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Welcome back for chapter 9 of Second Chance with My Bull Rider. If you are just joining us, you can read Chapter 1 below.
Chapter 9 September 8th
Kade
The ringing of the rusty triangle stirred me from my dreams of Delilah. I hadn’t dreamt of her in a long time. She was the one person I tried to block out of my life after that day. I let her down and broke her heart. I was a coward, and I spent the next part of my life running from that decision. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stared into the harsh light in my room. It wasn’t morning anymore. The clock read 1:00 P.M. I groaned and shifted in the bed, pain radiated out from my ribs and leg as my head pounded to a beat of its own. I reached for the nightstand only to knock the open pill bottle to the floor. The pills skittered to all corners of the room with a clatter. Zip jumped up and tried to get them.
“Zip, no!” I lurched forward to grab his color before he left the bed. Pain shot up my side and darkened the edges of my vision. I wrapped my fingers into his collar and held on. My teeth clenched. I tried to stay conscious through the next wave of pain.
The door cracked open and Delilah entered the room. She surveyed me trying to hold onto my dog. Zip attempted another leap off the bed and a grimace crossed my face. She walked over to Zip and scooped the wiggly heeler up into her arms.
“I’ll be right back. Let me take him outside.” She crossed the floor, gracefully avoiding several of the small white pills littering the rug. She shouldered her way through the door and went down the hall.
“Everything alright?” Kaleb’s voice echoed from the kitchen.
“Under control. I think Zip wanted some of Kade’s pain meds.” Her voice strained as she moved further away.
“Here, I’ll take him from you.” A chair scraped on the kitchen floor and Kaleb’s spurs rang out with each step.
“Thanks, Kaleb.”
Was it me or did her voice sound a little brighter when she talked to him? Did she have something going on with Kaleb? Is that why she is here? I straightened myself in the bed as her footsteps hurried back to my room.
“Morning, Kade. Or should I say, afternoon,” she said briskly. “I can get those for you.” She bent over and carefully picked up each stray pill. Her white T-shirt rode up on her lower back, revealing a tattoo that had horses and hearts on it.
“I didn’t know you had a tramp stamp,” I growled at her. She looked up sharply and glared. A look of hurt crossed her face.
“You don’t know everything about me.” She retorted before crawling further under the bed to reach a few more.
“Really? I know quite a bit.” I crossed my arms, my jaw clenched as I thought about who else saw her tattoo. A shot of jealousy bolted through me. I didn’t want anyone else to see her like that, and that thought surprised me.
She scooted from under the bed and sat back on her heels. She cocked her head as her black hair fell to the side. She pushed it out of the way before standing up.
“Like I know you and Kaleb have some sort of thing going on. I can see the way you look at him. You taking care of me is some sick joke to you, isn’t it? ‘Look at the poor, helpless Kade Kisment. He can’t even get out of bed on his own.’” I glared at her. Her brown eyes went dark as the color left her skin. I knew I was right.
“You are a jerk.” She twisted the cap on the bottle and threw it at me. It hit me in the forehead before I could catch it. She stomped towards the door, pausing over her shoulder. “You gave up every right to me the night you walked out on me…on us.” The door slammed behind her. She stormed to the kitchen. Her steps pounded on the floor. I could feel the vibrations in my room. Kaleb’s voice mixed with hers, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then, the screen door slammed, and the house was quiet for a minute. I swallowed the pain medication I needed dry as the water glass was empty. I leaned against the headboard and closed my eyes until the door creaked open and Kaleb blocked the doorway with his big frame.
“When she comes back you are going to apologize to her.” He glowered at me.
“Everything I said was true.”
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it ran you over and gored you with its horns. Apologize when she comes back.”
“Or what?” What could he do to me? I raised my chin to him.
“I am taking you to a rehab facility and leaving you there.” He crossed his arms. “Kurt already suggested that if you run out Delilah.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said, glaring right back at him. I hated that Kurt threw his money around to get people to do what he wanted.
“Don’t make me do it.” He was gone with the door shut firmly behind him.
Apologize to Delilah? Kaleb’s insistence all but proved that they had a thing going on. They were probably cuddling on the couch and having a good laugh at my expense. I punched my pillow and allowed sleep to replace the anger I had inside, at least for a while.
A couple of hours later, I couldn’t get comfortable. My back and butt hurt. My head ached and my mouth parched. My tongue was heavy in my mouth. The water glass next to the bed was empty, and my wheelchair sat across the room. There was no way I could hobble, hop, or crawl that distance. Plus, once I got there, I wouldn’t be able to lift myself into the chair. A sigh of frustration left my lips.
“Kaleb!” I called. No response. No steps came. No swearing at me that he will be right there.
“Delilah!” No response to that one either. The house was stiller than normal. I picked up my phone and called Kaleb.
“What.” He answered.
“I need help,” I said.
“Call Delilah or figure it out.” The line went dead with a buzz.
I scrolled through my phone. I didn’t have her on my contact list. I dialed the only number I remembered of hers. It went straight to voice mail, and it wasn’t a helpful voicemail as it was one that repeated the numbers back to me. I hung up. My only other option was to try Damien, Delilah’s brother, and someone who had been one of my closest friends growing up. It was the middle of the afternoon, but I was starting to become desperate. Damien’s phone rang a couple of times before he answered it.
“Hi Damien, it’s Kade.” We’d been friends for a long time. Hopefully, he’d help me. I crossed my fingers.
“Hey, buddy. How are you? Long time no see,” he said hesitantly.
“Could be better. Could be worse.” I laughed bitterly. “I’m home for a while with an injury.”
“I heard. The rumor mill has been busy.”
“Anything good?” I asked, maybe small talk will soften him up.
There was a silence from him. Damien wasn’t a talkative guy, but he was straightforward. There was something he didn’t want to share. “Nah, just all about you. Would you be up to going out some night? Pete needs a real bachelor party with the guys.”
“Sure. I can wheel it. I had forgotten that Pete was engaged.”
“He wasted no time. The gal is Melanie. You remember? She started the dress shop back up… A real sweetheart.” The unsaid hung in the air. If I’d paid attention to the people that mattered to me, I’d remember.
“I think I met her last time I was home.” She must have been the pretty brunette hanging around Pete. Good for him. “I was calling to get Dee’s number.”
Another silence.
“Do you want to talk to her?” His voice dropped and sent shivers up my spine.
“That’s why I called you.”
“Hang on.” It sounded like he put the phone down. “Dee, Kade is on the phone for you.” He shouted. Her response was muffled. Damien laughed. “Sorry bro, she says you can kiss her behind. That you are a self-centered jerk and unequivocal something that I am not going to repeat with my mother standing here.”
I sighed, that was so Delilah. “Fine, can you tell her I am sorry and… that I need her.”
A very pregnant silence followed, and it seemed to go on forever.
“What are you sorry for and why do you need her?” Damien was quiet, and the words rumbled in the air. “She is my baby sister.” The protectiveness of his little sister came through the line loud and clear.
“Tell her I am sorry for what I said to her today and I need her help to get out of bed.”
Damien gave a short sharp laugh at that. “I’ll tell her but that is all.” The line went dead.
What is with people hanging up on me today? I tried to plump the pillows. I scooted one down on the mattress to sit on. It helped the numb sensation in my lower extremities. I flicked the TV on to distract myself from the discomfort I was in.
On the eighth episode of Friends, the screen door banged. Finally, my salvation is here. Heavy footsteps stomped to my room and the door flung open like it was in a hurricane.
“Kade Tanner Kisment, you are the slime on a toad’s belly for calling my brother.” She stomped toward the bed. She never looked madder or hotter. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink. Her shiny black hair floated around her face and down her shoulders. Her T-shirt rode up her flat abdomen as she flailed her arms around her face so much I got lost in her looks.
“Are you even listening to me?” She shouted.
I mentally shook myself. “Huh?”
“You called my brother to have me come over.” She poked me in the chest with each word, hard.
“Ouch.” I rubbed at the spot. “I am sorry. I was mean but I need your help. Please.”
Her look softened a bit, and her arms went back to her side. She stopped for a second and then grabbed the wheelchair from the corner.
“You’ve never apologized to me before. For anything.” She said so quietly I almost didn’t catch it. She was right I never apologize for anything. Boy, did I have a lot to be sorry for with Delilah. She brought the chair closer and helped me in it. She pushed me out of the room into the hallway.
“Where to next, your highness?” She did an elaborate curtsy and gestured around the house. I smiled at her and got an almost genuine smile in response.
Author’s Note: Tell me what you think of this chapter!
Hugs,
Allie
P.S. If you want to read ahead, Second Chance with my Bull Rider is available for purchase on all retailers and to check out from your local library.