Chapter Four: Andrew

The car jostled as it turned off the highway onto the road leading to Ashfield. I did my best to hold back my grunt, but still Nate quickly apologized.

The drive from Atlanta had taken an hour longer than the slated four hours it should have. Nate informed me he was given strict instructions from his wife to drive extra carefully. As I laid across the back seats of the oversized SUV, I noticed we were getting passed by tractor trailers. I wasn’t sure my sister meant to drive that slowly. But I wasn’t going to complain.

“Thanks again for picking me up, man,” I said, and Nate glanced at me through the rearview mirror and sent me a warm smile. “And for getting my truck back home.”

“No sweat.”

Before Nate showed up at the hospital, he located my truck and paid for it to be towed back to Ashfield. I didn’t ask if my phone was inside the console, mainly because I was petrified of all the missed calls and messages.

Nate also wouldn’t allow me to pay a dime toward the towing fee. He was a billionaire with money to burn, but I’d figure out a way to pay him back regardless.

The only bright spot had been finding out that prior to my spectacular dismount at the rodeo, my bareback ride earned me a score of eighty-five. Enough to win. The team running the event was going to mail me a check with my winnings, and they were glad to hear I was okay.

None of that impressed Nate, who was adamant that I quit riding. Through the first hour of the ride home, he listed off all the reasons I needed to stop. The danger, the fear for my family, my life. The same things I’d heard over and over again by past flings. Women that wanted more from me than I was willing to give. They liked the money it brought in, the status they held when they came to watch me ride, but the moment they decided they wanted something more serious with me, their first request was to stop the rodeos.

No one understood it was more than the money or the adrenaline. It was more than the crowd calling my name or the thrill of beating my best time. It was being on the back of the horse and feeling the freedom that came along with the ride. It was the anonymity of doing something no one was aware of. It was living part of my life without a purpose.

It was the opposite of everything I remembered growing up in the small town of Ashfield.

As we approached the crest of the hill, Nate slowed the car. The town was on full display at the bottom of the valley. I came to appreciate where I grew up more as I got older, but it still felt like a shackle. Something that kept me tethered. I’d had a chance to spread my wings, but never to the extent my sisters had. I could never be that far away from my mom. She was the most important person in my life.

“So, how much time will I have before they all arrive at the house?”

Nate chuckled for the first time since he saw me this morning. “They’re just waiting for my go-ahead. Alexandra asked me to message her when I reached this spot, to be honest.”

“Think you can hold off until I get to the house and change?”

“Come on, Andrew. You know your family better than that. They’ve probably been waiting at your house since I left this morning.”

“Fuck.”

Nate rolled his eyes and continued down the road toward town. Rory’s rental house was only a short drive past the city center, since she’d lived close to the school where she once taught. I’d only recently moved into the old house as I began plans to build a home on my family’s property. My stepfather had set aside large plots of land for each of the children. I hadn’t known until a couple of years ago that it included me as well. He’d never made me feel less his than my siblings, but in my mind, I was the ugly stepchild. The add-on that came with my mom.

“No way to sneak me in, is there?” I asked. Appearing in the hospital scrubs the staff gave me was not ideal, but I supposed it was better than the open-backed hospital gown.

“Would it help to know that your mom has been cooking meals for you all morning, and Alex, Eloise, and Molly have filled the kitchen counter with every baked good known to man?”

The corner of my lips tilted upward. If there was a benefit to being injured, it was all the food. My mom was the best cook, hands down, and Alex’s cakes were known around the world.

It was almost worth it to go through all the anger that was about to be unleashed on me.

Almost.

“What if you let me out on the corner, and I sneak around the back?” I asked as I tried to shift and look through the windshield. My back still ached, but I pushed through.

“And do what? Slither like a snake? You can’t walk, Andrew. The doctor said limited movement for the next few weeks, and then you can possibly move to crutches if your back is healing.”

“Fuck you,” I mumbled as the car pulled into the driveway. A handful of vehicles were parked along the street, and they all belonged to my family.

Nate shifted the SUV into park and turned around to face me. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

He exited and then came around the side to help me out. It was a slow process, and by the time I stood with my good foot on the ground, I was seeing stars and ready to pass out.

“Just a few steps and we can get you in bed.”

As Nate practically lifted me onto the porch, bypassing the steps, I could hear the chatter inside the house. The curtains shifted as two little faces disappeared out of view. The seven-year-old twins.

The door swung open wide as he reached for the knob, and I came face-to-face with my stepfather, who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. My mom stood behind him, looking even worse.

“Oh, Andrew,” she whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I’m okay, Mom.”

“No, you’re not. You’re all battered and bruised, Andrew. You’re anything but okay.”

“Would it make things better if I tell you it could have been worse?”

“No.”

Nash, my stepfather, moved to my other side and gently placed my free arm around his shoulders, mimicking my hold on Nate.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you settled into bed.”

“Thanks,” I grumbled as we moved toward the bedroom. I looked around and saw that someone moved the furniture to give more space around the bed. There were also dressings and medical supplies on top of the dresser. I had quite a few stitches along my head and back that would require cleaning.

I shifted onto the bed, lifting my bad leg first, then sat up more, taking in the crowd that filled the doorway. Eloise and Molly stood in the front, both of them with flushed cheeks that had wet trails running down from their eyes.

“Come here, kiddos,” I said, beckoning them forward. “I’m a little beat up, but I could use a really big twin hug.” Though my back felt like someone was holding a branding iron to it, I held my arms out for my two favorite nieces.

As the two girls slowly made their way to me, I watched my sister, Autumn, swipe away a tear as she rocked her son, Eli, in her arms. Alex rubbed her expanding stomach as she comforted her older sister. I had another niece on the way, and by the way Rory was clinging to Talon, I didn’t think she would be too far behind. Aspen and Owen weren’t standing with the group, and I wondered if Aspen was taking my injury the hardest. Most of the tasks on the farm were inherently going to fall on her, something I wished wasn’t the case. I was the reason she was getting to live her happily ever after, after all, and I hated I was the one to put it on pause.

The girls’ little arms gently wrapped around me, and I felt myself leaning into their warmth even though I knew I probably smelled terrible and looked even worse.

“Momma said you almost died,” Molly claimed as she pulled back slightly.

I glared at Alex, who simply shrugged. “I didn’t almost die. I just… rode a horse that didn’t want a rider; that’s all.”

“Why was the horse so angry?” Eloise asked, her little nose scrunching with curiosity.

“He wasn’t angry. He was just having a bad day, like me.”

“Oh.” I’d been spending some time over the summer teaching the girls how to ride a horse, using a local stable and their smaller breeds. Now I worried Eloise was going to be scared the next time we had a lesson, and the horse would definitely feed off that energy.

“Can I get you anything?” Mom asked as she fiddled with her hands, her eyes darting around the room as the twins moved over to their parents.

“I think I just need to take my meds and get some rest.”

“Oh! I stopped by the pharmacy for you. Let me get you a glass of water.” Rory darted out of the room and returned a minute later with a full glass of water and two pill bottles. She explained that one was a muscle relaxer, and one was a NSAID that offered relief from pain and inflammation. I wasn’t thrilled about the pain medication, but I knew if I wanted to sleep, I’d need it. Luckily, the doctor didn’t prescribe the stronger meds he originally wanted me to take.

Rory helped me delve into the bottles while the group inched farther into the room. As I swallowed the water, I glanced around, feeling like an animal on display. It was like they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It left me… angry. I’d already been motivated to push through this injury and get back to my job of running the farm, but now I was even more motivated. I needed to show them they didn’t need to be disappointed in me. I didn’t need to be the black mark on the family. The wild one.

Once the meds were in my system, Rory grabbed the glass from me and left the room just as a knock sounded at the door.

“Oh, good,” she said as the glass clanked on the kitchen counter, which could all be heard over the silence in the room. Not even the baby was making a noise louder than a suckle as he went to town on a pacifier.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” I heard Rory say. There was another voice off in the distance I didn’t recognize, but it seemed familiar.

“Owen seemed to have perfect timing with that call.”

“I know, right? Anyway, he’s in here.”

My family moved aside and let the newcomer into the room. She was pretty, with dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head and bangs that parted down the middle, framing her eyes. Rory pulled her farther into the room, right up to where I sat on the bed.

“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 the man 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. I know that. But this is a part of you we never knew about.”

I yawned unwillingly and felt my back muscles pull. I winced at the sting.

“You’re exhausted. Rest up. We can talk later.” Nash turned to face me directly, leaning into my space. “Andrew, I love you. We’re all here for you. I’m here for you.” He straightened before I could say anything and addressed Kelsey. “Take care of our boy, all right? Don’t let him give you a hard time. He is going to be a grouch, but he doesn’t mean it.”

Kelsey smiled while I frowned, even though my dad wasn’t wrong. I was anything but excited about this entire situation. I could move Kelsey with my pinky finger.

“Yes, sir. I’ve worked with much more intimidating people.”

“Good. Good. Well, Andy, you’re in great hands. I’m sure your mom will want to come by bright and early, so rest up.”

“Yes, sir,” I responded as I tried to hoist my other leg onto the bed and failed. Blushing wasn’t one of my normal reactions, but I felt my cheeks heat instantly.

I watched as Kelsey slunk out of the room and heard her escort my parents out of the house. Awkwardly, I adjusted myself on the bed and tried to lift my good leg again, but my back pulled, causing searing pain to shoot across my body.

“Fuck.”

“Oh, let me help you,” Kelsey said as she dashed back into the room and came to my side. She reached for my good leg, and I nearly pushed her away.

“I can do it,” I argued through clenched teeth, but Kelsey wasn’t having any of it.

“Save your energy for tomorrow. Right now, let me help.” Without another word, she lifted the rest of my body onto the bed and adjusted me back against the pillows. For someone so small, she had incredible strength, and I told her so.

“Well, I spend the majority of my days lifting two-to-three-hundred-pound men in and out of ice baths. Pretty sure I can handle you.”

I harrumphed, feeling the medicine start to kick in.

“Get some rest, Andrew. Rory mentioned that your first meal home should be beef stroganoff, since it’s your favorite. And even though you have more than enough casseroles and frozen dishes in your fridge to feed a small country, I make a mean stroganoff.”

“You’re going to cook for me?”

“That’s part of being a live-in nurse,” she explained, as if I knew this already. “But I’m only being nice because I get to work you over tomorrow.”

I smirked when she blushed as she realized how sexual her words sounded.

“Sleep. You need your energy,” she repeated, flustered.

Kelsey then turned and high-tailed it out of the room, but not before I saw her throw her hands across her face and mumble some unintelligible words.

If that had been one of my sisters, I would’ve ragged on her for days, but I let it slide. This time.

Unfortunately for Kelsey, she was going to regret taking this job, because I didn’t need any help. Especially not from a temptress like her.