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“Daddy?” I reached for Dane.
He pushed himself in front of me and took my hand. “Hang on, darling. I didn’t get any messages.” He opened the door and immediately shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s barely been seventy-two hours since Tanner was in surgery.”
“Sorry, man. Things were hectic or I would have called you first. Tate has been at Luke’s all day because one of the horses is sick or I would have told him to come over.” Jesse stepped over the threshold with a grimace on his face. Tanner had his arm looped around his neck, and he wasn’t moving of his own accord. “I’ve got you, Tan. We’re home.”
“I didn’t even drink that much, Jess.” Tanner was the only person in the world who called his brother a shortened version of his name. He groaned when Dane moved to assist. It would have been comical if he had actually been drinking instead of spending time at a hospital. “I feel like a bull kicked my entire right side.”
“You’re on a lot of meds.” Jesse patted his arm. “But don’t worry, we got you,” he repeated.
“Let’s bring Tanner to the couch.” Dane gestured to the den, and they moved forward.
Marissa followed, shutting and locking the door behind them. She had bags in one hand and a folder in the other. “Most of Tanner’s clothes were cut off, but he apparently threatened bodily harm to anyone who touched his belt.”
The same belt that he’d worn since college, and the thought brought a smile to my face. If he was coherent enough at the hospital to be threatening medical personnel over his clothing, he was likely better off than he looked.
“I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that conversation,” I muttered.
“I put his discharge instructions, medication instructions, and follow-up information in this folder,” Marissa continued. “I’ll put his meds on the counter. If anyone has any questions, text me or Elias. That man has his phone practically glued to his fingers.”
“Thanks, Rissa.” I hugged her and took the bags and important information, setting them on the coffee table.
Dane and Jesse moved Tanner toward the couch with a sofa bed inside. Tanner sometimes fell asleep on it when he was working late-late shifts. I immediately jumped into action and Marissa helped me get it set up. It was smart for Tanner to be in an area where there would be more eyes on him. Tanner was in good hands, but I was still worried.
“I didn’t realize how determined he was to come home.” Dane shook his head as he and Jesse situated Tanner on the bed.
“Determined.” Jesse huffed. “He’s got a follow-up with his regular doctor in three days, but Marissa wrote it all down.”
“Thanks, Jesse.”
Dane sounded off to me, as if he wanted to be the one who had been at the hospital, taking care of Tanner, but because of me he had been here.
No. I shot down that train of thought.
Growing up, Jesse and Tanner had been there for each other when no one else had. They had the same mother, and though things were better now, she’d been raising them alone. Both of their fathers bounced off almost immediately after the two of them were born and it caused them to grow up faster. I waited until Tanner was comfortable before moving to his side and kissing his cheek. He stirred slightly but didn’t open his eyes.
“I’m okay, buttercup,” he assured me but he looked far from all right.
“I love you.” I pressed another kiss to his face.
“I love you,” he mumbled.
“Tanner is doped up on pain meds and muscle relaxers. Son-of-a-bitch threatened to walk home, so here we are.” Jesse looked exhausted, and I wondered if there was something else on his mind. He checked Tanner’s pulse with the ever present watch he wore on his wrist. “Do you have a cuff, Ris?”
“Yup. I brought my stuff. I can do it.”
“I’ll do it.”
She shot a look at Jesse. “I understand the numbers better than you.”
“Then I’ll tell you what they are.” He didn’t have a ton of medical training, but after all these years he could do simple assessments and life-saving measures if he needed to step in. I wondered if there was something more serious going on with Marissa than the limited info she had shared with me.
Marissa huffed but handed him a small bag. He retrieved a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff.
“Thanks, darling.” Jesse returned to checking Tanner’s vitals. “Just making sure you’ll live, Tan.”
“Good to know.” Tanner slurred his words. “Just don’t stick a thermometer anywhere other than my mouth, Jess.”
“As long as you’re conscious and don’t have any signs of an infection,” Jesse agreed as he inserted the digital device into his brother’s mouth. Dane clearly didn’t like being kept in the dark and concern played on his features. He waited for Jesse to remove the thermometer before talking to Tanner. “Did you sign out against medical advice, Sir?”
