She noticed more than a few eyes still staring at her stomach and the giant buckle Kane had insisted she wear, and she felt herself flush. “Eyes up, cowboys.”
“Ma’am,” one of them said with a cocky smile.
“Is that the real…” One of the men reached out, and Sky took a step back. The cowboy flushed. “Sorry,” he said straightening and stepping back himself.
“Always told Kane he’d a make a beautiful woman.” Another smirking cowboy stepped forward and touched Montana’s bull. “That’s a mighty fine animal, young lady. What’s her name?”
“Bulls are boys,” Montana said scornfully, building temper tantrum forgotten.
There was a hoot of collective laughter from the cowboys, and Sky’s heart lurched because no one seemed concerned about Kane, whereas her tension continued to ramp up.
“And his name is Bennington.”
Sky’s heart pinched. Bennington. Her brother.
“Hmmmm.” The woman in the suit looked her over, even walking a half circle around her. Sky felt summed up. “I usually don’t come to the hospital,” she said softly. “But it was on the way to the airport, and I wanted to give last-minute instructions. Bad luck for Kane. He’s really been hiding a lot.”
That caught Sky’s attention. Kane hadn’t been hiding anything. She had, but his friends and colleagues and fans would think that he had been hiding her and his child. Like he was ashamed of them. Again, Sky’s decisions four years ago rose up to taunt her. She had never once considered Kane’s feelings. She’d assumed. And everyone knew what that got you.
“It’s not what you think,” Sky said, not wanting to explain herself to this stranger, but not wanting Kane to be seen in a bad light either.
“Oh it’s exactly what I think and more. You’re the artist, and…” her eyes flicked to Montana “…so much more. That’s why Kane assured me that he would handle the trademarked art issue.”
“And why he busted ass to get out of the dressing room and on the road,” one of the cowboys said. “He skipped the autograph line. Hasn’t done that before. Not hard to see why now.”
Sky wasn’t sure if she was being insulted or complimented, and she didn’t have the energy to find out which one. “I want to see Kane and then get out of here.”
Even without keys or a wallet or cell, Sky wasn’t sure how true that was anymore. Did she really want to leave Kane? Could she even do it again? And what about Montana? Even in the twelve hours, she’d bonded with her daddy.
“Do you have any news on him? How badly was he hurt?”
“Still waiting, same as you. Alicia Flores.” The woman smiled, reminding Sky of a sleekly beautiful but calculating cat, maybe one of those Egyptian statue cats left in the pharaohs’ tombs. “Head of PR for AEBR. Image crafter…” again the disparaging walk around Sky “…crisis handler and storyteller. And you look like Snow White.”
Haven’t heard that before. Not.
“Not in the mood for a story. I want to see Kane. And Snow White was stupid about the apple.”
“Good. You have some spine. You’ll need it for Kane, but ditch the attitude with me. Damn. I have to fly out in another couple of hours.” Alicia pursed her lips and looked at her assistant. “No one sees her, talks to her until we write up her background.”
Sky’s eyes widened in surprise, not sure she fully understood what this woman thought she could create and why she imagined Sky would go along with any of it. What kind of people had Kane surrounded himself with? No one even seemed that concerned about him.
“Maybe we should shelve this conversation until we know more.” Another cowboy limped up to join the group. He had a flank rope in his hand that he held delicately, as if it were precious.
“Shelve it? Rory, really. That’s not my skill set. I don’t shelve things. I’ve got one of the top riders in the AEBR for the past four years flat out in the ER, combative and rambling and some random woman shows up with a kid the spitting image of him and Kane has said nothing, absolutely nothing about either of them to me. I can’t have secrets like that sauntering up to take a bite out of AEBR’s ass. Ironic, really when you think about what legal’s had to deal with over the years with some of our boys, and one of my cleanest has been more than a little naughty.”
“My daughter is here,” Sky said.
“My point. This needs to be contained and crafted.”
Before she could burst Alicia Flores’s bubble about containing or crafting an image, the ER exam room doors slid open and a man walked out in a western-style shirt and jeans. He didn’t look like a doctor but everyone in the knot of bull riders turned toward him.
“Doc Freeman. Finally,” Alicia said.
“The scan is clear.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the cowboys spoke quietly and seemed like they were about to leave.
“So where is he?” Alicia asked.
“They’re keeping him overnight. I’ve asked for an MRI because he’s combative as hell and rambling about the Montana Sky, which is concerning. I thought he was from Phoenix so the doctor and I aren’t sure what’s wrong at this point.”
Sky was pissed she’d been the good girl cooling her heels in the ER so long when Kane had needed them. He wouldn’t have sat politely in the waiting room if his daughter had been in the ER just because he didn’t have permission.
“Done with this.” She grabbed Montana’s small hand and pushed past Alicia to get closer to the doctor. “I’m Sky. This is his daughter Montana. We’re going to see him.”
She didn’t even wait; she just swished through the sliding doors.
She wasn’t sure what she expected. A curtained-off area? Several medical professionals around Kane? But no, the curtains in his bay were wide open so anyone walking in could see him. He was in a medical gown and alone in a metal bed flat on his back, jerking his arms, but they weren’t moving off the bed. He was swearing loudly. One young man in pale blue scrubs was entering something in a computer next to Kane, and he asked him to rate his pain on a scale of one to ten.
“Fuck my pain. I want the fuck out of here.”
Sky winced. Kane was always so cool under pressure. Controlled. He’d hate this.
She rushed forward. “Hey, baby,” she gushed like the biggest fan girl buckle bunny ever. “How are you?”
Stupid question. He was a wreck. What if he didn’t recognize her? The familiar doubt assailed her, but still she kept moving forward, squatted by his bed so he could see her. She picked up Montana and in a dim part of her brain hoped he had the ability to cool it with the language. She really didn’t need her three-year-old to start regularly pulling out the F word from her enormous vocabulary repertoire.
His beautiful gray eyes were clear, but angry and frustrated, and she could also see pain. His body relaxed as if some air had oozed out of it.
“You’re here.”
The words were so simple, but the wonder behind them made tears prick her eyes. One day. That’s all it had taken to turn her world upside down.
“Yes.”
Montana gripped her bull and stared down at Kane. What did she see? Sky wondered. The bruise on his forehead and cheek and the bloody line dissecting his eyebrow made her feel nauseous. Was Montana scared? This was not a life for a little girl, seeing her daddy get hurt in front of thousands of people whose first question was ‘what was his score?’ since he’d stuck the ride and the second was ‘could he compete next week?’ and who said ‘Phoenix is his hometown’ like they knew him.
When his eyes met his daughter’s, Sky could see regret and sorrow chase across his face. Pain crawled around his edges. Slowly she lowered Montana to the floor again, and her fingers slid along his raw wrists. Holy cow they’d actually restrained him. Like a criminal. She remembered the doctor’s word: combative.
“I want these off,” he said tersely. “Get Doc Freeman. Tell him.”
“Hold on there, cowboy,” the man in scrubs said in the patronizing ‘the patient is a c
hild’ tone Sky hated.
She winced and let her fingers lightly soothe his wrists. Then she whispered to Montana: “Hold Daddy’s hand. Tell him about your tea party.”
Sky strode back to the door. It swished open.
“Kane wants you,” she said to Doc Freeman. “You got a knife?”
A rumble went around the knot of people, and she thought she heard an “I like her.”
Boys.
“Hey, Sky.” She recognized Cody from earlier. “I brought Kane’s gear.” He piled the duffel bag, chaps and Stetson in her arms. “His keys, wallet and cell are in the bag—I checked. I drove his truck and parked on level A. He good?”
“Think so,” she said, starting to shake now that her fear was turning to relief that seemed to be translating into exhaustion. Hella twelve hours.
She took Kane’s things, surprised that Alicia and her two assistants were heading out before checking in with Kane. The cowboys were leaving too, Cody cadging a ride from someone named Casey.
Didn’t they want to see Kane? What kind of friends were they? Even the AEBR woman after advising her to keep her mouth shut and a low profile was striding away, talking into her cell phone, her stilettos clicking on the bland hospital floor. Sky turned back to Doc, who looked set to leave too after also asking the bull rider Casey for a ride. “He wants the restraints off,” she said. “Can you do that?”
“Not sure if it’s a good idea.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
His eyebrows rose, but he followed her back into the emergency bay.
“Hey, Kane. The neurosurgeon says you look good. He’ll be back in thirty minutes to check you again,” the doctor said.
“I want to be released. Driving back to Phoenix tonight.”
“I know you don’t think you’re human.” Doc laughed. “But you are staying overnight for observation.” Doc Freeman did not seem intimidated by Kane’s tension or his glare that practically shot sparks.
“Can he have the restraints cut off at least?” Sky demanded.
The nurse shook his head. “Doctor said to wait until he returned. If Mr. Wilder is calm that long, we’ll cut the restraints. So far I haven’t started the timer. He kicked a medic and knocked away two of the nursing staff and they are pretty big men like me. Oh, and a member of the security team. I think he got a little confused about his career and thought instead he was the bull.”
The idiot actually smiled at his own ‘joke.’
“He was injured and worried about his family,” Sky said.
Kane pulled hard again and again. “I am not waiting thirty minutes.”
“Shshsh,” she breathed against his ear. “Are you good if I cut them? Montana’s here? Can you keep it together?” she whispered and then levered back a little to see his expression. Could she trust him? Kane was a big man. And fiercely strong. He’d never once hurt her or frightened her, but he was definitely capable of damaging something or someone if he was not thinking clearly or felt threatened.
His eyes narrowed to slits. “If you ask me the day or the name of the god d… of the dang president I am going to lose my mind.” He looked at Montana, who plunked her bull on and off Kane’s bed like it was an animal trampoline. She started to climb up using the thin blanket like a vine. Sky caught her and lifted her up. She curled up beside Kane, tucking her bull next to him.
Sky’s fingers tangled with his.
“Maybe I should ask you to tell me Euler’s Identity,” she teased.
“eiπ + 1 = 0”
Sky sighed in relief and barely resisted laying her head on his broad chest.
Yeah. He was definitely fine. Censoring himself. Spouting off some equation. She didn’t know what it meant only that Kane absolutely loved math and numbers and what he termed the beautiful certainty of equations.
“Okay,” she whispered. “You’re good.”
“Baby, I’m better than good.”
Sky spied the doctor’s western-style belt and his leather case for his pocketknife. Cowboys and their knives. They couldn’t help the habit even when they became doctors for bull riders. She snagged the knife, popped the blade and keeping her body low over Kane’s quickly cut the plastic restraints.
“I want to take you back to Phoenix,” he said sitting up. His face went white and he swayed sideways. “Pack up your things. You and Montana…”
“You are not driving anywhere tonight.” Sky was outraged. Kane’s face took on a green tinge, and she didn’t think that was all hospital lighting. “Montana needs to sleep and not in her booster seat. She’s not a package you can haul around on a whim.”
“Not a whim. I’ve planned it out.”
Of course he had.
“Kane, give it a rest.” Doc Freeman frowned as Sky tucked the plastic zip tie restraints in her back pocket, closed the knife and handed it back to him. “Stay for observation tonight. Then you can slay your dragons tomorrow.”
“Leaving.” Kane swung his legs off the bed, holding Montana in place against his side. He winced but quickly schooled his expression.
“Calling security,” the nurse said giving Kane a lot of space like he was afraid he was going to go all Hulk on him.
“Please, Kane, please.” Sky put her hands on either side of him so they were face to face, so close that she could see just where the light blue bled into gray. She laid her forehead against his.
“Please.” Her voice broke. “Bennington had a head injury too.” She knew it was different. Her brother hadn’t been wearing a helmet. He had been conscious at the arena but by the time the ambulance had headed out, sirens screaming, he’d gone quiet, and then unconscious, never to speak or wake again. “Just stay. You’re exhausted. We’re exhausted. Montana needs to sleep.”
She needed to sleep. Preferably in a plush bed with silky sheets. Ha! Like that was in her future tonight. And if it were in her future tomorrow, she’d be in even more trouble than she thought.
“Please,” she whispered and somehow ended up kissing his bruise, just lightly brushing her lips across it, and then the cut on his eyebrow. “I’m tired. Scared,” she admitted, scared of so much more than his injury but scared of the rest of her life—their lives. “You scared me tonight. Stay. We’ll stay with you here. I can’t cope with any more tonight, Kane. Please.”
His arms snaked around her, pulled her half onto the bed, half on his lap.
She could feel his heartbeat slow and steady under her palm pressed on his chest. The hard flex of muscle brought back so many memories. Tears flooded her eyes and she let them fall, too tired to keep a grip on what felt like her brief show of strength and confidence.
“You won’t leave?”
She shook her head. With his thumb, he caught one of her tears, and holding her gaze, he tasted it with his tongue.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll stay.”
One battle won, Sky thought. Thousands ahead, but she was done with hiding. No more running. And no more pleasing others unless it pleased herself. She knew it was easier thought than done, but she had to start somewhere so why not tonight. In…where was she? God, she felt wrung out. Santa Fe. Yes. Tonight in Santa Fe. Sky Gordon 2.0.
Chapter Eight
Kane eased in and out of sleep. Despite his assurances to everyone, who hadn’t listened to him that he was fine, he had a mother of a headache. Before he could begin a full body mental assessment, which would definitely include his ribs and his left hip, he breathed in Sky—lemon verbena and something sweeter, floral. His heart wrenched. He remembered her smell more vividly than her face and touch. Her hair fell around his body and face, covering him like a shroud.
Even through his pain and general pissed off attitude toward Sky and his idiot younger self who had taken no for an answer when she’d sent him away four years ago, Kane found himself fighting a smile. Sometime during the last couple of hours, she had climbed onto the bed with him and wrapped herself around him, sprawling across his body just like she used to.
; He had loved sleeping with her. Not just the sex although that had been way over the top amazing and he’d never come close to duplicating the intensity or intimacy before or since with another woman. Hadn’t even tried.
But now she was here.
And he was so close to getting back everything he’d lost before he realized what he’d let slip through his hands. His child slept on a small window seat couch wrapped in his shirt and Sky was in his arms, her breath warm on his neck, her hair silky on his skin and her legs straddling him, which reminded him that part of him was wide awake. The nurse was not going to like that, but since the doctor had talked to him over an hour ago and signed the discharge form, he figured no one would bother them. So he’d let Sky and Montana sleep.
He tangled his hands in her long, silky black hair, and she murmured and snuggled closer.
He wasn’t sure what hurt more: his head, his ribs, their past or his dick.
Four years.
He still couldn’t comprehend why Sky would have kept their child a secret. It was like a bad movie or a book with a glowering asshole hero doing the heroine wrong. Had he been a jerk? Too controlling? That wasn’t hard to picture. Shit. Had he made Sky think she couldn’t have long-term with him? Was it the danger his career posed?
Four years. He’d missed so much.
Last night when she’d woken him up every two hours, instead of letting her ask him stupid questions advised in medical texts, he’d asked her questions. What was Montana’s first word? When had she taken her first step? Had Sky breastfed? What was Montana’s favorite food? Had she ever been sick or hurt? What was her favorite thing to do? So many questions filled his brain.
And Sky had answered the questions, her voice tentative and apologetic at first. Then, after she’d made a bed for Montana on a built-in couch in the room, and wrapped their child in the shirt he’d given Sky to wear, she’d sat beside him, run her fingers along his scalp, which had soothed him from his pain and the anger and bewilderment that continued to course through him.
Kane (American Extreme Bull Riders Tour Book 6) Page 10