Doc scribbled some notes on a pad and handed it to Roy. “Take the boy to Denver. He needs some blood work pronto.”
“Okay, Doc. We’ll take him first thing in the morning.”
Doc’s eyes softened as he touched Roy’s arm. “Take him now.”
Chapter Ten
The dinner at Dusty’s with Thunder Morgan had been pleasant. He regaled them with tales of his bronc busting days, and Sam smiled and laughed, almost forgetting about Sydney and Duke.
But not quite.
Now they sat in the family room, having an after dinner drink.
“Thunder,” Dusty said, “would you mind telling Sam a little about you and Amber?”
Sam jerked his head. Amber was Thunder’s daughter, right? Why would Dusty think he needed to know anything about that?
“Not at all,” the man said. “What would you like to know?”
The woman was about to be married to Harper Bay. Surely Thunder couldn’t think Sam was interested in her. What the hell was Dusty doing?
“I’m not sure what I want to know myself,” Sam said. “What are you getting at, Dust?”
“It’s common news around here, and neither Thunder nor Amber mind talking about it. I thought their circumstances might interest you.”
“Uh, well—” Sam didn’t want to be rude, but he couldn’t imagine why he’d be interested in their “circumstances.”
“Sam has had an issue come up in his life, and I think he’d benefit by hearing about you and Amber.”
“All right.” Thunder cleared his throat. “I only met my beautiful daughter a little over two months ago.”
Sam jerked forward. “What?”
“Yup, it’s the truth. I had one night with her mother twenty-some years ago. I never even knew Amber existed till I met her.”
“And you’re sure she’s yours?”
“Absolutely.” He nodded. “I recalled her mother. And Amber, though she looks an awful lot like Karen, definitely has my eyes. That was all the proof I needed.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But Amber wanted to be sure. She didn’t want to force herself on me. Heck, she wasn’t forcin’ herself. I was glad to have her. Never did have a family of my own. But it was important to her, so we had a DNA test.”
“And she’s definitely yours?”
“Yep. Definitely. I couldn’t be happier or more proud to have her in my life.”
“Wow.” Not only was Thunder Morgan his all-time idol, but they had more than bronc busting in common.
“Dusty,” Zach interjected, “maybe we should let these two talk.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Sam said. “I don’t mind if you’re here. I assume Dusty told you everything anyway, right?”
“Yes,” Zach said, “and I know you don’t have any secrets from your sister, but let’s give them a little privacy, okay, Dusty?”
She nodded. “We can go read Seanie a story.”
They left the spacious family room, leaving Sam alone with Thunder Morgan.