Page 23 of Wild For You
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“You heard the doctor,” Kelsey needlessly reminded him, as she maneuvered my crutches out of her car. It’d taken about ten minutes of strategic angles and twisting before they fit properly in her vehicle.
“Of course I heard him. That doesn’t mean I’m going to listen.”
“Andrew,” she said sternly, and I turned to find her with her fists resting on her hips. It was the first time I heard her raise her voice. “You have to keep wearing the brace, even if your knee is improving. Otherwise, the exercises are all for nothing.”
“The doctor is a quack anyway. What does he know?”
“The doctor was someone you went to school with, and you’re only mad because he asked me out on a date in the middle of the appointment.”
“What kind of doctor flirts with the patient’s caretaker? A quack, that’s who.”
I was getting worked up, remembering how Dr. Cromer hung on every word out of Kelsey’s mouth and blatantly asked her to go out with him. What a fucking douche. Though, I didn’t hide my smug look when she declined, albeit politely mentioning she had just gotten out of a “serious relationship.”
The doctor had the nerve to appear forlorn, but at least he spent the rest of the appointment focusing on me—his patient—and not Kelsey.
Now, Kelsey made an unintelligible sound under her breath, but I decide to ignore it, since I was already cranky from the appointment. I hoisted myself out of the car by gripping the frame, unwilling to wait for her to help. She made quick work of grabbing the crutches as I nodded toward a passing group of women walking by. I wasn’t about to wave in their direction. That would incite their desire to come over and chat, and that was the furthest thing I wanted. But of course, Kelsey thought otherwise.
As I situated the crutches under my arms, she met the group at the end of the driveway and started yakking. I wasn’t sure what they were discussing, but her hands flew around her body like little birds flapping about. I waited about ten seconds longer than I wanted before leaving her with the troupe and heading inside.
I played football in high school, so I’d been on crutches a time or two, but trying to keep my leg straight while going upa set of stairs using the devices took some tricky maneuvering. Luckily, I figured it out before Kelsey was done.
By the time she strolled into the house, I was finishing a bottle of water. I took her in as she set a pile of mail on the counter. She was wearing a pair of denim cutoffs and an oversized shirt of some pop-punk band—one she mentioned a time or two in her nonstop ramblings—tied in a knot on the side. No wonder the doctor hit on her. Despite her height, her legs went on for days.
“Look, you got mail!” she said elatedly, like I’d won a million-dollar check or something.
“Yes, I can see that.”
Rolling her eyes, she started sorting the stack into bills and junk.
“Oh! Look at this one,” she pointed out, holding a thick, cream-colored envelope that appeared to have been dropped off instead of mailed, since there was no stamp.
I knew immediately what was inside, and my gut churned.
“I’ll take that,” I barked, yanking the envelope out of her hand and using my crutches to carry me into my room, where I slammed the door.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I slid my finger beneath the flap and pulled out the thick cardstock covered in vellum.
You’re Invited to Celebrate the Wedding of
Sadie Cartwright and Jacob Tollison.
I didn’t care to read the date as I pulled open the closest nightstand drawer and tossed it inside.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for Sadie, Colton’s younger half-sister. I met her fiancé, and he was a great guy. And she was truly like another sister to me. But every time I looked at her, she reminded me of my past.
A reply to the invite would have to be sent eventually, but I wasn’t ready for that response yet. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go.
“Dammit,” I groaned as a knock sounded on my door.
“Is everything all right in there?”
It wasn’t, but it was going to have to be.
“Yeah, I’ll be out in a second so we can get started.”
I expected an immediate response and almost dove toward the door to check on her when it didn’t come.
