“How’s Tilly?” asked Juan. He looked around for her, even checked under the bed as if he expected her to be hiding.
Brayden’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. “I, uh, I don’t know.”
“Whaaaa?” asked Juan, loudly. He had the ability to say what everyone was thinking without ticking anyone off. It was an annoying gift.
“They sent her home, and my phone’s dead.” He cursed. He was so stupid. “Can I borrow your phone?” he asked Dustin.
Dustin pulled it out of his pocket. “Um, Clover is with her now. Her mom had to go home—something about her dad’s blood sugar getting too high.”
Brayden nodded. Tilly’s father, Rob, had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes a couple months ago. They were working on figuring out how to regulate his blood sugar and help him lose weight. The news had rocked the family. Tilly had gone north to spend a few days with them and teach her dad some basic weight-lifting exercises. She’d insist her mom go home if her dad needed help.
At the time of the diagnosis, he hadn’t thought much about leaving her because he was a ball player; that’s what he had to do. She didn’t ask him to stay either. They’d had an understanding when it came to his schedule. She was cool with the demands the Redrocks placed on his time. He thought she’d make the perfect baseball wife. But … he didn’t need a baseball wife now.
He blinked as he looked down at the screen of Dustin’s phone, the green call button staring back up at him. He jerked his eyes away. “Have you talked to her?”
All the guys nodded.
Brayden glared at Juan, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold back an honest answer. “When did you talk to my girlfriend?” As far as he knew, Juan and Tilly were only friends through him. Not that Tilly would do anything behind his back, but he was feeling oddly vulnerable lying in bed, unable to twist his head from side to side while these jerks walked around like it was nothing.
“Oh, dude. When I took her some flowers. See, when a woman gets stitches, she needs flowers. And I just thought that I’d take her some, you know? Because you were stuck in here and not awake and stuff.”
Brayden blinked several times. “That was nice of you.”
Juan’s smile lit up his whole face. “I just thought that, you know, you’re a cool guy, and this sucks, man. It really, really sucks.” Again, saying what they all thought.
Blake shook his head at Juan. “Elise took her dinner last night. She looks pretty beat up. And she’s sleeping a lot. The pills they gave her knock her out. She wanted to come see you, but she practically fell asleep walking to the car.”
The dark cloud that hovered over Brayden descended with a vengeance. His girl was hurt, and there was not a dang thing he could do about it. He slammed his fist into the bed. “I need to get out of here.”
“That’s what I hear. I hear you’ve only got a couple more days,” volunteered Juan.
Blake nodded. “I overheard Dr. Burningham saying that they were working to have you released into his care. The whole PT team is studying up on your injury, getting ready for your workout schedule.”
“Yeah, right.” Brayden coughed away the lump in his throat. He couldn’t even think about baseball and whether or not he’d be able to play right now. He’d told the doctor not to tell him. He needed the hope. His heart wouldn’t lie to him, though, and neither did his neck. The X-rays were gruesomely clear. He had two metal rods in his vertebrae—he wasn’t sure what the name of his injury was, because he’d zoned out when the doc explained how he’d have those rods near the bottom of his neck for the rest of his life. He’d be lucky if he could rotate his shoulder. And throwing a baseball? A miracle.
“It’s true,” Juan insisted. His eyes were wide, the whites of them screaming that he would never tell a lie.
“Well, that would be more than I could hope for.” He scooted down in the bed, suddenly wanting his healthy and prime-of-life friends to leave.
They all shifted, twisting or turning slightly, exchanging looks.
“What?” he demanded.
“We were just wondering …” Dustin ran his hand through his hair. “Clover said Tilly wasn’t wearing a ring …”
“I didn’t get the chance.” Brayden wondered where the ring ended up. It could be anywhere, lost in the red dirt at the bottom of the cliff, for all he knew.
They all nodded, looking like a lineup of bobblehead figures.
“It’s probably for the best, though,” he muttered.
“Gentlemen!” His day nurse entered, her long black hair swinging over her shoulder. “As wonderful as it is to walk into this party, I’m going to have to ask you to leave so I can take care of my patient.” She winked at him.
He dropped his gaze. Natalie was a flirt, had been since the moment he opened his eyes. He wasn’t attracted to her, but he appreciated her cheerfulness. Especially since he’d been cranky today. No matter how he groused, she met him with a smile and an encouraging word.
Juan’s eyes followed Natalie’s movement across the room. When she was in the corner, checking the computer, he whispered, “Dang, bro. I didn’t know they made nurses like that.”
“She’s all yours.” Brayden motioned for him to go after her, to make his move.
