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Damn my brother for knowing me too well. “I already called the university. I arranged to make a sizable donation for the next four years. He had already been accepted, so I didn’t buy that. I just made sure his tuition is covered.”
“You haven’t told him?”
“I meant to. I thought it would be a nice surprise. But then he came at me with wanting to pay rent and work around the ranch, and how he doesn’t think he’s good enough for me.”
Rory scoffed. “You’re not good enough for him. He’s way too pure of heart.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Perry was everything good in the world. Pure of heart and soul.
“What do I do now?”
“Time,” Rory said again.
I flipped him the bird again. “Your advice sucks.”
He shrugged. “My advice is accurate. Definitely keep talking to him, but—”
He cut off when my phone rang. I pursed my lips when I looked at it. The vet clinic was calling. That wasn’t normal. We weren’t waiting on tests or medication. There was no need to be calling, unless…
“Hello?” I said.
“Don’t freak out,” Marshall’s voice came over the line. Of course I immediately began freaking out.
“What is it?” I said. My fist clenched and I went on high alert.
“I need you to come up to the hospital. Perry is here. He is conscious, but—”
“I’ll be right there.” I ended the call and sat up abruptly. “You drive.” I tossed my keys to Rory. I didn’t trust myself to be able to get there without crashing my truck. That wouldn’t do us any good. “Fuck time. Perry’s mine and he’s gonna figure it out today.”
“What the hell happened?” Rory asked; already we were half way to the truck.
“He’s at the hospital.”
“Okay, but like what happened? Is he hurt? Was there a car accident or an incident with an animal? How bad are his injuries?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t give Marshall a chance to explain.”
Rory rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue.
“Let’s go!” I shouted the minute we were in the cab.
For once, my brother listened without comment.
Chapter 14
Perry
“You really don’t have to sit here,” I said to my boss, the man who had had to carry me out of the pen after I had been knocked down by the very angry horse we had been working on. I couldn’t blame the mare. She had been protecting her foal, and we had been trying to make sure she didn’t bleed out after giving birth.
After I’d been knocked on my ass and had the air forced out of my lungs, they had been able to help the mare. At least she and the foal would be fine.
Marshall didn’t even look up from his phone. “I absolutely do have to wait here. Not just because I care about your well being, but also because I guarantee that Reese would have my balls if I left you alone. I let him know you were here. He should be arriving any moment.”
I looked down at my arm currently being held within a sling. When I had been knocked to the side by the horse, I dislocated my shoulder and fractured my elbow. All in one go. It hurt at the time, but the pain was non-existent now thanks to the pain medication they had given me. I hoped to hell I would qualify for some sort of payment plan. The hospital visit was going to cost a fortune.
My muddy clothes were in a trash bag on the chair next to Marshall. The nurse insisted I take them off because they were covered in blood from the mare’s wound, and shit from the pen we were in. Marshall had had to pick me up out of the pen because as I was scrambling to get myself up, I couldn’t move my arm. The whole thing had been humiliating.
“I really think I can work with this thing on,” I said. “It won’t be too much trouble. The nurse even said that these types of injuries heal quickly. I can still work.”
