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“That was tough,” Gray agreed. He gave Cord a fatherly smile. “But you passed and earned that.”
“And then I slept for a week.” Cord chuckled. “I have tomorrow off, so I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be out in the maintenance shed,” Gray said. “No doubt.”
“I just have a little filing to do,” Cord said. The Hammond brothers smiled knowingly, and Cord didn’t want to argue with them. He lived alone, and the cabin didn’t exactly hold a lot of allure for him. He’d lived in the same small place for years, and Poppy, Travis’s wife, had sewn him curtains.
When the walls had needed to be repainted, Gray had organized everyone on the farm and they’d done the whole cabin in a couple of hours. He’d gotten new carpet in his bedroom last year, and the place always had hot water, kept the wind and snow out, and welcomed him home.
But he could only watch so much TV and sleep so late on his days off. It wasn’t a crime to go out to the maintenance shed and putter around.
Keith wasn’t doing Cord any favors by taking a catnap, as he wasn’t super gifted with small talk. Thankfully, Colton was in the room, and he kept his brothers—and Cord—entertained.
Several minutes later, Bree, Easton, and Opal exited through the double-wide wooden door, and they all looked like they’d been crying.
“Cord,” Opal said.
“Yes, ma’am.” He got to his feet, thinking she likely had something she wanted him to go do.
She gave him a bright smile. “Mike was talking about you. It’s great to meet you.”
“Oh.” He shook her hand. “You too.”
“Do you think we can go back?” Cord asked. “Or is he too tired?”
“You probably have a few minutes,” Bree said. “They’re bringing him dinner, and then when the doctor comes around again, they’ll probably start the physical therapy.”
“Yeah?” Wes asked.
Colton got up to give Bree his spot on the couch, and she took it. Keith tapped Cord on the shoulder, nodding with his head toward the door. Cord turned to go with him, nearly ramming into a woman for the second time that day.
To be fair, Jane had slammed into him, because he’d snuck up on her. He’d been watching her saddle that horse incorrectly, finding it adorable and cute enough to stay silent.
No, he told himself.You do not find her adorable and cute.Those weren’t the right adjectives for Jane. Beautiful. Smart. Talented. He’d choose any of those any day of the week.
Which is why she’ll never want to be with you, he thought as he sidestepped Opal. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Excuse me.” He followed Keith, and together they went through the door and down the hall to Mike’s room.
Cord pushed on the partially open door, and it swung inward. Mike lay in the bed, his eyes closed, and part of Cord wanted to leave. Then Mike opened his eyes, saw them, and grinned. “Hey, guys.”
“Mike,” Keith said. He moved over to the bed first, and Cord hung back. “Wow, look at you. No sling.”
Mike didn’t move his arm or shoulder at all. An ice pack had been formed over his shoulder and upper arm. “For right now. The physical therapist is coming in a few minutes, so the nurses took it off.”
He looked exhausted, and Cord had never had surgery and couldn’t even imagine what Mike was going through. “You have to start physical therapy right away?”
“Yeah.” Mike sighed. “They don’t give you a moment to breathe at all.” He tried another smile, but he wasn’t very happy.
“Are you in less pain, at least?” Keith asked.
“Well, everything is numb right now,” Mike said. “So I feel great.”
“Dinner’s here,” a woman chirped, and Cord pressed himself against the wall as she brought in a tray that seemed twice as big as her. She set it on the shelf and wheeled it in front of Mike. “Doctor Stone is on the floor, and if you don’t finish before he gets here, you can finish after.”
“Okay.” Mike tried to sit up, and Cord lunged forward to grab the remote to get the bed to support him.
“Once the doctor goes, we’ll get you walking around the floor.”
“Sure,” Mike said as if he was super-jazzed to take a walk around this hospital floor.
