There was blood in the snow near the border of their settlement. Thom spotted it as they come up from the bridge. His stomach flipped right over and he slid from his saddle, heart in his throat.
I knew it was too quiet. Dammit, what—
“Jay!”
Carolyn’s voice shattered the sudden, shocked silence that reigned over the four men. Thom tore his gaze from the bloody snow and looked toward the sound. He caught sight of the slender brunette as she jogged down the hill toward them. She didn’t looked panicked or upset.
Thom found he could suddenly breathe again.
J.T. dropped from his saddle and tossed his reins to Thom, heading for his lover at not quite a run, not quite a jog. He caught her up in his arms and held her tight, lifting her and spinning her in one slow revolution before setting her down. Thom couldn’t hear what his friend said, but Carolyn jerked back slightly, blinking at him, then glanced beyond him toward Thom, Seamus, and Cameron.
“What the hell happened?” she blurted, stepping out of the circle of J.T.’s arms. “Cameron, you look—”
“Like I need a hot bath, more stitches, and a bed,” Cameron said. He dropped his reins and Seamus leaned toward him to gather them up. The elder man nudged his horse forward and Thom drew his and J.T.’s out of their way, letting Seamus and Cameron pass.
“You’d better get back there and let Jac know they’re coming,” Thom said quietly, not daring to move just yet. The last thing he needed was Carolyn getting Jac—and then turning just as quickly to informing his wife that he’d gotten himself hurt again.
Carolyn hesitated, then nodded. “Right. Right. What happened?”
“We’ll explain later,” J.T. told her. “Come on. I need to clean up and you need to round up Jac.”
Carolyn looked like she wanted to say more, but shut her mouth and nodded again.
She turned and headed back for the tents, J.T. following in her wake.
