“Saw guys come back from horrible injuries on the ranch and the rodeo. It ain’t over till it’s over. Gotta plan like Blake’s gonna walk out of here.”
“After lots of rehab. Probably best to find a place to rent here in Colorado Springs. Three bedroom. Accessible.”
“Yeah, ’cause even in the short term, with two busted-up legs, he’s gonna be in a chair for a couple of months.”
Alex is damn smart for being the youngest of all of us. As an old soul, he sees things. Thinks about life in such a practical but optimistic way. For as often as failure has cracked him in the ass, the man plans for success like no one else I know.
I stand. “I need to make some phone calls and grab some more food. That protein bar only fueled my hunger. Want me to get you something? I mean, I think one of us should stay with them.”
“I’m good. I ate two of the bars and some pastry thing. My stomach feels like it might explode.”
“My cell will be on.” I glance at it. It's still mostly charged.
Alex shoots out his leg and digs in his pocket. “Brought a charger if you need it.”
“Of course you did.” I slap palms with him. “I’m good for now. Won’t be gone long.”
“You want me to call when Amy and Stone return?”
Another situation I need to handle besides the threat. The mess I made by having sex with her when I should’ve been focused on her safety. “Yeah. That’d be good.”
After getting directions to the café, I move to the far corner of the eatery. Back here, I won’t bother anyone with the calls I have to make. The first call is to Reed. It’s the one I’m dreading, so I do it first.
“Tyler? What’s going on? I haven’t heard from Eliot since he told me Blake was in an accident and that he would call me when he knew more. I didn’t want to interrupt, but please, tell me it’s good news.”
Stoic Reed knows it has to be bad news, or I wouldn’t be calling. His pleading tone isn’t for me. It’s for whatever higher power he believes in. I can practically hear his silent begging. I swallow hard and steel myself. “We’re not out of the woods, but he made it through surgery.”
“That’s good.” Like a poker player seeing a single ace.
“Both legs were smashed up pretty good, and they had to remove his spleen.”
“Dear God. What happened?”
A wave of shame engulfs me. “The goon who went after Amy? The reason for the guys coming out? We’re pretty sure he ran Blake off the road into a deep crevasse. The car flipped, and Blake was crushed.”
“No.” The howl of denial has me tearing up. I can see Reed on his knees clutching the phone—I’ve delivered terrible news far too often not to anticipate the reaction. Denial. I clench my jaw and try to hold it together. No matter how bad the news is, he has to hear it. Get it all out. I set my jaw against my own breakdown.
“He’s out of surgery. They have to keep him in the ICU because this type of injury can get complicated after the fact. The next”—I glance at my watch—“eleven hours are the most dangerous. Then we’ve got another day and a half of high risk. After that, we can work on figuring out the permanence of the possible paralysis.” There, pretty much as the doctor explained it to us.
Reed is wordless, but the sobs he’s choking down tear my own heart in half. I hold my own guilt and grief down. I don’t deserve to fall apart. He clears his throat. “Blake’s going to make it.”
“He will.” Please let me not be wrong. “And the doctor is optimistic that he’ll make it through the next two days. But I need you to do something for your guys.”
“I should have been out there with them.”
This one is a huge ask. “I need you to stay there and finish the job.”
“I can’t not go. He’s…more than a brother.” Another sob from Reed rips through me.
“I know.” And with every minute, I’m learning how tightly woven these guys are. “But they aren’t working. You’re the only one bringing in any income to the business. I’ll figure out how to cover the medical insurance payments for the next six months. I owe them for everything they’ve done out here. I should have set it up as a paid job in the first place.”
“You’re family.” He pauses to take a ragged breath. “We don’t charge family.”
I choke on his easy acceptance. Not an ounce of anger for what I let happen. I don’t deserve it. “And I’m taking care of my family by paying the insurance. But they’re going to need help with the property and the business. They need you in St. Louis to keep running things.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. But I fucking hate it. I feel like I’m failing him.”
“Sometimes the best thing we can do for someone we love is to take care of the details they can’t, even if it keeps you apart. It’s still love.” I hope Amy will understand when I do what I have to in order to keep her safe.
