10. Jasper

Iknew the minute it happened, my body being jarred, the landing on my ass, the way my last thought was of Aspen and how pissed off she was going to be. Not only that, the worry I'll be putting my mom through. She'll for sure kick my ass, even though this wasn't my fault. No, that would be the new kid. Shit, I can't fault him too much, but still. Hank and I have talked to him till we were blue in the face, but he still thought it was okay to fuck off.

This was the last weekend before we got to take a much-needed two weeks off. Now my time will be more extended than that.

"You okay?" Hank asks me while I'm sitting on my ass, holding my shoulder and feeling dizzy as hell.

"Ask me again after I'm standing up?"

"Fuck, looks like you're getting loaded up. That cocksucker is about to get the steel end of my boot shoved up his ass," Hank grumbles. I tilt my head back and suck in another gulp of air before I use my good arm to help get myself up. That's when I start seeing stars.

"Shit, Aspen and Mom are going to have more than a mouthful to say. Pretty sure I have a concussion, and who the hell knows what's up with my shoulder." Hank gets down in the rig to help me stand up. The new guy darted off to a corner when he saw what happened to me. Little shit is definitely not going to be around to see another paycheck, that's for sure.

"Don't pass out on me. I'm not making that phone call to those women. It's bad enough I'll have to tell Marge," he jokes. It takes us a few minutes, but he gets me on my feet.

"Looks like I'll be getting more than two weeks off," I grunt.

"Shit, how the fuck is anything going to get done now?" Hank's a good guy, trying to keep my mind off the pain and being out of work. Not that I'm worried about money. I'll get some sort of compensation from this happening on the job, and I have money set aside. The one perk of being a bachelor when you're well into your thirties.

"You'll be alright. They'll bring in Larry until someone gets on rotation." He opens the truck door for me, already knowing we'll be heading to the hospital.

"I'll call Aspen as soon as I know what's happening. If I tell them what's going on now, they'll both drive down, hysterical and thinking the worst." I close my eyes while we drive to the hospital, which isn't too far away from where we've been working, another plus in my favor.

"Probably the safest bet. Worse comes to worst, I'll make the call, or I'll have Marge go pick them up. That way, they aren't driving while upset." Hanks pulls up in front of the emergency room door, slams the truck in Park, and says, "Stay put. I'm gonna go have a nurse bring you in."

"I can walk," I bark back.

"Too bad. I'd have wheeled your ass to my truck if we had a wheelchair. So, get your panties out of a wad and sit tight."

I pull my phone out of my pocket and look at the picture Aspen captured of the two of us while we were in the kitchen of my camper too fucking long ago. Her ass was on the narrow countertop, her arms looped around my neck, my hips between her spread legs. She's smiling at the camera. I didn't get the memo apparently because I was too busy looking at her, a small smirk playing on my lips. The moment she took it, I had her send it to me, knowing I put that smile on her face. It's something I look at daily. It ties me over until the moment she's back in my arms.

"Hop on down," the nurse in blue scrubs says, interrupting my thoughts. I do as she says, shaking my head the entire time. I'm pretty sure my clavicle is broken. I did this once before when I was a teenager out riding dirt bikes with a friend. I landed wrong, and it cracked. The doctor warned me back then this could happen just as easily again.

"Thanks," I tell both the nurse and Hank.

"I'm going to go park the truck, then I'll come back in." He doesn't leave any room for me to reply; he's already rounding the truck.

"Alright, Mr. Knight. Let's go get your paperwork started and get you into a room. Your friend seems to think you may have a concussion too, so we'll get you taken care of right away." She wheels me in. The only thing I'm worried about right now is Aspen, not me or the shit that I could potentially go through. She's it for me, my end all, be all.