Trent walked out with Lindsay. Trey picked up Cass, who had fallen asleep over her half-eaten sandwich, and carted her off to bed. Cady showed Tess to the guestroom and sent Trent back out to bring in Tess’ bags from her car while she did the dishes.
Meeting back in the kitchen, Trent and Tess decided to take alternating two-hour shifts so they could each get some sleep.
Tess said she’d take the first shift. Still dressed in her scrubs, she left her shoes in the guest room, and went in to sit with Travis. She’d wake him up in an hour and put more ice on him then be ready to turn him over to Trent’s care for a couple of hours.
Trent came in and moved the straight back chair that was by the bed, replacing it with an overstuffed arm chair. If they were going to have to sit up, they might as well be comfortable. Tess patted his arm and whispered a word of thanks, then settled down to watch Travis.
The light from the hall trickling in the half-open door allowed Tess to see that Travis looked to be resting comfortably. Or as comfortable as you can get when you are immobilized for a week, possibly longer. He wouldn’t die from his injuries, but Tess wasn’t convinced his imprisonment in bed wouldn’t kill him. They hadn’t discussed his treatment plan with him yet and she knew he would pitch a royal fit when he found out what was going to happen.
Watching him sleep, she studied his face. His defenses were down and he looked much younger, like the boy she remembered before he joined the Army. Travis was undeniably handsome and strong, and despite his wild ways, there was an innate goodness in him that plucked at her heartstrings. She’d witnessed it many times as he interacted with Cass. Even last night, when he’d been acting like a jerk, he set aside his attitude long enough to let the little girl cuddle in his lap for a while.
Travis had always been good about helping the underdog and fighting for what he believed was right, even if it meant giving a bully a bloody nose in the process.
Growing up, she thought he was fearless, reckless and about the most wonderful boy that ever lived.
She still held those same opinions of him.
If he hadn’t been trying to save the little boy today, he wouldn’t be in his current sorry state. But that was Travis. He would always stick his neck out to try and help someone else in need. It wasn’t that he set out to be a hero, or enjoyed the glory of others thinking he was. It was just part of what made him Travis. He helped others without thinking what was in it for him or what that help might cost him.
Tess just hoped the cost of his actions today wouldn’t be more than Travis could bear.
Chapter Fourteen
Love is a great thing, a great good in every way;
it alone lightens what is heavy
and leads smoothly over all roughness.
Thomas A. Kempis
Travis awoke with a start and looked at the clock beside his bed. The big red numbers said five-thirteen. He would need to get up soon. They were in the middle of the second cutting of hay and there was plenty of work to be done. He hadn’t been much help on the ranch lately, and he wanted to make up for it today.
Deciding to relax for a minute before getting up, Travis closed his eyes and put his hands under his head, inhaling a deep breath. Tess’ warm, citrusy scent filled his nose and he smiled in the darkness. He must have been dreaming about her again. He was convinced he could smell her scent at night while he slept and sometimes when he caught himself daydreaming.
This morning, it was as though she was right in the room with him. He could feel the warmth of her presence near him.
Stretching, Travis bit his lip to keep from yelling. His legs. The pain radiating from them was so violent, he gasped for breath.
“Travis?” Tess’s voice was like a soothing balm. He opened his eyes to see her shadowy form sitting next to the bed on the opposite side of his of his clock. She flicked on a lamp and leaned toward him.
“Tess, what are you doing here?” he asked, trying to swallow down the waves of pain that were about to pull him under.
“Trent and I sat up with you all night,” she said, getting up from the chair and stretching. She wore a T-shirt and a pair of plaid shorts, with her hair cascading in an unruly mass around her face. She looked tired and sleepy, especially with a handprint on her cheek where she’d been leaning against her fingers while she slept. “Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?”
Suddenly Travis saw pictures of the previous day flash through his head: the argument with Trey, windsurfing, saving the little boy, the hospital, and lying on his stomach while Tess and Trent put ice packs on his legs.
“I do now,” he said. No one told him what exactly was wrong or what needed to happen to fix it. He assumed it couldn’t be too bad or they wouldn’t have let him come home. “I guess I better get up, though. There’s been enough lazing around.”
Tess laughed at him. “You aren’t getting out of that bed, buster, for at least a week, maybe longer. And when you do get up, you’ll be using crutches until your legs can bear your weight again. What part of bed-ridden and immobilized didn’t you understand?”
“What?” Travis asked, confused. He didn’t remember anyone saying he had to stay in bed, or walk with crutches. When had that been discussed and how had he missed it?
Tess sat carefully on the bed next to him and took his hand in hers. “Travis, you tore both of your hamstrings yesterday, significantly. Not only did you tear the muscle, but you also damaged the little blood vessels in those fibers. All that needs time to heal. If you get up and try to bear weight before you are ready, you could cause permanent damage. If you behave yourself and follow doctor’s orders, you’ll be out of this bed before you know it and then I’ll be overseeing your physical therapy.”
“Therapy?” Travis asked, as things went from bad to worse. He’d seen guys in therapy after injuries. Some of them actually broke down from the pain. He sure wasn’t going to have that happen, especially while Tess was watching. The last time she’d seen him cry was when he was eight and thought he’d killed Brice. The two of them got the bright idea to jump out of the barn loft onto a pile of hay. Only Brice missed, landing on a hay bale and getting the wind knocked out of him.
“Yes, therapy. We’ll start with stretching and range of motion exercises. If we don’t get on it right away your muscles can atrophy and you’ll have scar tissue that will make it harder for your legs to function normally. Personally, I’d hate to see those fine legs of yours suffer from either problem,” Tess sat looking at him with a straight face while her eyes were full of mischief.
“Did you just give me a compliment?” Travis asked, not entirely sure he heard her correctly.
“Possibly,” she said, with a saucy grin.
“Could you repeat it, please?”
“I said I’d hate to see thighs as impressive as yours lose their muscle or build up scar tissue. That’s why you have to listen to everything I tell you from here on out,” Tess said, scooting a little closer and trailing her fingers gently along his forehead. Travis leaned into her softness and drank in both her scent and warmth. The accident might have been worth it if he got to sit like this with her for any length of time.
“Feeling better?” Trent asked with a cocky smile as he came in the door. Tess jumped and fell off the bed onto the floor, bumping Travis in the process.
Wincing, he shot Trent a cold glare.
Trent laughed and helped Tess to her feet as her face flushed red. Tugging her twisted shirt back into place, she looked like a kid caught with her hand in the candy jar.
“I was explaining to Travis that he has to follow our orders for the next few weeks if he wants to get up out of this bed anytime in the foreseeable future,” Tess said, stepping away from the two brothers, both of whom were intently staring at her.
“Yep. I could tell that was what you were doing,” Trent said. “Why don’t you go get a cup of coffee while I help Travis?”
“Thanks,” Tess said, backing out of the room and closing the doo
r behind her.
“What was that all about, bro?” Trent asked, pulling back the sheet covering Travis’ legs and removing the compression bandages.
“Nothing.”
“Looked like something to me. I’m not so sure I should leave Tess alone in here with you. Even without the ability to use your legs, I don’t know if you can be trusted,” Trent teased, gently touching the backs of Travis’ legs, glad they weren’t quite so hot this morning. “Since you can’t walk a step and you could really use a bath, Trey and I are going to carry you into the bathroom. You can do your business and we’ll get you in the tub. You can soak as long as you like then we’ll help you out. How does that sound?”
“Great if I was ninety and unable to function by myself,” Travis said, dreading the ordeal ahead. When Trent made him use a bedpan last night, he could have chewed glass. He hated it. Hated being dependent. Hated being vulnerable. Hated being treated like an invalid. Now they were going to carry him into the bathroom like a baby and give him a bath.
“Seems to me you are unable to function by yourself at the ripe old age of twenty-five,” Trent said, going into Travis’ bathroom and running water in the tub. Coming back out while the tub filled, he studied Travis briefly. “With a beautiful girl like Tess who, for reasons beyond understanding, likes to be within spitting distance of you, I’d think you would want to smell like something other than rotten fish or a high school gym locker.”
“I don’t smell that bad,” Travis stated indignantly.
“Oh, yes, you do. In fact, this rooms reeks. I’m going to open the windows while you get clean and see if Cady will bring in some fresh sheets. Now, hang tight and I’ll round up Trey then we’ll get your show on the road.”
Travis wanted to throw something and hit Trent on his chipper head. Always the one who took his side, Trent often offered him a cheery word or deflected Trey’s disappointment when Travis messed things up. He could count on one hand the times Trent had actually fought with him and each time it was like a knife to his heart. Travis knew he and Trey were both hard-headed and too much alike while Trent was more laid back like their mother. He loved both his brothers, but Trent seemed to know how to handle him better.
Scoffing at himself, Travis realized a grown man shouldn’t need to be handled, especially not by his brothers. Maybe it was time for him to really grow up.
Trey came in with Trent and was unusually quiet as they helped him into the bathroom and then got him settled in the tub.
When he emerged from the bathroom forty minutes later, he felt much better. Travis managed to shave in the bathtub, wash his hair and scrub away the previous day’s grime. Trent was right, he did stink. The river water always smelled like fish to him and no doubt that smell lingered on his skin. Come to think of it, he’d been wearing a wet suit yesterday. He wondered what happened to it.
Trey and Trent gently put him back to bed on fresh, crisp sheets, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. The room smelled clean with a brisk morning breeze blowing in the open window. They were propping him up against his headboard with more pillows when Cady and Tess came in. Cady carried a breakfast tray while Tess had more ice packs. Trent helped secure the ice in place on Travis’ legs then Cady placed the tray across his lap.
“It’s nice to see you looking a little more like yourself, Trav,” Cady said, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.
“Thanks. I’m sorry for all this bother I’m putting you through. I really don’t mean to be a burden,” Travis said, staring down at a plate of biscuits, eggs and strips of crispy bacon.
“You’re not a burden,” Trey said, hoping Travis could understand just how grateful they were that he was alive. With all the crazy stunts he’d done in the last couple months, Trey kept waiting for the call that said Travis had pulled his last one. “You’re our brother and we love you. We’ll do whatever needs done to make you comfortable and help you recover.”
“But, I…”
Trey held up his hand. “Eat your breakfast and we can talk later. If you feel up to some company, there are a few guys out there who’d like to say hello.”
Travis worked up a half-hearted smile and nodded his head.
“Sure, send them in.”
All five of the ranch hands came in quiet and subdued. Visiting with Travis for a few minutes, they were mindful of not tiring him. As they turned to leave, Henry, the eldest of the group, patted Travis on the arm. “If you ever need someone to listen, son, I’ve got two willing ears. I know a little about what you’re going through.”
His comment caught Travis off guard. No one knew much about Henry. He’d been with the Thompson family since before Travis was born. That he was a fine man and a hard-worker was all they really needed to know. Travis suddenly wondered about Henry’s story.
“Thanks, Henry. I might take you up on that sometime.”
Cady eventually came in and got the breakfast tray, adjusted his pillows and took off the ice. She said Tess was sleeping and Trey and Trent were mapping out plans for the day.
When she left, Travis tried to relax, but thoughts kept chasing through his head and memories he’d managed to suppress raged through him. He drifted off into a troubled sleep, one that took him back to Iraq where the nightmares weren’t just dreams, but visions of his past.
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“Travis, wake up,” Trent tried to restrain Travis and wake him up at the same time. Coming in to check on him, he found Travis thrashing on the bed, lost in a nightmare.
Afraid he’d really hurt himself if they couldn’t get him to settle down, Trent stepped into the hall and called for help. He knew Travis fought his demons at night while he slept and often heard him cry out. Sometimes Trent even went into his room, wishing there was something he could do to help him, but not knowing what.
Hearing footsteps running down the hall, Trey rushed into the room followed by Cady. Tess ran in looking startled and half-awake.
“He’s having a nightmare and I’m afraid he’s going to do more damage to his legs,” Trent said as they all gathered around the bed. Travis was moving wildly, his face screwed up in pain, oblivious to anything except what has happening in his dream.
“I’ll hold his legs. Trent, take his shoulders and let’s see if we can calm him down. I think you girls better stay back, just in case,” Trey said, sitting down on the bed and gently, but firmly, putting pressure on Travis’ calves, holding them still. Trent caught Travis’ arms and quickly moved them to his sides, throwing himself across his chest, trying to hold the bucking body down. Travis yelled out and Trent felt him clench his fists.
Not certain he and Trey could hold him down, Trent thought they might have to send one of the girls to get a couple of the hands to help. Travis fought against them and then suddenly quieted.
Trent looked up to see Tess brushing her fingers across Travis’ forehead, whispering in his ear. Just like that, the storm passed.
Releasing their hold, Trey and Trent stood looking at each other then at Tess. The effect she had on Travis was nothing short of amazing.
“Thanks, Tess,” Trent said. “I was getting worried there for a minute.”
She smiled and turned to watch Travis open his eyes, disoriented. Focusing on the family standing around his bed, he remembered the accident. He recalled his dream and how, when he was in the worst of the nightmare, he felt Tess’ hand on his head, heard her voice in her ear. All the fear left, the demons went back to their dark corners, and he felt peaceful.
“Hey,” Travis said, looking at all the concerned faces. “How’s it going?”
“Okay,” Trent said, hesitantly. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Travis said, trying to figure out what was causing all the frowns. “Something wrong?”
“You were having a nightmare and we were afraid you’d hurt yourself,” Trey said, his hand on Travis’ foot. It felt unnaturally cold to his touch, so he pulled the sheet up over Travis’ legs.
Travis looked embarrassed and
they collectively watched him draw in on himself.
“Sorry,” he said, studying the floor beside his bed. Travis clenched the sheet, hoping to keep anyone from seeing his shaking hands. Sometimes the dreams made him feel wrung out and weak, sometimes he shook all over for a while, other times they made his breath come in gasps. It looked like today was a shaking dream. He tried hard to hold his legs still, but before he could stop them, shudders shook his entire body.
“Get out! Get out now!” Travis yelled, mortified by his traitorous body and his inability to control it.
Trey nodded his head and Tess and Cady left, but he and Trent stayed, each sitting down on a side of the bed.
“I didn’t mean just the girls,” Travis growled. “Leave me alone.”
“We can’t do that, bro,” Trey said, rubbing his hand gently on Travis’ leg, waiting for the trembling to stop. “You’ve nowhere to go and nothing but time, so how about you tell us what’s bothering you.”
“Nothing,” Travis said, grateful the tremors were passing.
“Nothing sure packs a wallop,” Trent said. “You’ve got to talk about what happened, Travis. Until you do, you’re going to keep on having problems. Now would be a good time to have the pastor come and we can call…”
“Get out! Just get out and leave me alone!” Travis yelled, growing more agitated by the minute.
Trey looked at Trent and he nodded toward the door. They got up and walked out, neither one saying another word to Travis.
The rest of the day was spent with Lindsay and Cady alternating care of Travis with ice packs and helping him rotate from stomach to back. Trent worked in the shop so if Travis needed some basic need taken care of, he could help. Tess had three home appointments she had to go to, so she left shortly after Travis ordered them out of his room and hadn’t yet come back.
She needed some time to process what was happening with Travis and was glad for the distraction of home visits.
Driving back to the Triple T after her final appointment, she was exhausted, worried about Travis and uncertain as to what she could do. He needed healing that went far beyond his damaged hamstrings. He was deeply scarred emotionally and mentally and until he acknowledged his need for some help, things were not going to get any better.
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