“Easy. Easy, now. Gimme your key.” A bottle of cold water was pushed in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Thanks.” Fumbling, he hauled out his key, handing it over. Shit, drunk like a cheap floozie on Mad Dog or something. He was getting old.
“Drink the water.” Those strong old arms muscled him into the room just like they’d pushed him out of bulls’ ways, around arenas.
“I will. Promise.” If he could get it open. This was what happened when Jase wasn’t around to take care of him.
Coke wasn’t near as good at it, but the man managed, getting him naked and watered and in the bed, the TV on for light. “Sleep, Andy. We’re having breakfast at nine-thirty. You come down.”
“I will,” he mumbled, curling into the comforter. “Need to call Jase.”
“Mmmhmm.” That rough hand rubbed his back a second. “Lay your burden down, Andy. I’ll carry it for one night.”
“You’re the savior, man. In or out of the arena.” Bax settled in, letting the water fix his drunken brain, and he was asleep before he even knew whether Coke stayed or went. Bax was ready to let it go. Just for one night.
Chapter Twelve
“Jason? Honey? You want to watch Andy ride? It’s coming on the TV.”
Yeah. Yeah, he wanted to. It wasn’t fucking happening, though, was it? “No, Momma. You just pay attention, tell me how he did.”
The bedroom door was locked and it was going to stay that way. He had a bottle of Jack, and he had music on the CD player—he was settled.
Two weekends Bax’d come and gone, but then the travel got too expensive and too tiring and he’d told Bax to just go on and work.
“Son, you can’t just stay in there.”
He heard the doorknob rattle and he sighed. Yeah. Yeah, he could. He could sit in here and drink himself asleep. He could see in his dreams, just clear as day.
“Go root for Bax, Momma. He needs a good ride before the break.”
“He does. But he needs you rooting for him, too. You get your ass out here.” Now Momma was using the mother voice.
“I am rooting for him. Leave me be, Momma.” He wasn’t eight anymore.
“Damn it, Jason, I’m worried about you. Come have some coffee and cake with me and Jack.” From demanding to pleading, she had it all.
“I’ll have breakfast with you. Bax’ll be calling after a while. There’s a tape delay.” He couldn’t listen to all those guys living his life. He just couldn’t.
“Okay, honey. Call if you need me.” She finally left him, just the sound of George and the ticking of the clock sounding now.
He poured himself another round, jonesing on the burn. Every so often he thought he saw a color, a shape. No light, but there was something there.
His cell finally rang maybe an hour later, buzzing right next to his hand, making his butt vibrate.
“‘lo?” If it wasn’t Bax, he’d just hang up.
“Jason! Is that you man? It’s AJ. Bax said to call.”
Oh. Now Bax couldn’t even bother to call him personally.
“Did he ride?”
“Yeah eighty-three and a half. But… Well…” AJ trailed off, saying something to someone in the background.
“But what! Goddamn it! AJ! What the fuck happened to him?” He stood up in a rush, knocking all sorts of shit over as he headed for the door.
“He’s in sports medicine. We don’t know for sure how bad he’s broke up, Jase, but something in his leg snapped.” AJ sounded like he was just plumb worried.
