Valentino's Cowboy [Brac Village 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (4 page)

“Your arm should start to become numb,” Dr. Sheehan said as he dug through his bag. “I need to get you back to the Den, to my operating room. I will do everything possible to save your hand.”

“I’ll send Dr. Prayze over there,” Gavin said as he leaned over the back of the couch. “I’m so fucking sorry, Abe. I never meant for you to get hurt.”

Abe couldn’t open his mouth to utter one single word. If he unclenched his jaw, he was going to scream until he lost his voice. He just kept kicking the end of the couch, trying to cope. Luke touched Dr. Sheehan’s shoulder, and then Abe’s leg. Within seconds he was lying on a metal table, the doctor quickly moving around the room. Luke had stayed, keeping Abe from rolling off of the table.

Soon Abe felt nothing but a low throb in his arm. He also felt the pressure as the doctor worked at trying to save his hand. He wasn’t sure if he had passed out or not but when he looked toward the door, Valentino was hurrying inside.

His hair was sticking up in all directions, just like earlier. He gave Abe an uneasy smile. “If you didn’t want to go out to dinner, all you had to do was say so.”

Abe started to laugh, but it soon turned to tears. He was so scared that the doctor was going to have to remove his hand or some fingers. He was too terrified to look at his injury. That was a sight he didn’t want to remember, and he would. If it was as half as bad as it had felt, Abe was in serious trouble. “And miss out on dessert?” Abe tried to banter with his mate, but the fear had a tight grip on him.

Luke had shimmered Abe here with the blankets that Pa had piled on him, but he couldn’t seem to get warm. His entire body was shaking. Valentino moved closer and then began to rub his hands over Abe’s legs, chest, good arm, and then repeated those steps over and over again.

“How’s it look?” his mate asked Dr. Sheehan.

Abe bit back a cry when Dr. Sheehan grimly looked at Valentino, but didn’t say a word. His mate grabbed Abe’s other hand, leaned forward, and ran his hand over Abe’s hair. “You, my little cowboy, are doing one hell of a job. I, myself, would have passed out by now.”

With a few quick jerks of his head, Abe gritted his teeth, wishing he
would
pass out. This was not something he wanted to be awake for. “What if I lose my hand?”

Valentino pressed his lips to Abe’s ear, giving him a soft kiss before speaking. “Then whatever you need it for, I’ll be more than happy to do for you. But let’s wait until we know what’s going on before we make plans to rent my hand out.”

Abe let out a quick laugh, just a rush of air before he blinked a few times and gazed up at the ceiling. Valentino made it sound so easy, no big deal. He knew his mate was right. Abe should wait for the verdict before panicking, but he couldn’t help but think of what life would be like with the use of just one hand.

Feys couldn’t shift and heal themselves like shifters could. He knew he was going to have some king of permanent damage. How extensive it was, well, that was going to depend on just how well the doctor fixed him versus what was beyond repair.

Valentino stayed the entire time, whispering encouragements in his ear. Abe was grateful because he didn’t want to be alone.

Besides helping the Lakelands and having his tribe turn their back on Abe, this was the scariest thing he had been through. It was more frightening than when The Manacle was bombed by Vampire Hunters.

“I can arrange it with the Lakelands for you to take it easy,” Valentino said. “You can come work at the clinic with me.”

“But I don’t know anything about animals,” Abe confessed.

“Neither do I,” Valentino whispered close to Abe’s ear. “We can fool people together.”

Abe did laugh this time. His hand was so numb that he didn’t feel a thing. How could the guy make him laugh when he could possibly lose his hand? The cougar shifter was a breath of fresh air. “What would I do there?”

“You would definitely be eye candy for me. But,” his mate said with a shrug. “I suppose you want real work. So you can help me with my patients. Keep them calm while I examine them.”

“I–I’d like that.”

“One other thing, darlin’,” Valentino said as he brushed his knuckles over Abe’s cheek. It was only a soft caress, but having his mate touch him helped to calm Abe’s tension. “How did this happen?”

“I was helping Gavin and Winter. They said they needed a small hand to reach inside a piece of machinery. It was too slippery. I couldn’t grab it.” Abe didn’t want to think about that right now. Those thoughts only reminded him of his injury.

His eyes fluttered closed when Valentino leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Abe’s cheek. “Did you tell them you couldn’t grab it?”

Abe nodded. “But they said the piece was important. Winter shouted that he was losing his grip, but Gavin was confident that I could get it.” He swallowed hard. “I failed them.”

“No, no, sweetheart.” Valentino placed a kiss on Abe’s nose. “You did the best you could and that’s all anyone could ever ask.”

Abe wasn’t sure if the doctor had given him drugs or not, but he could have sworn that he saw something move behind Valentino’s taupe-colored eyes. But whatever it was, it was gone just that quickly.

Abe turned his head when he felt some kind of pressure. The doctor was putting an IV in his arm. Although he wanted to turn away, Abe watched.

Valentino touched his face. “You’ve seen enough, my little cowboy. There is no need for you to watch the doc.”

He did as his mate asked and looked away. Abe’s eyes scanned around the room. This was an operating room at the Den. Abe was well aware of this. But if he hadn’t known, he would’ve sworn he was at a hospital. The room was well-stocked and the machines looked very expensive.

Abe’s eyes fell on the one next to him, the beeping drawing his attention. He hadn’t a clue what he was looking at, but knew those were his vitals on the screen. It all seemed surreal. Abe didn’t want to be there. He shouldn’t have been helping Gavin. He should have been getting ready for his date.

Abe’s mind became fuddled. His thoughts were a little hazy. Maybe the doc had given him drugs after all. He couldn’t ever remember feeling this groggy.

“How do you feel?” Dr. Sheehan asked. “How’s the pain level?”

Throwing his hand up into the air, Abe’s thumb stuck straight up. His arm felt weightless. The doctor smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good, Abe. I want you pain-free.”

His head lolled to the side and he smiled up at Valentino. “I’m a virgin.”

Valentino’s eyes widened and Abe heard the doctor chuckle. He wasn’t sure why he had told that intimate detail about himself. He should be embarrassed as hell that he had blurted that out. But Abe was floating along.

“I’ll remember that little detail,” Valentino said as his eyes softened. “But right now all I want you to do is rest.”

Abe reached up and poked at Valentino’s chest. “You sure feel real.”

Valentino covered his hand over Abe’s. “Oh, I’m very real.”

When Abe blinked, it felt as though it took years for his eyelids to go down and then come back up. “Everyone ignores me and treats me like I’m a dimwitted man who needs constant supervision.”

There it was again! Abe saw something move behind Valentino’s eyes.

“Trust me, my little cowboy. There is no way I could ever ignore you. Whoever thinks you are dimwitted is an idiot. No worries, though. You’re going to come work with me, remember?”

Abe’s grin was wide, hurting his cheeks. “Oh yeah.”

“Get some rest,” Dr. Sheehan said. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Abe’s eyes closed and he was out.

“How long will he be out?”

The doctor had been writing some notes, but glanced up at Valentino’s question. “Hopefully the rest of the night.”

Valentino ran his hands over Abe’s silky blond hair. “Would you mind keeping an eye on him while I take care of something?”

Setting his pen down, the doctor turned toward Valentino. “I don’t mind at all.”

He turned to leave and then spun back around. “What’s the prognosis on his hand?”

“It’s too soon to tell. I repaired all the damage”—the doctor shook his head slowly—“but there could still be some impairment.”

That’s all Valentino wanted to know. “Is there someone who can take me back to the Lakelands’?”

“I’ll go get Carter for you.” The doctor left and was back in no time at all. Without a word, Carter shimmered Valentino to the ranch.

“Do you need me to wait?”

“No, my car is here. I’ll use that to get back. Thanks for bringing me here,” Valentino said to Carter before he strode into the house. He didn’t bother to knock. Valentino was filled with too much contained rage. Walking into the kitchen, he spotted Gavin standing by the sink.

“Dr. Prayze. I just want to say—”

Valentino didn’t wait for Gavin to finish his sentence. He crossed the room and slugged the man on his jaw. The other Lakeland men jumped up from the table and came after Valentino. He swung again, blood spurting from Gavin’s nose. “Winter told you that he was losing his grip! How dare you put my mate in harm’s way.”

“Whoa,” Malcolm Lakeland said as he inserted his body between Valentino and Gavin. “It was an accident.”

Valentino glared at the father of the bear clan. “Abe is blaming himself for this. He thinks he
failed
Gavin. This was no accident. Winter told Gavin that he was losing his grip, but Gavin insisted the piece was too important. He had no regard for my mate’s safety.”

Malcolm’s had snapped around, confusion in his grey eyes. “Is this true, son?”

Gavin’s jaw clenched as he looked away. Valentino could see remorse in the man’s eyes, but that wasn’t good enough. The guy had total disregard for Abe’s safety. “Since you treat my mate as expendable, I want you to take me to his room so I can pack his things.”

Malcolm gave a stiff nod, but didn’t move from in front of his son. “Roman, take Dr. Prayze up to Abe’s room.”

Some might think that he was overreacting, but when it came to his mate, Valentino wanted no excuses. There was no way in hell Abe was staying another minute on this ranch if they took his safety so lightly.

He packed Abe’s belongings and walked back downstairs, not saying a word to anyone as he walked out to his car, put his mate’s things in his trunk, and then drove away.

Okay, he felt kind of bad for the way he had acted considering the Lakelands were kind and fair folks. But this was Abe that had been hurt. Valentino wasn’t going to allow his mate to be hurt in any way. Gavin had a lot to answer to, but Valentino was going to call Malcolm and make sure they were cool.

After stopping at the gate to gain access, Valentino parked the car and headed back inside the Den. He was normally a laid-back carefree man, but when it came to Abe, Valentino’s claws came out.

“Any change?” he asked the doctor as he entered the recovery room. He could see that Abe was still passed out. Valentino walked over to Abe’s injured hand and ran the tip of his finger up the small man’s arm.

“No changes,” Dr. Sheehan said. “He’s still asleep as you can see. I have a few things to take care of. Since you are here I can get them done.”

Valentino waved the doctor away as he pushed a small stool close to the bed and took a seat. He hated to see his mate like this. Valentino swore that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that Abe didn’t feel slighted in any way if he no longer had use of his hand.

Abe moaned and turned his head.

The man shouldn’t be opening his eyes after the drugs Dr. Sheehan had given the fey, but Abe’s eyelids fluttered and then he was staring at Valentino with those pretty blue eyes.

“You should be snoring and drooling,” Valentino said in a soft whisper, the words threatening to get stuck in his throat. “Why are you awake?”

Abe’s eyes were unfocused as he continued to stare at Valentino. He wasn’t sure if Abe was aware of what he was doing. It must have been a fluke because Abe’s eyes soon closed and the man’s body relaxed.

Laying his head on the bed, Valentino stayed with his mate. If Abe woke again, he wanted to make sure he was the first thing his mate saw. Valentino blinked when he spotted two wolf pups run into the room.

He sat up, glancing down at them when they came over to him and started pulling at the hem of his pants with their teeth. What was with animals and trying to best him today? “Where is your papa?”

One of the wolves yapped at him, wagging his tail in excitement. Valentino reached down and scratched behind the pup’s ear. The other one seemed to resent not getting any attention because he nipped at Valentino’s shoe.

“Sorry about that,” a man with short blond hair and grey eyes said as he hurried into the room. “I told them countless times not to come in here.”

Valentino could scent timber wolf. “They’re fine.”

The man stuck out his hand. “Murdock Miller.”

Valentino shook it. “Valentino Prayze.”

“The vet.”

He nodded as he continued to scratch behind the pup’s ear. The pup rolled to his back and captured Valentino’s hand with his paws and began to play with his fingers. The other pup was still wrestling with Valentino’s shoe.