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So, I told him I’d offer him free work in return. If he were gonna come take care of my animals free of charge, then I’d offer him the same courtesy. I told him he could take me up on that offer anytime he’d like, and it could be a way for him and his father to take a vacation. Far as I knew, they’d never taken one-- not since his mama died anyway-- proclaiming that it wasn’t a family vacation without the entire family.
But sometimes you just needed a break from work.
I told him how Chelsea was and he promised to stop by later on. I told him to seriously consider my offer, even if he and his dad just sat around the house and did absolutely nothing. That wasn’t a vacation, that was just being lazy, and Bradley laughed through the phone before he hung up.
Now, it was just a matter of fixing up things in the house before Chelsea got there. I had a spare bedroom across the hall from mine, but the issue was it was upstairs. I had a room downstairs that I could clear out, but that required furniture to be moved and I wasn’t sure I could pull that off in the amount of time I had. So, since Chelsea was still sound asleep, I went off in search of the doctor.
“Ash! Hey… hey, Ash!”
She turned around with a small smile on her lips, and I caught myself before I approached her.
“I mean, doctor. Hey, doctor.”
“What can I do for you, Bullhead,” she lulled.
“I have some questions on how to make Chelsea safe and comfortable given her condition.”
“Alright. Shoot,” she said.
“Stairs. Yay or nay?”
“If she’s got help, no problem. But, she might get dizzy looking down them with the concussion she’s got, so a general ‘nay’ unless someone’ll help her down every single time.”
“Alright. What about diet? Anything I should stay away from with her swelling and stuff?”
“Anything that prompts inflammation will be bad, but if you just stick to a healthy diet that isn’t rich in breads, you’ll be good. Lots of water, no soda, and absolutely no caffeine.”
“Chelsea’s not gonna like that,” I mused lowly.
“No one ever does,” Ash smirked.
“Whose care is she being released into?” she asked.
“Mine.” Ash pursed her lips.
“Bet her momma didn’t like that.”
“Not at first, but I gave her a key to the house so she could come by whenever she wanted.”
“That’s good,” Ash smiled, “you’re a good man, Flynn.”
“Thanks,” I sighed.
“Just… know your limits,” she warned.
“What’s that mean?”
“Flynn, this is Chelsea. There isn’t a person around here, new or old, that doesn’t know y’all’s story. What she did rocked this little Oklahoma town, and there are just as many people worried about you as they are about her.”
“I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself.”
“Doesn’t mean you shouldn't be reminded of that every once in a while.”
The silence that hung between us was tense. I didn’t stop to think about how this would look: a boy whose college love abandoned him the morning after graduation suddenly comes back into town, half kills herself, and then that same boy takes her in to rehabilitate her as he sees fit.
“I’ll be careful,” I assured her.
“Good,” she smirked.
