Page 94 of Spur of the Moment
I glanced at her as we walked the dirt path that led back to where my truck was. “Well, obviously you don’t have to say lunch. Wait, what’s wrong with lunch?”
“You really think they’re going to believe you’re taking a long enough break to go into town for lunch? Bailey, you barely give yourself a thirty second piss break in the middle of the day.”
“That’s not true,” I retorted. “All guys take at least an hour shi-”
“Okay!” She cut me off. “That’s all I need to hear.”
I smirked and knew that would be the last time I’d hear her poking fun at me about my inability to take a break during the day. My truck came into view as we cleared the trees. “Do you need anything from inside?”
She shook her head. “We won't be gone long.”
I hoped she was right.
Callan was instructing a lesson in the covered arena, a young boy who looked to be about twelve bouncing atop one of their older lesson horses as he trotted. “Where are you guys going?” Cal called over.
Lettie turned, her face red. “Gotta help his dad unclog the toilet!”
I fought to hold back the laughter that wanted to erupt out of me. Opening her passenger door, she got in and saw the look on my face. “What if he asked us to bring him back some food or something?” she asked.
A chuckle escaped as I said, “You’re right. He definitely won’t be asking for anything from us after we unclog my dad’s toilet.”
An image of Lettie in a house, doing daily chores like dishes or mopping, crossed my mind as I rounded the truck to get behind the wheel. I could see us in our home, a couple of babies, Lettie’s hair in a bun wearing the same clothes from two days ago, and me coming in from working on the ranch. She’d complain about the dirt on the freshly mopped floor, but I’d pull her into my arms, thankful for another day coming home to her. Lettie was my home. The woman I looked forward to seeing every damn day. I was so lucky to have her.
I’d get hurt by Lettie Bronson a million more times in this lifetime if it led me to being right here, where I was right now. With her by my side, just an arm’s length away.
48
Lettie
My forehead pressed to the cool glass of the passenger window as Bailey drove into town. To my surprise, he wasn’t driving like a bat out of hell to get to the hospital. In my mind, this wasn’t exactly an emergency, but I’d been avoiding the tell-tale signs of low iron for far too long. I’d been pushing my body to its limit working on the barn, going on the road trip, and forgetting to take my iron for a few days.
When I was in Boise, I’d have to get my levels checked every so often, and once, it had ended up in me needing to get an iron transfusion. As scary as they sounded, they weren’t all that terrible - as long as you didn’t look at the IV full of basically black liquid.
I hadn’t told my family about the transfusion because I had the feeling that if they knew, they’d want me to come home.Not wanting to cause them to worry more than they already probably were, I’d kept quiet.
Going through health problems and not being able to talk to anyone about it was a lonely way to live life. I’d debated going to a therapist, but felt pathetic spilling my issues to a stranger, so I didn’t.
Bailey rolled to a stop at the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green. I glanced over at him, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on my thigh. Because of him, I could let my guard down and be open about how I felt and my medical issues. He cared for me, but not in the way that suffocated me like so many others did. He gave me the space I needed while also being by my side.
Bailey was my lifeboat in the sea of waves that crashed against me, making me want to fold in on myself. When the waters were rocky, he threw me a life jacket, keeping me afloat. I was no longer alone.
A few minutes later, he pulled into the emergency room parking lot, finding a space in the front. The lot was mostly empty. That was one of the perks with small towns. Nowhere was ever too busy.
He came around and opened my passenger door, offering his hand to help me out. I took it, folding my fingers around his, and didn’t let go once I was on the ground. The uncertainty of what was about to happen made me want to keep him close, his presence grounding me to the earth.
He closed the door, locking the truck, and we began our short walk to the daunting emergency room doors. I wish they had a “slightly urgent” room instead. The word emergency was intimidating in itself. Add a multiple story building full of doctors and medical equipment, and you couldn’t help but feel the nerves settle in.
Before we reached the doors, Bailey stopped me, turning to pull me into his arms. My cheek rested against his chest as my arms wrapped around his torso. His lips brushed the top of my head as he gave me a soft kiss.
“We’ll be out before you know it, Lettie. Deep breaths,” he mumbled against my hair.
I inhaled deeply, feeling my heart practically beating out of my chest. At this point, I couldn’t tell if it was from the low iron or the anxiety of walking through those doors.
I didn’t miss how he saidwe’dbe out. This wasn’t just happening to me anymore. This was the two of us, in this together. Bailey put the “in sickness and in health” into our relationship before he even asked me to marry him, and that’s why I loved him. He wanted me regardless of all the times I’d tried to push him away, despite all the years spent apart.
I pulled back, placing my hand back in his. As soon as we walked through the sliding glass doors, the smell of disinfectant and rubbing alcohol burned my nose. My body instantly went on alert with all my past experiences in the hospital racing through my mind in a blur.
We walked right up to the counter, the lady at the desk looking up at me from where she sat. She had white-rimmed glasses on, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and long, sparkly pink nails. “Medical card and ID, please.”
