Awakened in August (Spring River Valley Book 8) (11 page)

“I’m really sorry. I can do a lot of my work remotely…and maybe if Brenda can—”

Tyler waved a hand. “Nonsense. If you’re laid up for six weeks with your leg, then you should be resting. We’ve got things covered at the office. I won’t pretend you won’t be missed, but we’ll muddle through somehow.” His last words were delivered with a wry smile and a self-deprecating laugh.

Meant to be reassuring, Tyler’s comments only deepened Riley’s unrest. He’d never felt more like a fool, lying in the hospital with a ridiculously large cast holding his right knee in place. Had the injury come from the near miss he’d had on the drive home from Kattinger Farms on the weekend, he might not have felt so bad, but no—the oil slick that had resulted in a three car pileup had left him unscathed. It was only after he’d gotten out of the car to check on the drivers of the other vehicles and ended up tumbling backwards down the gravel covered embankment, that he’d sustained his broken leg. And of course, it wasn’t the kind of break that would heal while he hobbled around on crutches. His doctors expected him to remain largely immobile for a month and a half to avoid spending the rest of his life walking with a limp. He’d have gladly chanced it, if Tyler had given him the slightest hint that EBD couldn’t function at peak efficiency without him.

“I’m serious, if you need me to do anything at all, my laptop will fit right on this tray.” Riley pulled the rolling bed tray a few inches closer to his chest. It made for a barely adequate desk, but he’d make do.

Tyler rose, his expression still sympathetic. “Enjoy the rest. In a few months, once you’ve got the bar behind you, you’ll be lucky if you get a bathroom break. Consider this all your vacations for the next six years rolled into one.” The older man paused for effect then broke out laughing again. “I’m kidding. We’ll call you if we need you, otherwise, catch up on your reading and get hooked on reality TV.”

“Thanks,” Riley said, not even bothering to sound the least bit enthusiastic.

“I’ll check in with you, and don’t forget to call Dani Lennox so she can keep on top of all your insurance paperwork.”

“Right, I will.”

Tyler let himself out of the room, and Riley settled back against the mountain of pillows that helped prop him up in a comfortable position.

He wondered what Lydia would say about his predicament and glanced at the drawer next to his bed where his cell phone now lay, currently deactivated. He desperately wanted to call her, but what could he say?
Now that I’ve got all this time on my hands, I want to be with you?
That was romantic. She’d never believe he’d only had her on his mind in those few seconds when he thought a semi was going to crush his car. She’d never understand how much he wanted to be what she needed, not just for her sake but for his own.

* * * *

Lydia stopped in front of the door to room 1217 and let the bustle of the busy hospital corridor flow around her for a moment. Lily hadn’t been able to tell her much about Riley’s condition, only that he would recover. Even that scant information technically broke the rules, but Lydia would never tell. She would also never admit how much she’d struggled with the decision to come and visit him. He’d left her, and as much as it hurt to see him go, she respected the fact that he’d chosen not to play games with her affections. He knew as well as she did that he’d never be able to break free of his corporate chains, and maybe that was ultimately for the best.

She’d convinced herself she wasn’t here to torture herself or him, only to make sure he was all right and see if there was anything she could do to help. Nevertheless, there was a small part of her brain that told her perhaps the most helpful thing she could do was turn around and walk away.

The door to the semi-private room was open, but a curtain surrounded each bed. Before Lydia could muster the courage to take one more step in any direction, the bright-colored fabric hiding the farther bed from view swung aside. An older man stepped from the alcove near the room’s expansive window and headed for the door. Lydia stared. She was looking at Riley in thirty years’ time.

His eyes were a paler shade of denim blue and his golden hair had silvered at the temples. Wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could have been from worry, but the light in his eyes and the half smile on his face spoke of a certain level of contentment. His grin widened when he saw her
, and he held out his hand.

“You must be Lydia.”

“I…um…yes. And you must be Mr. Thayer.”

“I am.” His handshake was warm and firm. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”

Finally? Had Riley actually spoken about her to his parents? “Same here,” she responded automatically and stepped back to allow him out of the room and into the corridor. “How is he?”

“Restless. They’re not going to be able to keep him in that bed for any length of time. I told him I’m going to buy him a cane now because there’s no way he’s going to stay still long enough for his knee to heal properly.”

“His knee?” Lily hadn’t been able to give Lydia any details about Riley’s admission. She’d said only that he’d been brought in early Sunday morning. Lydia had been terrified his stress levels had skyrocketed due to the problems going on at his office.

“Didn’t he tell you?” Mr. Thayer asked.

“No…I haven’t actually talked to him.”

The older man seemed to digest that information. “He’ll be fine, don’t you worry. If he doesn’t go out of his mind from boredom in the mean time. Why don’t you go and see him? He needs the distraction. I’m off to look for that cane.”

“Uh…sure. It was nice to meet you.”

Riley’s father favored her with a kind smile. “You too. I hope we get to see more of you.”

At a loss for words, Lydia only nodded. Mr. Thayer walked away, and she was left at square one. If Riley had wanted to see her, why hadn’t he called? Especially if his ailment involved his knee and not his heart?

Regardless, she had to see him, just to reassure herself and maybe to find out why he’d have told his family about her if he had no intention of pursuing their relationship. On a deep breath, she barreled into the room, sweeping past the first curtained alcove. “Knock, knock,” she said, stopping just short of the curtain that had fallen back into place around Riley’s bed after his father’s departure.

“It’s open.” The flippant response made her smile. She parted the curtain and took in the sight of him stretched on the bed. He wore a NY Giants T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants, the right leg of which had been sawed off mid-thigh to accommodate an enormous plastic and Velcro contraption that looked like the skeletal remains of a ski boot.

Sympathy battled with annoyance. He looked as frustrated and uncomfortable as his father had hinted, and he also looked utterly shocked to see her. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Ha ha. Yes. Actually. But I’ve been ordered by Tyler Brady to enjoy the last of my down time for the rest of my life. I get to do absolutely nothing for six weeks.”

“That will kill you.”

He nodded. “Probably.”

Silence descended
, and they stared at each other. Lydia watched his expression morph from surprise to something softer.

“Not seeing you would kill me faster.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I’m serious.” He gestured to his immobile leg. “I don’t expect you to believe me, now that I don’t have any choice in the matter. But I was planning to make some changes. I was coming to ask you if you’d give me one more chance.”

Lydia’s pulse quickened, but her gaze tracked to the cell phone lying on the bedside table. Riley followed her eyes.

“It’s shut off. I’m not allowed to use it in here.”

“One more chance to do what?”

“Make room for something that’s been missing in my life for a long time.”

She wanted to give him that chance, but could she stand it if it didn’t work out yet again? “What if I throw everything out of balance?”

“My balance is pretty much shot as it is.”

She laughed. “So you’re stuck here for six weeks?”

“I can go home tomorrow, but I can’t walk or drive or do anything remotely…strenuous until the cast comes off. Then rehab.”

She rolled her eyes. “A man who’s forced to stay in bed could be interesting, but if you can’t do anything strenuous I don’t see how…”

“I know. I know. I’m useless to you.”

She cocked a brow. “I could find ways to make use of you.”

“I feel better already.” He held out his hand. “Lydia, this…isn’t going to be easy for me. Even if I wasn’t laid up. Especially if I wasn’t, but I’m not kidding around. I have no right to ask you, but I want you in my life. Can we give it a shot?”

She thought of Mr. Thayer. His words were proof that she was on Riley’s mind as much as he’d been on hers. She approached the bed and eased herself down to sit on the edge of the mattress, careful not to disturb his injured leg. “A captive audience for my potions and my hippy skippy brainwashing...” She leaned in close, felt his muscles tense as his arms came around her. “What girl could resist?” Closing the scant gap between them, she kissed him, uncertain if she was making a mistake or not, but determined not to let whatever they had together go without a fight.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lydia charged through Riley’s apartment to confront him where he stood at the kitchen counter. She’d just let herself in, a pile of mail in one hand and a satchel full of paperwork from his office in the other. “You’re not supposed to be standing without your crutches.”

“It’s just for a second. I was making you a sandwich.” He held up a hand in surrender, then pivoted with practiced grace and hobbled back to one of the kitchen chairs. He wore a less bulky cast now but still had limited range of movement.

“If you can make a sandwich in a second, you should be a short-order cook, not a lawyer.” She snatched the aluminum crutches out of his reach and handed him the bag and the mail. A morning running errands in the late summer heat had left her drained of energy but oddly content. It felt good to be zipping around town in the thick of things. As much as she valued the solitude and quiet up in Red Fork, she realized she’d forgotten how much fun a full schedule could be.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been thinking about ditching litigation and opening up a lunch café for lawyers. I could call it The Sandwich Bar… or how about Briefs?”

She stared at him. “Really?”

“Ugh. No. Of course not. Did you get all the stuff Brenda prepared for me?”

Lydia sighed. “Yes, it’s all in there. I scooped up some Green Solutions paperwork too when I stopped at my office, so we have to sort stuff out.” She set her purse on another chair and glanced around the tiny kitchen. “Where’s my sandwich?”

“I got hungry waiting for you, so I ate it.”

“Thanks.”

“Kidding, it’s in the fridge.”

“Do you plan to be this sarcastic in court, counselor?”

“At this rate, I may never get to court. I need to keep my options open. Maybe stand-up comedy.”

“If you keep ignoring doctor’s orders it’ll be sit-down comedy for you.” She checked the fridge and found her sandwich, neatly wrapped in foil. While she rummaged for a plate and a bottle of mineral water, Riley began sorting through the paperwork in the satchel. Tyler Brady had agreed to allow Riley to work from home, in order to keep his mind active while his leg healed and Lydia had agreed to be a courier, on the condition that Riley kept his work hours to a minimum and stayed off his feet.

“That’s a good one. I’ll try to work that into my act. Got any more—”

“Any more what?” Lydia asked between a bite of the sandwich and a sip of water. “Jokes? No, that was my one for the day.”

“How about any more secrets?” Riley held up a letter she’d forgotten she’d tucked in among the work she’d taken from her own office. “This is from school.”

She set the food down and crossed over to plop into the chair opposite his. “It’s not really a secret. I just haven’t finalized anything yet.”

“You applied to go back to law school? Why?”

“It was something you said, back at the resort. You told me I could integrate my lifestyle with a law career and I told you it wasn’t possible.”

“I remember that.” He set the letter down and captured her gaze. “What changed your mind?”

“I started to think that maybe I wasn’t retreating from the rat race so much as hiding out from the world. I don’t want Red Fork to be my universe, but it might be nice if it was my oasis. I’ve been visiting EBD so much in the last couple of weeks, it reminded me how much I enjoyed the challenge of law. I did miss it
, but I kept telling myself I couldn’t handle the pressure and I shouldn’t try to. I think I was wrong about that. Maybe back then, I needed to escape completely, but now I feel like maybe I just need balance.”

“So you got me to slow down, I got you to speed up and maybe we can end up running at the same pace?”

“In my case strolling, and in your case hobbling.”

“I don’t care if we’re crawling, as long as it’s together.”

Lydia put her hands in Riley’s. “It’s easy to say that now, but what happens when it all gets into full swing? When you pass the bar and have a full case load, when I’m juggling classes and my job, is this going to be the first thing that gives?” She gestured between them. “Everything could change, you know.”