Lucky in Love

by Kelly Elliott

  “It’s possible, you know. Have you seen your sister!”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m going to pretend you’re not standing out in front of my sister’s house, dressed in her robe, in the middle of the night. I’m going to turn around and walk away and pray like hell the memory of you goes away quickly. I’m not going to think about why you’re naked, and why my niece found you in her mother’s bed. You’re my best friend, so I’m going to assume you’re just simply out for a stroll, naked.”

  “I am. Dude, I am your very best friend and you know I’d never…”

  “Shut up, Truitt.”

  I pretended to lock my lips and throw away the key. “Not talking.”

  He sighed. “I’m fucking happy for y’all. I am.”

  I grinned, but then he held up his hand.

  “If you hurt her, I will give you pain like you have never experienced before in your life.”

  “Understood.”

  “Now, I’m going home. I was watching a marathon of Yellowstone with my father. You’re lucky he didn’t hear you out here chasing the damn dog.”

  Ryan turned to leave when I cleared my throat. “Hey, Ryan, you wouldn’t happen to want to maybe drive me to the ER, would you?”

  He slowly turned and looked at me. “Why?” he asked cautiously.

  “I think I might have torn something in my knee when I was chasing the dog.”

  When he let his eyes wander down my robe-clad body, I knew I was in serious trouble.

  “Sure, Truitt. I’ll take you to the ER. No problem at all.”

  Truitt

  WHEN RYAN INSISTED we not go back into the house and wake up Saryn or Liliana, I knew I was about to get my payback. This is what happens when your best friend catches you wearing his sister’s robe after you’ve had your wicked way with her for nearly half the night.

  Karma is a bitch.

  When Ryan pulled up to the ER and the doors opened to reveal my brother, I knew my perfect night had taken a turn for the worse.

  “You called Roger?” I asked, shooting a dirty look at my ex-best friend.

  “Fuck yeah, I did. He was my first call.”

  “Your first call?”

  He smiled. I closed my eyes and prayed it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

  The door to Ryan’s truck opened and I heard my brother.

  “Truitt, dude, why didn’t you tell us you had a fetish for women’s clothing?”

  Jerking my head around to look at him, I replied, “Fuck you, Roger. Why are you here?”

  “Ryan put the call out and said you were hurt. When you’re hurt, we’re hurt.”

  “We?” I asked, not wanting to know what he meant by that.

  “Yeah, we.” He turned and motioned with his hand. Standing outside the doors of the ER were Jack, Paul, and Pete, who clearly wasn’t working tonight since he was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

  “What the fuck?” I mumbled as they all stood there, their phones up, capturing the entire moment.

  “Okay, let’s get this guy into the ER and see what damage he’s done now!” Ryan said, pushing up a wheelchair.

  “Need help getting out? We wouldn’t want you to flash anyone,” Roger said as he tried like hell not to laugh and failed.

  “I’m perfectly fine, motherfucker!” I snapped as I got out of the truck and dropped myself into the wheelchair. If it didn’t feel like someone had pushed a knife into my knee, I would have walked in on my own.

  Ryan pushed the wheelchair past all my other ex-friends as they started placing bets on what the injury would be.

  “I’ve got fifty on a torn meniscus,” Paul said.

  “Damn it, I was going for that!” Pete said.

  “Did you leave a note for Saryn?” I asked Ryan as he stopped us in front of the nurses’ station.

  “I did. I told her I found you on the ground in the front yard rolling about in pain. That I had to take your sorry ass to the ER and that I’d make sure she got her robe back.”

  With a groan, I dropped my head down. “I hate you,” I softly whispered.

  All he did was clasp his hand on my shoulder and said, “Welcome to the family, bro.”

  Things didn’t get much better when Dr. Turner walked into the room. She stopped when she saw me. She took in the robe I was still wearing and looked at Ryan, Roger, Pete, and Paul.

  “Do I even want to know?” she asked.

  “The good news is, it’s not a broken dick this time, doc,” Roger said.

  I closed my eyes and prayed I could go back in time and wish on a falling star to be an only child.

  “Well, that’s good news,” Dr. Turner said.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s a torn meniscus,” Pete said. After Dr. Turner did an exam, she ordered an MRI. I begged the tech to leave me in the waiting room outside of X-ray and not bring me back to the ER and my so-called friends. She agreed and even brought me a cup of water.

  Pete ended up finding me and bringing me back to the ER to talk to the doctor.

  “It’s a torn meniscus. I recommend arthroscopic total meniscectomy. It’s a pretty bad tear,” Dr. Turner said. “There’s an on-call orthopedic doctor in this evening, and we can do the surgery tonight.”

  “Tonight?” I asked, looking around the room. No one was laughing or joking, but I was pretty sure I saw Ryan hand Pete money.

  The door to the room opened, and Saryn walked in holding Liliana. Her eyes bounced around the room until they landed back on mine. I saw the concern in there and the fear, but it melted away the moment I smiled at her.

  Then she saw what I was wearing, and her cheeks turned a bright red.

  “He needs surgery for a torn meniscus,” Ryan said, most likely hoping to deflect from the fact that I was still wearing her robe.

  Before she could say anything, I turned back to the doctor. “How long is the recovery? I’m pretty busy at work.”

  “You’ll be up and moving around in about a week.”

  “A week!” I nearly shouted.

  “The orthopedic doctor can give you a better idea. I’ve had him paged, and he should be down to talk to you soon. In the meantime, I’m going to have you moved to a room so you’re more comfortable. And maybe one of your friends here might be kind enough to go and get you some clothes.”

  Ryan walked up and took Liliana from Saryn’s arms. She was sound asleep. “I take it you woke up and found the note.”

  She nodded. “I didn’t want to wake Mom and Dad so early.”

  “I’ll take her home, don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Ryan said as he kissed his sister on the cheek.

  Before he could leave, Saryn called out to him. “Ryan, once you get Liliana settled, will you take Rus to the vet? He’s limping. I called the emergency vet and they told me to bring him in.”

  Everyone looked at me, then Roger slapped me on the back. “Dude, either your dog has sympathy pains, or he’s got your kind of luck.”

  “How crazy would it be if they had the same injury?” Pete said with a chuckle. Before I knew it, they were all placing bets on that, too.

  “You can all go home now,” I said, frustration etched in my voice.

  “I’ll make sure he’s checked out, don’t worry,” Roger said as he squeezed Saryn’s arms lightly. “And I’ll bring him some clothes to wear home after the surgery.”

  “Thank you,” I said at the same time as Saryn.

  When we were finally alone, Saryn took my hand in hers. “When I read the note from Ryan, I panicked. I ran upstairs and grabbed Liliana, and I noticed Rus was limping. I didn’t know what to do. It was either come here or try and get him to the vet with Liliana in tow.”

  “I’m sorry you left the house so late, and with Liliana. You didn’t have to do that,” I said as I pulled her to me and kissed her.

  “I called Ryan, and he told me not to come, but I had to. I needed to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “What in the world happened, Truitt? And why
are you in my robe?”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes. “We fell asleep, obviously. Liliana woke me up and told me she had a bad dream. She wanted me to read her a book. I knew I had to get her back to her room, and I didn’t want to wake you up. I figured if you saw your daughter in your room and you knew she had seen me in your bed, you would freak out. So I asked Liliana to bring me your robe and then told her to turn and close her eyes and I slipped it on. I took her back up to bed, read her a story, then took Rus out. He took off after a cat, which made me take off after him. Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t wake you up screaming for the bastard to come back.”

  She giggled and shook her head. “You wore me out, Mr. Carter. I was in a deep, peaceful sleep.”

  With a wink, I went on talking. “Anyway, I somehow ended up tearing my knee, and Ryan showed up because you know, that would be my luck.”

  Her hand covered her mouth, and she at least tried not to laugh.

  “I’m sorry. Are you sure you want to be with a guy who’s so accident prone?”

  Saryn wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. If I had been standing, my legs would have wobbled.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Besides, look how sexy you are in my robe.”

  The door to the room opened and Saryn took a step back. The doctor smiled and introduced himself to us, then proceeded to tell me about the surgery, the recovery, and how if I used ice therapy I would most likely be up and walking in a few days.

  Before I knew it, I was being taken into surgery with Saryn walking by my side. Before they brought me into the operating room, she leaned down and kissed me.

  “I’ll see you in a few.”

  My head felt foggy and I was fighting sleep, but somehow I managed to speak. “See you soon. Love you.”

  Saryn froze, and before I could say anything else, I closed my eyes.

  I didn’t remember much of the drive home from the hospital, and when I woke up, I found myself back in a strange bedroom. My head felt clearer, and I looked down to see I had something wrapped around my knee. I reached down and touched it, only to pull my hand back from the cold.

  “Ice therapy,” I whispered, remembering what the doctor had said.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  The voice from the door caused me to look up. It was my brother.

  “Hey. I feel like I’ve slept for days.”

  He laughed. “You haven’t slept for days, but you have been out of it since you woke up. Trying to get you out of the hospital and into this room was a challenge.”

  I glanced around the room. “Where am I?”

  “Saryn’s guest bedroom. She insisted I bring you back to her house so she could take care of you. I have to say, I think she’s sorta into you, bro.”

  Smiling, I felt my heart rate speed up some. “Yeah, I’m into her, too. A lot.”

  He nodded and sat down in the chair next to the bed. “You made that clear when you told her you love her.”

  I stilled, then slowly looked at my brother. “I did what?”

  The bastard took a drink of his coffee in an attempt not to show he was smiling. “You told her you love her. Not just once. But twice.”

  “Twice?”

  The memory of being brought into the operating room came rushing back to me. It had felt so right to say it, even though I knew it wasn’t the right time. We’d had one date. One. Two if you counted our time in the hospital.

  “I remember the first time now. It kind of slipped out.”

  “Saryn played both times off, said it was the drugs.”

  With a groan, I dropped my head against the pillow and closed my eyes. “Is she here?”

  “No, she had to work. I told her I could stay with you.”

  “When did I say it the second time? That I love her.”

  This time he did laugh. “The moment your ass woke up. You opened your eyes, and she was there. You smiled and told her you love her.”

  I scrubbed my hand over my face. “One time you can overlook, but twice?”

  He grinned. “Let me ask you something, Truitt. Do you love her?”

  My gaze moved to his. “I think so. I mean, yes. Hell, this is all new to me. I’ve always liked her, a lot. She’s the only woman I’ve ever pictured having a future with. Being with her makes me happy. She makes me feel…different. I felt my chest ache when she married that fucker.”

  Roger nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s called love.”

  “I probably just scared her away.”

  With a shake of his head, my brother chuckled. “I don’t think so. She’s been guarding you like a woman protecting her young. She banned her brother from the house when he was trying to place a bet on how long it would take for you to hurt yourself again.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Roger cleared his throat and looked back toward the door. “I do have a bit of bad news, though.”

  My heart sank. “What is it?”

  “Rus, he, um, well, he tore his meniscus and had to have surgery, too.”

  I laughed, but when my brother didn’t return the laughter, I abruptly stopped. “You’re joking, right?”

  He shook his head. “I wish I was, dude, but I’m not. Looks like the two of you had a crazy time running around after that cat.”

  I stared at my brother. “The dog tore his meniscus, too? He had to have surgery, too?”

  This time he did smile. “Yep. There’s no doubt in my mind that the two of you were meant for each other.”

  Slowly, I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Only I would have an accident-prone dog.”

  I heard Roger chuckle, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Is he okay? Where is he?”

  Roger rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat to stop himself from laughing. “Ryan has him. He was the one who took him to the vet. They did the surgery the same day as yours. Ryan thought it’d be easiest to just bring him to his house and take care of him so Saryn didn’t have to deal with the both of y’all.”

  I stared at him, then we both started to laugh.

  “Holy shit. I cannot believe my fucking dog has the same injury as me.”

  “Same surgery and scar, too.”

  We laughed harder, and soon I had tears streaming down my face. Saryn walked into the room and looked at me, then rushed to my side.

  “Are you in pain? Why are you laughing and crying?” she asked, her hand going to my forehead to check my temperature. It had to be something in women to always check for a fever, no matter the situation. My mother did it to Roger and me all the time, even as grown ass men.

  You coughed, she put her hand on your forehead. Mentioned you had a sore throat, she was checking for a fever.

  “I’m not in pain, sweetheart. Ryan told me about Rus, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”

  She smiled. “It’s not funny. The poor baby. I stopped by to see him and he’s all laid up with his leg shaved. Don’t worry, though, Ryan’s spoiling him and taking good care of him. Liliana also gave him a new toy. She told him it was his baby, and I swear he hugged it to him.”

  “Please don’t turn his dog into a pussy,” Roger said from the chair.

  Saryn turned and shot him a glare. “You’re off-duty if you’d like to head on home now.”

  Roger shrugged. “I’m in no hurry to get home.”

  This time I was the one who shot him a look of warning.

  He stood. “After thinking about it, I should probably stop by our folks’ place and let them know how you’re doing.”

  Saryn smiled. “Is your mother back yet?”

  “She just got back from Hawaii or Europe. Hell, I don’t know. A warning to you, though, the moment my mother finds out about her boy she will want to come over.”

  I groaned, and Saryn simply nodded and replied, “Of course. Tell them they’re more than welcome to stop by anytime. I’m going to have Truitt up and walking here in a bit.” She then turned and faced me. “You’ve slept an awful
ly long time. I think your body was exhausted and needed to catch up.”

  With a chuckle, I said, “Most likely. I’ve been going and blowing for a few weeks. I do need to check on the playhouse, though.”

  “Jack has it all under control, so don’t even think about heading there,” Roger quickly added.

  “I need to make sure…”

  Saryn placed her fingers over my mouth and shook her head. “He has it under control. Right now, the only thing you’re going to worry about is resting.”

  I smiled. “Yes, nurse.”

  She winked, and then dropped her hand. “I’m going to go change…do you need anything?”

  With a raise of my brows I watched as her face flushed.

  “And with that I’m out of here before the two of you say or do something I’ll never be able to erase from my mind. Call me if you need anything, Saryn,” Roger said as he made his way out of the bedroom.

  “Thank you for everything!” Saryn called out.

  “Later, Roger,” I said, not taking my eyes off of the beautiful woman standing next to the bed.

  “Later,” Roger called out.

  The moment we heard the front door close, Saryn leaned down and kissed me. “Are you in any pain?”

  I shook my head. “I honestly don’t feel a thing, I think this ice thing has frozen my knee.”

  She grinned. “I’ve been doing it off and on. It really helps with the swelling and the pain. Since you’ve been asleep you haven’t asked for any pain medicine, and I didn’t want you to wake up with it out of control. Let’s get you something to eat, and then I think maybe you should at least take one, especially since we’ll be getting you up to walk around.”

  “You’re the nurse.”

  Saryn leaned in and kissed me once more, and this time I placed my hand around her neck and pulled her closer to me. She laughed when she nearly fell over me on the bed.

  “Please answer all my prayers and tell me you have a naughty nurse uniform.”

  Her teeth dug into her lower lip, and I felt my entire body come to life.

  “I do not, but I’m sure I can come up with something,” she softly said.

  “Where’s Liliana?” I asked.

  “I dropped her off at my folks’ place. My mom offered to watch her so I could focus on you.”