“Who were you talking to on the phone?”
“My brother,” I answered. “He seems to think that the bike wouldn’t have just shut down the way it did. Like maybe someone messed with it.”
“Do you think that?”
“That bike was grade-A.” I couldn’t even think about the shape Eileen was in at that moment. I’d have to get a new one, I was sure of it, but all I wanted was for my best friend to come out of this whole thing with a leg that still worked and be able to get back to riding as quickly as possible. “They don’t just quit working mid-ride.”
“You think it was Beau?”
I shrugged. Beau was the only person that I suspected, and as much as I wanted to start pointing the finger and figure out if I was right, I needed to wait until I knew my friend was all right.
“Well, you won’t have to worry about taking care of him if it was,” she said. “It was your bike, Reid,” she reminded me. “If he tampered with it and his intent was to hurt you...” she paused with an angry sigh. “I can’t even... I’ll take care of him myself.”
Was it wrong of me to be turned on right now? The fire in her eyes when she promised to take care of him for trying to hurt me might have been the sexiest thing I’d ever heard her say. My girl willing to fight for me. Willing to seek out those who did me wrong. Could she be any more perfect?
“Thanks, baby,” I said pressing my lips to hers. “But, don’t you worry. As soon as Brett is out of surgery and I know what’s going on with him, I’m going to find out exactly who messed with my bike. You won’t have to worry about getting those pretty little hands dirty.”
“But, I want to,” she defended. “I mean, I want to be there with you. I want to help you figure it all out.”
“Then that’s where you’ll be,” I promised.
*
Four hours after they’d taken Brett back for surgery, a doctor came out to talk to us.
“Are you here with Mr. Sallinger?” the petite female surgeon asked. I wondered how such a small woman—so short in stature—could operate on a big guy such as Brett, but the serious look on her face and the way she cut the small talk and got right down to business said she was a force to be reckoned with.
“Yes,” I said. “We are.” Nora and I both stood, meeting the doctor as she walked toward us.
“I’m Dr. Forlani,” she said, extending her hand. “I performed surgery on your friend’s knee.”
“Is he all right?” I asked, shaking her small hand. For being so small, she had a firm grip which made me a little bit more confident about her opening up my friend’s leg.
“He will be. Your friend really did a number on his knee. Not to mention, the previous damage and scar tissue from past riding injuries. I think that it will require another surgery, but I wanted to talk to him about it before I did anything drastic.”
“If you can get him back on a bike before the season starts, then I’m sure he will want drastic.”
“I’ll go over all the options with him, but I’m confident we can get him back on a bike.”
“That’s great, Doc,” I said, releasing the breath I’d been holding since she entered the room. I felt so relieved hearing her words.
“It might not be like it used to be and it’s going to take a while, but I think with physical therapy he’ll be back to at least ninety-percent function in a reasonable amount of time.”
“Ninety-percent?” Nora asked, taking the words right out of my mouth. Guys like Brett, guys like me, we needed to be at a hundred percent. All the time.
“He had some significant nerve damage. I can’t guarantee how he will heal from that. Sometimes it all goes away, sometimes it doesn’t,” she replied. “It’s different with every patient.”