I shoved him again. “He wasn’t wearing a vest! Why wasn’the wearing a vest?”
“Ally-”
I raised my finger, pointing at his face. “You knew what happened to my dad! How could you let this happen?”
Jimmy pulled me back, but I ripped my arm out of his grasp. I turned to face Jimmy, my anger ready to explode at anyone. “He told me he was fishing withyou! How could you let him ride?”
Jimmy raised his hands in surrender. “Ally, you need to listen!”
I was beyond listening. “You let him go on a suicide mission!”
Strong hands grabbed my shoulders, and I was suddenly staring at Jo’s bloodshot green eyes. “Allegra!”
I was breathing so hard I was getting dizzy. I was fuming.
“Listen to me!” She shouted. “Colton lied to all of us.”
Her words hit me like a slap in the face. “What?”
She loosened the iron grip she had on me, butdidn’t let go. “He told us he was still in Chicago with you.”
I took a shuddering breath.
“He got a call from his buddy,” Jimmy jumped in. “They were having a rodeo in Oklahoma, and he thought he’d get a lot of publicity if the top bareback rider in the world made it. Colton jumped at the chance to ride againandhelp his friend get his little town some attention. The show was so small he had to bring his own horse.”
I covered my face. Why’d he haveto bring Marty? The stupid horse was reckless and terrified of storms.
“Nash family?”
We all turned our attention to the man in the green scrubs, a mask hanging off his face, and his clothes stained with dark, fresh blood.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The “King of the Dirt” was nowhere to be seen.
In his place was a man, looking small and broken.
He had a clear plastic hose that snaked out from under the blankets near his ribs, draining dark fluid into a canister on the floor. An oxygen mask covered most of his face. He had a large bandage covering his temple. He was hooked up to monitors and I.V.s galore.
He was alive. But it wasn’t him.
I slowly sat in the chair beside his bed, my shaking hands gently grabbing his.
His hand was so cold.
I squeezed it. “Colton…” I whispered.
He didn’t react.
I broke into sobs, having to lay my head on his bed as I cried. “Youstupid cowboy,” I choked out. “Youstupid, lying cowboy.”
The Nash family had all gotten to see him, each spending a few minutes seeing their son and their brother alive.
I had done my best to be patient and let them take their time, but inside, I was losing my mind.
Now, it was finally my turn. I thought I had mentally prepared myself enough to see him, but I didn’t expect him to beso fragile.
Colton was an unbreakable force; his strength and bravery had held me up when I couldn’t, and now here he was.
