Patrick’s blue eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted right there at Jesse’s feet.
“Is there a doctor in the house?” the woman squealed.
Cody dropped down on his knees. “I’m a doctor.” He pulled off his shirt, tore it in half, and threw one side to Addy. “Use that to apply pressure to Jesse’s hand. That’s a nasty cut and it’s going to need stitches,” he said as he used the other part of the shirt to apply pressure to Patrick’s cheek.
“Is he going to live?” the woman sobbed.
“Of course,” Cody said. “He’s not dying. He’s passed out from too much liquor. Do you know if he’s allergic to anything or how much he’s had to drink?”
“You’ll have to ask his wife.” She stood up and melted back into the crowd.
“Wait until Lylah hears about this.” Jesse tried to chuckle, but it came out more like a groan.
“As long as they’re talking about her problems, they’ll leave us alone,” Addy whispered. “Now, be still until the ambulance gets here.”
“Send Patrick with them and take me home. Cody can stitch me up there. I’m up-to-date on my tetanus shot, so I don’t need one of those,” Jesse said.
“I can do that.” Cody looped his arm through Jesse’s and led the way through the people now standing around, staring down at Patrick. “Let’s just ease on out of here.”
The ambulance was pulling up as they made their way to Jesse’s truck. “Want me to drive?”
“I can take him home,” Addy said. “You can follow us, and we’ll get him stitched up when we get to the house.”
“Will do,” Cody said.
“You are welcome,” Jesse chuckled as he got into the passenger seat.
“For what?” Cody asked.
“I got you out of whatever was going on between you and Stevie.” He slammed the door before Cody could answer.
Addy started up the engine, backed out of the parking spot, and headed toward the ranch. “I can’t leave you alone for one minute,” she teased.
“It’s your fault for letting Grady cut into our dance. You should have told him that you didn’t want to dance with him.” Jesse leaned his head back. “I hate stitches more than anything.”
“Cody will numb you up real good, and I’ll get you a shot of Sonny’s best whiskey to dull the senses,” she offered. “And, honey, Grady wanted to dance with me to ask me to forgive him for saying we couldn’t talk anymore. He and his girlfriend broke up, and he’s got a new one that isn’t jealous.”
Jesse sat up straight. “What did you tell him?”
“Told him that I had committed to working with Cody. He got a little hateful and asked if I couldn’t decide which brother I wanted,” she answered.
“I told him that it wasn’t a damn bit of his business how I lived my life, and then the ruckus started. I left him on the dance floor and was coming to get you when the lady started singing, “From This Moment On.”
“I wanted to dance with you on that song,” Jesse said as she turned into the lane to Sunflower Ranch. His hand had left the shock stage and had begun to throb.
“I was coming to get you for just that same reason, but we kind of got sidetracked.” She parked the truck in front of the yard gate, and Cody pulled in right behind her.
“I’ll get my bag, and we’ll work on him in the kitchen.” Cody laid a palm on the fence and jumped over it in one fluid movement.
“I’d try to do that and impress you so you would choose me, but I don’t think I better with this.” Jesse held up his injured hand, which was still wrapped in half of his brother’s shirt.
“Oh, hush!” Addy scolded as she opened the gate for him.
Tex met them on the porch and dashed inside the house in front of Jesse. He headed straight for the kitchen as if he knew that’s where they would be and curled up under the table.
“Sit down right there.” Addy pointed to the chair where Sonny usually sat and headed to the sink.
“Bossy, ain’t you?” Jesse said.
“When my boyfriend’s hand is cut open, I am.” She filled a basin with water, opened a drawer for towels, and carried everything to the table.
“I’m your boyfriend?” he asked.
Cody slapped him on the back of the head as he passed by. “Of course you are, doofus. Addy is too classy for one-night stands or flings. You are a boyfriend. Own it and be proud of it.”
“I am”—Jesse nodded—“very proud of it. I just wanted to hear her say it. Some first date, huh?”
Addy unwound the bloody shirt from his hand and cleaned the gaping inch-long wound with water. “At least we won’t ever be able to say our first date was boring. Cody, we might be able to pull this together with Steri-strips.”
Cody sat down and took a long look at the wound. “Nope, it needs stitches, and very close together. He’ll have to do more bossin’ than workin’ for a while until it heals up.”
“Come on,” Jesse groaned. “Listen to your nurse and use the strips.”
“Sorry, brother.” Cody shook his head. “This is right where your wrist bends, and you are also going to need a wrist guard to keep it straight until it heals. We’ll be lucky if you don’t have to have therapy on it, just because of the location.” He pulled out a hypodermic needle and tore the packaging away from it. “This is going to sting, but then you won’t feel the stitches.”
“I’ve said that so many times that I can’t even remember them all,” Jesse said.
“I just bet you have, and if this was your left hand, you could even do this yourself, but your stitching wouldn’t be as pretty as mine.” Cody joked as he worked. “And I bet you aren’t as gentle as I am. You’ll only feel the stick the first time.”
“Just get on with it and stop bragging.” Jesse watched as the needle pierced his flesh around the cut.
Addy sat down beside him and watched as Cody carefully stitched the skin together with tiny little sutures. “You should have been a plastic surgeon.”
“Thought about it, but then I figured there were folks who needed a plain old doctor more than those who needed to be pretty,” Cody said as he tied off the last stitch. “I’ll take these out in ten days. Until then, you get to wear a brace to keep you from bending the wrist and ruining my beautiful work. Let this teach you to stay out of other men’s fights.”
“Hey, now,” Jesse protested. “I was just walking across the room to dance with my girlfriend. They put me in the middle of their fight.”
“That’s not the way I saw it,” Cody argued.
“You couldn’t see right because you were focused on Stevie,” Jesse reminded him.
Addy patted him on his shoulder. “Come on, tough cowboy. Let’s get you down to the bunkhouse and put you to bed.”
“I’m not a child,” Jesse said.
“I can see where Mia gets that attitude,” Addy teased, “when she sets her jaw and says she’s not a little girl. If you’re so big and brave that you don’t need me, then I’ll sleep in Mia’s room tonight.”