Page 8 of Wild For You
“All right, what do you need me to do?” he asked without any other question. Nate was the only friend I had growing up that I knew would give his life for me, and I would do the same for him. He wasn’t just my brother by marriage; he was my brother in soul.
“I need to have my truck picked up, and I need to find a way back home. The doctor said he would discharge me tomorrow if I have a ride.”
“Done. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. As for your truck, I’ll send a tow out tonight if you can remember where it’s parked.”
I quickly rattled off the name of the local arena where I parked. There was a good chance it had already been towed somewhere else since the night I arrived at the hospital.
“Thanks.”
“You… uh… know I have to tell your sister, right?” Nate added.
Unfortunately, I did know that. I had a feeling my entire family was going to descend upon me the moment I arrived back in Ashfield. And not with the kind of greeting I was used to. Instead of the warm fuzzies, they were going to put me through the ringer. Not something I was looking forward to.
“Yeah. Just like… ask them to go easy on me. I am injured, after all.” Just then, something the nurse said popped into my head. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“I’m going to need a live-in nurse for a couple of weeks while my ligaments and spine heal. And I need to find a local physical therapist.”
“You could always stay with your parents. I know Marisol would be over the moon to look after you.”
“I can’t do that to them. They have that trip to Europe coming up, now that Dad has recovered from the heart attack. Shit, who is going to take care of the farm?”
“We can all chip in, Andrew. We’ll make sure things are running smoothly. Aspen is home for the fall and can help with the harvest. This doesn’t have to all fall on you.”
He was right, but that didn’t lessen the guilt I felt. Running Sunny Brook Farms—my stepfather’s family legacy—already felt like I was a wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing. The farm was a moneymaker and kept my family well off in our small town, but I always felt like a phony. Like the operations and ownership should go down to one of my half-siblings, his true bloodline, not to me—the kid he was saddled with when he married my mom.
Even with Nate’s reassurance, I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to speed through my recovery. None of my siblings wanted to spend their time working the farm, which was why I had to take over. I didn’t want to put this all on them, nor my parents.
“Hey, Andrew, it will all work out. You may want to work on toughening yourself up. Your family is going to give you hell when you get home.”
“Yeah, they are,” I said warmly. I loved my family, and though I knew they were going to imagine a hundred different ways to kill me for this, I knew it was all out of love.
A yawn escaped during the conversation, and Nate chuckled.
“I’ll let you go, but, man, are you sure you’re okay? Really?”
“Every part of me hurts, but the doctor said my injuries could have been much worse.”
I waited for him to force my hand, beg me to stop the rodeos, something any normal person would have done, but not my best friend. He knew how much I loved it.
“Did you at least win?”
“I think so, but I was out of it before they announced my score.”
“Shit, okay. Well, I’ll see what I can find out.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Sure, it is. It’s important to you.”
After a long pause, I thanked Nate, and we ended the call.
Nurse Betty introduced me to the overnight nurse, and the doctor popped in one last time to go over a few things before I could be discharged the next day. He sat me up and asked me to twist my body in both directions. And though it was one of the worst pains I’d ever experienced, he seemed pleased. The older man actually smiled when he removed my knee brace to look over my knee.
After adjusting the brace back into place, he left the room with both nurses following behind. But not before the new nurse injected some pain medication into my IV drip. I’d already requested that they no longer pump me full of medications, but she said it would help me sleep. And after the way the doctor probed my body, I wasn’t as upset to feel the pain slip away thanks to the meds.
Despite the pain I felt, I knew the worst was yet to come when I made my way back to Ashfield. My family may love me, but they were going to be royally pissed.
