I was in the back seat of Joe’s pickup.
“You okay?” Talon said.
“What’s going on?”
“You passed out. We’re taking you to the hospital.”
“I don’t need a hospital.”
“The hell you don’t,” Joe said in his classic big brother voice. “You’ve probably got a concussion.”
“I don’t need a doctor to tell me that.”
“You need treatment, Ry. So shut up. We’re almost there.”
“I’m fine. I’m not sick to my stomach.”
“You passed out.” Joe pulled the truck to a stop. “We’re here.”
>
* * *
A few hours of paperwork later, I was set up in a hospital room.
“We’ll need to keep you overnight for observation,” a doctor had said.
I’d told him he was full of shit, but my brothers had wrangled me into the room. Now I lay in bed in a hospital gown, my ass hanging out, eating Salisbury steak and Jell-O. I was surprised at how hungry I was, though in reality I hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours. I’d actually spent the night passed out in the middle of nowhere. As Talon had said, luckily it had been mild weather.
My brothers—half brothers—had gone out to get me some real food and a new cell phone. I slurped another spoonful of lime Jell-O—yum…nothing like artificial flavoring and coloring—and then looked up at the doorway to my room.
Pure beauty greeted me.
Chapter Three
Ruby
Even in a hospital gown, his hair a mess, holding a spoonful of green glop to his lips, Ryan Steel was still the most gorgeous man on the planet. He looked up at me, his eyes wide.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” he said.
I walked swiftly to his side. “Are you all right? Melanie called me.”
“I’m okay. Just a little concussion.”
I took the spoon he was still holding and set it on the tray. “What were you thinking? Taking your car out and going completely nuts. You promised me you wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
“I didn’t—”
“Uh-uh.” I placed two fingers over his lips. “You scared the shit out of all of us. You don’t get to talk yet.”
“Ruby, I—”
“What the hell did I just say?” I’d had a hell of a night, dealing with my phone call from dear old Daddy, and I wasn’t about to let Ryan off the hook. “I know you’ve been through a huge turning point in your life, but that doesn’t change how the rest of us feel about you. Your brothers and sister and sisters-in-law were scared out of their minds when they couldn’t find you this morning. And when Melanie called me…” I broke off, tears choking me.
I gulped them down. Ryan didn’t need to see me like that. He didn’t deserve to see me like that after the stunt he’d pulled.