Montana Cowboy Daddy (Wyatt Brothers of Montana #3) - Jane Porter Page 0,39
good woman. She put up with all of us.” Billy shifted and his hospital gown dipped low on his chest, and peeled up on his arm, revealing more bronzed skin, and hard honed muscles, than she’d ever seen on any man. His jaw was bristled, and his hair shaggy and she looked away every time the covers came up, exposing his knee or thigh, aware that there was nothing on under his cotton gown than bandages and… skin.
“Do you want me to take Beck back?” she asked, her pulse racing a little too fast, her voice sounding a little too breathy.
“No, I’m good. Do I look uncomfortable?”
She glanced back at him, the exposed collarbone on one side, and thick white bandages on the other. Even with cast and sling he looked amazing. Physical, virile, male. Incredibly male. Incredibly sexy. “I just don’t want to tire you out.”
“You haven’t even been here a half hour.”
“I’ve been warned not to stay too long.”
“By whom? I’ll have a word with that person.”
“That’s not necessary. Everyone is just trying to take good care of you.”
“I feel great. I’m just bored, and ready to go home.”
“Doesn’t Tommy come see you?”
“He does, but he can’t really stay long. He’s taking care of both of our horses, and they all need exercise, food, and attention.”
“What’s his plan? Where will he go from here?”
“He’ll get me home and then take off, heading to the next rodeo.”
Erika sat up a little taller. “About that… home to Montana, or home to…?”
“Utah.”
She was just about to ask another question when the door opened, and Sam entered the room. Billy grinned at his older brother. Sam moved in for a careful hug, not wanting to smash Beck or jostle Billy. Erika bit her lip, holding in her smile. There was so much love between brothers. It touched her. Made her feel hope. Beck was lucky to grow up in this family where men weren’t afraid to show emotion, or affection.
“What are you doing here?” Billy asked, as Sam straightened.
“Came to help haul your sorry self home,” Sam answered, his gaze sweeping Billy, taking in his condition. “You okay to travel?”
“Yes. I was just telling Erika I’m ready to go.”
Sam shot Erika a smile. “Has he been a pain?”
“No.”
“That’s a surprise,” he answered before looking back at his brother. “Relax, rest, and know we’re going to do our best to break you out tomorrow.”
*
The Wyatt brothers had sorted out logistics before Erika could even ask how they intended to get from Boise to Billy’s property with multiple vehicles, including two four-wheel drive trucks, her car, two trailers, four horses, an injured cowboy, and a five-month-old baby. But it had been handled, with Sam planning on leaving his truck in Boise to drive Billy’s truck and trailer, while Tommy would drive his. Tommy had offered to take Erika and Beck in his truck with him, saying they could get her car later, but she wanted her own car, needed the independence. Besides, she’d driven far longer than eight hours with Beck before and she could certainly handle a long day’s drive to Billy’s property.
Wednesday morning, four days after Billy’s injury, and immediately after Billy was discharged, they were off, with Billy in the passenger seat of the truck Sam was driving, pillows tucked here and there around the bruised and broken places. They set off at ten, a caravan with truck and trailers in front, and Erika in the back, with the expectation that they’d arrive at Billy’s house right around dinnertime. She had both Tommy and Sam’s phone numbers in case she needed to stop somewhere, but as it turned out, the big trucks pulling big rigs burned through gas a lot faster, and so there were plenty of stops to stretch her legs and feed Beck on the drive south.
It was late afternoon as they left the freeway, taking smaller state roads east. The mountains in the distance were weathered, revealing layers of pink and red. The two-lane highway went down the middle of the valley, with a river on one side and pastures on both. They passed no big towns, driving through towns with just a gas station and, if they were lucky, a café or corner convenience store.
The sun was setting when they pulled through a gate and then down a long road, finally reaching the two-story cabin with a steep green metal roof and large windows. She’d pictured something small and rustic but the cabin was new, the big