Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“But he’s so much more important to me than any job! Doesn’t he know that?”
Vee held my gaze steadily as he drove his point home. “No, because you haven’t told him how you feel.”
Suddenly, that conversation I’d been putting off with Ryder felt incredibly urgent. I’d always assumed he must know how I felt, because he saw it in my actions. But maybe he had no idea. Maybe he thought he had to face a long recovery alone, because he didn’t realize what he meant to me. He must be so scared.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and accessed the airline’s app. “I need to see about moving up the flight that’s booked for later in the week. I also need to pack a bag, and call the department store to quit my job, and see if any of my friends with cars are available to give me a ride to the airport.”
Vee got up and said, like the true friend he was, “Tell me how I can help.”
It turned out the earliest flight available was a red eye with two layovers. By the time I got to the hospital on Sunday morning, Ryder was already in surgery. I ended up pacing around the waiting room for a few hours, until a nurse finally told me I could see him.
Ryder was asleep, or possibly still under anesthesia, when I got to his room. A lump formed in my throat as I stood at his bedside and gently brushed his hair back. Normally, he was a force of nature, radiating energy and vitality. Now he looked pale and vulnerable. I wasn’t used to seeing him like that, and it made my heart hurt.
I was stroking his hair a few minutes later when his eyelids fluttered. It took him a while to wake up. Finally, his eyes focused on me, and he whispered, “Hal?”
“I’m right here, sweetheart.”
He murmured, “You’re my favorite dream,” and drifted off again.
Over the next few hours, his teammates came and went. The room filled with floral arrangements and balloons instructing him to get well soon. Nurses made their rounds, checking monitors and replacing IV bags as they drained.
When the doctor came by to check on him and asked who I was, I introduced myself as Ryder’s partner. I didn’t know what the hospital’s rules were regarding boyfriends versus spouses, but I hoped that was intentionally vague enough to allow me to stay with him past visiting hours.
I asked how the surgery had gone, and she told me the surgeon was able to repair the hip with plates and screws, as opposed to needing a total hip replacement. I didn’t know if that was meant to be good news.
“He has a long recovery ahead of him,” she said. “As his partner, he’ll be relying on you heavily, especially these first few weeks.”
I nodded and told her, “I’ll be right by his side throughout all of it.”
She checked his chart and told me she was slightly reducing his pain meds, since he’d been out of it since his surgery. After she left, I curled up in the chair I’d moved right beside his bed and closed my eyes. It had been a long twenty-four hours, and weariness was bearing down on me.
Sometime later, Ryder whispered my name, and my eyes flew open. I jumped up and gently cupped his cheek as I told him, “I’m right here.”
He rasped, “My mouth is really dry.”
I poured some water from a plastic pitcher on the side table and held it to his lips. He raised his head and took a sip, and after he dropped back onto his pillow, he murmured, “I’m having a hard time telling the difference between fantasy and reality.”
“That’s probably because you’re on some powerful painkillers. The doctor was here a few minutes ago and dialed them back a bit. That’ll probably help clear your head, but does your hip hurt?”
“There’s a dull ache, but that’s better than being totally out of it.” He searched my face for a long moment as I stroked his hair. Finally, he asked, “Did I try to break up with you?”
“You actually tried pitching a six-month break, told me you loved me, and passed out.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t tell you what happened?”
“No, but I found out two minutes later, when I asked Vee to message one of your teammates. Then I hopped on the first available flight.”
He seemed confused. “Why did you do that?”
“Because I love you, Ryder, and this is where I belong.”
“I wish I wasn’t so out of it right now,” he muttered. “I’m pretty sure you just told me you love me, but there’s like, a fifty-fifty chance I’m dreaming or possibly hallucinating.”
“All of this is a lot to process right now, but don’t worry. I’ll tell you again when you’re more lucid, then again and again, every day from now on.”