Jump Start

by Karen Botha

  “You’re awake.” He jumps and presses the button above my head and nurses come streaming in, followed by a beautiful Indian female doctor.

  Kyle moves out of the way. Everything is hazy as though I’m in a dream. Kyle hasn’t spoken to me, instead he’s rushing round doing goodness knows what, but not being with me. I want to hold him, but these people are getting in the way. And I can’t move.

  Not properly.

  It’s almost as if I’m pinned to the bed by invisible sheaths.

  “Elliott, I’m doctor Sidhu. You’ve been sleeping for a while. How is your head?”

  I move it from side to side. “It hurts.”

  The circle of medical professionals doesn’t look as though they’ve understood. Their brows crease and my eyes are stretched apart as they shine lights deep into my skull from all manner of angles. They mutter among themselves, but I can’t hear.

  ‘Where is Kyle? I can’t see him.’

  He reads my mind. “I’m here, El. Just let the doctors check you over.”

  I’m propped up on pillows and as my eyes start to focus giving me perspective, I notice the huge tent like contraption over my legs.

  “Legs,” I force the words out with the effort of a full blown scream. It works. They hear me and I assume they understand because the cautionary look which passes between Dr. Sidhu and the one who seems to be the main nurse does not fill me with a whole lot of confidence in my prognosis.

  Kyle moves in and the medics separate, allowing him to reach out and hold my hand again. “Elliott, you had a bad accident and your legs are shattered. Dr. Sidhu has rebuilt them, but we don’t know how well they’re going to work again yet. But you’ve not lost them.”

  He bends and finally he kisses me. But not on my lips, which feel crusty now that I think of it. Kyle kisses my forehead like you would a child.

  But I have my own legs,; this is just a setback. This doctor put me back together and I’m going to be OK. I’ll need some physical therapy, but in racing this happens. Sure, it’s not common, but people race again after their legs have been all but severed. I have the will and the strength. And the support.

  I just need to focus and everything will be fine.

  Kyle

  To think that four weeks ago the biggest worry on our radar was whether we would be working together! Now, neither of us are working for the team and neither is Brad. They’ve lost both their drivers as Brad got suspended and a mechanic as I care for Elliott full time. He is so strong. He has his down days, but he’s a fighter and the steel running through his core driving him to win has never been more evident.

  “You need to rest, you’re pushing too hard.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve said this to him.

  “That’s bollocks. You can’t push too hard. I will walk down that aisle for you Kyle if it’s the last thing I do.”

  And so our battle is a daily one which should become a little easier every day. But it only grows tougher as the goal posts of progress which he inflicts on himself, edge forward faster than it’s possible for his body to heal.

  “I have an idea,” I say during one of our more fractious sessions.

  “OK?” He growls the words. He’s growling a lot nowadays.

  “Yeah, how about we go to Norway now? It’s not like we need to be here. We can take your physical therapist with us. The change of scenery and the outdoor space may help.”

  He smiles. For the first time since the accident I watch as the radiance of the Elliott I fell in love with precariously pokes his head above the surface. My eyes fill as his lips curve and then open to display his beautiful white teeth. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

  And so, two days later, we arrive at the house we’ve rented at the top of a mountain away from the prying eyes of the media. The views are glorious, overlooking the valley below before the gorge swells with another elevation.

  “This is pure beauty. Your idea about Norway was a great one.” Elliott sighs as he sits quietly in front of the wall length windows.

  He’s been less angry since we arrived and his progress is picking up as a result. His tantrums have ceased, bar the odd bout of frustration here and there. The rage which had flooded his soul after the accident has been dissolved by the tranquility of living in the midst of nature.

  “Shall we go and say hi to the cows?” I ask.

  “Sure.” He knows this is part of his exercise to walk on uneven ground. It’s a slow process, but the activity reconnects the muscles and tendons in his legs, firing up the messages to his receptors.

  “Ah, shit,” he complains rather than screams as he stumbles across a hump in the house’s field. Half an hour later, we’ve traveled the thirty meters to the cows and we take a much needed break, plopping on the ground and ripping up long blades of grass before holding it out for our new friends to munch down on.

  “Natalia was right; the weather is great,” I muse as I absorb the ever changing view. It doesn’t matter which way I turn; the same landscape always looks different every time. The shades of the sun lie at a fresh angle and add another element to the beauty.

  I lay my arm over Elliott’s shoulder and we just sit, feeding the cows with grass they could pluck from the earth themselves and enjoying the heat of the extended evening sun.

  Elliott

  It’s here, my wedding day. I’m a horrid mix of excitement and joy, tainted by apprehension that I’ll fail. Not at being a husband. Kyle and I are meant to be together, but at walking down our aisle. My walk will not be made easier by the multitude of tree roots. Kyle and I took a trip out there the other day to have a look at how things were progressing.

  “It’s a shame you can’t have the rowing boat you wanted,” I say.

  “No it’s not. It would have been more of a shame if I didn’t have you. I was just being bloody minded about everyone rowing to the island; it’s the rebel in me. This speedboat is way better. It’s a kind of fate. Don’t feel bad.” He hugs me to him as our driver takes off and the back end of the boat dips low in the lake.

  “You can’t escape speed, even when you’re supposed to be sick.” Kyle kisses me, laughter spread over his features as the engine roars across the otherwise still water.

  I know what I’m in for today, which should be a good thing. But it’s filling my heart with angst I’m unwilling to accept. ‘What if I take a tumble and then can’t get back up?’ I’ll be the laughingstock then and the whole wedding will be about me and this blasted accident and not about how much Kyle and I are in love.

  It half crosses my mind whether I shouldn’t just arrive early and stand at the front waiting for Kyle as we’d planned before all of this injury thing kicked off, but if I do that, I’ll always feel like I chickened out. As though I took the easy option. And I’ve worked so hard for this moment, I can’t live with that regret hanging over the rest of my life. I have a point to make and like any big event on the racing calendar, I have a chat with myself. My nerves are perfectly natural. And I know I’ve put the work in to get through this. And I know how strong my will is. There is no reason for me to fail.

  I dress in my specially chosen shorts and t-shirt and although dressing isn’t as simple as it used to be, I thank goodness Kyle went for the laid back dress code.

  I’m ready early.

  I make my own way outside to wait for the car there. It’s a glorious day. The sky is the color of sapphires with a few pearly clouds whispering through. My adrenaline is pumping and I take the opportunity to suck in some deep breaths, to inhale the mountain air before my moment of truth.

  When my car arrives to drive me to the ceremony, it’s only a ten minute jaunt down to the speedboat and onward over the water. The cool spray is welcome as I sit alone this time on the wooden bench at the back of the motorboat, clinging onto the handrails to support my balance. Without Kyle at my side, my route feels more precarious.

  “Come on Elliott, you can do this,” I say under my breath as I wobble on the edge, willing my leg
s to accept the instruction from my brain and take the step onto dry land without lunging me face down into it.

  “Would you like a hand with that?” I hear his voice before I see him, so focused am I on my task. All my apprehension melts away with those deep tones.

  “I would very much like your hand.” I wink, relief flooding my nervous system as I catch a glimpse of the gorgeous man who will become my husband in less than an hour.

  His eyes sparkle as he grabs me. “For better or worse, eh?” And then he wraps those huge arms around me, and he lifts me clear of the boat as though he were lifting me over our threshold. “We’re going to do this together Mr. Judd.”

  He runs me up the short path to the top of the hill with me bobbing around over his shoulder. As I plant down on the ground again, all out of breath from screaming, he holds me steady until I stabilize.

  That's when the ripple starts rolling through our guests as they stand and clap and we walk down the aisle together, forever as one.

  Download Commitment 4: Ignition here.

  Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/2OdfFtC

  Amazon.com https://amzn.to/2NE4GMI

  Other books by Karen Botha

  NAKED TRUTHS Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/2DhXgpy Amazon.com http://amzn.to/2trpgXO

  NAKED LIES Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/2p0Imic Amazon.com http://amzn.to/2p3ooU9

  NAKED SOULS Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/2jLUxNB Amazon.com https://amzn.to/2I8wXoL

  LOVE. Coming soon

  THANKYOU

  Thank you for reading Elliott and Kyle’s story in COMMITMENT 3: Jump Start

  I hope you enjoyed the third chapter of Elliott and Kyle’s journey. If you did, please consider leaving a review on the site you purchased the book from. My boys would be MOST grateful.

  If you would love to talk to other readers who love this series, you can find them HERE at Karen Botha’s Facebook Group.

  special thanks

  First off, thanks to you guys for taking a chance on Elliott and Kyle and coming back for more. Elliott and Kyle would be delighted.

  But, there’s plenty of other people that I need to say a huge thank you to who have helped this book come to life. To my BETA and ARC readers you are not only a help when my eye blur over and I can not longer see straight, but you brighten my day with your funny comments.

  To Charlie, you not only cut down the amount of golf you play to help me launch this book, but you put your visa card on the line to pay for everything involved and then you also listen tirelessly to me go on about the boys and how their lives are panning out. You are a total star and I love you for this as well as so many other reasons that make you, you. Thank you for always being there, with your ears wide open and for allowing me to experience so many of the different facets of love that I’m able to write this, and all my other stories. For all the right reasons, I would not be able to do this without you.

  And, to my friends. Do you remember who you are? I’ve been in my writing cave barely lifting my head. Thank you for still being there when I poke my nose out at the other side.

  And then to Tandy, and Jen. Only you know how this book would have turned out without you (and we’ll keep it that way!)

  So, that’s me done for now, until the next journey, when the guys move in together in Ignition, but is it ever that simple? Are you ready?

  Until then

  Mwah

  Karen x

  About the Author

  If you’d like to get to know Karen better you can sign up to her newsletter (and get a free book), where she’s been told it’s like catching up with a neighbor over the garden fence.

  Get to know Karen better

  And if you would love to talk to other readers who also love Karen’s books, then you can do that at:

  Karen Botha Author - Discussion Group

  Karen Botha is a the author of the Commitment series, including Buckle Up, G-Force, Jump Start, Ignition, Turbo Charged and Pole Position.

  She’s also the author of the fan favorite, Naked series, the first of which follows her life experiences pretty closely (but don’t believe everything you read. An author needs some creative license, right?)

  Some of her favorite authors include Ella Frank, Brooke Blaine, Riley Hart, and Carly Philips.

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  For more information

  www.KarenBotha.com