or I’d make the decision for him. It took my brain a couple of seconds to process what he’d said, to realize that Daisy Lynn wasn’t in any danger and that I really didn’t need to body slam my boss.

  “She’s…” I swallowed hard and unclenched my fists as I took a step back. “She’s okay? You’re sure?”

  He nodded. “She’s okay. And now I think we need to talk. We can’t keep doing this.”

  “The last thing I want to do is fight over a woman,” I said, exhaling slowly as my temper and blood pressure finally started to get back down to normal levels. “But I don’t want to stop seeing her, either.”

  “And neither do I,” he said. He walked over to his desk and slumped down into the worn, squeaky chair. “So what are we going to do? There has to be some way around this. We can’t be at each other’s throats all the time—not with these random poisonings and now this thing with Derek Winslow. We have to be at the top of our game, and that means we need to come to some sort of agreement regarding Daisy Lynn.”

  I smirked, wondering what he had in mind. Some kind of custody agreement? One of us could get her Monday through Friday while the other one took weekends and holidays?

  That actually sounded like a plan that Prescott’s too-serious, too-practical brain might come up with.

  Hell, I might go along with it myself if I could picture Daisy Lynn being okay with it. But no. She wasn’t our child. She was a grown woman, and she would ultimately have the final say in any plan Prescott and I might come up with.

  “There might be a way,” I said, hesitating for a moment as he perked up in his chair. Did I really want to say it out loud? Would he go for it? Would she? “But it would take some compromise. A lot of compromise, honestly. Between all three of us.”