“Yes,” I replied.
After we had that awkward moment out of the way, she repeated all of the questions I had answered on the sheet and Ryker answered them. Why the hell did they have me fill the sheet out if she was just going to ask them again?
“All right.” She typed on her keyboard, her head down. “We’re going to take Ryker for a few x-rays to see if we can figure out if it’s broken or not.” She logged out of the computer and pushed the keyboard under the desk. “Did you want your mo—I mean did you want your aunt to come with?”
“Um, I think I can manage on my own if that’s all right?” he asked, looking at me.
“It’s whatever you want, Ry.” Did I want to go with him? Yes. Was I going to force him to come? No. He was sixteen after all, and he was going to be gone ten minutes. “I’ll go check on Molly while you’re gone.”
The nurse brought in a wheelchair and rolled Ryker out of the room and down the hallway.
I managed to find my way back to the waiting room without getting lost and saw Molly and Kellan waiting. “Hey,” I mumbled.
Kellan stood up and strode over to me. “How’s he doing?”
I wiped my hands on my pants and shrugged. “They just took him back for x-rays. The doctor won’t see him until after. He seems to be doing okay, though.”
“Hey.” I spun around and saw Tate walk into the waiting room. Holy shit. What was he doing here? He looked good, like he always did, and his eyes scanned me from head to toe. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, um, well,” I sputtered. “X-rays. Fine.” Jesus Christ. I was the fucking Rain Man.
Tate smirked, and all I wanted to do was kiss that cocky look right off of his face.
“He hasn’t seen the doctor yet. They just took him back for x-rays,” Molly fully explained.
Tate nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. “He really break it trying to do a cheat three sixty?”
Kellan laughed and put his arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Yeah. He’s gonna catch hell for years for this.”
“Damn kid could do those in his sleep,” Tate said, shaking his head.
“He, uh, said his shoe got stuck,” I put in. I felt I needed to defend Ryker as much as I could. Was he an idiot for what happened? Yes. But I was the only one who could say that.
Tate smirked. “Been there.”
“Mol and I are going to go check out the cafeteria. You wanna come with?” Kellan asked Tate.
“Nah, I’ll stay here and wait to hear about Ry.”
Kellan and Molly headed towards swinging doors which lead to the cafeteria and left me alone with Tate.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer this morning. I was in the shower.”
I nodded and looked at the floor. “It’s okay. I figured it out.”
He stepped towards me, and I held up my hand. “Not here,” I whispered.
“Hadley, no one is here.”
I looked around and saw the nurse wasn’t even behind the front desk. “I can’t risk it, Tate. Ryker is hurt, and I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
“You’re doing exactly what you should be doing, sweetheart. You’re doing just fine.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and paced back and forth. “Ryker having a broken arm and you showing up in the waiting room is not fine.”
“Hadley, if you want me to leave, I will. I came because I thought I could help, not to upset you even more.”
My shoulders sagged, and I stared down at the floor. “No, I don’t want you to leave. I called you because I needed your help, but now that you’re here, I’m just worried about Ryker seeing us together.”
“I’m not going to have sex with you in front of him, Hadley. I’m not sure what you’re afraid of. As far as he’ll know, Molly called Kellan, and I tagged along to make sure he was okay.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Are you sure you can control yourself?”
“It’s been touch and go since I got here, but I think I can keep a handle on it as long as you let me kiss you.”
My head popped up, and my jaw dropped. “Tate,” I hissed. “You’re incorrigible.”
He moved towards me, and I froze. I didn’t want him to kiss me, but I wasn’t going to do anything to stop him.
His fingers threaded through my hair, he tilted my head back, and his lips were on mine. It was a deep, rough, and wet kiss. It had only been hours since I had last felt his kiss, but it felt like days. Whenever he touched me, my body sang, and everything floated away. “Tate,” I gasped against his mouth.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. “I’m really sorry I didn’t answer the phone. I would have been there for you.”
“I know.” And I did know. I knew he would have dropped whatever he had been doing to help me if I had asked. “Thank you for coming.”
“Holy fuck.”
Tate and I jumped, and I stumbled, falling into a chair. “Jesus Christ, Roman. You think you could not sneak up on people like that?” Tate ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more than from my fingers running through it.
Roman looked around. “Last I checked, this was a public waiting room in the fucking ER. I didn’t know I needed to announce myself.”
Tate moved in front of me, blocking me from Roman. “Molly and Kellan are at the cafeteria. Why don’t you go find them?”
He sidestepped Tate and looked down at me. “Because I wanna hear the story of how you managed to find your waitress here.”
He had no idea I was Ryker’s aunt. Shit. This was not how I wanted people to find out about Tate and me. Hell, I wanted no one to know about Tate and me.
“Her name is Hadley,” Tate bit off.
Roman’s eyes shot to Tate. “You mean like Aunt Haddie?”
I gulped and closed my eyes. Roman wasn’t as stupid as he looked.
“How the hell did you put those two together so quickly? Kellan, Dante, and I were shocked as hell.”
Roman shrugged. “You had to think his aunt couldn’t be that old. He mentioned his mom was in her thirties when she passed away, and that his aunt was younger.”
Tate looked over his shoulder at me. “I really need to start listening better.”
I smothered a laugh. “Obviously.”
“You didn’t, by chance, bring your friend with you, did you?” Roman asked me.
“Vanessa?”
“Yeah, is she hiding somewhere?” Roman looked around again, anxiously looking for Vanessa.
“And we’re back to dumbass Roman,” Tate mumbled.
A nurse peeked her head out from behind the swinging door. “He’s back in his room if you want to come back in.”
“I, um…”
Tate turned around. “Go see to Ryker, sweetheart.”
“But what about?” I motioned to Roman who was checking out the nurse.
Tate shook his head and sighed. “I’ll let him know he needs to keep his mouth shut about you and me. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” I murmured. I followed the nurse to Ryker’s room leaving Tate to deal with Roman.
“Hey, bud,” I beamed walking into Ryker’s room. His face was even paler than before, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead. “Are you okay?”
The nurse sat down in the chair in front of the computer. “X-rays are always a little tough. The way he broke it, we had to bend his arm to get a good picture of it.”
“What? You had to hurt him?” I demanded.
“Haddie, I’m fine.”
“Ryker,” I chided. “You look like you are about to pass out, and you sure didn’t look that way when I left.”
Ryker laid down on the exam table and closed his eyes. “Haddie, take a pill,” he groaned.
I brushed his hair back from his face and pressed a hand to his forehead. “What’s wrong with him?” I asked frantically.
“On a scale from one to ten, what is your pain level?” the nurse asked.
&nb
sp; “Nine,” Ryker croaked.
“I’ll get some pain meds on board, and that should help bring down the pain. The doctor should be in here soon once the x-rays are ready.” She slid the keyboard under the desk and stood up. “Hang tight, and I’ll get some meds.” She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
“Haddie, would you stop staring at me?” Ryker had his eyes closed, and a small smile played on his lips.
“Your eyes are shut.”
“I can still feel you being all overprotective over me. Mom used to do the same thing.”
I sighed and sat down on the chair next to the bed. “It’s what I should be doing, Ry. Someone needs to worry about you.”
“I’m going to be fine.”
“I should be the one telling you that, not the other way around.” Ryker groaned, and I shot up from my chair. “What’s wrong, are you okay?”
Ryker cracked open and eye and looked up at me. “Yeah, I just tried to move my arm. I forgot I broke it.” A smirk spread across his lips, and he chuckled. “Funny how that works.”
“Well, stop moving, please,” I ordered. I collapsed back in the chair and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only half past twelve, but it felt like midnight.
I was going to have to call Rick and tell him I wasn’t going to be able to work tonight. He was going to throw a shit fit, but I couldn’t leave Ryker alone with a freshly broken arm.
A knock sounded on the door, and then a tall, well-built man in a white coat strode into the room. “Hi, I’m Dr. Scott. I hear someone might have broken their arm?” He looked from Ryker to me and smiled. “I’m going to go with the one laying on the bed being Ryker. Am I right?”
Not only was he good looking, but he also had a bit of a sense of humor. I stood up and held out my hand to him. “Yes, that’s right. I’m Hadley, his aunt.” He gently shook it, and turned to the small sink.
“Oh, is his mother at work?” he asked as he washed his hands.
“She’d dead,” Ryker croaked.
I gasped and covered my mouth. Jesus Christ. “Ryker,” I hissed.
He turned his head to look at me and opened one eye. “What? She is.”
“I’m really sorry,” I apologized to the doctor. “His mother passed away a bit ago, and we’re still adjusting.”
“Not me,” Ryker drawled. “I’m adjusted to the fact that Hadley is my guardian, and I’m happy. Also, she doesn’t beat me, and I don’t feel threatened. The nurse went over all of that. Now, can you give me some pills and look to see if my arm is broken instead of discussing my life?”
The doctor cleared his throat and picked up the file he had set down. “Well, let’s have a look at the x-rays, and then the nurse should be in with something to help with the pain.” He clipped three x-rays to a light box and turned it on. “If you look right here, you can see the break.” He pointed with the end of a pencil and traced a jagged line by Ryker’s elbow.
“So he broke his elbow?” I asked.
“Yes, and no. It’s not technically his elbow, but it’s damn close.” He flipped off the light and sat on the stool. “It should take about six weeks to heal, but you’re going to need to see an ortho to get the casting done. I would recommend waiting a day or two to let the swelling go down some.” He scooted to the edge of the table where Ryker was lying and felt his arm.
He prodded around, pushing and pulling, the whole time Ryker grunting and groaning. “So what do we do until we see the ortho doctor?” I asked.
The doctor spun on the stool and pulled the tray out with the keyboard on it. “We’ll put him in a temporary cast right now, which should hold him over until he gets the full cast on. Tonight and tomorrow, just keep it elevated, and don’t do anything strenuous. Make an appointment for Monday out front with Dr. Kenko over in Rockton. We don’t have an ortho in Falls City, unfortunately.”
Of course, they didn’t. Now I also had to worry about figuring out how the hell I was going to get to Rockton which was forty-five minutes away.
The nurse lightly knocked on the door, entered, and handed Ryker some pills that he downed in a matter of seconds.
“Did you have any questions for me?” Dr. Scott asked.
“Um, do you know how long he’ll have to have the cast on?” I asked.
“More than likely six to eight weeks. Once you see the ortho, you’ll know more.” Dr. Scott stood, shook my hand, and then disappeared out of the room.
“I’ll grab everything I need for the temporary cast, and then we’ll get you all wrapped up.” The nurse said as she patted Ryker’s leg and followed the doctor out.
I plopped back down in the chair and sighed. This was going to be the longest six to eight weeks of my life.
**********
Tate
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not driving your truck.”
I pushed the keys into Hadley’s hand. “Yes, you are. You need to get to work, and I can stay with Ryker until you get home.”
Hadley shook her head and tossed the keys at me. They bounced off my chest and landed at my feet. “No way. I can’t drive your car. I’ll break it.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “It’s a Range Rover, Hadley. It’s meant to be taken off-road and roughed up. I think it can handle you driving back and forth from the club.”
She stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll call Vanessa to pick me up.”
“Hadley, you have to be to work in ten minutes. You know that Vanessa is already there.”
“Why are you doing this?” she hissed at me.
I glanced down the hallway to Ryker’s room and moved into Hadley’s space. “Because you need help, and you’re too damn stubborn to ask for it.”
“I don’t need help!”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at her. “Yes, you do. I heard you telling Molly that you can’t afford to miss work, but you didn’t know what you were going to do about Ryker. That’s why I’m here.”
“That’s fine, but it doesn’t mean that I need to drive your truck which is more expensive than this house.”
“Now, that is an over exaggeration.” The Rover wasn’t cheap, but it damn sure didn’t cost more than her house. I picked the keys up from off of the floor and grabbed her hand. “It’s my truck, and I can do whatever I want with it. And I want you to drive it.”
“Why can’t you just agree with me one time?” she asked, exasperated.
“I do agree with you when you’re right, sweetheart. Right now just so happens to be one of those times that I don’t agree.”
She grabbed the keys out of my hand and stomped to the door. “I hope you have insurance,” she grumbled. She grabbed her purse and heels off the floor and glared at me over her shoulder.
“Full coverage, Hadley. Don’t worry about the truck. It’s just a truck.” I loved my Land Rover, but I wasn’t one of those guys who were so attached to their car that they didn’t let anyone else drive it. I grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Don’t worry about Ryker and me. I have everything under control.”
She sighed and tugged her hand away. “Not like you’re giving me much choice.”
I snagged her around the waist and pulled her flush against my chest. “Sometimes you just need to let people in and let them help you, Hadley.”
“And that someone is you and your friends?”
I brushed her hair back from her face and pressed a kissed to her lips. “They’re your friends too.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t have time to argue about this. I’m taking your truck under protest and only because you aren’t giving me a choice.” She pulled out of my arms and stormed out the front door.
Well, that wasn’t exactly how I had planned on that going, but she at least took my truck and was only going to be a few minutes late to work.
Kellan and Roman were on the way over with pizza, and Dante was going to swing by wh
en he was done doing whatever secretive something he had going on tonight.
Ryker had taken another pain pill when they got home and he was passed out in his bed. That had been over two hours ago, and all I had to do now was wait for him to wake up.
After Hadley had disappeared to the exam room with Ryker, I had to deal with Roman’s dumbass and explain to him why the hell he needed to keep his mouth shut. As much as I agreed with his argument that Ryker really wouldn’t care if I was dating Hadley, I told him he needed to shut the hell up, and that I would let him know when he could say something.
Kellan and Molly had come back to the waiting room with sub-par lunch from the hospital cafeteria, and we had hung out waiting for Ryker to get all wrapped up.
Molly had tried to talk Hadley into taking her car until she was able to get hers fixed, but Hadley had firmly declined and had insisted they were going to be fine without it. I didn’t know how she thought that, especially after she told us she was going to have to take Ryker to Rockton to get his full cast. Hadley needed help, and she was too stubborn to ask for it.
She had it in her head that she was going to be able to do everything on her own, when in reality, she didn’t need to. Not only did she have me to help, she also had my friends, who I knew would do anything for her.
“Did she finally agree to take your truck, or is she walking?” Ryker shuffled into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
“She took my truck.”
He nodded and pulled out a half-gallon of milk. “Good.”
I sat down at the table and paged through a karate supply magazine. “You need anything?”
He shook his head, then drank from the carton of milk. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and put it back in the fridge. “Just hungry.”
“Roman and Kellan are coming over with pizza and to hang out.”
He pulled out a chair next to me and gingerly sat down. “It’s crazy how just walking can jar your arm,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, you don’t appreciate having two arms until you don’t have one.”
Ryker leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “Think I can get out of going to school?”
Love on the Mat (Powerhouse M.A.) Page 14
