Calleigh headed into the hotel, checking her messages. The cruise had been fun -- she'd laughed and danced, explored Nassau, and sunned herself judiciously. She'd gotten a massage, a facial, and new highlights.
Calleigh was feeling good.
She checked her emails. Her texts. Adrian had sent her text updates, Packer was doing okay -- had made money in an event, and Adrian was rocking, taking runner-up and winning yesterday's go-round. Packer'd sent one text, too.
It had been a wee bit more... graphic than Ades'. "Miss fucking you," it had said.
Calleigh chuckled, going for the registration desk when Adrian's ring tone sounded and she frowned. He didn't call during events. Adrian always wanted to focus, to wait until after to talk to her.
"Hey, Ades."
"Hey, baby girl." Oh, no. Adrian sounded like hell. She knew every nuance of his voice, and this was not good, with a side order of 'eek'.
"What can I do?" She turned around, headed for the truck, trying to remember where they were riding.
"Pack is hurt, baby. I don't know how bad; they've taken him to the hospital already, and I got to ride yet."
"Okay. You're in... Shreveport?" She could be there in thirteen hours, twelve if she pushed it.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of stinky here." Adrian laughed, and it sounded a little hysterical. "I don't even know the name of the hospital."
"I'll figure it. Hospitals I know. You get your mind on the work. I'll be there as soon as I can." She hopped in the truck. "Love you, Ades."
"Love you, baby. I'm at the Sheraton. I'll have my cell and Pack's."
"All right. I'll call." She hung up, put Shreveport in the GPS and kept her eyes peeled for a Starbucks. Time to go to her boys.
***
God, hospitals stank.
Packer was in surgery. Adrian had stuck it out through the night at the event, taking third in the round, but then he'd high-tailed it to the medical center. He needed to be there when Pack came out of it and woke up.
The coffee sucked hairy donkey balls.
"Hey, dude. How goes?" A huge Starbucks coffee was pushed into his hands, along with a bag of Burger King. Cotton was standing there, along with Fred and Kynan and Garrett. Some of his best friends in the whole league, thank fuck.
"Oh, hey guys." Adrian smiled, blinking grit out of his eyes. "He's in surgery."
"Damn."
"Fuck."
"Fucking hell."
Fred sighed. "Is it bad, mate?" Fred was another Aussie, and he understood things the other guys didn’t about visas and working and shit.
"His leg is all broken, I guess. Collarbone, too, so crutches will be a bear." So would Packer.
"Damn." Cotton was a little one-note sometimes, but he cared.
"He gonna have to stay here long?" Kynan asked.
"I don't know." The coffee hand started to shake a little, the food hand clenching in the bag.
"Okay. Okay, mate. You look a little shell shocked." Fred eased him down into a chair. "You need us to call someone?"
"No. No, I called my wife. She's a nurse." He smiled. Dude. Fred knew that.
"Yeah, as in hello, nurse!"
He was going to kill Kynan.
"You leave my wife alone,” Adrian mumbled, needing Kynan to back off.
Fred clapped him on the shoulder. "Here, let me open your food, huh? Cotton, pull up that little table."
"You got it, man."
He sat there, and his phone rang. Calleigh.
"I'll be right back." He pushed past the guys, knowing his phone was supposed to be off. He headed to the nearest exit, pushing the answer button. "Hey, baby girl."
"Hey, you. I'm going to be there soon -- an hour and a half, maybe less. How's it going?"
Shit, she must be flying down the road.
"Pack's in surgery. I'm not sure what kind of progress they're making." He bit his thumbnail.
"I'll be able to find out. Quit chewing on your nails. What have they said so far?"
"Doc said that they he was shocky, and they had to wait to do the surgery until he was more stable. Then they told me they were taking him in."
"Okay, Ades. Hold it together. I'm going to be there. I can stay with him when you have to move on."
"I'm trying, baby. The guys brought me food." He just... God, he wanted to know that Pack was okay and have Calleigh there.
"Good deal. Go eat, talk to them. I'll be there before you know it." Solid as a rock, his Calleigh.
"Love you, baby. Glad you're on my side."
"Always." She meant it, too, damn it.
"I know. See you soon." He waited for her to hang up first. Then his stomach growled. Maybe he should go eat what they'd brought. It might make him less hysterical. The boys would keep him company until his girl showed.
***
Calleigh parked, grabbed her purse, and headed in, moving at a fast walk. Adrian didn't do well in hospitals, at best. At worst, he freaked out. She might call this a worst case scenario.
She knew he was on the third floor, in the waiting room, so she made her way up, taking the stairs two at a time. There was a small sea of cowboy hats in the waiting room, all tilted down to cover faces. Everyone but Adrian was asleep. Ades? He was chewing his thumbnail.
She headed over, nudged Adrian's toe with her foot. "Hey, Ades."
He jumped a little, then grinned and stood, hugging her hard. "Hey, baby."
"Hey." She kissed his cheek. "So, what did they say?"
"He's in recovery, I guess. All they said was the surgery was successful." He looked pooped, hard lines along his mouth.
"Good deal. You doing okay?"
"I guess, yeah." His held on a little longer. "You get through the drive okay?"
"You know it. I'm a stud." Her fingers found the small of his back, stroking in circles.
"You so are. Oh, I missed you." He kissed her neck, and she could feel the tension seeping out of him.
"Good." She kissed his temple. "Pretty boy." She needed to find the shift nurse, peek at Packer's chart.
"Mmm. I've been holding it together, baby. Promise." He grimaced. "I have to leave out at three tomorrow. Hell, Doc already went, did his thing and got on the road."
"I can stay and take care of things. I’m sure Dr. Madding wouldn’t have left him if he wasn’t in good hands." She put on a patently false Aussie accent. "No worries."
That made him laugh for her, his hands on her hips. "Thank god. Packer is worse than me."
"Eh. I'm a pro." She lifted her face for a kiss.
Adrian gave it to her, lips warm and firm on hers.
"There you go, Ades. You're good." She cupped his cheek.
"I am. Or I will be."
"You will. You have a place to sleep tonight?"
"I do. Got a king. Was hoping you'd be here."
"I am. Let me check his status, figure out what to do, and then we'll get some sleep."
"That sounds like Heaven." He smiled, looking better already.
"Give me ten minutes, Ades." She headed to the nurse's station, grinned. "Hey. I'm checking on Packer Stephens."
"Are you related?" The nurse smiled, though, looking sympathetic.
"I'm his wife." It was patently untrue, but she could fake it like no one's business.
"Oh, good. I'm so glad you're here." There was nothing like the little woman in a hospital to get news.
"How's he doing?"
"He's stable. His surgery went really well, but he's gonna be laid up for awhile. Let me see if I can get the doctor."
"Thank you." She waved Adrian over.
Adrian came to stand next to her. "All good?"
"Mmmhmm. They're getting me the doctor. Packer needs to see his wife soon, after all." She winked.
Adrian blinked, then laughed, the sound rusty as all get out. "You know it."
She squeezed his hand, then held on and waited, as patiently as she could.
"Mrs. Stephens?" The doctor was like most orthopedic guys she knew. Tall, a little Lurch-like, and smiling gently.
She nodded, smiled. "Calleigh Roberts. I kept my own name. How's he doing?" All true.
"Well, he's had a severe fracture, but no bone fragments or deposits made it into the bloodstream. His leg will take a while, but we didn't have to go with any kind of traction. His collarbone is fractured as well. These are the kinds of injuries I usually see in traffic collisions."
She nodded. "Those bulls are powerful. How many pins?"
"Two." The doctor's head tilted. "Are you in the medical profession?"
"I'm an RN, doctor." She smiled, held one hand out.
"Oh, that makes my job easier." He grinned and shook her hand. "I don't think he'll require a facility recovery, but he will need some physio."
"I worked for two years in a therapy facility. I can handle it."
"Then we can sit down before he's discharged and talk about what he'll need. You can see him in about a half hour."
"Excellent. Thank you so much. I'm here for the duration. If the nurses need me, just let me know." That was better than she feared, way easier to work with.
"I'll do that. The cafeteria is on the first floor, if you need some coffee." He left them, nodding at Adrian.
"Well, that's not too bad, Ades, huh?" She could help with rehab.
"I guess." He looked a little shell-shocked. "What did all that mean, exactly?"
"His leg's broken, they put pins in. He'll hurt for a couple days, and I'll take him home. I've seen these a lot. He'll be up and taking steps day after tomorrow."
"That soon?" Adrian shook his head, looking lighter somehow.
"You know it. They'll want him moving as soon as the pain's handled." She touched his cheek.
"Okay. You want something to eat?" Ades stuck his hands in his pockets like he was afraid to reach for her.
"I do. McDonald's was a long time ago."
"So was Burger King." Adrian finally put a hand on her waist. "Can we go somewhere not here?"
"If you can wait for forty-five minutes, yes. We'll see him, then go eat and then go to the hotel."
"Okay. Then let's go get a coffee, at least." He steered her out of the room, leaving the sleeping cowboys behind.
She twined her fingers with his, held on tight.
Adrian gripped her hand like she was a lifeline, and it was good to know she could be there. That he felt like he could count on her. They grabbed two cups of coffee, three muffins, and they found a seat in the back. "How did you do at the event, Ades?"
"Fair, I guess. I was eighth overall." He shrugged. "I meant to text, but you know..."
"I do." She squeezed his hand. "You're forgiven. You had a good couple of weeks?"
"I have." He gave her a wry grin. "We've been like monks, baby."
"Why, Ades? Y'all having troubles?" Had she fucked them up? She hadn’t meant to, not at all.
"Nope. He felt guilty, I think. He didn't mean to run you off, baby."
She shrugged. "I know I wasn't exactly invited in."
"No, but it works." Adrian reached over to take her hand. "I'm glad you came. Before. I mean now, too, but before."
"I had to give us a chance, Adrian. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby." He sighed. "Being on the road just gets consuming."
"I know. No guilt. I just... I want you." Both of you.
"Good." He squeezed her hand, smiled again. Every time he did he looked happier. "You made an impression on Pack."
Yeah. The 'it's time to get rid of the sheila' impression. "Is that good?"
"Hell, yes. He didn't mean it, you know."
"Of course he did. I was in the way."
"No, baby." He stared into her eyes, serious as hell. "Pack vents a lot. You'll have to learn that about him. He had to come up with a reason why we were in a slump."
"Because you didn't stay on." The joke was old, and not very funny anymore, but it was all she had.
"Yeah. Sucks when you let go and fall off." He winked. "God, I'm tired."
"Let's go see Pack, then, and take you to sleep. I can help."
"Okay, baby. You're always so good to me." He stood, drawing her to her feet and kissing her mouth.
"I love you." She held on a second. "Let's go see him." Then they'd hit a bed and crash. At least that was the plan. Hopefully Packer wouldn't be unhappy to see her. That might make things awkward.
***
Packer looked like hell. They'd been able to see him for maybe five minutes, almost awake, before they'd been kicked out. Packer was moving to a private room tonight. Adrian and Calleigh had gone on to the hotel, and Adrian was glad for it. He was worn to the bone.