Page 85 of A Lot Like Love
“You guys saw what happened?” Ryder asked. “Did I win the title?”
“Goddamn it, Ryder! You just about killed yourself and…”
“He’s alive,” Chloe said, surprised by how loud her voice was, expecting her words to catch in her throat. “That’s all that matters.”
Ryder turned, grimacing, until he saw her. Then he went still, eyes fixed on hers. “Chloe?”
She nodded and stepped closer. “I can go if you don’t want me here,” she offered.
Chase and Nate both laughed at her comment, and the doctor put the chart at the end of the bed and said goodbye. “I’ll be back to check you again shortly. Stay in bed and if you feel tired let a nurse know and try to get some sleep. You’re very lucky that you don’t have any other injuries aside from some big scrapes and bruises, but we have to carefully monitor you in case of any brain injury.”
Ryder was still staring at her, unblinking. “I don’t want you to go.”
“Didn’t I tell you that already?” Chase asked.
“I just…”
“You must think I’m a complete idiot,” Ryder said, shaking his head then wincing. Chloe sat down so she was closer to him.
“You could have died out there today, Ryder,” she told him.
His expression was solemn. “I know.”
“And yet you still want to know if you won the title?” Nate fumed.
“A guy needs to know if he’s retired on a high or not,” Ryder said in a quiet voice, his fingers seeking out Chloe’s when she nudged her hand closer to his.
“Bullshit,” Nate swore.
“No shit,” Ryder said, his eyes still trained on hers. “I’ve pushed myself to the limit and now it’s time to walk away.”
“How about we leave these two for a bit, huh?” Chase suggested. “We’ll go grab a coffee and something to eat. Want anything?” he asked Chloe.
She shook her head, smiling up at Ryder’s brothers. They’d been kind to her when they could have ignored her and just focused on Ryder, and she’d forever be grateful to them. “I’m good. Thanks.”
“Ryder?” Nate asked, standing closer to the bed as Chase headed for the door.
“Yeah?” Ryder finally looked away from her, his focus on his brother now.
“I’m proud of you, for knowing when to call it a day. Your helmet smashed down the center, so if you hadn’t been wearing it you’d either be a vegetable or ten feet under by now.”
Chloe shuddered, goose bumps breaking out across her skin. She saw Ryder’s reaction, the expression that crossed his face, and she knew it had rattled him, too. All the years he’d been the fun-loving rodeo rider, and he’d come so close to a grizzly death doing what he enjoyed the most.
“I’m done, Nate. You can tell Granddad I’m ready to settle the hell down.”
Nate touched Ryder’s shoulder, holding his hand there as he looked down at his brother, before joining Chase and heading out the door. Chloe watched them go, then turned her attention back to Ryder.
“You saw the whole thing?” he asked, squeezing her fingers with his.
Chloe nodded, tears welling in her eyes again. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I thought you were dead.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t his usual, deep laugh. “First thing I did when I opened my eyes was move my toes, then my legs.” He paused. “Until I saw you. You were a pretty good distraction.”
“Did you mean what you said? About retiring?” she asked, shuffling her chair even closer.
“Yeah,” he grunted. “All this time I’ve been a selfish shit, not caring what anyone else tried to tell me. But knowing you were watching me today, what I put you through? I’m done, Chloe. I guess I have to be. It’s time to hang up my spurs.”
She climbed onto the bed beside him, needing to be closer to Ryder, to feel him against her. Part of her didn’t even believe he was alive, that he was lying there talking to her like nothing had happened, the only reminder the fact that they were in a hospital and there were machines bleeping beside him.
