“I believe so.”
Thank God. I took a sip. It wasn’t hot but still warm enough to drink so I downed half of it, my eyes on the sleeping figure in the bed across from us. She looked better in the daylight, her skin less pale, her bruises less purple. “Has she woken up at all?”
“Once, when the doctor was here, but the report I got said it was only for a minute. She slept most of the drive here from Chicago too. Pretty much she wakes up to get another pill, and then she’s back under. Doc’s got her on some sugar water to get her some energy.”
“’Doc’,” I chortled. “Jeb’s a veterinarian. He births cows. We should be getting her to a real M.D.”
Joe leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his opposite knee. “Nah. That guy’s a people doctor. He might do animal medicine, but he knows what he’s doing with her. Leads you to wonder why a ranch would have a full-time doctor on staff posing as a vet. What kind of regular injuries go on around here that they’d need that?”
I looked up, surprised at the implication. Then, as always when it came to anything to do with Reeve, defensive. “There could be any number of reasons.”
“Guess that’s just part of the Sallis mystery, isn’t it?”
He was prodding me, trying to get me worked up, but I didn’t have the strength. I pulled my feet up underneath me and studied his profile, his strong jawline, the tattoos that snaked out under the sleeve of his T-shirt, the same one he wore yesterday. He was scruffier than usual, his buzz haircut grown out and his face hidden behind a week-old beard. He was sexy, I noted, in a bad boy kind of way. Which should have done it for me.
Except Joe was only bad boy on the outside. He looked hard and detached, but behind that rough exterior was the heart of a puppy. He was loyal and just. Like Robin Hood – skirting the law but for a greater good.
And that was his problem – he was decent. A little too decent for me. I liked my bad boys with a rough core. And when they were packaged in refinement and money, I liked them even more. Champagne taste. Amber had taught me well.
Joe tilted his head toward me, catching me staring.
I reddened. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
His grin said he noticed my blush. Said he liked it. “It’s my shift to watch Amber.”
“You relieved Jeb?”
“Sallis relieved Jeb. I relieved Sallis. It’s a four-hour rotation.”
I looked down at the thermos in my hand, then at the chair that had been pulled up next to me. “Was that there when your turn started? Or did you put it there?”
“It was there. Why do you ask?”
Then Reeve had moved it here. To be next to me while I slept. He’d also left the coffee. Amber had returned, and he was still caring for me. I shouldn’t like the warm hum that spread through my chest at that knowledge. Not when it was a victory that pitted me against my friend.
“No reason,” I said to Joe. “I’m surprised you’re still around. Thought you would have rode off into the sunset by now. Isn’t that what you do?”
He chuckled. “Haven’t been here long enough to see sunset yet, have I? Reeve invited me to stay a while. Actually, he encouraged me to stay. I think he wants to figure out what I know. Probably so he can cover his tracks.”
“Or so he can protect his ranch. He might not be the bad guy, you know.” Those were words I maybe should have been saying to myself. Not that it mattered. His status as antagonist had not been a deterrent in my feelings for him so far.
“That’s an interesting change of stance on your part. I’m not sure —”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because Amber opened her eyes then. “Emily?”
I set my coffee down and jumped to her side. “I’m here.” I smoothed the hair out of her eyes then said it again. “I’m here.”
She cleared her throat. “Water —”
“Yep.” Joe was at my side immediately, a plastic cup with a straw in his hand. I helped her sit up, and he held it as she sipped.
“Thank you.” She sounded better now, her voice less scratchy.
Joe set her water cup down and propped the pillows up behind her so she could stay sitting on her own. She thanked him again then turned her eyes to me. “You look so fucking good, Em,” she said, attempting a smile before remembering her lip was still fat. “Jesus, I must look like shit.”
I sat on the bed next to her, grasping one of her hands between both of mine. “You’re too skinny. But you were always too skinny. How do you feel?”
“Like I got kicked in the ribs a bunch of times by an asshole.” She put her free hand up to her face and pressed tentatively along her cheekbones. “I feel like my face is a giant cream puff. I don’t want to see it, do I?”
“Not today,” I agreed. “Probably not tomorrow either.”
She let out a sound that was half laugh, half groan. “You still know what I need to hear. God, I’ve missed you, Em.” It was hard to read her expression behind the swelling and discoloration, but there was sincerity in her eyes. She maneuvered her hand so that it clutched mine, and for a minute, every bad thing that had happened between us disappeared, and the years that had passed didn’t matter at all. She was the Amber I’d always loved and admired, and I was Emily, her protégée. Her best friend.
There was a rustle behind me, and I turned to find Brent at the door. “You’re awake. I’ll tell Reeve.” He was gone again before anyone could respond.