The Circle Eight: Tobias by Emma Lang

healing wounds. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, Rebecca applied fresh bandages.  
    “He any better?” Tobias asked.  
    She frowned. “He’s not worse, but I wouldn’t say he’s better. He hasn’t woken since he was injured.”  
    “That ain’t good.” It wasn’t a question.  
    “No. It’s not. The brain can swell when a patient is hit hard enough on the head.”  
    “Like by a tree or a rock.” Tobias’s anger flamed up again. If only he could function as a man instead of lying like a loaf of bread on a shelf.  
    “Yes, unfortunately.” Rebecca cupped Will’s cheek, now rough with whisker growth. He was pale as milk. His chest rose and fell regular like, but Will was so damn silent.  
    “Don’t he need a real doctor?” He didn’t want to worry about Rebecca’s feelings. This was Will’s life they were talking about.  
    She closed her eyes and sighed, her hands dropping to her sides. “There isn’t anything a doctor in Texas can do for him that I haven’t. He can’t travel to far off places like Chicago or New York where there are big hospitals and fancy equipment. What he needs is rest and someone who cares for him by his side.”  
    Tobias ached to have someone speak of him the way Rebecca did of Will. She cared about the world around her, while Tobias had only cared for himself. Will’s injuries had yanked him from the self-pity pond he lived in and slapped him awake. The sad truth was it took a tragedy to wake him up.  
    His head pounded and his wounds throbbed. He embraced the pain because it reminded him that he survived the fight and he lived to fight again.  
    He would help his brothers the only way he knew how. Vengeance.  
     
    Rebecca didn’t intend to fall asleep in the chair but after two straight days of nursing the Gibson brothers, she was exhausted. She could only push herself so far before her body threw up its hands and claimed some rest.  
    She dreamt of her family, playing outside with her nieces and nephews. The sunshine sparkled off the twins’ red hair and a gentle breeze ruffled the leaves overhead. It was a perfect spring day. They played hide and go seek and Rebecca was doing the seeking. The children giggled from their hiding places and she took her time not finding them.  
    Someone was up in the tree in the backyard, close to her parents’ graves. It was a favorite spot for the family. One that brought peace when life grew too chaotic. She ambled over and pretended to search around the base of the tree and then she looked up.  
    Tobias stared down at her.  
    The world fell away and she was transported back five years to the night. That night. Her life had changed forever.  
    They had ridden for hours without ceasing. Rebecca was sore from her waist to her knees, but she didn’t complain. Tobias was too serious and she was sure any complaining would not be appreciated.  
    Her mind drifted to the kiss. She hadn’t expected it and it had been her first. And by the man she planned to marry. Her prince, or rather, her dark prince. He was angry with her because Pops had died. His grandfather had been very old and sick. It was his time and that was the way of life. People arrived and people left. Pops had lived to be in his sixties, a long life full of boys who loved him and whom he loved dearly.  
    “I’m sorry about your grandfather.” She hadn’t intended on saying it aloud, but there it came out of her mouth unhindered.  
    In the light of the moon, she watched his shoulder stiffen. “Thanks.” It was said with a grudging tone and she knew he didn’t mean it.  
    It didn’t bother her because he was grieving for Pops. She knew what grief did to a soul. He would need time to heal, but in the meantime, his contentiousness had become worse. He’d become downright ornery.  
    “Do you know where we are or how long it will take to get to the Circle Eight?”  
    He grunted. “Do you think I don’t know where we’re at? I ain’t