Wilde Love (Forever Wilde 6)

There was something in his voice that had me tilting my head. “Is that what you want to do?”

He seemed to think about it before responding. “I never wanted to be a rancher like my dad. Look at me. One hard stare from a bull and I tip right over.”

If the man was going to give me permission to size him up, I was going to take it. My eyes started at his boots and made their way up his slender legs in filthy, wet uniform trousers to his narrow hips and trim upper body. He wasn’t thick and muscular by any means. I’d been wide-shouldered and strong since puberty, but Doc Wilde had a body type better spent indoors on academic pursuits than in the field doing manual labor. Not that I minded. I thought he was the most attractive man I’d ever met in person, and his slighter form was A-OK with me.

“You’re young yet,” I said, my voice coming out rougher than I’d expected. “Still time to fill out.”

Doc shrugged. “Maybe. I had a science teacher in high school I adored. Mr. Ackley made science interesting, never boring. Sometimes I think about having a normal job like that, you know? Use my brain more than my brawn. Drive into town, teach at school, and then drive home to Betsy and the kids at night.”

The reminder of his family was bittersweet. I was both grateful he had that anchor and jealous as all hell it wasn’t me.

“Why not do it?” I asked.

“The Wildes have been ranching in that part of Texas since before the Civil War. Betsy’s family, the Hobarts, have been there almost as long. That’s why I…” He didn’t finish.

“That’s why, what?” I prodded.

“Why when she got pregnant, we had to… you know.” He waved a hand in the air.

Ah.

“Get married?”

He nodded. “Well, yeah. I mean, I would have anyway, of course! But, the pressure from our families was pretty intense. They were ecstatic.”

“I can imagine.”

“So now it’s like… even worse. Because she’s an only child which means she inherits her family’s land and I inherit mine. Two thousand acres of cattle and six hundred of corn. What am I supposed to do? I can’t just… walk away from that. It’s guaranteed stability for my family. It’s history and heritage and…” He sighed. “It would break my mother’s heart, and it would kill my father. No. I can’t do it.”

“So, you’ll go home and become a rancher like your father and his father before.”

“Yeah.” He sounded resigned.

I thought about the irony of it. My own college degree in agricultural studies and my secret wish of having my own piece of land to work. If Liam had been my father’s son, he could have pursued a degree in business and taken over a chain of markets. If I’d been born on the Wilde ranch, I could have lived out my dream of minding my own damned business in peace. But as my dad had always reminded me, no one ever said life was fair.

We sat in silence for a while, startling every now and again when we heard something through the dense vegetation. The wound on my hip was throbbing, but I knew if I told Doc about it, he’d want to dose me with the pain medicine again. I didn’t dare risk losing my focus in case trouble showed up. But after a while, my head was throbbing in time with my hip, and I started to feel cold, dizzy, and nauseous. I wondered if it could be a delayed reaction of shock or blood loss. I glanced down at where Doc had cut off part of my bloody uniform pants to get to the bullet wound on my calf. The bandages still looked clean.

I reached down to feel it and noticed my hand was shaking. I watched it for a little while, wondering what would cause it. No matter the cause, it meant I wouldn’t be as good a shot if trouble showed up. I turned my head to tell Doc to keep his eyes open. He’d need to be ready with his own weapon in case I…

In case I…

The muddy floor came up to meet my face.

Chapter 7

Liam “Doc” Wilde

Eventually, the barest hint of light began sinking through the canopy above, and I knew we’d made it through the night. Just as I turned to share the good news with Major Marian, he toppled over onto the ground.

I quickly pulled his shoulder back until he was lying against my front. One of my arms wrapped around his chest while the other felt frantically for the pulse in his neck. Alive.

After listening to his shallow breathing, I reached down to run hands over both wound sites, assuring myself he wasn’t experiencing blood loss I hadn’t noticed. I’d done my best to keep an eye on both areas while we’d been talking, periodically clicking on the flashlight to make sure everything still looked copacetic.