sister.
âSo whatâs got you so riled up?â he murmured, patting her long brown hair. Hair the same shade as his own.
Raising his head, he was relieved to see Gwen standing in the hall leading to the kitchen. Gwen was a grandmother whose grandchildren lived in Houston. Sheâd missed livingwith a family, and theyâd all needed a womanâs hand in helping raise Virginia after Carolyn had taken off. In return for room and board, Gwen helped out as much as she could.
Her lips pursed when their eyes met.
âWhatâs going on?â he mouthed.
âA lot.â She sighed. âWe got a call about an hour ago. Trentâs in the hospital in Albuquerque.â
He stiffened. âWhat? When?â
Ginny untangled herself from his arms and pulled him down to eye level. âA bull threw him and he hurt his ribs. Bad. And his arm and a kidney, too.â Eyes wide, she said, âRight, Gwen?â
âKind of.â Her lips curved slightly. âHis arm is broken. And the rest of him isnât so good.â
Cal felt his insides do a flip turn. Of the three brothers, Trent was by far the most talented bull rider. His younger brother was fearless in the ring, and had enough confidence for the whole family.
Heâd won so many buckles and trophies that the rest of them just kind of counted on him always coming out of the pen the winner. So much so that Cal had begun to take his brotherâs performances almost for granted. Sometimes, he even forgot to look at the recaps on the computer or check in with Trent on a regular basis.
But now Cal realized heâd been foolish to imagine that his brother was invincible. âHow bad is not good?â he asked around a sinking feeling of dread. âDo I need to go fly out there?â
âI donât think so. From what I can gather, in addition to the broken arm, two ribs are cracked.â Lowering her voice, she added, âHe might have a concussion, too. Theyâre doing tests today to check for any internal injuries.â
âBut thatâs all?â he asked sarcastically.
âIt could be worse,â Gwen murmured, her brown eyes sympathetic. âNo one thinks thereâs anything life threatening. Heâs going to be checked out momentarily. Weâll just have to wait and see.â
Wait and see. First for his dad, now for his brother. Cal didnât reckon he had too much patience left inside him. âI, for one, am getting pretty tired of doing that wait-and-see two-step. Itâs wearinâ me out.â
âI feel the same way,â she said with a commiserating look. âJust so you know, I called Jarred in Mexico.â
âIâm glad you did. What did he say?â
âNothing, because he didnât pick up. I must have called four times, too. He didnât pick up that phone once.â
âYouâd think the boy could manage to check messages every once in a while. No one can be in bed that much.â
Gwen winced. âHonestly, Junior. Watch your tongue.â
Ginny scrambled out of his arms. âHow come Jarredâs in bed? Is he sick, too?â
âJust lovesick.â When his sisterâs eyes widened, Cal rushed to give her another answer. âI mean, heâs fine. Now, donât you be worrying about Jarred. I was only joking, sweetheart.â
Her lips trembled. âOkay.â
When he spied a tear slide down her face, mixing in with her chocolate mess, he reached out for her again. âGinny, I just told you the Godâs honest truth. How come youâre crying again?â
âI want everyone to come on home and be like it used to be.â
âThat would be nice.â Heâd like that, too. But even in a month of Sundays, it sure as hell wasnât going to happen. Things had happened. Their dad got old and he and his brothers grew up.
âWhenâs Daddy coming home?â
âNow, thatâs something