Cowboy, Stay with Me

Chapter Nine: Crazy Girl

Lucy stumbled as soon as she disembarked the vehicle.

Sean sighed, coming around the hood to slide his arm under hers.

She shook off his attempt to assist her, but only succeeded in off-balancing herself and ending up on her butt in the grass.

Sean propped his hands on his hips, gazing down with a look of hopelessness on his face. "Okay, no more whiskey for you."

"Just 'cause you've saved my life doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do, Sean!" Lucy slurred with a belligerent look in her eye.

He might have been more amused on some other occasion, but at the moment he was still too riled up about the idea of someone hurting his woman.

Just then the screen door on the farmhouse slammed and the whole Davenport troop was descending the porch steps to besiege upon them.

"Oh my days, what happened?!" Grandma Flora touched Sean's arm and he gave the old woman a reassuring smile.

"Everything's under control now, the situation's been handled, ma'am." He informed the family at large while speaking directly to Lucy's grandmother out of a sign of respect.

Everyone knew that Flora was the monarch of the Davenport clan.

Flora clucked her tongue suspiciously, clearly not convinced. "You haven't even told us what the situation is exactly, young man, but I'm sure relieved to hear that you think you have it under control!"

Sean was left feeling properly chastised as Grandma Flora swept in on Lucy. "Look at the state of you, girl! Now, is this any way for a proper young lady to conduct herself?"

Amanda was at Lucy's other side, trying to help her to stand. "You're just lucky Papa and Paula aren't here right now!" Amanda muttered, partly to Lucy, partly to Sean.

"Oh no!" Lucy groaned dramatically. "Daddy is gonna freak out when he hears about this!"

She promptly toppled back over in her abject distress.

Everyone let out a collective sigh.

"Alright, I'll carry her up to the house." Grandpa Leroy said, hobbling forward. He was still an active rancher, but he tended to get a bit stiff and sore in the evenings due to mild arthritis.

Flora slapped him across the chest with the dish towel that she was still holding onto. "Hold your horses there, cowboy. You may still be the man of my dreams, but if you pick up a full-grown woman you're gonna throw your back out, or worse, give yourself a heart attack!"

Leroy puffed up, getting all blustery and defensive.

Sean and Amanda exchanged a small smile.

"Okay, come here, Trouble." Sean said with a sigh, stepping over to Lucy.

This time, when he slid his arms around her, she didn't even offer up a protest.

He swept her right off her feet and proceeded to carry her bridal-style up to the house.

Intoxicated and delirious, Lucy laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She might have problems aplenty with the man himself, but right then, she felt nothing but safe in his arms.

###

When they were inside the house, Lucy came back to consciousness and insisted on being set down on her own two feet.

With a wry sort of amusement, Sean gently lowered her to her feet. Bracing her up when she swayed, he did his best to safely herd her through the house. To his relief, she seemed to be headed upstairs to her childhood bedroom.

She went into the kitchen instead, however, to get herself a glass of water.

Concerned that she might suddenly fall again and hurt herself, he hastily followed after her. It annoyed him to have to babysit her like this, not because he didn't care about her, quite the opposite. He just wished that she would take better care of herself so that he didn't have to worry about her so much.

He felt like he'd end up spending the rest of his life worrying about her and he didn't think he could take that special kind of stress.

Lucy's family clustered together in the living room, looking into the kitchen, before glancing amongst themselves and deciding to go about their respective activities.

Amanda stepped out onto the porch to call their big sister Cassie to let her know that Lucy was home safe. Flora and Leroy went back to their spots by the old brick fire place. Flora took up her needlepoint work once again and Leroy went back to reading his Louis L'Amour novel.

In the kitchen, Lucy turned back from the sink with a glass of water to frown at Sean. Lowering the glass from her lips, she glared at him with open hostility. Through all the chaos, she still hadn't forgotten about how he'd been dancing with Nicole at the bar.

"What're you still doing here?" She demanded. She set the glass aside on the counter, scowl deepening as he began to smirk down at her.

"I'm just making sure that you're okay. You witnessed something-"

"I'm fine, Sean!" She brushed past him on the way out of the kitchen. "You can leave now, you're highly important and your serious Marshal duty has been seen to. You're dismissed!" She mockingly saluted him from the kitchen doorway, then almost toppled over again as she took a step backwards.

Sean was at her side before she could execute a very slow, drunken blink. Catching her by the arm, he escorted her through the living room and towards the staircase.

Her grandparents both looked up and he gave them a tight smile. "I'll just see that she gets safely to bed."

Flora beamed as if this was the best idea she had ever heard, but Leroy sniffed in suspicion.

"Alright, but be down right quickly now, ya hear? No funny business, boy!"

Sean resisted rolling his eyes. He also didn't bother to point out that he was a US Marshal, sworn to uphold the law and protect citizens, and he would certainly never take advantage of his own ex-girlfriend while she was traumatized and inebriated.

Flora gave him a reassuring smile and Sean proceeded to assist Lucy down the hallway.

She was still stumbling, but she seemed to be able to walk on her own. He shadowed her all the way to her bedroom door at the end of the hall.

Turning back towards him, she gave him that adorable little scowl again. "I don't need you!" She informed him tartly.

Somehow, he didn't think she just meant about walking her to her door.

Sean cocked his head, easing in on her to lightly cup her shoulders. Then, when she didn't reject his touch, he was unable to resist cupping her soft cheeks in his hands. "Lucille, I know you're angry with me, you have every right to be. But right now, I need to ask you...are you okay?"

The impossibly tender quality of his voice strummed painfully at her heartstrings.

To her chagrin, her eyes began to sting and her lip to ominously wobble. She bit her bottom lip mercilessly to get it to stop.

The answer was stark inside of her; no, she was not okay. But not because of some random fugitive with a gun, no; because of the man who was so tenderly holding her now.

Lucy once again rejected his touch, stepping back from him. "You gave up the right to know if I'm okay a long time ago." She told him in a quiet, cold little voice. "The day you walked away, you gave that up.

"So, with all due respect, sir, I have the right to remain silent." And with that, she shut her door in his face.

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