“He’s a good horseman. It doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Satisfied they were being housed in a place that was safe, Mitch fed and checked everyone, cleaned out the trailer, and then shoved everyone back in the car so they could head back to the hotel.
“I got to go see a man about a horse, huh?” He grinned. “You guys be good for Mark, okay? And be nice when it comes to lunch, will you?”
“Okay, Daddy.” They all chorused it again, and he knew they were feeling this, that they needed to have this settled as soon as they could. But he couldn’t take them with him to the hospital. He could tell over the phone that Cam was drooping, so he would give him one more day of grace.
After that, all bets were off. He wanted to take Cam home.
All he had to do now was face his mother-in-law and explain what was going on with her son.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cam had all his prescriptions. He had his PT orders and all that crap, his discharge papers, and he was ready to go home.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the hospital to release him, which was always a pain in the ass. They had a rhythm to that, and he knew it, but he didn’t have insurance, so he needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, contemplating trying to get up to go to the bathroom because his IV was already out, when Mitch showed up carrying a Jack-in-the-Box bag for breakfast.
“Hey, babe.” Mitch studied him carefully, looking at his arm in a sling, and he was all taped up and wrapped and all the good stuff. His wrist had a brace on it to keep it from moving, but they hadn’t bothered to cast it, which was good, he thought.
“Hey, lover. I’m ready to go home.”
Mitch’s slow grin warmed the cockles of his… well, something lower than his heart probably, which told him he was recovering because his head wasn’t pounding at the very thought of having sex. “In that?” he jerked his chin toward Cam, obviously indicating his hospital gown.
“No, one assumes you brought me some clothes. I see a bag over your shoulder.”
“You do at that, and yes, I brought you some soft sweats and a button-up shirt that we can put on so you don’t have to raise your arms.” Mitch set down the bags and raised an eyebrow. “You need to hit the head?”
“Yeah, and do all this stuff before I eat.”
“Come on. I’ll help you.” Mitch held out an arm on his good side, and Cam eased to his feet, letting Mitch steady him. Oh, that made him a little wobbly and a little woozy, but once he stood for a minute, his head cleared, and he slowly made his way to the bathroom.
He was sweating pretty hard by the time they got back to the bed, but he felt stronger and better than he had even last night. So he guessed he would take it.
He managed to get back on the bed, and Mitch helped him turn and lie down, careful to only touch the side without the broken bones. “So, what’s the plan, babe?”
“It really depends on when they get you out of here. If they get you out of here in a decent amount of time, we’ll just drive home. If they don’t get you out of here until this afternoon, we’re going to drive out of the city and stay somewhere on the road on the way back. The hotel we’re in here just doesn’t have enough room for all of us.” Mitch grimaced. “I’m sorry. I know that’s probably going to suck for you, but…”
“Hey, no. I can just leave the seatbelt down and sit in the front seat. No problem. I have a pillow you put between me and stuff, too. I can put it against my belly and keep the seatbelt out a ways.” He wanted to head home. He didn’t want to stay someplace that wasn’t his own bed for the night. But he understood if they had to stay. The kids were probably already tired. He would work with either option, but if they could get home, it would be easier on Fire, too.
“It will be simpler with the horses as well,” Mitch said.
“Yeah, I can’t believe that she’s in there with Fire, and they’re both happy.”
“She is. I tell you what, she’s a good little girl. Sweet as pie. Sarah is all the way in love with her. I just want you to know that Sarah called to her yesterday, and she just came running and loved on that little thing like it was meant to be.”
“I did. She’s got an amazing disposition and a really good confirmation.” She had to have been a damned expensive horse. “Did you get her papers? Her Coggins test results and all?”
“You know it. I got everything. It’s in the glove compartment of your truck.”
He couldn’t believe somebody would just sign her over. He was going to have to call Dale and talk about this, offer him some money.
The nurse came bustling in, and she was the one Cam had had pretty much the whole time he was there. She gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. “I got your orders. The doctor signed off on getting you out of here, so it’ll probably take about half an hour to get everything finalized, and then you can hit the road.”
“Hallelujah!” He grinned back at her. “I’m ready.”
“You’re going to have to watch him,” she told Mitch. “He’s going to overdo it and be a jerk about it.”
