“Saryn played both times off, said it was the drugs.”
With a groan, I dropped my head against the pillow and closed my eyes. “Is she here?”
“No, she had to work. I told her I could stay with you.”
“When did I say it the second time? That I love her.”
This time he did laugh. “The moment your ass woke up. You opened your eyes, and she was there. You smiled and told her you love her.”
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “One time you can overlook, but twice?”
He grinned. “Let me ask you something, Truitt. Do you love her?”
My gaze moved to his. “I think so. I mean, yes. Hell, this is all new to me. I’ve always liked her, a lot. She’s the only woman I’ve ever pictured having a future with. Being with her makes me happy. She makes me feel…different. I felt my chest ache when she married that fucker.”
Roger nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s called love.”
“I probably just scared her away.”
With a shake of his head, my brother chuckled. “I don’t think so. She’s been guarding you like a woman protecting her young. She banned her brother from the house when he was trying to place a bet on how long it would take for you to hurt yourself again.”
I rolled my eyes.
Roger cleared his throat and looked back toward the door. “I do have a bit of bad news, though.”
My heart sank. “What is it?”
“Rus, he, um, well, he tore his meniscus and had to have surgery, too.”
I laughed, but when my brother didn’t return the laughter, I abruptly stopped. “You’re joking, right?”
He shook his head. “I wish I was, dude, but I’m not. Looks like the two of you had a crazy time running around after that cat.”
I stared at my brother. “The dog tore his meniscus, too? He had to have surgery, too?”
This time he did smile. “Yep. There’s no doubt in my mind that the two of you were meant for each other.”
Slowly, I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Only I would have an accident-prone dog.”
I heard Roger chuckle, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Is he okay? Where is he?”
Roger rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat to stop himself from laughing. “Ryan has him. He was the one who took him to the vet. They did the surgery the same day as yours. Ryan thought it’d be easiest to just bring him to his house and take care of him so Saryn didn’t have to deal with the both of y’all.”
I stared at him, then we both started to laugh.
“Holy shit. I cannot believe my fucking dog has the same injury as me.”
“Same surgery and scar, too.”
We laughed harder, and soon I had tears streaming down my face. Saryn walked into the room and looked at me, then rushed to my side.
“Are you in pain? Why are you laughing and crying?” she asked, her hand going to my forehead to check my temperature. It had to be something in women to always check for a fever, no matter the situation. My mother did it to Roger and me all the time, even as grown ass men.
You coughed, she put her hand on your forehead. Mentioned you had a sore throat, she was checking for a fever.
“I’m not in pain, sweetheart. Ryan told me about Rus, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”
She smiled. “It’s not funny. The poor baby. I stopped by to see him and he’s all laid up with his leg shaved. Don’t worry, though, Ryan’s spoiling him and taking good care of him. Liliana also gave him a new toy. She told him it was his baby, and I swear he hugged it to him.”
“Please don’t turn his dog into a pussy,” Roger said from the chair.
Saryn turned and shot him a glare. “You’re off-duty if you’d like to head on home now.”
Roger shrugged. “I’m in no hurry to get home.”
This time I was the one who shot him a look of warning.
He stood. “After thinking about it, I should probably stop by our folks’ place and let them know how you’re doing.”
Saryn smiled. “Is your mother back yet?”
“She just got back from Hawaii or Europe. Hell, I don’t know. A warning to you, though, the moment my mother finds out about her boy she will want to come over.”
I groaned, and Saryn simply nodded and replied, “Of course. Tell them they’re more than welcome to stop by anytime. I’m going to have Truitt up and walking here in a bit.” She then turned and faced me. “You’ve slept an awfully long time. I think your body was exhausted and needed to catch up.”
With a chuckle, I said, “Most likely. I’ve been going and blowing for a few weeks. I do need to check on the playhouse, though.”