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“Hays,” he groaned. “Come on, Hays. I can’t lose you.”
“Jag?” Hays croaked.
“You’re alive,” Jag whispered, stunned. He’d felt the pulse, but he was a churned up mess right now. He laid his head against Hays’s chest and let the tears come.
“Jag … Jag. What’s going on?”
Jagger straightened, knuckling his tears away as the medic rushed in. “You were hit. Twice.”
“I can feel that. Are you okay?”
Jagger half-laughed. It was so like Hays to be worried about him. “No,” he admitted. “I promised to forgive Bee’s dad if you lived.”
Hays cracked a smile as the medic examined him. “You must love me a lot.”
“You’re my brother,” Jagger told him, his voice cracking.
Several of his men crowded into the cave, staring at him in shock. Jagger swiped away the new tears that surfaced and said a silent prayer.
Help Hays heal. Be with Shawn, Franz, and Julie. Please, please get me to Bee. I promised I’d forgive her dad, but … can I throw one punch first?
Chapter
Twenty
Belinda spent two weeks at her parents’ house. She got a ton of work done with her charity and allocating the money from Mercedes Belle, spent a lot of healing time with her parents, went on loads of horseback rides, prayed, and longed for Jagger.
Would he ever come for her? Did he know badly she had wanted to hold on to him that day? She’d told him she chose him and trusted him but feared it was too little too late. He’d gone through so much pain.
Would he be able to forgive her dad someday? Her parents understood that the relationship would be rough if he couldn’t, but they both felt they deserved at least that for their deception. They were both very humble. Jagger wasn’t a humble person. Who knew what would happen when he came?
What if something happened to him on this mission?
She forced that thought away, saddled Sunny, and took off through a wooded trail.
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
That scripture seemed to be on constant repeat through her mind. It did comfort and strengthen her.
Please protect Jagger and Hays, she begged the good Lord.
She thought about Mercedes Belle as she let Sunny set the pace. She’d seen photos of her graveside service on Entertainment News. Heartbreaking. Especially as she watched Shawn Holister and Julie Pandoran mourn and try to comfort Mercedes’s dad.
Franz Belle was a mess. Who could blame him? Losing every member of his family. All that money but nobody to love and turn to. It was horrible.
Jagger and Hays had not been in the pictures. How tragic that they’d missed their friend’s funeral. She knew Jagger; he’d want to be there for Shawn, Mercedes’s dad, and Julie. Their mission was so important he couldn’t even make his close friend’s funeral. She loved his dedication to their country, but that had to be heartbreaking. She prayed harder for him.
Reaching the lake where she and Jagger had kissed, she smiled and tipped her head back, enjoying the bright summer sun. It would all work out. She just wondered if she had the patience to wait.
She turned Sunny toward home and urged her into a gallop. They flew along the trail. It was freeing and helped distract her. She pulled back on Sunny’s reins as they approached the barnyard.
A man walked out of the trail from the house with her mom clinging to his elbow. His dark eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Jagger!” she screamed, startling her horse. Sunny reared up. Belinda clung to the reins and tightened her thighs around the saddle. “There, girl. There now.”
Sunny settled but pawed the earth as Jagger and Greg, one of the ranch hands, ran for her.
Greg grasped Sunny’s bridle firmly. “Calm down. It’s okay,” he said soothingly.
