But I promised River I’d let her properly examine me.
In only a few days, all I want to do is please her. To hear that giggle, I suspect no one else ever does. To have her look at me like there’s nothing wrong with me.
So I’m here, sweating like a pig with my heart racing so fast I might faint.
Though I’d brushed everything off as fine, I hated seeing the concern in her eyes. Most have learned to ignore me if I’m showing pain from an injury. There’s not much that’ll stop me from getting on the back of a horse or a bull. So watching her green eyes soften with concern was enough to get me here.
It’s been a while since I came out this way. The University Hospital is one of the best around. It’s no surprise a woman as smart and talented as River would work here.
Nerves knot my stomach when I finally reach the door sign for the orthopedic suite. Eyeing the placard by the door, my molars grind. River’s name is listed below all the other men. Their order by last name of the alphabet, then River. Placed there at the bottom as if she was a last-minute thought or an obligation.
The worst part is I can’t do a damn thing about it.
I haven’t seen her since Saturday night after my ride. She’d been right there at the edge of the chute, smiling my way when I settled on that mean motherfucker. Ride Me Not is one of the toughest bulls around. One that’s often pulled for the professional rotations but was bred right here in Cole County by a local distributor.
Ride Me Not’s buck-off rate is ninety-eight percent, but last night, I rode him. He jumped and spun and kicked, but I wasn’t letting go. It was the ride of a lifetime. A new fire burning inside me I hadn’t felt ever. As if a hole I hadn’t known was there had been filled.
“Are you going inside?” an elderly woman mutters from behind me.
“Oh yes. You first, ma’am.”
Opening the door, I follow the woman inside. The space is decorated like any other doctor’s office. Single chairs and benches, with a few high chairs sprinkled throughout the space. Pictures of athletes and abstract paintings that remind me of a spa lining the walls.
I wait behind the woman at the check-in counter, my hands in my pockets.
Those nerves tighten my gut. I don’t want these X-rays because I don’t want to know what damage I caused this time. I’m damn near freaking out over her, too. Though I’ve talked to River either on the phone or via text every waking minute since I last saw her, I worry she’s not as into me as I am her. At this point I’m riding the line of unhealthy obsession and fuck if I care.
“Next.” Stepping up to the desk, I pull my wallet from the back pocket of my jeans. “Name?”
“Grayson Garrison.”
Blue eyes pop up to meet mine. Her face looks familiar, but I can’t place it. Then again, it’s easy to feel that way about most people in a small-town county like this. “You’re amazing. I saw you ride this past weekend.”
“Thanks. Just what I’m good at.”
I tip my head as if I have my cowboy hat, remembering I chose the ball cap River seems to like so much instead.
“Well, let’s get you checked in. ID and insurance card, please.”
I hand her both, watching her type away on her computer. “Looks like you did the forms online already, so you’re all set.”
My brow scrunches low. I hadn’t filled out anything, but maybe it’s just previous paperwork from the last time I was here.
“Thank you.” I take my cards back, aiming for the seat in the furthest corner where no one can see the bounce of my knee or the sweat beading on my face.
I’ve been sitting for five minutes when I’m called back.
“Have a seat. The doctor will be in shortly.”
Hopping up on the table, elbows resting on my thighs, my head bows.
My jaw is pounding and my hand throbs more than it has a right to, but it was worth it for the ride I had. A ride that could put me on the professional circuit. A dream I’m not even sure I want anymore. At one point it was supposed to be something for Tate and I to share, but then he stole that and ran off without me.
Logically, it was never something that would have happened, but until Tate left, it was something we always did together. The only way we ever seemed to have actually bonded.
“Mr. Garrison, please come with me.” A woman with blue scrubs pokes her head around the door before leading me down a long hallway. “We’re going to do your X-rays first. Dr. Thompson is tied up with another patient.”
“Okay.”
