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I was positive my mouth dropped to the floor. “What? You think I’m worried about the playhouse?”
“Yeah, he’s been a hell of a lot worse off and has gotten projects done.”
“You think I’m worried he won’t be able to finish the stupid playhouse I didn’t even want in the first place?”
I knew my voice sounded more upset than angry. I was pissed at myself for telling Truitt I wasn’t interested in getting involved with him. I was angry he had just accepted it. He’d walked away…yet again.
Ryan pulled his brows down and stared at me. “Why are you so angry?”
“I’m not angry! I’m worried!”
“About Truitt?”
My mouth pressed into a thin line as I looked away.
“Holy shit, do you like him, Saryn?”
I snapped my head back so that my gaze hit his. “Don’t be ridiculous. I do not like him, Ryan. My God, you shot a nail in the man’s foot. How do we know he wouldn’t try to…to do something?”
“Truitt? Do you have any idea how many times he’s stuck, twisted, or hurt himself because of one of his friends? Or simply because he’s…Truitt? You’re overreacting. Why don’t you just go on home, Saryn?”
With my hands on my hips, I glared at my brother. “Are you dismissing me, Ryan?”
“Yes, I am, because you’re acting crazy. It was an accident, Saryn. I didn’t do it on purpose and yes, we may have a pool going about Truitt’s trips to the ER, but none of us would ever put him in any danger or try to hurt him. He knows that.”
I shook my head and walked away from my brother.
So, what if I had spent one afternoon with Truitt. He was sweet to my daughter, and he was sweet to me. That didn’t mean anything.
Pete walked by, and I turned to see where he was going. When I saw him walking into another bay in the ER, I followed. Ryan was on my heels.
Ryan came up to walk next to me. “Why are you suddenly interested in Truitt? I thought you were with Luke.”
I stopped, causing Ryan to stop alongside me. “Why would you say that?”
He shrugged. “Because you hooked up with him. I heard he stopped by the ER to visit you not too long ago.”
Heat instantly hit my cheeks. Before I had a chance to reply, Pete walked up to me. “If you want to watch this, let’s go.”
As I turned to follow Pete, I looked back at Ryan and whisper-shouted, “I am most certainly not with Luke. Or anyone, for that matter!”
He held up his hands in defense. “Fine. Whatever you say.”
Once we were in the room with Pete and Lucy, I watched as they cut away at Truitt’s jeans, then his sock. After cleaning the area, Pete injected a blocker into Truitt’s ankle in a few different locations.
“Okay, so you want to tell me what happened?” Pete asked Ryan.
My brother shrugged. “It was stuck, the nail gun. Honestly, it was Truitt’s fault for trying to take the damn thing from me. He didn’t give me a chance to fix it.”
Truitt opened his eyes and shot Ryan a dirty look. “So now it’s my fault. You had your fucking finger on the trigger, you asshole!”
Ryan tried not to smile.
“Roger paid you, didn’t he?” Truitt asked through gritted teeth. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
Pete and Ryan both chuckled.
“How do y’all find any of this funny?” I asked as Pete handed Lucy the last needle.
“Surgical pliers, please,” Pete said.
Lucy handed them to Pete as I walked over to Truitt. “After they pull it out, they’ll X-ray your foot again to make sure there are no bone fragments.”
Truitt watched as Pete grabbed the nail and pulled it.
“Fuck!” Ryan and Truitt both said as Pete removed the nail in one swift movement.
Pete snapped his head and looked at Truitt. “Did you feel that?”
“No, but I feel dizzy now.”
“Put your head back down,” I softly said, grabbing Truitt’s hand.
“I don’t think we’ll have any worries about infection, especially since it didn’t go through the rubber part of the sole. But, just to be sure, I’ll probably start you on a round of antibiotics. Let’s also get him a tetanus shot, Lucy,” Pete stated.
Truitt nodded but didn’t say anything. He only took one steady breath after another.
“I’ll wash it as best as I can. I can’t say if any fibers got into the wound,” Pete said.
After clearing his throat, Truitt spoke. “I’ll be able to walk on it, right?”
Pete nodded. “It will be sore…isn’t this the same ankle you twisted?”
Truitt looked over at Ryan and shot him a dirty look. “No, it’s the other one.”
Ryan tried not to laugh.
“I’ve never in my life met anyone as unlucky as you, Carter,” Pete stated.
When I looked over at Lucy, I noticed her gaze was down on my hand. It was resting on top of Truitt’s. I was rubbing my thumb over his skin. I instantly pulled my hand away, but not before she lifted a brow in a questioning look. I shook my head, then took a step back.
