“I’m Tilly, Brayden’s girlfriend.” She smiled carefully, waiting to see how the nurse would react. Fans usually divided into two camps: they either wanted to make her their best friend or claw her eyes out.
“Nurse Natalie,” the woman replied, formally. She checked the monitors and IVs.
Nurse Natalie had brushed Tilly’s friendly gesture off smoothly. Her girlfriend senses yelled out that she’d better watch out for this one. Tilly leaned farther out of her seat and more on the bed, wanting to be as close to Brayden as she could.
Mom came in a second later, her hands full of files and papers. Her eyes took in Brayden’s form and the way Nurse Natalie stood close to the bed. Being the best mom in the world, she took action. “Excuse me.” She bumped her hip into Nurse Natalie’s and put herself between grabby hands and Brayden. Ignoring the scowling woman behind her, Mom leaned closer to him. “He has good color.”
Tilly nodded. “He’s strong. I wonder how long he’ll be out.”
“A couple hours or more. You should head home and get some rest.” Though the nurse said the right words, her tone was caustic.
“The doctor said—” Tilly fully intended to tell her to shove it, but the woman had moved around the bed and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair.
“Since you’re not family, I’m going to have to ask you to leave anyway.”
She didn’t wait for Tilly’s response. Instead, she rolled her out the door, far enough that Mom had to leave the room to catch up to them. Tilly couldn’t put her feet down to stop the movement for fear of further injuring her ankle.
Mom’s lips disappeared and she glared at the nurse as she bustled out, carrying Brayden’s bag of personal items. Natalie must have thought they were Tilly’s bags, because she didn’t say a word as she dogged around Mom and back through Brayden’s door, shutting it firmly behind her.
Tilly leaned back in her seat, exhausted. “I think I need some rest.”’
“What about …?” Mom jerked her chin towards the closed door.
Tilly sighed. “If I got upset every time a woman showed interest in Brayden, I’d be angry most of my life. I trust him. And she can’t do much while he’s asleep.”
Mom took the handles. “I don’t trust her. She could cut his hair and sell it on eBay.”
“That’s because you’re …” With effort, Tilly took a breath and let it out. “Smart.”
“Okay, home to bed for you.”
Tilly let the shapes around her blur as her mother wheeled out of the hospital and drove her home. She didn’t remember much about settling into her bed, except that it felt really good to be inhersheets, her head onherpillow. She’d rest for a few hours and then go back to be with Brayden. He was going to need someone there to hold his hand when he learned he wouldn’t be back on the mound. The news was going to shatter him. She only hoped there were enough pieces to put back together.
Chapter Three
Brayden
Being in the hospital was really starting to wear on him, and Brayden only remembered a day and half of his stay. He’d been unconscious for the two days before that. Two days of his life, gone.
Not that he had a lot of reasons to celebrate living. The one blessing he could count, Tilly, was MIA. He’d asked the nurses over and over again about her, but was told she’d checked out of the hospital. Her mom was in town. They couldn’t give him any medical information, and his cell phone had disappeared—probably at the bottom of the cliff where he’d fallen. He didn’t know her number; it had always been at the top of his contacts list.
He remembered the fall—in vivid color. He replayed the accident several times, usually right before the pain meds kicked in and he fell asleep. The video paused on the moment Tilly hit the wall. Her injuries had to be bad; she’d hit so hardhisbody had jolted. When he wasn’t in a haze of meds, he was praying for her, praying she would get better. He’d told God in the middle of the night that he’d give up Tilly so she could have a normal life with someone who didn’t break their neck if God would just make her better and let him see her one more time.
Men in hospital gowns and neck braces were full of desperate thoughts.
“Hey, lazy butt.” Blake strode through the door, wearing a Redrocks T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. His kicks were so bright, they reflected in the ugly floor tiles. Behind him came Dustin. As per his new look, he’d shaved and his hair was short enough to see his scalp.
Juan brought up the rear. He paused in the doorway and threw his arms out. “Whaaazuup?”
Brayden almost felt like smiling. “You guys are stupid.”
“You mean you’re stupid happy to see us.” Dustin held up his hand for a fist bump. Brayden concentrated in order to make connection, his movements slow. That was the highest he’d lifted his arm since he got here. The mean PT would be so proud.
“How are they treating you, man?” asked Dustin.
“Good, I guess.” Brayden waved to the television. “I had a front-row seat to your game last night. Nice closeout.” He nodded to Blake. “Of course, I could have done better, but they wanted me to hang here for a couple more days.”
The guys chuckled.
