Then she’s racing down the stairs, and I’m left staring at the wall.
I think back to similar fights I had with my ex. Yet every single one of hers ended with leaving me if I kept riding and getting hurt. Not once did River ever tell me to stop. She just wants me to take care of myself, something I know I do an equally great and poor job of.
But at least for today, I’ll try.
“River!” I call from the hallway. “Doctor’s order says I can’t do the stairs alone.”
She appears at the bottom moments later with an angry scowl, but she stomps up toward me, wraps an arm around my waist, and guides me down each one.
“I’m trying,” I whisper before she leaves me in the living room. Even the dogs don’t seem to believe my words.
Truthfully, neither do I.
Chapter 25
River
It’sbeenjustovertwo weeks since Gray’s injury and almost a week since he came home. Though he’s progressively improved each day and his strength has returned to normal, I worry. So when Joy needed a girls’ night to vent, I didn’t hesitate to come out drinking with her.
It’s been hours of drowning in liquor alone with Joy in this bar. Our conversation focused on how ridiculous both our men are. Well, at least I’m still claiming Gray, even though he’s pissing me off.
Joy is trying to pretend she can cut off her feelings so easily. But she still has it bad for the other Garrison. She can accept that or not; it doesn’t change the truth.
It’s been a hellish two weeks.
Right after I watched Gray get thrown from that massive bull, my entire world stopped. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.
I’m not sure who held me back from running down there to check on him as I watched him lie there, lifeless, for what felt like days. His mental status so altered by the time I got to his side that we had no idea what he was babbling about at first.
Even after they got him to the hospital, it was hours before I could see him. Of course, it was Buckner who refused to give me access to the information on Gray or see him.
“You’re not kin,”he’d recited over and over. And I swear I could see that asshole holding back his smug grin.
Then, it was days before Gray stayed awake long enough to talk to me for more than five minutes.
Fear like that isn’t something I am well acquainted with. I’ve always been good at staying even keel in critical situations, but not this one. I was a wreck. A zombie moving through the motions of trying to keep up things on the ranch, although thankfully, Gray had already hired help, and Tate came by every day. Even Wilber showed up ready to muck stalls and feed the animals for me with others from around Cole County. A village rallied behind us, and I was thankful for it.
Every moment I wasn’t working, I was by Gray’s side, praying that he would be okay.
The ribs and oozing liver were no big deal. They’d heal with time. The subdural hematoma was what worried me. The swelling went down considerably within a few days, but Gray couldn’t hold consciousness. It wasn’t until day three in the hospital that he’d had the ability to tell me he loved me and to stop crying.
“Darlin’, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble just to see me.”
My eyes dart up at the sound of Tate’s voice, a very broody-looking Gray standing right next to him. I’d been so lost in my thoughts I forgot I was pity-drinking with my best friend in the middle of a bar.
“Oh boy,” I gulp, chugging the rest of my whiskey. The hiss to follow as I bare my teeth against the burn only making Gray chuckle.
“Come on, Boss.”
“You, sir…” the words slow and over-enunciated as I work against the booze. “…should be home in bed. You’re not supposed to be up and driving and coming to bars.”
“Let’s go, River.”
With a sigh, I push to my feet, my balance off as the floor shifts beneath me. Gray’s hand finds my waist, holding me steady. His fingers flexing against my soft flesh, awakening my desire down below. Fuck, it’s been too long since I had him inside me and he looks so good.
Shaking my head to clear my dirty thoughts centered on riding my cowboy, I clear my throat. “I think I should stay here. Joy needs company.” Only when I look over to where she’d been, they’re gone. When did they leave? “Where?”
Gray pulls me into his hard body, his warmth shooting straight down to the apex of my thighs. I’d fuck him right here if it weren’t a public place, and he wasn’t supposed to be staying away from strenuous activity, the exact opposite of what he’s been doing. “Let’s go home. We’ll get you showered and in bed. My doctor has surgery in the morning.”
