Page 28 of Meant for Her
“Yes. Oh, I forgot to mention that I hauled off and slapped Luke really hard across the face. That was after he said that he had sex with me only because any red-blooded man would have done the same.”
Tawny cracked up. “I can’t believe you did that. Good for you. What did he do next?”
“I don’t know. I ran out. I had just climbed into my car when Ryan came riding in on his horse.”
“Oh, girlfriend, you have one mess on your hands.”
“Tell me about it,” Malia said. “Now you have to help me fix things.”
“Fix things?” Tawny asked. “I think you should let the men make the next move.”
“I’m willing to do that, but what if the sheriff sees them out and about?” Malia said.
Tawny inhaled. “I’m thinking they’ll figure things out.”
That was vague. “About me or about how to deal with the sheriff? Knowing them, they’ll want to go ranch to ranch and see if anyone has been trying to sell their cows.”
“Both I guess. You said Ryan was nice to you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe talk to him tomorrow after work.”
“And if Luke is in the house?”
Tawny smiled. “Don’t tell me that Mason can’t find their phone numbers? Call Ryan. I’m sure they have phones.”
Malia smiled. “You, my friend, are a genius.”
“Always happy to help.”
Now, tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
CHAPTERNINE
No sooner had Malia stepped into the hospital than Raina, the hospital dispatcher, rushed up to her. “The sheriff came in twice yesterday to ask about those two men who were beaten.”
Crap. “What did you tell him?”
“That we have no record of them being released. I told him to stop by today and speak with you to see where the men are.”
Just what she didn’t need, but Malia had expected it. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Raina looked right and then left, probably to make sure no one could here. “Where are they?”
“It’s the craziest thing. They insisted on being discharged.”
“What? They’ll die if we don’t have the bullets removed.”
Malia didn’t like to lie, but in this case, it was more like stretching the truth. “Not to worry. Dr. Weston operated on them. When they came out of the anesthesia, they said they had a friend who could take care of them at home.”
“That’s crazy.”
“To be honest, I had the sense they didn’t have any money to pay for their stay.”
Raina shook her head. “Your uncle isn’t going to like that they just left. If they sue, there could be a problem.”
“I believe Dr. Weston had them sign a waiver or something that they were leaving against the doctor’s advice. Look, I need to get to work.” If Malia kept on talking, she’d be digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole with this human.