A Colorado Family. Patricia Thayer

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter Two

      A few hours later, nature called and Austin finally got out of bed. He strapped on his booted cast, grabbed his walker, then made his way into the bathroom. After months flat on his back, being upright was a luxury he didn’t take for granted anymore. Since he’d gotten out of the private hospital outside Denver, he’d decided he had to work hard to get back to the man he once was. That was why he was going to do everything possible to move on to rehab.

      His thoughts turned to Mrs. Carlton. She was pretty enough, but a little short with a fuller figure than he preferred. So it was definitely a good thing he wasn’t attracted to redheads. Besides, she had an attitude.

      “Stop it, Brannigan. Even if you did find her appealing, you’re in no shape to be sidetracked.”

      He needed to be focused only on his goal. Question was, would Erin Carlton push him hard enough? He wasn’t sure if she could, but he was intrigued when she hadn’t backed down from him.

      He washed up and looked in the bathroom mirror. After running a brush through his hair, he brushed his teeth. He’d forgo a shave until his brother came by later to help him shower. He knew his limits.

      After he managed to get on a fresh pair of workout shorts and a T-shirt, he made his way down the hall. His leg throbbed like the blazes, but going back to the bed was too depressing. Besides, the doctor said there would be pain. It could take a good year before it went away, and that when the weather changed his leg might alert him to that fact, too.

      Hell, he knew about pain. He was a bull rider.

      The twenty feet he walked from the bathroom was agony, but he didn’t stop. Finally he got to the sofa and sat down. Sweat broke out on his face as he pushed his walker to the side and gently lifted his leg to the coffee table. He eyed the long scar that peered out of the top of his cast.

      Every day from now on, he’d be reminded how bad things were for him, and how lucky he was to be alive, even if he might have a slight limp for the rest of his days.

      Exhausted, he collapsed back on the sofa and recalled how he’d begged the renowned surgeon to save his mangled leg. It had been touch and go for that first week, but the miracle surgery worked. Now the rest was up to him.

      “Damn. I’m gonna fix this.”

      He closed his eyes to rest a minute and the next thing he heard was a knock on the door. He jumped and opened his eyes to see his sister-in-law pop her head in the door.

      Shelby smiled. “You decent?”

      “Never,” he teased.

      “Good.” The pretty blonde walked in carrying a foil-wrapped dish. Quickly a delicious aroma filled the room.

      Following behind Shelby was his nephew, Ryan. The cute kid was five years old and had a head full of golden curls that seemed to run wild. He was dressed in a henley shirt, a pair of jeans and roper boots. A miniature cowboy. The boy was still a little shy around his uncle Austin.

      “Hey, Ryan. How’s that horse of yours? What’s his name?”

      The boy grinned. “Cloud. He’s great. I can ride all by myself.”

      “High five.”

      The boy smacked Austin’s hand and giggled.

      “Pretty soon Uncle Trent will have you chasing down calves.”

      The boy looked at his aunt. After the boy’s mother died, Shelby took over the role of his mom. Once Cullen married Shelby last summer, he took over as the boy’s father. “Can I go do that, Mom?”

      “I think you need to ride around the corral a little longer before we let you go on a trail ride.”

      The boy smiled. “Okay.”

      Shelby looked back at Austin. “I’m glad to see you out of bed.”

      “It took a while, but I managed to get down the hall.”

      “Any progress is good,” she agreed. “Are you hungry? I brought you some meat loaf and cheesy potatoes.”

      He groaned. “Sounds delicious. A person can only eat so much delivery pizza.”

      “Well, from now on, you’ll СКАЧАТЬ