Page 40 of Broken: Taylor

“Takes one to know one.” Eric looked to the back of the house where Felicia was. “What’s up with her?”

“She’s being a protector of some kind. As a matter of fact, I think she is interested in Ben and tonight didn’t exactly give her any warm fuzzies.”

Eric began laughing and soon Taylor joined in. “We’re a bunch of idiots. All the dynamics going on, it’s crazy.”

Eric chuckled a few times. “So you like Allison, but she was on a date with Ben who Felicia digs and Mindy gets twitchy around me. The only couple that had their shit together tonight were the two dudes. That’s hilarious.”

“Right.” Taylor didn’t find it as hilarious as he would have liked. As much as he’d wanted to contact Allison, it had been too hard. Dealing with all the shit that hit him in the face after seeing Janice and then the surgery had left him drained.

Although he’d thought of Allison all the time, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to contact her and give her any ideas regarding a future.

The doctors were hesitant to give him an “everything will be fine” response. His pelvic bone had to be reconstructed. That was followed by two weeks of bed rest to allow the bone to heal. Then there was the wonderful carnival ride of going back in when something wasn’t quite right.

The shattered bone wasn’t cooperating. He’d then gone through hip replacement and while they were in there, they’d reinforced his femur.

“You’re a lucky man. The bullets hit everything but the main artery,” the docs had spouted.

Yeah lucky. The lottery prize was a lifetime of pain and limping. Not to mention the fact any kind of sex would have to be in some kind of alternate position. Which position exactly, he wasn’t quite sure of yet.

Eric’s head lulled to the side and he jerked awake. “Hey, I need to help you get settled. I’m about to pass out.”

Although Taylor grumbled about it, he had a great family. As he closed his eyes in the double recliner he’d been sleeping in, his last thoughts were of how to make love to Allison.

The next dayit was quiet. Eric was gone to work and Felicia had left early that morning.

The only one in the house besides him was Eric’s German Shepard, Scout.

The dog was trained so well, it was as if a person was actually there to keep an eye on him. The huge animal laid in front of the fireplace his head on his front paws. Although his eyes closed from time to time, they would open and look to him.

Obviously, the command had been for Scout to watch after him. It was his third day there. He’d come to Eric’s instead of his own home because it was the only house with a recliner. He couldn’t sleep in a regular bed and get out of it by himself.

The way he saw it, one bachelor pad was as good as another. It wasn’t like he was going to spend time doing much more than surfing the Internet and watching television. Thankfully, the newest edition of Assassin’s Creed was out, so that gave him plenty to keep his mind busy with.

Although it hurt like a motherfucker at physical therapy, whenever he was still the hip area was pretty much pain free now. He wasn’t steady while walking yet, but it didn’t hurt as much anymore.

It would be weeks before he was considered fully recovered by the doctors and given the go ahead to return to work on the ranch. With Scout along and a walker, he was able to make it to his truck and drive to his appointments, which pissed off the doctors.

He went to physical therapy three times a week. Each time he’d start sweating before making it through the door. Today however, all he had to look forward to was gaming and leftovers. In his book, it was as perfect as one could get.

The bellover the door at the café dinged and Mindy looked up as Eric walked in. Immediately she stiffened. It was so annoying how nervous he made her.

For the first time in her life, she was attracted to a man to the point of distraction and this was how she reacted. What the hell was wrong with her?

With jerky movements, she managed to ring up a customer and waited for the man to pick up the cup and plate with a muffin instead of her usual motions of lifting and handing the items over. It was best not to drench a customer in boiling hot coffee.

“Good morning,” Eric said glancing in her direction before studying the menu. “Got any cinnamon raisin bagels?”

“Sorry, we sold out.”

“Got any pumpkin pie?” He continued staring at the menu.

“We never sell it.” She narrowed her eyes at him and was about to ask what he was up to but he interrupted.

“I really would love a slice of cheesecake.”

Mindy looked to her display and to him. “I have croissants, oatmeal muffins, cheese Danishes and white, wheat or rye toast.”

“Ever consider adding to your menu?” Eric glanced at her and back at the menu. “It’s quite limited.”