He would have gone on, but Hope stopped him. She didn’t say a thing, merely turned stark white and then started to fall, her every muscle seeming to lose control. She started toward the ground.
He closed the distance between them as quickly as he could, his arms coming up to catch her as she fell. “Hope?”
Trev shook his head. “She’s out.” He sighed. “We’ll have to call the doc once we get her out to the ranch.”
Noah checked her pulse. It was strong and steady. “I’m a doctor.”
“No way. You’re a vet. If I don’t call the people doc, he’ll have my head. I haven’t been in Bliss for long, but I’ve heard what Doc Burke does to the men who piss him off. He’s very thorough with the prostate exam. She’s probably dehydrated. I’ve seen it plenty of times. Get her into my truck. I’ve got air conditioning.”
“I do, too. I’ll take care of her.” Noah held her, lifting her up. Her eyes fluttered open.
“Don’t tell James.” She went limp again.
Fuck. She knew his brother. They all knew his brother.
And his brother had a lot to answer for.
James looked out over the front porch. It looked to be a damn busy day at the Circle G. First they find out Beth is pregnant, and now they had visitors. He could see cars from a mile away. And there was a long line of them. What the hell was going on?
The first SUV pulled into the circular drive, and Caleb Burke hopped out.
“Hello, Doc.” James was a bit surprised to see him. Apparently Bo was more worried about Beth than he’d said. Doc wasn’t known for his love of socializing, so this had to be business. Caleb Burke was known as being a bit taciturn, though that had changed slightly in the days since Alexei Markov had come back to Bliss and forced Doc to acknowledge his feelings for Holly Lang. The lovely redhead got out of the truck following Alexei, who handed her down.
“James. Is my patient here?” Doc was all business. He was focused on some task at hand.
“I think Beth is in the guesthouse.” He pointed toward the back.
“Not Beth. Wait. What’s wrong with Beth?”
“She’s pregnant.”
Caleb slapped his hand against his forehead. “Goddamn it.”
“Doc doesn’t like pregnant women?” James asked, looking at Holly.
Holly grinned while Alexei patted his partner’s shoulder in what seemed like a sign of solidarity. “Doc is horrible at reading sonograms. I made him promise to take a continuing education class. I can see him now with a bunch of bright-eyed tech students.”
Caleb sighed. “I’m going to start preaching birth control. So, none of this tells me where my patient is.”
“Uh, if you’re talking about the calves I have coming, I don’t think you’re going to be much help. Unless you’re going to be more than the people doc.” James had had to deal with his own calving for a couple of years now since the vet had retired and they had no one to take his place.
Doc’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “I’m talking about Hope.”
James felt his heart clench a little. Hope was in trouble. Damn it. She was in trouble, and she wouldn’t talk to him. Now she needed a damn doctor. “What? What’s wrong with Hope?”
Doc shrugged. “No idea until I see her. Your partner called me. He said she passed out. He’s bringing her back here because it’s closer than my office.”
James was surprised at the little thrill of panic that went through him. “What happened to Hope? What made her pass out? Why the hell was she with Trev?”
As far as James knew, Hope hadn’t even met Trev. Trev, Bo, and Beth had kept to the ranch in the weeks since they’d gotten here. There had been an enormous amount of work to be done. With Wolf’s help, the men had completely reposted the fence along the east pasture. They had worked their butts off because Wolf was leaving.
Doc merely shook his head. “No idea. And I won’t know until I see her. Where can I set up?”
Holly came up behind him. “Don’t mind Caleb, James. He’s got the worst bedside manner ever. I’ll show him to the guest room. We’ll set up in there. Don’t worry. I’m sure she’s fine. Trev told Caleb that her heart rate is steady, and she didn’t hit her head when she fell.”
She’d fallen. Why had she fallen? Caleb’s voice cut through James’s thoughts.
“Hey, you didn’t mind my bedside manner last night.” It was said without a hint of leering playfulness.
Alexei patted his partner on the back. “He’s also got no good manners when it come to being discreet.” He leaned in toward Caleb. “I don’t think we should be talking about how many times we make her scream last night. We must to be discreet about how good we become with the double penetration.”
Holly’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, Alexei’s the one to teach Caleb how to be discreet. Both of you take a left at the first hallway. Second door on the left. Set up there.” Holly’s men walked in the house. Her face suddenly turned serious. “Trev called about ten minutes ago. I think that was his truck about a quarter mile behind us. There’s something else he told me, Jamie.”
Oh, god, how much worse could it be? In the distance, he could see another truck coming up the drive. Trev’s. There was a second truck behind the first. It was Grand Central Station at the Circle G. He started down the steps. He wanted to see Hope. He was surprised at how much he wanted to make sure she was okay. He wanted to put a hand on her and make sure she was fine. After all, he’d promised Logan he would take care of her.
No. He’d promised Logan he’d figure out what was wrong with her. That didn’t mean he had to care for her. But what if this was his chance? What if this was his way in? He wanted her. He wasn’t getting any younger. Maybe it really was time to think about settling down.
Trev got out of his truck—alone. A dark Chevy pulled up behind him.
“Trev, where’s Hope?” James asked. He wanted to carry her to Doc Burke and to let her know it was going to be okay. It had to be okay.
Holly followed behind. “Jamie, I need to talk to you.”
But he could already see what she wanted to talk about.
Noah.
Five years older, looking a little worse for the wear. His little brother had obviously decided that working out was a good hobby. All of the boy in Noah seemed to have burned away, leaving nothing but a hardened man in his place. He easily lifted Hope into his arms as he pulled her out of the cab.
“I can walk,” Hope protested.
“And risk you taking another header? No way, sweetheart. You’re going to be a good, obedient girl and let the doctor look at you.” Was that rough command really coming out of his brother’s voice? Noah had always been the soft one.
James had to take a deep breath. What the hell was his brother doing here? And why was he holding Hope like he had the right to do it?
“I don’t need a doctor.” Hope looked pale and somewhat frail in Noah’s arms. James didn’t like the tight feeling in his gut.
He stepped up. “I’ll take her. Doc’s already here.”
Noah’s arms tightened around her. “I have her.”
James wasn’t going away. His brother couldn’t waltz in here and think he was just going to take charge. Hope had been left in James’s care. Logan was the closest man to Hope. He’d asked James to watch out for her. In his caveman brain, that made her his. “I know her. Give her to me.”
But then it looked like Noah had gotten to know his inner caveman, too. “And I saved her. Let me through.”
Holly got in between them. “Hey, you two are fighting over her like two dogs over a bone.”
A huge mutt thumped his tail. It was a monstrous thing. Holly looked down at the dog. “Actually the dog here is better behaved than the two of you. Trev, would you mind carrying Hope in so Caleb can do his overly thorough exam? Sorry, sweetie, he’s planning on taking blood and everything. If he could haul you to an MRI, he would. He really likes to run tests.”