Page 15 of Wild For You
“Andrew, this is Kelsey. She’s a physical therapist and is going to help with your recovery.”
“Okay,” I replied, my tone full of confusion. The woman was small in comparison to me, and I had no idea how she would help me complete the exercises. The man at the hospital was barely able to do the job.
“She was the one who worked with Owen, remember?”
“Oh. Yeah. Nice to meet you,” I said, wincing as I held out my hand in greeting.
Just as Kelsey’s hand pressed against mine, Rory let the bomb drop. “She’s going to be living here to help you out too.”
My hand jerked away. “What?”
“Yep. And… in case you weren’t aware, she’s also my best friend.”
Fuck. I knew that name sounded familiar. Not just because of Owen, but because Rory had been going on and on about this woman over the past year.
“I don’t think I need anyone staying here overnight, Rory. I can get along fine.”
My sister stood up straighter, ready to argue, until Nate spoke up. “That’s not what the doctor said, which is why Kelsey is here. Look, we’re lucky she’s able to help you out at all.”
I narrowed my eyes at the woman and wondered what she was getting out of this deal. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to scheme my family out of money.
“Thanks again,” Owen said as he grunted and pushed by everyone, carrying a suitcase and three duffle bags into the bedroom, dropping them with a thud beside the dresser.
Turning to face me, he said, “Hey, man. Aren’t you glad Kelsey could help?”
“This is your fault,” I growled, and Owen’s chipper demeanor fell.
“What?”
“The reason she’s here.”
Aspen shuffled toward her husband, grabbing his arm and attention. “He’s just grumpy. Maybe we should all go, and we can visit tomorrow or something.”
Thankfully, the group agreed. I almost felt bad for calling Owen out. Almost. I blamed my aching back and knee. How long did it take for the medicine to kick in anyway?
Mom and Nash hovered by me longer than the others, while Kelsey leaned against the wall as if she was trying to camouflage herself.
“Mom—”
“How could you, Andy?” she began, her breath catching as she used my childhood nickname, before choking back a sob. She ran from the room, and I leaned over in the bed to peer around the door to watch my sisters comfort her.
I shot a quick glance up at Nash and saw he was watching her too. His body was tense, fingers clenched so the nails left crescent-moon shapes in his skin.
Despite my internal struggles when it came to my relationship with Nash, I loved the man. He was the only father I knew. Mine died defending our country overseas. Mom had been devastated until she ran into Nash. He had happily married her and raised me as his own, treated me like I was his own, loved me like I was his own. And right now, he was just as worried about his wife as I was.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, causing him to look down at me with those worried eyes.
“Hey, nothing to be sorry about, son. Could have happened riding Thunderbolt around the farm.”
“But it didn’t.” I was quite a few years older than my siblings, but I felt like I was nothing more than ten, talking to theman I just watched marry my mom. “She’s going to be mad at me for a long time.”
“She’s not mad. It’s your life, Andrew, but she’s still your mom. She worries about you every day. All of you. A mother never wants to have to bury her kids.”
I didn’t get emotional often, but Nash’s words hit home, and I felt tears build along my lower lids. I turned my head away from Kelsey, because Lord knew I didn’t want her to witness that vulnerable part of me.
“I…. It’s just something I do for fun.”
“She knows that.Iknow that. But this is a part of you we never knew about.”
