Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

and proper as ever. “As glad as we all are that Mr. Grady is well, we don’t want dinner to go cold, now, do we?” She gave a little clap and turned on her heel to head back to the dining room.
    Sadie went skipping after her grandmother, but the rest of them ignored her and gathered to greet Ty. Annie hugged him fiercely, thanking him and almost tearing up when she apologized for leaving him to be eaten by the tiger. Mark gripped his hand and met his eyes, giving him a mere nod that Ty returned. It must have been a Marine thing, because that was the only exchange they shared.
    Harrison gave his shoulder a squeeze as he shook his hand, telling him he was glad to see him up and around.
    Beverly called from the dining room, sounding tense.
    They all shuffled off after her, grumbling mutinously. Ty watched them go. “I think your mom would do really well with a tranq to the ass,” he said flatly.
    Zane couldn’t help but smile.
    “A nice parting shot from me to her. What do you think?”
    “I think you need food. And then a shower.”
    They’d cleaned him up after making sure he’d live, taking great pains to make sure they hadn’t missed any injuries. Zane had put fresh clothes on him, borrowed from Harrison, so he’d at least be clean when they put him to bed. But he’d still been dragged across the ground by a tiger and not showered afterward.
    Ty slipped his arm around Zane’s waist. “How’d you know what I said if it was in Dari?”
    Zane grinned, relieved that Ty’s mind was working well enough to ask that. “Called O’Flaherty, had him translate. I was afraid you were trying to tell me something important.”
    “Great.”
    “I called McCoy too, told him what was going on.”
    Ty winced.
    “He asked if you were catatonic,” Zane said, voice trembling as he tried not to laugh.
    “That’s not funny.”
    “It kind of is.”
    “I’ll never hear the end of this shit.”
    Zane laughed and squeezed him close. Ty patted his arm and stopped walking. To Zane’s surprise, Ty was grinning.
    “Stars and stripes, Zane.”
    “What?”
    “It’s the Fourth of July. I saw stars, and then I saw stripes.” He began to laugh like it was the most hilarious thing he’d ever heard, doubling over and grabbing Zane’s arm to hold himself up as he cackled. Though Zane knew it was the lingering effects of the drugs on Ty’s system, he couldn’t help but laugh too. Whether he was laughing with Ty or at him, he wasn’t sure.
    “Come on, you stoner,” Zane whispered. He pulled Ty, still giggling, into the dining room. Ty calmed and cleared his throat, attempting a little decorum.
    Beverly was quick to greet them with a disapproving glare. “Mr. Grady, I suppose we all owe you a debt of gratitude,” she said, sounding like she was trying to chew a light bulb.
    Ty sat in the chair Zane pulled out for him, and he nodded, still too sedate to engage her.
    Zane wondered if they couldn’t just pack up and go home now. They’d gotten enough of a lead to give to the local authorities, and Ty didn’t deserve the abuse he was putting up with for Zane’s sake. Not from those yahoos in the bar, not from the elements, and not from Beverly Carter-Garrett.
    “I do hope we’ll leave this to the real authorities now, though?”
    Zane glared down the table at her.
    “What real authorities?” Annie asked, her tone acerbic. “The sheriff is overrun, and animal control are chasing their asses around a hot potato because people are reporting loose tigers from here to Austin. It’s caused a panic.”
    “That is none of our concern.”
    “It will be when that tiger gets hungry enough. We all know he’s still on the C and G.”
    “Annie.”
    Annie shrugged, but went back to her meal without provoking Beverly further.
    Beverly looked around the table. “We don’t want any more incidents drawing unwanted attention to us.”
    Out of the corner of his eye, Zane saw Ty reach for the wine in front of him and toss back the entire glass in one gulp. Zane winced. That wasn’t going to react with those tranquilizers well.
    “Mother, we can’t let this drop now. Ty’s life is in danger. You saw that this morning when they came here fishing.”
    “Who went fishing?” Ty asked.
    “Forgive me for being callous, but if he’d leave, he wouldn’t be in danger anymore. As it is, he’s attracting trouble to our ranch.”
    “And I smell like tiger breath,” Ty muttered.
    “Now Beverly, none of this is Ty’s fault,”