Page 26 of Wilder Love
Yep. That all smacked of my dad’s logic. “What other lies has my dad been feeding you?”
Remy laughed and straddled her board like me and Travis were doing. Earlier, she’d been lying on her board and got a mouthful of seawater, so she’d learned from her mistake.
“How’s school?” Travis asked Remy. “What are you now? A freshman?”
Shithead.
“I’m a junior. What are you now? A second grader?”
I laughed. He rolled his eyes.
Our chat over, we concentrated on surfing. A few cowboys were in the lineup now, whooping it up every time they caught a wave. I kept my eye on them, making sure they didn’t pull any stupid stunts.
I had just ridden a set of waves in and turned around to paddle back out when I saw Remy paddling for a wave. It was hers. She caught it. One of the cowboys dropped right in on her.
“The fuck, man?” I shouted, motioning with my hands for him to back off. He either didn’t hear me or didn’t give a shit because he was going for it and had too much speed to back off now. Remy tried to correct herself and get out of his way, but it was a train wreck waiting to happen and all I could do was stand by and watch. She tombstoned, her board flying straight up into the air. I undid my leash, pushing my board onto the sand.
Sprinting through the shallow water, I swam out to where her board was getting thrashed. I dove under the water, untangling the rope wrapped around her leg. When I’d freed her, I pulled her to the surface, holding her body on top of mine like I was a life raft keeping her afloat, one arm wrapped around her and the other one hanging onto her board, so it didn’t smack her in the face.
She coughed, a stream of saltwater pouring from her nose, and her body went limp in my arms. “We need to get you out of here.”
I helped her onto her board, instructing her to paddle in while I swam next to her. When we reached knee-deep water, she stood up, her legs wobbly as if they were about to fall out from under her. I undid her leg leash and planted her board in the sand next to mine. “Sit down for a minute.”
Without putting up a protest, Remy lowered herself onto the sand.
I knelt in front of her, pushing her matted hair off her face. “You okay?”
She rubbed the back of her head, her hand coming away covered in blood. She stared at it for a moment, looking confused as if she wasn’t sure where the blood had come from.
Fuck.
“Let me check your head, okay?” I looked into her eyes, needing her permission.
She swallowed hard and nodded.
I knelt behind her, trying to be as gentle as I could. I parted her hair, matted down with blood and seawater. There was a three-inch gash on her head that looked like it might need stitches. That son of a bitch. My fingers brushed over it lightly, but I heard her sharp intake of breath that told me it hurt like hell.
“We need to get you to the ER.”
Travis had joined us to assist and nodded in agreement, his face serious.
“No. I don’t need a hospital. No doctors. I’m fine. I just need… just give me a few minutes. I’ll be okay.”
“You might need stitches.”
She shook her head, trying to hide the way that action made her wince.
“You need a doctor,” Travis said, his concern for her well-being genuine. “You don’t want to mess around with head injuries.”
Remy shook her head again, adamant that she wasn’t going.
“If you’re scared, I’ll be with you. You can hold my hand. Whatever you need. But we need to get you—”
“No. I can’t go to the hospital,” she said, her voice quiet but resolute. “Even a quick trip to the ER is expensive.”
She wasn’t scared. She was worried about the money. If she even had health insurance, it was probably a shitty plan. I exhaled. “Don’t worry about the money, Remy. I’ll—”
“No,” she said forcefully. “I’m not going to the hospital.”
