Free Be My Texas Valentine by Jodi Thomas, DeWanna Pace, Linda Broday, Phyliss Miranda Page A

“That wife of yours arrived banging on the boss’s door this morning with the sun. She was so sure something had happened to you the boss told us all to get to searching.”
    “Valerie came here?”
    Earl laughed as he paused long enough to wipe off sweat. “She claimed she wasn’t going to tolerate another husband just riding off and dying on her. She said she wanted you back even if it was in pieces.”
    Montie agreed. “We thought about heading back, but we didn’t even dare go back for lunch. Between her and the boss, they’d chicken-fry us up for supper if we didn’t come back with you.”
    Brody groaned as they pulled one of the rocks away from his leg.
    Earl knelt down and moved the next rock away carefully. Brody saw his blood-soaked right leg for the first time.
    “It’s broke, Yank.”
    Brody didn’t argue. The rocks had kept pressure on the wound, but now blood flooded over the rocks like a thin stream.
    The brothers wrapped the leg as fast as they could and carried Brody over the rocks. As they lifted him onto Earl’s horse, Brody asked between clenched teeth, “Why didn’t you just leave me, Reb? I know you’ve always hated me because I’m a Yankee.”
    “Yeah,” Earl agreed as he tied Brody into the saddle, “but you see, Yank, you’re our Yank and we don’t want to lose you.”
    Montie laughed. “And as long as her curse is directed at you ...” He couldn’t help giggling as he tried to talk. “The rest of us feel pretty safe.”
    Brody would have laughed if he’d had the energy left. He felt Earl swing up behind him as he passed out.
    An hour later, he clenched his teeth around a washcloth as the doctor set his leg just below the knee. It hurt like hell, but he was alive, and for that, Brody could only be thankful. He’d made Valerie leave the room and she hadn’t been happy about it, but he’d seen her eyes when she’d stepped aside as the men brought him in. She’d been crying. No, he thought anew, she’d been crying for him.
    The doc cleaned away the blood and told Earl to let the widow in.
    “She’s not a widow,” Brody said. “I’m here, and unless you’re not telling me something, I think I’m going to live.”
    The doc smiled. “That you will. Looks like the boys found you right in time. Another hour or two and I’m not sure you would have had enough blood left in you to make it.”
    The doctor talked to her in a low voice as he insisted she help. “I don’t want his leg moved any more than absolutely necessary for three days. I’ll be by to help you with the first cleaning. After that he’ll be in a brace for a month. Don’t let him take it off, period.”
    She nodded, listening to every word and not even looking at Brody.
    When the doctor stepped away to mix up some medicine, Valerie moved to Brody’s side. She reminded him of a little soldier, and he had the feeling there would be no bending the doc’s rules once he got home.
    “He’s fine,” the doc said one more time to calm her. “When you get him home, keep him there. If you feed him, he’ll heal, Mrs. Monroe. I’ll come by and add a proper splint when the swelling goes down. Then he should be able to hobble around until it heals. He was lucky, it was a clean break.”
    “Lucky,” Brody mumbled as the medicine the doc had given him and the lack of blood and sleep finally caught up to him.
    When he woke, it was almost dawn the next day. Valerie was sleeping in one of Boss Ramsey’s office chairs beside his bed. She almost took his breath away with her beauty, all curled up in the boss’s chair with her hair a mess around her.
    He reached for her hand and woke her.
    “Are you all right?” she leaned close and whispered.
    “I’m fine,” he lied. “You should be in bed sleeping.”
    She shook her head. “Not without you.”
    He smiled, guessing every part of his body ached except his heart. “I want to go home,” he managed before drifting back to sleep.
    When the doctor came in, he