Chapter 4
Drop the ball – to act like a numbskull, therefore, causing an innocent person injury
Rowan
Ipace the waiting room of the hospital as I wait to hear how Ashlyn is doing. I clench my hands as I relive the moment her eyes closed, and she lost consciousness. I gathered her in my arms and ran as fast as I could to the police station where there’s a vehicle available for any emergency a resident may have.
Normally, I love the Winter Falls’ policy of no gas guzzling cars on its streets but now I’m worried the extra five minutes it took me to get Ashlyn to the hospital will prove disastrous.
“Why haven’t we heard anything yet?” I ask the room again.
The waiting room is full of Ashlyn’s family. Her parents and all four of her sisters sit quietly as they wait for news. How can they sit there all calm? Don’t they realize what a big deal it is to lose consciousness? Ashlyn could have a concussion or some other traumatic brain injury.
Mrs. West stands and grasps my shoulders. She makes me feel like a giant since I’m easily a foot taller than her. She’s just an itty-bitty thing. Unlike her daughter who gets her height from her dad.
Ashlyn is tall and thin, except for her ass. I want to sink my fingers into her round globes. And now I’m thinking about sex with the woman’s daughter. I’m going to hell.
Mrs. West squeezes my shoulders. “She’s going to be fine, Rowan. This isn’t the first time she’s broken a bone.”
Ellery snorts. “Not even close. Remember the time she fell out of the tree and broke her arm?”
“Of course, I remember. She was spying on me and Lyric in the treehouse,” Aspen says.
“At least, she won’t cry all night long with a broken foot. Unlike when she fell into the poison ivy,” Juniper comments.
Aspen sighs. “And that time she was spying on me and Lyric in the falls.”
Lilac’s brow wrinkles as she studies her older sister. “How did you manage to finish high school with all the fooling around you did?”
Aspen’s cheeks darken while Ellery bursts into laughter. “Maybe because she set off the fire alarm every time there was a math test, she didn’t study for.”
Mrs. West slams her hands on her hips. “What? You mean to tell me I had the fire alarm company come to the school several times to check what was wrong with the fire alarm system when it was you this whole time?”
Mrs. West was the high school English teacher when I attended high school and now she’s the principal of the school.
Aspen’s eyes widen as she gazes up at her mom. “You mean you didn’t know?”
“I assumed my daughter wouldn’t commit a felony by setting off a false fire alarm.”
Lilac clears her throat. “I don’t think pulling a fire alarm is a felony.”
Mrs. West’s jaw clenches and I fear she’s going to throw herself at her far too logical daughter. Before any blood can be shed, the doctor enters the room.
“West family?”
The family gathers around the doctor while I hang back. I’m not a member of their family. No matter how much I want to be. But it’ll never happen. I don’t deserve to have the love of a woman, especially not Ashlyn’s.
“Ashlyn is doing well. She broke her ankle, but it was a simple break. There’s no need for surgery. We’ve reset it and she’ll be in a cast for six weeks. Otherwise, she’s fine.”
Before anyone else has a chance to speak, I do, “But why did she lose consciousness? Is she concussed?”
As a former football player, I’m very aware of how dangerous hits to the head can be. A concussion is more serious than people think.
The doctor peers up at me and his eyes widen. I’m used to the reaction. Being six-foot-five and having broad shoulders garners a lot of astonished looks.
“She didn’t hit her head. She passed out from the pain.”
Relief hits me in the chest, and I have to steady myself with a hand against the wall. Ashlyn’s okay. A broken ankle sucks, but it’s not life threatening.