Chapter 13
LIAM
“You’re lucky you weren’t killed,” Ma chastised, as if it was my fault that the brakes went out on the car.
“I’m still alive, Ma.”
“Barely. You’re broken. Literally broken!”
“Ma—”
“Collarbone, wrist, head injury—”
“Ma—”
“Don’t bother, son. She’s not done yet,” Pop said from where he lounged in the corner of this depressing as fuck hospital room. I would hate the color Seafoam green for the rest of my life.
“What were you thinking, getting in the way of a semi?”
“I didn’t—”
“I’m not done talking,” she snapped, pacing across the room to the table beside my bed. “We taught you how to drive. You should have known better.”
Pouring a cup of water, she thrust it at my face, not giving me the option of whether or not to take it.
“That turn is always dangerous. Idiots constantly pass on the shoulder, which you should have known. Drink your water.”
“I’m not actually thirsty.”
“Just drink it,” Pop sighed. “She won’t relent.”
“And in someone else’s vehicle!” Ma shouted at the ceiling. Then she spun on me, jabbing her finger in my face. “Do you know how disgraceful it is to get in an accident in someone else’s vehicle? You know her insurance is going to go sky high. Did you think of that when you got in the accident?”
“It was my sole concern,” I retorted.
“Don’t be cute with me, young man. I have a good mind to ground you for the rest of your thirties.”
“But then how would I ever get married and have kids?” I asked.
“Well, obviously, I’d let you out for those activities, but other than that, you’re grounded. Not allowed to leave the ranch unless your father is driving.”
“Only with you,” Pop said. “How else would I know when to brake or which way to go?”
Ma spun on him, her anger now directed at my father. “Don’t be cute.”
Holding up both hands, humor danced in his eyes.
“I’m not. Hell, I don’t know how I’ve survived these past thirty years when you weren’t with me.
There was no one to tell me the speed limit, where to turn, the fastest way around town, or how much space to leave between me and the car in front of me.
It’s been a goddamn nightmare out there. ”
I rolled my head to the side, wincing as my shoulder pulled slightly. “Has she been like this the whole time?” I asked Krista.
“Nope. This is brand new for you. I can only imagine what the rest of our lives are going to be like.”
“She’ll probably put tracking software in our vehicles.”
“Oh, I already have that,” she laughed. “Pop put that in the moment I turned sixteen,” she said as Ma continued to argue with Pop.
“That’s because you always snuck out of the house.”
“Well, how else was I supposed to have any fun?”
Pop shoved to his feet and grabbed Ma gently by the arm. “Alright, I think that’s enough berating for one day. Let’s go talk to the doc and find out all the ways you can torture him over the next few months with your special brand of care.”
I nodded to my old man as he led my still-irate mother out of the room.
“Finally,” I grumbled, closing my eyes.
“You know it’s only going to get worse. Maybe you should just have Bailey move in with you for the next few months.”
That plan was already running through the back of my mind. “Why would I do that?”
“Because, otherwise, Ma will move you back into the house, and you won’t have any say in it. She’ll bathe you and pick out your clothes for you just like when you were three.”
“I’m pretty sure I could dress myself by three,” I muttered.
Now that I could relax and hear myself think without the sound of my mother’s panicked voice yelling in my ear, the pain was making itself known. At least with the distraction, I could manage the noise in my head.
They had me on some pretty good meds right now, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel any of the pain. My shoulder was stiff as hell, but it was the fracture in my clavicle that would be the real problem. Things were hard enough at the ranch without this setback.
And then there was my right wrist—in a fucking cast for the next six weeks at least. I didn’t even want to think about the bruises lining my torso. I was lucky it wasn’t worse, that the semi hadn’t been going any faster. As it was, I’d been tossed around like a pinball.
The faint squeak of the door opening clued me in that Bailey was here, but it was her scent that gave her away. The vanilla in her shampoo could only mask the faint tinge of oil in the air that followed Bailey everywhere.
I found it sexy as hell.
“And that’s me off to find our parents and make sure Ma doesn’t work Pop into an early grave,” Krista said, excusing herself from the room.
With my eyes still shut, I held my hand out, my chest easing as soon as Bailey placed her hand in mine.
“Good to see you’re still alive. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not wise to go up against a semi?” Bailey teased.
“I was really just trying to find a way to get rid of that ridiculously small car of yours.”
“You could have just asked me to trade it in.”
Finally, I peeled my eyes open and took the first look at my angel. Tension bracketed her eyes, but other than that, the small smile gracing her lips told me all I needed to know. She was okay.
For now.
“So, you did a bang-up job, it looks like. A few nice bruises to add to your handsome face.”
“It adds character.”
Jeff snorted from where he leaned against the far wall. “Like you needed more character.”
“Just a few broken bones. I was really hoping for a full body cast so you would have to wait on me hand and foot, but the doc said I didn’t do enough damage. Maybe next time,” I grinned through the pain. “Come give me a kiss.”
“Ooh, I would not recommend that,” Jeff grimaced. “Hospitals and blood…I would guess bad breath is an issue right now.”
Bailey flipped him off before leaning over the bed, being extremely gentle as she pressed a kiss to my lips. But I didn’t do a good enough job masking the pain as I shifted in my position.
“What’s wrong? What hurts?”
“Nothing,” I groaned.
“Right. You’re perfectly okay. Your face is just smooshed that way from the accident.”
There was really nothing I could say to ease her concerns. I must look like I’d been hit by a train.
“It’s just gonna take time to heal.”
“Yes, but right now, you need rest, and you won’t get that if you’re in pain.”
She spun around, stomping toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To get the nurse,” she said over her shoulder as she yanked open the door. “I’m going to have you so drugged up, you won’t know your own name.”
Jeff barked out a laugh as she swooped out in a flurry of crazy only Bailey could pull off.
But the moment she was gone, any humor I was feeling fled me. “Jeff, I need you to contact Sheriff Wynne.”
“Why? You want to see what can be salvaged?” he grinned.
“The brakes were cut. I’m sure of it.”
His demeanor went from playful to pissed off in two seconds flat. “Tell me what happened.”
“I was headed to the gas station. The car in front of me stopped, but when I hit the brakes, nothing happened. I had my foot all the way down, and…” I shook my head, my memories vague after that. “I was sideswiped as I tried to avoid a collision. The rest is a mess.”
“You’re sure?”
“What else could it be? And you fucking know Bailey wouldn’t let her vehicle go without basic maintenance. Hell, that beater of hers ran better than most new vehicles.
“Damn,” he sighed, running his hand over his jaw in thought. “But…”
“It had to be that fucker Austin. He had her cornered the other day at the shop.”
“Yeah, but that would suggest he was interested in her. Why would he—”
“Because he’s a twisted fucker. He hasn’t gone near Bailey once, but then he cornered her, and he was waiting outside her apartment when I picked her up.”
He slumped in the chair, the gravity of the information too much for him. I could see the anger and guilt in his eyes, but this wasn’t his fault.
“This is not on you.”
His head snapped up in fury. “Yeah? Then who else should we blame? That accident was my fault.”
“No, it was Clay’s fault. He got behind the wheel,” I argued. “It was a stupid fucking drag race that went wrong.”
“Still…”
There was no convincing him, so I let him stew in his anger for another minute. “I need you to get to Wynne and find proof that the brakes were tampered with.”
“And until he can prove it?”
That was a good question. “I need to get out of here.”
He snorted in amusement. “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll release you right now.”
“There’s no fucking way Bailey is going home. Not with that psycho on the loose.”
“If she goes home with you, she’s not gonna be any safer,” he argued. “How the hell are you gonna protect her with one fucking arm?”
“I can still shoot.”
“Yeah, loaded up on pain pills. And before you say anything about not taking them, you know that won’t fly with Bailey.”
“Dammit!” I shouted, hating that I was so damn immobile.
“Just tell her what’s going on. She’s a big girl. She can take it.”
“Not yet. She works with Wyatt. We can’t let it slip that we know what’s going on. Not until we have proof.”
“Even if we—”
“Just do it, Jeff—”
The door swung open, and Bailey hurried in with the nurse behind her. With the tension in the room, she instantly froze.
“What? What did I miss?”
“Just my brother being his usual charming self,” Jeff grinned.
“He was just in an accident. I think you can handle his temper for the next few hours.”
“Years, you mean,” Jeff muttered as he headed for the door. “I gotta make a call.”
Bailey rolled her eyes and walked over to me, sitting on the edge of the bed. “So, good news, as long as you’re a good boy, they’ll let you out in the morning. That’s assuming you don’t break anything else or piss off the staff.”
“I’m always very nice.”
The nurse coughed out a laugh as she typed on the computer. “Alright. The doctor said we can give you another dose of pain meds, so—”
“No pain meds.”