Page 88 of Daybreak

He started to yawn, then winced and reached for his jaw. “That hurt.”

“You need an ice pack.”

“You are probably right. I didn’t think of that when I laid down. I keep those frozen in the freezer at the bottom of the fridge,” he said.

“I’ll get one for you,” she said.

“I could use another pain pill, too, if it’s time,” he added.

She blew him a kiss. “Be right back.”

He listened to her footsteps flying down the hall and closed his eyes.

She was running.

* * *

Gunner fell asleep with an ice pack wrapped in a kitchen towel leaning against his jaw.

Holly pulled the covers up over his chest, taking care not to bump anything that hurt, and blew him a kiss as she left.

It was past noon, and he had already taken his second pain pill without eating. One more dose and she knew from experience that if he didn’t put food in his stomach, he was going to get sick. A quick look through his refrigerator was useless. There was nothing there that he could comfortably chew.

She scanned several menus before getting to something she thought would work and placed two orders for meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy dinners with one side, and four orders of two different kinds of soup for other meals, then sent texts to the girls at the office and to Gene, her boss.

I will work virtually tomorrow, but from Gunner’s house. He’s in a lot of pain. Sorry for bolting like I did. He was a bloody mess. Twelve stitches to close the cut on his shoulder, a really bad case of road rash on his arm below the elbow where he hit the pavement with the perp, a huge bruise on the side of his jaw from the biker’s helmet, and bruises all over. But nothing is broken, and he will heal.

Still waiting on the appraiser to get to Gunner’s property. I have the photos for Zillow and Redfin ready to go. As soon as we get the appraisal and the inspection done, we can set a price. That’s all for now.

Holly

She was still sitting in the quiet of the room when her cell phone rang. It was Travis.

“Hey, little brother.”

“I wanted to check on Gunner, but Dad said I should call you because he might not feel like talking,” Travis said.

“He’s going to be fine. He’s hurting a lot now, but at the moment, he’s asleep. I’m going to work virtually for a while and will be spending the next few nights here until he is able to get around on his own better.”

“You will tell him we called and asked about him, okay?” Travis said.

“Oh, I will, honey. Everything okay there? Is Granny settling in?”

“All is well, and it’s like Granny never left. She’s doing the books. And Dad has a roping event coming up. Granny is all fired up about keeping times and announcing the competitors…like Mom used to do.”

“Good. You know that was Granny’s job before Mom and Dad were married, so she is an old hand at all of this, which is exactly what Dad needs. She’s someone who can pick up the slack without having to be taught what to do.”

“I guess I forgot about that,” Travis said. “Dad said you are moving back to Crossroads with Gunner.”

“I am…but we’re going to have to build a house first, which means he’s staying with his dad, and I’m staying at the ranch until the house is built.”

“That’s so cool, and so is Gunner. We’ve watched that video a thousand times. Dang, Holly. It’s like looking at something out of a movie.”

She chuckled. “I’m paraphrasing, but Gunner said flying through the air was epic. Coming down, not so much.”

Travis laughed. “He’s already become Crossroads’ new hero.”

“I can only imagine. Are you getting a little excited now about college?”