Page 59 of Wild Rivals

I hurry back inside, grabbing a trash bag from under the kitchen sink before returning to my truck. It doesn’t take long to throw everything out considering it was mostly empty takeout coffee cups and paper bags from Autumn’s place.

When I’m finished, I step back and admire my handiwork. This might be the cleanest my truck has been since I got it ten years ago.

I inhale, my chest expanding with the size of my breath. It doesn’t escape my attention that I’m doing things I never would have done if this were any other woman. Something about Maddie makes me want to step up and give her everything she deserves.

With nothing left to distract me, I throw the trash in the garbage bin beside the house and lock up again before heading out to the Hart ranch.

For a moment after I’d asked her out, I wondered if telling her I’d pick her up was the best idea. There’s always the chance that I’d run into Deacon, and although I know we need to talk about everything, including my accident, right before I go out with his sister is not the time. Add in the fact that she wants to keep us under wraps for now, it’s risky that I’m picking her up. But she didn’t protest and she hasn’t reached out, so I guess we’re sticking to the plan. I can handle myself if I need to with Deacon.

A country rock song plays on the radio, and I tap my thumb on the steering wheel to the familiar beat as I turn onto the ranch driveway. There’s only one entrance, but it splits off to Maddie’s place just before the main ranch house, which means the likelihood of me being seen by Deacon is slim.

As I get closer to her place, I notice the red and white flashing lights reflecting on the trees around her house. A white EMS vehicle has been haphazardly parked outside. It sits crooked, as if whoever stopped it was in too much of a rush to care how it was left.

The hairs on my arms lift as my gut tightens. The silence in front of me feels wrong.

My pulse races as I grip the steering wheel a little tighter and force a sense of calm into myself. Get it together, Wyatt. I’ll be no use to Maddie if I start to panic.

Uncertainty skates down my spine and even as I try to convince myself that this could mean anything, I know in my gut that this is something bad. Something to do with Maddie.

I’m about to jump out of the cab of my truck when a hive of activity rushes through the front door. Two EMTs wheel out a stretcher with a man strapped to it and lying motionless on it. Maddie follows behind quickly, her eyes wide and her face red. Even from here, I can see that her cheeks are tear streaked.

Something tightens in my chest. The pain sudden and visceral. I’m frozen, watching as they hurry to the ambulance. Flashes of memories flood my mind, and my throat clogs with emotion.

Twelve years ago, my dad was rushed from our home like this. I remember the sirens. The waiting. The not knowing if he’d make it. He’d been sick for years but had hidden it from everyone except my mom and Grayson. His death is the reason I shut down, held myself back from letting anyone in. I didn’t want to risk getting hurt when people could be ripped away from me so cruelly.

Not this time.

Maddie needs me and I’ll be damned if she deals with the pain and grief I know all too well alone. I ignore the doubt trying to worm its way in and telling me that she has her brothers and might not want me there. Instead, I act on instinct, the need to protect her clawing through my veins.

I throw my truck into drive and wind down the window as I pull up beside the ambulance. “Where are you taking him?”

“Beartooth,” the driver replies, before driving off and leaving me in their wake with a cloud of dust and the sound of their sirens blaring through the otherwise still day.

Stepping on the gas, I speed after them, making sure to keep up as I bury the worry that’s gnawing at me, clenching my jaw. I can deal with that later. Right now, Maddie and who I assume is her dad—I didn’t get a good look at his face as they wheeled him into the ambulance—are my priority.

36

MADDIE

Too many emotions swirl inside of me as I sit in the waiting room, staring at the white tile floor. It’s clean and sterile, a constant reminder as the minutes tick by of exactly where I am.

My knee bounces with my impatience. Somewhere in the walls of the hospital is my dad, and all I can focus on is how he looked so far from the man I know when they wheeled him in here.

The makeup I spent an hour perfecting is gone, ruined by the panicked tears that streamed down my cheeks as I pleaded with Daddy to hold on. Not to leave me. Now, I’m sitting here in a dress that should make me feel out of place, but all I feel is lost because the man who’s been there for me my entire life is all alone right now.

We arrived fifteen minutes ago, but it feels like an eternity has passed. He was wheeled into the emergency room, and I was left behind. The nurse who showed me where to wait asked me to fill in some paperwork, but other than that, I’ve not heard any update on how he’s doing. Not that I’d expect to this soon after arriving. That’s got to be a good sign though, right?

I should call my brothers. They should be here.

Just in case.

God, I don’t even want to think about what happens if he doesn’t make it.

It all happened so quickly. One minute Daddy and I were talking about my date with Wyatt and he was giving me his blessing, and the next minute he’s falling to the floor with the color drained from his face. I rushed to him as he gasped for breath.

Should I have done more?

Was there more I could have done? All I know is that in that moment, I felt so helpless.