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After passing a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee to Natalie, Hoyt Axelrod filled one for Beau. “I heard you hadn’t taken the flight back to D.C. like you planned.” He handed him the second cup and picked up his own.
“Will was short-handed and faced with spring roundup. Since I was entitled to two weeks’ bereavement, I decided to take it and help him out.”
“Turned out to be a good thing you did or you wouldn’t have been on hand when he got snakebit.” Axelrod hooked a thumb over his belt and leaned a husky shoulder against the wall.
“I guess you’re right.” Beau blew on the coffee’s steaming surface and inhaled its rich aroma.
“Have you talked to Tori?” Natalie inserted.
“I called, but it went straight to voice mail. I left word for her to call me as soon as she got my message. So far, nothing.”
“I keep thinking about Erin, how upset she’ll be and worried about her dad,” Natalie murmured.
Beau started to pull out his cell phone to try Tori again, but stopped when he saw the doctor, a sturdy, balding man in green scrubs, pushing his way through the swinging doors. He walked straight to them.
“Here’s your receipt, Dr. Haskell.” He handed a sheet to Natalie, showing the respect of one professional to another before turning to Beau.
“How’s my brother?”
“We’ve got him on the antivenin, as well as some fluids and Dilaudid for the pain. There’s no reason he shouldn’t make a full recovery, but it won’t happen overnight. He’ll need to be here several days, then rest at home until the swelling goes down. That could take as long as a month.”
Relief sagged through Beau, even as he recognized that Will was in for a miserable time. And he would be hell to live with until he was back on his feet.
“Is he awake?” Beau asked. “Can I see him now?”
“He’s groggy, mostly because of the pain meds. But he’s alert enough to know what’s going on. You can see him, but no more than a minute or two,” the doctor wa
rned. “He needs to rest and let the antivenin do its work.”
Stepping into the alcove, Beau set his cup of coffee on the counter. Natalie laid a delaying hand on his arm when he started past her. “Let Will know we’re all thinking of him,” she said.
“Will do,” Beau promised, then sensed there was something she wasn’t saying. “Are you leaving?”
“That new registered bull the Caulfields bought last week is running a fever. I got a call when I was halfway here,” she explained. “They’re keeping him isolated until I can get there and check him out.”
Some inner sense alerted Beau to the close way Hoyt Axelrod was observing the two of them. As jealous as Natalie’s husband seemed to be, Beau knew he needed to be circumspect and not add any fuel to the gossip mill.
“I know I’ve said thanks, but I mean it.”
“I know.” Her smile was stiff as if she, too, was aware of the sheriff ’s presence.
Turning, Beau followed the doctor into the ICU and down the row of small, white cubicles. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his brother, propped in a narrow bed with an IV and catheter tubes, oxygen lines, and beeping monitors connected to his body. His face was a stranger’s, flushed and puffy. His bitten leg, swollen like a log, was covered with a sheet.
“You look like hell,” Beau said, knowing that Will wouldn’t want to be pitied or fussed over.
Will’s purpled lips stretched in a grimace. “A damn sight better’n you did that time you bashed in a hornet’s nest. Come here.”
Beau leaned over the bed, hiding the rush of emotion he didn’t want Will to see.
“Go home now.” Will’s voice was hoarse, his speech slurred. “You can’t do a blasted thing for me here, but I need you at the ranch to see that things get looked after. Understand?”
“I do. But Sky’s more competent to run the ranch than I am. He’ll manage things fine.”
“Sky’s good at his job, but he isn’t a Tyler. It’s you I want runnin’ the place till I’m on my feet.” Will’s voice had deepened to a growl. “Promise me you’ll do it.”
“Fine, I’ll do it. But you promise me something. The more you rest, the sooner you can come home. I need to know you’re taking it easy and letting these good people take care of you.”
“All right.” His jaw tightened as he shifted in the bed. “Now get going before that battle-ax of a nurse throws you out of here.” Will’s voice had begun to strain and fade. Realizing he’d stayed long enough, Beau turned to leave. That was when he heard a commotion in the hall.
