Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
brADY
I ’ve never been so fucking pissed off in my life.
I can hear the goddamn doctor talking to Abbi, and if I wasn’t seeing two of him, I’d punch him in the mouth.
“Give me the phone,” I growl.
“As his emergency contact,” he continues, as if I didn’t say anything at all, “I need to let you know that Brady’s suffered an injury. He has a concussion, and he separated his shoulder again.”
“Let me fucking talk to her,” I say, louder this time. Jesus, I didn’t even have time to tell her that I added her as my emergency contact. And this phone call is going to scare the fuck out of her. “Doc, I swear to God, if you don’t hand me that phone…”
“Yes, he’s going to be fine,” he says, not looking at me.
“Calm down,” Dan, a fellow rider, says. He’s standing next to me, and I glare up at him. “You know this is how they do it. If you didn’t want her called, you shouldn’t have listed her as the fucking emergency contact.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t plan on getting hurt.”
Dan scoffs at that. We all get hurt, all the time.
But I forgot to tell her, and that makes me feel like a son of a bitch.
Finally, the doctor hangs up the phone.
“You didn’t let me talk to her.” But my phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call, and I immediately answer. “Baby, I’m okay.”
“Brady?” Her eyes are wide with worry and fear. “My God, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m going to be just fine,” I tell her. Sure, it hurts like hell now, and I feel like I’m going to throw up, but I’ll heal from this.
I always do.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I added you as my emergency contact. It totally slipped my mind.”
“It’s okay,” she assures me, holding the phone close to her, as if she wants to wrap her arms around me and hold on.
Not gonna lie, I could use that right now.
After I’m done throwing up.
“Hey, don’t scare her like that.” My sister nudges her way onto the screen. “You gonna live, big brother?”
“Looks that way, but I can’t fly home.” I wince as the nausea rolls through me. “Not with a concussion.”
“I’m coming to get you,” Abbi announces. “I’ll leave right now. Millie, you stay with Daisy.”
“You can’t,” Millie interrupts her. “Honey, you have so much to take care of for work, remember? The shittastic day you just had?”
Abbi sighs and closes her eyes. What shittastic day? What the fuck happened at home while I was gone, getting pulverized by a pissed-off bull?
“You stay here,” Millie continues, “and I’ll leave right now to get him. He’s eight hours away, so if I leave now, I’ll be there by morning.”
“I don’t want you driving overnight by yourself,” I tell her, getting her attention. “Mill, call one of the brothers and have them come with you.”
“I’ll take care of it,” she tells me. “Don’t worry about me. Go find a soft spot somewhere and start recovering. Send me the address of where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Brady,” Abbi says, her face coming back on screen. It absolutely destroys me to see the tears in her eyes and the fear on her face. “I want to come get you so bad. If it were literally any other day, I would drop everything?—”
“Baby,” I interrupt her, keeping my voice calm and soothing. Jesus, I need to get off the phone. “It’s okay. Millie will take care of it, and I’ll see you before dinner tomorrow. Don’t worry about me, okay?”
“Uh, not gonna happen, Cowboy.” She tries to smile. “Do everything they tell you to do. Don’t be stubborn. Hydrate.”
“Yes, ma’am.” God, she’s fucking adorable. “I’ll see you soon. I’ll call you in the morning and keep you posted on our drive back, okay?”
“Yeah.” She licks her lips. “Yes, please do that because I’m going to be a nervous wreck. I love you so much.”
“I love you, Blue Eyes. Don’t worry so much. I’m fine. ”
“Text me the info,” Millie reminds me. “I’m on my way.”
“Call Chase or Rem to come with you,” I instruct her again, but she just rolls her eyes.
“Don’t worry about this. Hang tight. I’ll keep you posted.”
She clicks off, and I reach for the barf bag and let my stomach empty itself.
“I have anti-nausea pills for you,” Doc says. “Take them every six hours as needed. Tylenol for the headache. Get some rest. It’s not a severe concussion, so you can safely sleep. I recommend you go back to the hotel and rest until your sister gets here.”
“I’ll help him back to the hotel,” Dan says. “Come on, buddy.”
“I fucking hate all of this.”
The hotel is nearby, and once in my room, I take the Tylenol, press an ice pack to my shoulder, and call my agent.
I need a shower, but I want the ice more, and I can talk to Sandy while I ice down.
“Hey, Brady,” she says. “It’s late.”
“Not in Wyoming,” I reply. “I want to retire today. ”
She’s quiet for a moment, obviously stunned speechless. “What happened?”
“Nothing that hasn’t happened before, but damn it, I’m over the fucking concussions and torn shoulder. And I terrified my girl tonight. I’m over it. I’m ready to be done.”
“Brady,” she says with a sigh. “You can’t just quit. Here’s the thing, I understand that you’re ready to retire, and I don’t blame you. Your poor body has taken one hell of a beating over the years. But you’re under a contract, and you have sponsorships.”
“None of which say that I don’t get paid if I get injured and have to step back.”
“If it’s a career-ending injury, yes. But no doctor is going to say that this is career-ending. Am I wrong?”
I close my eyes, so fucking frustrated that I want to punch my fist through the wall.
“No. They wouldn’t sign off on that.”
“So, here’s what you’re going to do. Are you listening to me?”
“I’m here.”
“You’re going to take the next few weeks off, or however long you were told you need to heal, and then you’re going to finish out this season. If you win, you get one hell of a fucking bonus, but either way, you’re going to finish it. We’ll announce the day after championships that you’re retiring, and you’ll get the big party and induction into the hall of fame, and more sponsorships because brands eat that shit up. I’m setting you and your family up for the rest of your life here.”
“How do you know that I have a family?”
“Because the Brady I’ve worked with for more than a decade would not willingly quit. I figure there’s a woman involved here, and you’re the one who mentioned her in the first place. That concussion is fucking with you.”
I blow out a breath but don’t confirm or deny.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m your voice of reason here, honey. I don’t need the money. I want you to remember all the hard work you’ve put in, all the beatings you’ve taken, and how much you love getting on that bull, and then tell me that you want to quit.”
She’s right. I don’t ever want to quit, but seeing how torn up Abbi was broke my fucking heart.
I can’t love her as much as I do and continue to put her through this much worry. But I don’t want to quit.
I can’t quit.
“Okay,” I say at last. “I’ll finish it. The doctor said I need three weeks for the head and the shoulder to be okay enough to ride again.”
“Then you take those three weeks. I’ll put you on the injured list, and we’ll reevaluate you before you get back into the arena to make sure you’re healthy enough. Don’t rush it, Brady. I want you healthy for the rest of the season.”
“Thanks, Sandy. I’ll be in touch.”
“See that you are.”
She hangs up, and I toss the phone onto the bed before walking into the bathroom for that shower.
For the first time in my life, I hate my job.
My head is pounding again by the time we get to the townhouse. Millie was a stubborn ass who didn’t have one of the brothers go with her, and she got an earful when she arrived.
Not that she cared.
My sister is so fucking stubborn, she drives me nuts.
But I’m home, and that’s all that matters.
“I’ve got your bag,” Millie says as we climb out of her truck. “You go on inside.”
“This is one time that I’ll take you up on that.”
I open the front door and already feel better. Abbi’s head pops up from the kitchen, and then she’s sprinting toward me, but comes to an abrupt stop about two feet away.
“Why’d you stop?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Get over here.” My voice is deep, and my good arm is open wide as she steps gingerly into my embrace and lays her ear against my chest, listening to my heart as I hug her close. “I promise, I’m okay. Nothing that a couple of weeks of rest won’t heal.”
“Scared the shit out of me,” she whispers before pressing a kiss over my heart and then stares up at me with wet blue eyes. “Don’t you dare do that to me again, Brady Wild.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I grin and kiss the top of her head. “Where’s Daisy?”
“I’m here.” We turn to the stairs where Daisy’s grinning, but my eyes narrow in on the brace on her right wrist.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Swear jar,” Daisy announces, but I ignore her and hurry over to where she stands on the fourth step from the bottom, my heart in my goddamn throat.
“What happened?” I repeat, frowning into her sweet face.
“I fell off of Good Girl yesterday.” She shows me her brace.
I whirl to Abbi, and it makes me dizzy for half of a second. Millie’s coming in with my bags.
“Why didn’t you tell me that she got hurt?”
“Because you got hurt, too.” Abbi props her hands on her hips. “And I didn’t want to tell you before you rode because you would be distracted. It’s not broken. If it had been broken, or if something worse had happened, I definitely would have told you.”
I narrow my eyes on her and then turn back to Daisy and cup her little face in my good hand.
“How do you feel today, Princess?”
“It’s sore,” she says. “But Mommy gave me medicine. We match!”
I look down at the sling that I’m wearing and then smile at her. “Looks like we do. Your mom has her hands full with us.”
“And her broken washing machine,” Daisy adds.
Now I slowly turn back to look at my woman, who’s biting her lip. Millie’s laughing her ass off.
“I have to get over to the coffee shop,” Millie says and hugs Abbi close. “Don’t worry, he was his grouchy, annoying self all the way home. Totally fine. Call me if you need me.”
She grins at me, and then she’s off.
“What happened to the washing machine, Abs?” And why the hell don’t I know about any of this?
“One of the big machines at the shop broke and leaked water everywhere.” She sighs, and I can see the fatigue in every line of her gorgeous body. “Come on, let’s have the tacos I made, and I’ll fill you in on everything. And I want to hear about what happened yesterday, too.”
“That’s fair.” I pick Daisy up with my good arm and kiss her cheek, making her grin, and carry her to a stool at the kitchen island. When she’s seated, I bury my nose in her hair and breathe her in. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Daisy agrees as Abbi fixes her plate. I wander around the island, into the kitchen, and do the same for myself, having a hell of a time doing it one-handed.
“I can do that for you.” Abbi moves in to reach for the spoon I’m holding.
God, she looks so tense. Every muscle in her body is tight, and her jaw is clenched, so once she’s set Daisy’s plate in front of her, I take the spoon from her, set it aside, and just pull Abbi to me, hugging her close and rocking her back and forth.
“Let it go,” I whisper into her hair and feel her sag against me. “Let it go, baby. Everything’s okay.”
She lets out a sob, and then she’s crying in earnest, clinging to me almost desperately. I look over at Daisy, who hasn’t touched her taco and is watching us with serious brown eyes.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, still looking at Daisy so she knows that I’m talking to her, too. I nod at her reassuringly, and Daisy’s lips tip up into a hesitant smile. “Your mama’s just overwhelmed, sweetie. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Abbi cries against me, sniffling. “It’s just been the worst two days of my life. Or, at least, close to that. And then I got that call last night, and I?—”
“They shouldn’t have called you.” I kiss her head again and rub my hand up and down her back. “It wasn’t that serious.”
“Yes, it was,” she disagrees, “and they should have called, but I’d just gotten home from the hospital with Daisy, and it was just bad timing. I didn’t handle it well, and I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.”
“Yes, I do.” She pulls back and stares up at me with tears running down her sweet cheeks, and it makes my heart ache. “Because you don’t need me to be hysterical when you’re hurt. I need to be the strong one. I need to pull my weight when you can’t.”
“You’re allowed to be scared and worried,” I remind her. “And it’s okay to cry. I’m just fine.”
She nods and wipes at her tears. “I’m not very hungry. I’ll fill you in while you eat.”
I don’t like that she’s not going to eat with us, but I’ll get something in her later. So, I finish building my taco and sit next to Daisy. Before I pick up my dinner, I lean over and kiss Daisy’s head, breathing in her fresh shampoo once more, as if to reassure myself that the kiddo really is safe and sound.
I hate that she got hurt when I wasn’t here to help.
“Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” she says and bites into her taco.
“Tell me what happened yesterday,” I say to Abbi as I pick up my taco and take a bite.
“Well, it all started with a freaking nightmare. Then the stupid washing machine.” She tells me about finding the flood in her shop and the plumber coming out to take a look. Having to wait for days for parts and then getting the call about Daisy. “I knew she was going to be okay. Lucky didn’t sound panicked at all, and I knew that if something catastrophic had happened, Erin would have either called an ambulance or brought her into town herself. So, I didn’t panic. I really just felt bad that she hurt herself.”
“Falling off of a horse hurts,” I say, turning to the little girl, who nods. “They’re really tall.”
“I know ,” she says. “It felt like I fell forever. And then I reached out with my hand and owie. ”
I nod, understanding all too well what that feels like.
My shoulder twinges at the memory.
“Dr. Blackwell was great,” Abbi continues.
“I think he liked Mommy,” Daisy adds.
“Why do you think that?” I ask as Abbi bites her lip. My eyes narrow on her.
“Because he asked her if she really was with you . He smiled at her a lot. He liked her. But I told him that you’re our Brady, and he was okay with it.”
“Why do you sound so grown up?” Abbi asks her.
“Blake Blackwell hit on you ?”
“Stand down, Cowboy. I only have eyes for you.” She smirks and then pulls a piece of meat out of the bowl and pops it into her mouth. “He was nice and totally fine when I assured him that I am, in fact, in a committed relationship.”
“Good.”
“So, all of this was happening, and I still had laundry piling up at the shop, and my original plan of bringing Daisy back with me while I did it was thwarted because she needed to be at home to rest, so I decided to do it all here. I called Millie and asked for her help, and she was awesome about it. But just before I was about to head out the door to collect said laundry, I got the call.”
Her gaze falls to the countertop, and the smile from a moment ago is gone.
“And it scared ten years off my life.” She clears her throat. “I had a sinking feeling in my gut all day. Like something bad was going to happen, and it was driving me nuts. After each thing, I’d think, was that the thing? But no, the feeling never left. I guess things happen in threes. Four, this time, if you count the nightmare.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“It’s not your fault. Okay, your turn. What the heck happened out there?”
“Yeah,” Daisy echoes. “What happened?”
I push my empty plate away. “Can we sit in the living room? It’s more comfortable.”
“Oh! Of course. Do you need some ice for that shoulder?”
“That would be good.”
“I need ice, too, Mama,” Daisy says, and for the next ten minutes, Abbi gets us situated in the living room with ice packs. “Sit with me, Brady.”
Daisy snuggles up with me on the couch, and Abbi sits across from us in the rocking chair. It’s then it hits me that I’m so relieved to be home.
“Okay, tell us the story,” Abbi says.
“Well, it all started with a bull.” I grin at her, but she doesn’t smile back. “I didn’t have my rope with me. I forgot it in the truck, so I had to use someone else’s.”
“All of this because of a rope ?” Abbi demands.
“We have routines. I have a rope that I prefer. I feel confident in how it feels in my hand. It’s familiar.”
“Okay, I get that.”
“I knew as soon as that chute opened that it wasn’t going to be a good ride. You always know. I was right. I made it just under five seconds before I lost my grip and was thrown off. I couldn’t roll the way I wanted, and my shoulder and head took the brunt of it. Knocked me out for a second, and the cowboys had to pull me out of the way of the bull.”
Abbi covers her face with her hands. This is why I don’t ever want her near an arena. She doesn’t need to see that.
“Still,” she says after taking a breath, “five seconds is a long time.”
“Anything less than eight seconds is failure,” I reply, sounding harsher than I mean to. “My standings are still fine for now, but I’m not happy. I have to sit out for at least three weeks.”
“ Only three weeks?” she asks.
“You don’t get it. I’m not even allowed to practice for those three weeks while I heal. I’ll be rusty, and my body won’t know what to do. This isn’t good.”
“Muscle memory is a thing,” she reminds me.
Daisy’s snoring against me, and I grin at Abbi. “We bored her.”
“She’s tired. She was uncomfortable all night with that brace on.”
I frown and kiss Daisy’s head. “In the future, if either of you gets hurt while I’m gone, I want to know immediately. ”
“Brady—”
“No argument. You two are my world, and if something’s wrong, I need to know. Not after I ride and not the next day. Understand?”
She lets out a gusty breath but reluctantly nods. “Yeah.”
“And if you have a bad feeling, just talk to me, baby.”
“I already felt like I was too needy yesterday, texting you all day.”
“You’re never too much. I want to know what’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours. I’m always available to you, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.”
She smiles softly. “Thank you.”
“Now, tell me about the nightmare.”
Her eyes widen, and she almost shrinks into herself, against the chair.
“Baby, tell me.”
She swallows hard. “There was a home I was in that refused to let me eat.”
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
“Because I’m fat,” she continues softly so she doesn’t wake Daisy.
“You are not fat.”
“I’ve always been curvy, to different degrees. I’m bigger now because of being pregnant with Daisy and hormones, but anyway, I was a larger kid. And this particular house didn’t like it. So, they withheld food. Oh, and I wasn’t allowed to use towels in the bathroom.”
It takes me a second to wade through the red-hot fury swimming in my head before I understand her last sentence.
“Wait, what? What in the hell were you supposed to use?”
“My clothes.” She shrugs, her eyes so fucking sad that I want to pull her close to me. But I have Daisy in my arms.
“Abbi.” I clear my throat. “You will never have to worry about anything like that ever again. Never.”
“I know,” she says with a nod.
“Even if something happened to us , I would make sure that you’re safe and taken care of.”
Her throat works as she fights tears. “I know that it’s all in the past. It just fucks with me. And then I woke up in a strange place, and?—”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I woke you up in a drunken stupor six hours before that.” She tries to smile at me. “You were working and needed to sleep.”
“You’re always the most important thing.”
“I love you, too. Okay, enough about that. So, we get you for three whole uninterrupted weeks?”
“Looks that way.”
“I’m not mad about that.”