man.
Jonah and the stranger made it to the top of the ravine.
The four-wheeler driver nodded to the other man. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Are you sure?” Jonah asked, frowning. “He’s pretty much a deadweight.”
Jonah was right. With all the jostling, Abe had completely passed out. Liv studied the stranger. As muscular as he was, he couldn’t possibly lift Abe by himself.
“I’ve got him.” The stranger lifted Abe into his arms and slid him onto the backseat of the truck.
Despite her anger at the man’s driving skills, Liv recognized sheer, brute strength in the man’s arms and broad shoulders. That he could lift a full-size man by himself said a lot about his physical abilities.
But it didn’t excuse him from making them crash. She quelled her admiration and focused on getting Abe to a medical facility. If the stranger stuck around after they got Abe situated, Liv would tell him exactly what she thought of him.
Hawkeye couldn’t follow through on his pursuit of the other guy on the ATV. Not after the fleeing man caused the farm-truck driver to crash his vehicle into a tree. He’d had to stop to render assistance and pull the older man out of the cab before the engine caught fire, or he and the woman might have died.
“I’ll follow on my four-wheeler,” Hawkeye offered.
“No need,” the woman said. “We can take it from here.”
Hawkeye frowned. Though young and pretty, the auburn-haired Miss Dawson’s jaw was set. Her brows drew together over deep-green eyes as she climbed into the back of the cab next to the injured truck driver.
Hawkeye wanted to argue, but he didn’t. She was mad at him for something. Then he realized she’d probably only seen one ATV fly out into the road. Hawkeye had been far enough behind the other guy, he hadn’t emerged onto the highway until the truck had already gone off the road.
The Dawson woman wouldn’t have seen that there were two ATVs. He smiled and turned away, understanding why she was angry, but not feeling the need to explain himself.
He watched as the truck took off. Then he climbed onto his four-wheeler and followed the group back to Grizzly Pass and the only medical facility in a fifty-mile radius.
The clinic was a block from the Blue Moose Tavern—Hawkeye’s temporary boss had set up offices in the apartment above the bar. As Hawkeye passed the Blue Moose, Garner stepped out onto the landing and waved at Hawkeye, a perplexed frown pulling his brows low.
Hawkeye nodded briefly, but didn’t slow the ATV. Though it was illegal to drive an off-road vehicle on a public road, he held steady, pulled into the clinic driveway and hopped off.
An ambulance had pulled up in the parking lot and EMTs were off-loading a gurney. A sheriff’s vehicle was parked nearby.
Olivia Dawson stood beside the truck, talking to Abe and a sheriff’s deputy. One of the EMTs shone a light into her eyes.
She pushed his light away. “I’m fine. It’s Abe you need to worry about.”
“Ma’am, it looks like you hit your head in the accident. You might have a concussion.” He insisted on wiping the dried blood from her forehead and applying a small butterfly bandage. “I suggest you see a doctor before you drive yourself anywhere.”
“Really, I’m fine.” She pushed past him and gripped Abe’s hand.
The deputy flipped open a notepad. “Ma’am, could you describe what happened?”
“A four-wheeler darted out in front of us on the highway. We swerved to miss it and crashed into a tree. You might want to send a fire engine to put out the fire and a tow truck to retrieve the truck.”
“Will do, ma’am.”
“And stop calling me ma’am,” she said. “I’m not your mother.”
The deputy grinned. “No, ma’am. You’re not.”
Olivia rolled her eyes and turned back to her foreman.
When the EMTs had the stretcher ready, they rolled it over next to her. She stepped out of the way and stood to the side as they loaded a now-conscious Abe.
The man was obviously in a lot of pain. His pale face broke out in a sweat as the EMTs lowered him onto the stretcher. Once he was settled, he held out a hand to Olivia.
She took it. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle the ranch.”
“No, Liv, you can’t. Things aren’t the same as when you left. You need help.”
Liv shook her head. “I can work the animals better than most men.”
Abe chuckled and winced. “You’re right, but you can’t do this alone. Promise me you’ll get help.” His gaze shifted to where Hawkeye stood a few feet away. “Make her get help.”
Liv frowned. “You can’t ask a stranger to do that.”
Abe nodded. “I just did.” He waved Hawkeye forward.
Not wanting to get into the midst of a family argument, Hawkeye eased forward. “Sir?”
“I’m Abe Masterson, and you are?”
“Trace Walsh, but my friends call me Hawkeye.”
“Hawkeye, this is Olivia Dawson. Olivia, Hawkeye.” Abe lay back, closing his eyes, the effort having cost him. “There, now you aren’t strangers. Please, Hawkeye, make sure Olivia doesn’t try to run the Stone Oak Ranch alone. She needs dedicated protection. Something’s not right out there.”
When Hawkeye hesitated, Abe opened his eyes, his gaze capturing Hawkeye’s. “Promise.”
To appease the injured man, Hawkeye said, “I promise.”
The EMT interrupted. “We really need to get Mr. Masterson to the hospital.”
“I’m riding with him,” Olivia said.
“No.” Abe opened his eyes again. “The horses need to be fed and the cattle need to be checked.”
“They can wait. You need someone to go with you as your advocate,” she insisted. “You might pass out again.”
“I didn’t pass out,” Abe grumbled. “I just closed my eyes.”
“Yeah.” Olivia snorted. “That’s a bunch of bullsh—”
“Uh-uh,” Abe interrupted. “You know how your daddy felt about you cursing.”
She glared and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not a child.”
“No,
