Shit, that hurt.Bad.
“Ryder! I need you!” Samanthashouted.
Cord shook his head, trying to free some of the pain so he could think straight. “Sam, no. I’m serious. Just give me a minute,okay?”
The last thing he wanted was for anyone to treat him like an invalid. Not here. Not where he was supposed to start over. This was his only opportunity to prove himself worthy ofbattle.
Determined, Cord straightened once more, shaking with theeffort.
“Tell me what to do,” Samsaid.
Shifting from foot to foot, biting her lip like she was ready to dive in and scoop him up if need be. A woman like her needed to help others, she wouldn’t have saved that demon horse if that wasn’t the case. “Grab my case, just be easy with it. It’s veryimportant.”
She rushed back into the barn, shouting to Matt that she’d be back soon. Cord gnashed his teeth together and limped in the direction of the house. “Where is my room?” He knew his voice was rough, but he couldn’t helpit.
Sam seemed not to notice his tone at all. She jogged up to his side, clutching his rifle in its case. “You can have the room next to mine. Go through the back door, hang a right after the mudroom. It’ll be third door on theleft.”
Somehow Cord managed to make it across the dark backyard. He grabbed the sturdy metal railing and limped up the incline onto the back porch. Sam surged ahead of him, kicking the door wide she preceded him into the house. “Followme.”
She ran ahead and placed his case on a long, picnic-style kitchen table. Making his way slow and steady, Cordfollowed.
By the time he cleared the mudroom, his head was swimming with the effort not to pass out. At least he would be able to suffer alone in his room without the entire ranch bearing witness to hisweakness.
“Ryder, thank God, can you get me the first-aid kit? Cord had a run in with Diablo.” Samantha saidbreathlessly.
Cord glanced up to see Ryder come around the corner in the kitchen. He nodded in greeting. Ryder, standing at about five-foot-nine, assessed Cord in one long glance from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Instant recognition flaring in his gaze. With dread, and some answering instinct he could not name, Cord looked down at the man’s feet, his chest burning as he recognized the same metal attachment poking up out of one of Ryder’s tennisshoes.
Shit.
Ryder nodded and turned to look at Samantha. Cord closed his eyes in resignation, knowing the rest of this mission was about to be put in jeopardy. That, or worse—Sam wouldn’t look at him like a man anymore. She would look at him like the cripple hewas.
“Sam, give me that heating pad out of the hall closet. Also, there’s a big blue tube of ointment in my bathroom. Grab thattoo.”
Thankfully, Sam raced out of the room without question. And Ryder, without asking permission, dipped his shoulder beneath Cord’s and helped him walk down the hall. “Did the horse get your badleg?”
“No. He almost got her. I threw her out of the way.” Even talking washard.
They slowly made their way down the dark hardwood hallway, until Ryder finally shoved open a door on his left. Shaking with exhaustion, Cord let the other man lead him into the room and then collapsed onto the full-size bed shoved up against the dark navywall.
“And you landed on your leg,” Ryder finished forhim.
“Yeah,” Cord bitout.
Ryder shook his head. “You’re going to regretthis.”
No, he wouldn’t. Not when he’d saved Samantha. “Look, I don’t really like telling people about myleg.”
Ryder crossed his arms and arched a black eyebrow. His tanned face and long, straight black hair marked him as Native American. “Your business is your business. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your ability to protect Sam, I don’t care what you tellanyone.”
“Thanks,” Cord breathes out. “Could you do me a favor? My muscle roller’s in the truck. Think you could grabit?”
“Cord! What the heck is going on?” Sam appeared in the doorway clutching a rolled up heating pad and a huge blue plastic tube in theother.
Knowing he looked ridiculous lying there on the bed, pale and sweaty, Cord forced himself up onto his elbows and tried to give her a reassuring smile. “Just landed wrong. Little muscle spasm. That heating pad will fix me rightup.”
“Muscle spasm my ass.” Her beautiful blue eyes narrowed on his. “You are lying to me, Cord Carter. You never were very good atit.”
Cord glanced at Ryder, praying the man would catch the hint and get her the hell out of his room so he could suffer alone. Ryder just lifted his hands helplessly. “Gonna grab that roller for you. Be back in aminute.”
