The Strong Family Romance Collection Page 6

  Everything was pretty blurry to him as she buckled up and they drove down to town. The movement of the car made his stomach start rolling again, so he kept his eyes shut tight, focused on breathing in and out, and regrettably didn’t even try to flirt with Ella. He prayed he wasn’t missing out on the incredible opportunity of being alone with her and having her feel sorry for him. That had softened her from where she’d been at the start of the bike ride, when she’d shut off from him. Trey had never in his life wanted to be injured, though he’d dealt with his share of concussions and broken bones. Right now, he kind of hoped he was injured and could beg the beautiful Ella to nurse him back to health. Mama was too busy with Papa being sick, and Gavin was too busy running the resort. Ella was the perfect choice to take very good care of him. A smile crawled across his lips as he felt the vehicle slow, then stop.

  Peeling his eyes open, he saw Ella looking at him, almost with suspicion. “What’s that big grin for?” she asked.

  “Forgive me, love. I’m a little loopy right now.”

  “Oh shoot, Trey. Of course you are. Let’s get you in to Doc.”

  She jumped out and hurried around the vehicle, and he grinned to himself. Yeah, maybe an injury was the ticket to alone time and getting her to fall for him. His smile disappeared. It needed to be a quick-healing injury. He had a busy fall. Gavin would be understanding if he had to flake on some rides this weekend; most of the event planners who had him scheduled would not.

  Ella opened his door and took his arm, helping him into the clinic. His leg did hurt, but it was his head that was bothering him the most.

  They were greeted by the aging receptionist, Desirae Rae. Everybody was required to call her by both names, and she was as loving as she was round. Trey couldn’t believe she was still working; she’d seemed old when he’d lived here. When she saw them, she leapt—well, as much as a seventy-plus-year-old woman could leap—and rushed around her desk to hug them both in turn.

  “My laws, the two of you back home. Aren’t you both just the most beautiful people? But what’s this? Trey, you look a little banged up and green around the gills.” She whistled and winked slyly at Ella. “But it just makes him cuter, doesn’t it? What happened, my darlings?”

  Trey looked to Ella. It ticked him off that he’d forgotten again. He remembered he was staying with Gavin to teach tricks to people at the lodge. Ella was here. They’d been flirting and falling for each other until Gavin intervened. How’d he get hurt again?

  The older lady stared at Ella too, and she explained. “He got hit by a car on his mountain bike.”

  “Oh my lands! Goodness me! Doc! Doc! What are you doing just walking in here?” She scolded. “Never heard of 911? Doc! Doc! Get your scrawny backside out here. Our famous boy has been hit by a car.”

  Famous? Oh my. This was actually one of the reasons it was hard to come home. Even though his uncle and aunt who had raised him had relocated to Dallas for work, Trey still considered this valley home.

  Doc bustled out of an exam room. “What’s the ruckus, Desirae Rae? I’m in the middle of a biopsy on Gemma. Oh!” He stopped in his tracks, looking at the two of them over his spectacles. He was as skinny as Desirae Rae was round. Doc was probably twenty years younger than her, but she still bossed him around like they were an old married couple. They both had spouses of their own, and somehow the relationship worked for everyone. “Trey Nelson. Our local celebrity come home. How are you, son, how are you? And our beautiful Ella too?”

  Trey was leaning heavily against Ella and his stomach had started rolling again. He pleaded silently to please, please not let him throw up in front of Ella again. Sympathy love for being injured was one thing, but being disgusting, stinky, and injured would not help his case, no matter how benevolent Ella was.

  “Trey’s been hit by a sport utility,” Ella started in. “Thrown off his mountain bike.”

  “And you two drove here? Do you know what an ambulance is? Oh goodness, cocky young people these days. Follow me. Desirae Rae, you tell Gemma she’s just going to have to wait.” He started down the narrow hallway but glanced back over his shoulder. “Do you need a wheelchair, son, or can you make it?”

  “I can make it.” But he was leaning pretty heavily on Ella. “Am I hurting you?” he whispered into her silky hair. He couldn’t even remember when she’d taken her helmet off. It must’ve been while they were driving and he was so out of it.

  “No, I’m tough.” She smiled up at him.

  Doc was chattering about something as he hurried in front of them to the third door on the right and they slowly made their way after him. Desirae Rae was rushing into the first exam room, explaining loudly to Gemma about the accident. He thought it would be Gemma Klein, a kind lady who played organ for the choir; her granddaughter was Kaytlyn, who he used to date in high school. He’d remained friends with Kaytlyn throughout the years, visiting her whenever he got close to Sun Valley where she now lived.

  “I’m wondering how either of these two gets a word in edgewise,” Ella said out of the side of her mouth.

  Trey laughed, then wished he hadn’t when his stomach revolted. He really wanted to get sitting down again. He swallowed down the bile, sweat popping up on his forehead.

  “You okay?” Ella looked so sweet and concerned about him that he wished he didn’t feel so awful and could enjoy her attention.

  He nodded, because opening his mouth at this point would not be smart.

  They shuffled into the exam room, him dragging his right leg and leaning against her.

  “Can you get up on the table, son?” Doc demanded.

  Trey shook his head and sank into the closest chair. He leaned his head back against the wall and took slow breaths, willing his stomach to calm down.

  “Has he been puking? Sweating? Acting off? How bad was the hit? Describe it all for me.”

  Luckily, these questions and demands were drilled at Ella, and Trey could just concentrate on breathing in and out and keeping a hold on whatever was left in his stomach. Doc started examining him and asking Ella more questions, making him open his eyes and stare into pinpoint lights, fidgeting with his leg, testing his knee, and finally bandaging up the cuts. Trey’s stomach was gradually calming, but he was glad he wasn’t moving.

  “Well, kids, here’s what I’m thinking.”

  Ella’s phone rang. She pulled it out to silence it, but then said, “I’d better take this.”

  “You’re great.” Trey gave her an encouraging smile.

  Doc watched as she closed the door, then turned to him. “She’s turned into a fine-looking and accomplished woman, hasn’t she?”

  “Yes, sir.” Trey knew Doc was a good guy and not being an old pervert, more hoping Trey knew how good of a catch Ella was. He definitely, definitely did.

  “So, son, the head injury is the worst of it. You’ll feel horrible today and maybe tomorrow, and then you’ll heal up pretty quick. Let me know if you start throwing up again or seeing double or if Ella notices your pupils being uneven, that kind of thing. Mostly, you just need sleep and rest.”

  “Okay.”

  “The leg. It’s not broken. Might be a bad strain on a ligament, but I don’t believe we’ve got a tear …” His voice trailed off and his eyes flickered to the door Ella had just exited; then they lit up with a conniving look. “How much are you liking that pretty girl?”

  “A lot.” Trey admitted it easily.

  Doc’s eyes sparkled mischievously, but then they narrowed. “You aren’t playing with that darling girl’s heart, are you, boy? My wife says the ladies chase you around like hunting dogs after a wolf.”

  Trey thought that was an odd analogy for how women pursued him. They did chase him, but he hoped he wasn’t a conniving wolf, and no woman wanted to be called a dog. He shook his head quickly. “No, Doc.” He rested his head against the wall again and admitted, “I think she might be the one for me, so I’m trying to get her to date me, but Gavin’s having none of it.”


  “What business is it of Gavin’s?”

  Trey thought this was probably an odd conversation when he had a concussion and possibly a knee injury, but he was afraid he’d forgotten parts of it, just like he kept forgetting the moment of how he’d gotten hurt. It had always been like this with Doc, though. The guy was part of the lifeblood of this small town, and he cared about everybody. He’d seemed to take an extra interest in Trey—a lot of adults did, as his aunt and uncle had raised him and everyone loved and respected them.

  “I think he’s just trying to protect her because he’s seen the media your wife has seen, making it look like I’m some playboy.” So he dated a lot. That didn’t mean he’d hurt Ella or dump her for the latest model.

  “You and Gavin have been best friends as long as I can remember. You really think he’d warn Ella off of you?”

  “He told me not to go after her and we argued, but he finally conceded that she could choose. But then, the next time I saw her, she’d obviously been brainwashed.” How could he remember all of that, but somehow the way he’d gotten hurt kept disappearing?

  “Big brothers, eh? My Myra’s brother shot my truck up with a pellet gun to try to scare me away.”

  “No way.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t get married until I was thirty. I’d put myself through medical school, paid off all that debt, set up my practice here, and finally, finally saved up enough to buy me a new Ford truck. It was pretty, but not near as pretty as my Myra. I thought her family liked me as much as she did, but apparently not.” Doc laughed heartily but then focused in on Trey again. “And now you’ve got feelings for our Ella?”

  Trey nodded. His stomach was feeling much better now that he could just sit still, but his head still ached. “I really care for her, Doc. I think she might be the one to settle me down and bring me home. I’m not sure how to get past Gavin not supporting me, though. I don’t want to mess up our friendship, but I really want a chance with her.”

  Doc regarded him, and then there was a soft rap at the door. “Come in,” he called.

  Ella walked back in. “Sorry.” She tucked her long, dark hair behind her ear. “Austin was wondering where I am. I told him we’d be home soon and he’d have to help me take care of you.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet of you.”

  Ella just smiled and looked to Doc. “So how bad is it?”

  Doc pursed his lips, his blue eyes glittering. “Well, darlin’, I hope your nursing skills are good, because this one is going to need some TLC the next few days.”

  Trey sat up straighter. “A few days? I need to be back doing rides and tricks by tomorrow.”

  “No rides, and no pressure on that right leg. That ligament might be torn. We won’t know until we get in for an MRI. I’ll call you when we can get you into the hospital in Vail for the test. They’re always backed up. Especially on a holiday weekend.”

  Trey leaned back, stunned. He couldn’t put pressure on his right leg? He could’ve sworn Doc said it was probably fine just a few minutes before. Dang. What was he forgetting now? He hated head injuries, but he hated lasting injuries even more. He had to perform, teach, and be with the people. He had a schedule to keep. Even though it might secure him time with Ella, he really couldn’t be injured.

  “The head injury is concerning.” Doc swung to Ella. “You’ll need to watch him close all night long.”

  Trey’s heart raced at the thought of that. Was Doc trying to help push him and Ella together by her caring for him? Was his leg really injured enough to put no pressure on it? How long did he have to wait on the MRI? How had he gotten injured again?

  “All night long?” Ella looked a little concerned, but did he dare hope there was a spark of excitement in those dark eyes?

  “Let him sleep if he can, but you need to stay close by his side. Then his leg. I’m thinking it’s hopefully the MCL—quicker recovery than the ACL. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll just be a small tear, not a complete sever. You need to help him get around. Don’t let him overdo it. We’ll get some crutches ordered, but they’ll take a few days to get here.”

  “You have no crutches?”

  “Not for someone as tall as Trey. So, you know, help him to the bathroom or up and down stairs, let him wrap his arm around you for support, that kind of thing.”

  To the bathroom? Ella would definitely not be helping him to the bathroom. He hated how uncertain everything was. His career was active and busy. He was supposed to be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in less than a week to put on some clinics and do some video shots there. He couldn’t afford to be laid up for six months with a knee injury. Curse whatever had hit him. A car, right? That’s what they all kept saying.

  Glancing at Ella, he realized this injury was inconvenient and stupid, but he couldn’t complain about time alone with her. He also realized that he could claim he wanted to settle down, but he had a lot of commitments over the next year that he had to keep. Ella’s beautiful dark eyes stared at him with such concern he thought maybe being injured might not be so bad, if she really would take care of him. Maybe it was flaky to plan on moving on so soon when he claimed he wanted to date Ella, but he had to convince her to want to date him before he interrupted his well-planned schedule. Ella was amazing, and his injury and Doc had just orchestrated a lot of alone time with her. Maybe over the next few days he could get to the bottom of the kindle of their affection, see if he could flame it into a bonfire. He’d always liked the really big fires.

  “Any questions?” Doc asked.

  Trey just arched his eyebrows. He wanted to ask again what happened but didn’t want to appear incompetent to Ella. His gaze swept over her, and he heard himself say, “Yeah. Why is Ella so beautiful?”

  Doc chuckled, and Ella blushed. “I think he’s going to be fine,” Doc said.

  “That’s all a matter of opinion,” Ella shot back.

  Trey smiled, though it hurt his head. He was going to be fine if he could talk Ella into dating him before he had to leave on Monday. No injury was going to slow him down from either purpose.

  Chapter Seven

  Ella was jumpy and nervous as she drove Trey back toward the mountain. He had his eyes closed and was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, but there was a sort of self-satisfied smirk on his lips. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “Thank you, love, for being willing to take care of me,” he said suddenly.

  She glanced over to find that his blue eyes were fastened on her face. Intense and confident were definitely two words that would describe Trey, and he appeared to be focused on making her fall for him. Was she just a game to him? How did you ask the ultimate player that question and get a straight answer? You didn’t.

  “Sure. Austin will be there to …” She about said chaperone, but she went with, “Help. Do we need to stop by the lodge and get your stuff from your room?”

  “My suitcases are already at Gavin’s house. I was going to stay with Mama and Papa, but then Papa got sick, so Gavin volunteered. I didn’t know why he was so odd about it, until I saw you again.” His head was resting to the side on the headrest as he stared unnervingly at her. “Gavin must have had some kind of premonition about how hard and fast I would fall for you. Do you know why he’s against us, love?”

  Ella’s jaw dropped. Trey didn’t know the meaning of the word discreet. Was he really falling for her, or was it just to add another number to his lengthy list of women who swooned over him?

  She turned past the lodge and to the slot canyon. Stopping at the gate, she typed in the code, and it swung open. She focused on the road, having no clue how to answer Trey without revealing how long she’d loved him.

  “It’s okay, love.” He patted her knee, and she jumped. “We can talk about it later, when I can remember your answer and I’m not so … unsettled inside.”

  “Are you going to throw up again?” She parked the car and her gaze darted nervously to him.

  His eyes were closed and he was taking slow breaths. �
�No, just give me a minute before we go inside.”

  “Okay.” She sat there quietly, listening as he kept breathing slowly. Her eyes were drawn to her parents’ house, and she wished her mama was able to come help her with Trey. Her mama was a natural nurse, while Ella always felt like she didn’t quite know what to do or what would help.

  The front door of Gavin’s house burst open and Austin ran out onto the porch and down the steps, angling to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Ella hurried to fling her door open and rush to intercept him. She couldn’t imagine the boy’s exuberance would sit well with Trey’s stomach and head being a mess right now.

  “Austin, wait,” she begged, but he reached the door before she could stop him and ripped it open.

  “Trey, my man! Ella said you’re all busted up.”

  Ella reached him and wrapped her arms around Austin’s shoulders to hold him back from possibly jumping at Trey.

  Trey was smiling at Austin with such kindness that it warmed her heart. His eyes flickered to her, and that warmth changed to something intimate and deep. This look was the fulfillment of teenage fantasies she’d had about Trey, and it burned a hole clear through her stomach.

  “I’m all right, buddy,” Trey said. “Just need to rest for a bit.”

  “Can we hang out, then? Do you want to watch Avengers: Endgame first, or play FIFA on the Playstation? Ella can be our nurse and bring us popcorn and Mountain Dew.” He lowered his voice and talked out of the side of his mouth. “I’m not supposed to do the Dew—” He laughed at his own joke. “—but Gav keeps some in the fridge and he never tells me no.”

  “Does anyone tell you no?” Ella blurted.

  “Why would they? I’m adorable.” Austin leaned his head back and blinked up at her.

  “That you are, but I don’t want you to be spoiled.”

  “Mama likes to call it overly loved.”

  “Aw, that’s the term.” She laughed.

  Trey laughed with them. He was looking a little more settled, so Ella released Austin and said, “Hey, buddy, go grab some extra pillows and bring them to the couch. We’ll get Trey settled; then you two can watch your show or play a game.”