One Bride for Four Ranchers

It doesn’t matter what argument we come up with, no one will let us closer.

“Trey!” Tyler’s voice cuts through the din, and I see him and Joshua waving frantically from the road. More cops won’t let them any closer.

“Our brothers,” I say to the deputy we’ve been talking to, and I point at Joshua and Tyler.

The cop turns and waves to the other deputies, and they allow Tyler and Joshua to come through.

In the distance, the helicopter takes off. We need to go, but I need to know something else, too. I grab Joshua as soon as they approach, and I say to Tyler, “Check the brake line.”

It’s obvious Tyler wants to know what the hell is going on, but he knows I’m serious. Without a word, he rushes over the truck and slides underneath. The deputy stays close, clearly interested in what we’re looking at. Only a few seconds later, and Tyler sliding back out, his expression grim.

“Brake lines have been cut.”

“Where is Jessa?” Joshua says, panic in his tone as he takes in the truck and the extent of the damage.

“They just airlifted her to the hospital,” I say, all emotion gone from my voice.

“She has to be okay,” Clay says, desperation in his voice. “I love her. I’m fucking in love with her.”

“So am I,” Joshua and Tyler say in chorus. It would’ve been funny in any other situation, but it isn’t now.

“I love her, too,” I say. And it’s true. I do. I’ve fallen in love again—something I never thought would happen—and we might lose her.

Chapter 21

Tyler

Joshua drives us all to the hospital. He’s the only one with any sort of steadiness left in him—and even his strength is fraying at the edges, I can see it in the way he carries himself. But even though the helicopter has to have beaten us to the hospital by a little while, they won’t let us in to see Jessa. Trey insists that Clay get his head checked out, and sure enough, it’s a concussion. By the time Clay reappears with his diagnosis, we’re still waiting to hear about her.

It feels like an empty pit has opened in the bottom of my stomach. And all of us take turns pacing the room. All of us except Clay, who is under strict instructions not to move around too much as a sudden wave of dizziness could knock him back on his ass.

I watch my brothers pace, and wonder, how have I fallen for this woman so quickly? How have we fallen?

I guess it doesn’t matter how it happened. For the for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I’m somewhere that I belong. My brothers have argued that I always belonged with them in the past. But it hasn’t really felt that way since mom and dad died. Not until Jessa.

Finally, an older woman appears in the waiting room carrying a clipboard.

“Mr. Hollister?” she asks, raising an eyebrow at us.

“That’s us,” I say.

“Oh, I see. Which one of you is Jessa Long’s boyfriend?”

“We are,” we all say in unison. Again, it would be fucking hilarious if the situation weren’t so serious.

The doctor’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t argue. “Well, then. I wanted to let you know that Jessa is awake. And she’s going to be okay.”

The doctor pauses for a moment, letting us all take in that news. Relief hits me like a ton of bricks, and I sit heavily in one of the waiting room chairs as my muscles go weak.

“Jessa has a small placental tear, which is dangerous for the baby,” the doctor goes on. “And she’s going to require bed rest until it heals. I’ll discharge her in a day or two if all goes well, but she has to rest.”

We all murmur our agreement to that, and the doctor nods, satisfied.

“We’ll tie her to the bed if we have to,” I say, trying to lighten the mood, even though I know I probably shouldn’t. It’s just my nature.

Clay, Trey, and Joshua shoot me a quick glare, but the doctor smiles. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Ms. Long seems very concerned with making sure that her baby is okay and that everything stays that way.”

“Can we see her?” Joshua asks.