His Untamed Love (Cuffs and Spurs Book 4)

by Anya Summers

  “Cole. Sorry, it took a little longer than anticipated to collect all the things from her Audi. SUV is likely totaled, and she had quite a bit packed.”

  “She doesn’t travel light,” Cole said.

  “Heard anything?” Jackson asked.

  “They won’t let me in since I’m not family,” Cole said, glaring at the nurse behind the desk.

  “Let me see what I can do and find out,” Jackson said. He strode confidently over to the nurse’s station and flashed a smile and his badge. After a brief conversation, he was able to get an update.

  Jackson came back out a few minutes later and said, “She’s having x-rays done as we speak. She’s conscious, and they were able to ask her if her friends could come into her room. A nurse should be here shortly.”

  By the time the nurse came out to show them to Mia’s room, Mason and Emily had arrived. The nurse led the four of them back to Mia’s room. She was still in x-ray, so they sat in her room and waited.

  Chapter 30

  Mia was shocked when they wheeled her back into her room.

  “Looks like you’ve got some friends come to visit you, Miss Evans. I’ll leave you with them while the doctor takes a look at your x-rays,” Nurse Melinda said. The woman had been so kind and helpful.

  Cole was here. Why? Their gazes connected, and Mia sucked in a breath. Then she looked at Emily and Mason, the concern etched on everyone’s faces. And the cop in the uniform, he was the one from the club. Had it just been last night? It felt like eons ago. Considering the little drummer boy who had taken up residence in her brain, it was hard to say. She was in so much pain.

  They’d already fixed her dislocated shoulder, but her wrist was agony and her head ached. And they hadn’t given her anything but Tylenol for the pain.

  Before Cole could approach her, Jackson stepped up to the side of her bed. “Mia, I hate to have to ask you this, it’s procedure and all. But I need to know what happened out on the highway today.”

  “I’m not really sure. I was merging into an empty lane one minute and then that little car zoomed in out of nowhere. Oh God, are they all right? Please tell me they’re okay,” Mia whispered as her memories returned.

  “Yes, they are. They didn’t have a scratch on them. However, their blood alcohol level was above the legal limit,” Jackson explained.

  “Son of a bitch,” Cole exclaimed and started pacing her room.

  “Cole, calm the fuck down,” Jackson said with such authority that even Mason and Emily froze. Then Jackson turned back to Mia and smiled. “Now, do you remember anything else?”

  “Like I said, they came out of nowhere and the sides of our vehicles collided. I lost control when I tried to steer away from them and the next thing I knew, it was rolling. I blacked out shortly after that.

  “My computers! Is my car being towed?” she asked. Her book was on those hard drives. Even if the computer had to be replaced, she had to save her book.

  Jackson said, “I have Spencer working with some of the deputies to collect your items from the SUV. With the rollover, I’m not sure what’s recoverable or not.”

  “As long as my hard drives are fine, I should be good. And I have all my books saved to a cloud service too. Thanks for getting that all collected and going to all this trouble,” she said.

  Then the doctor came in. The older gentleman’s snowy white hair, what was left of it, glimmered under the glaring fluorescent light. But his brown eyes were kind as he said, “Miss Evans, I have some good news and some bad news. But first, we should have your friends wait outside while we talk.”

  “I don’t mind if they are here,” Mia said. It would make it easier on her not to have to relay the information.

  “As long as you’re certain. It looks like the wrist isn’t broken, just fractured. You will still need to see an orthopedic surgeon and I can give you a referral for that. The shoulder looks good. You will have some swelling and discomfort from it being dislocated, but with care and some physical therapy, it should heal nicely. On the bad side, you do, however, have a mild concussion, and I want to keep you overnight for observation. We’re still waiting on your blood work, and we’re going to get that wrist bandaged up with a splint. Unfortunately, I can’t give you more than Tylenol to manage the pain tonight. But I should be able to do more for the pain in the morning with a script you can fill, okay?”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Mia replied.

  “No problem. I will be back in a bit.” The doctor left. But before anyone else could say something, Alex and Garrett showed up. And a beat behind them was Spencer.

  Mia looked around the room. “You all didn’t have to come here.”

  “Nonsense. We wanted to make sure you’re all right,” Spencer replied.

  “You’re Cole’s sub, of course we wanted to make sure you were okay, darlin’,” Garrett said. Mia flinched. She wasn’t his, not even close. But now was not the time.

  “We wanted to come,” Alex said.

  “Is there anything we can get you?” Mason asked.

  “Not unless you have some pain meds hidden up your sleeve,” Mia responded.

  “Is the pain that bad?” Cole asked.

  “I wish I could say I’ve had worse but it’s pretty bad,” she said, in no mood to pretend otherwise.

  “Why don’t we get you something to drink, perhaps something to eat from the café?” Emily asked.

  “I don’t know that I could eat but some ginger ale would be nice,” Mia said.

  “We’re on it,” Mason said, tugging Emily out with him.

  “What’s the prognosis?” Spencer asked, taking a seat.

  “Concussion, dislocated shoulder, and fractured wrist,” Cole said.

  Alex whistled. Garrett looked like he’d swallowed a can of bees. And Spencer said, “Fuck, that doesn’t sound like fun. I’ve had all three myself. And I hate to say it, but tomorrow will be worse.”

  Like everything in her life.

  Jackson said, “Mia, I’m glad you’re all settled. I’m going to give this to Cole and will be in touch once I have the report all filled out. Since the driver of the other vehicle was intoxicated, you’ll want to make sure you have a lawyer to help you out with the personal injury side of things.”

  “We’ll get Kent on it,” Cole said like it was a done deal, taking charge of the situation. And she didn’t have the energy or the willpower to stop him.

  “You take care now,” Jackson said and tipped his hat at her, then ambled out of her room.

  The nurse came bustling in with a tray, followed by the doctor.

  “Okay, Miss Evans. Let’s get this wrist bandaged up. I’m going to give you a corticosteroid injection to help with the swelling. It should work on both your wrist and shoulder. And I’m going to give you a local that will numb your wrist a bit until we can get some pain meds for you.”

  “Sounds good,” Mia said. The nurse was already injecting the steroid into her IV. The doctor swabbed a patch of skin near her wrist.

  “You’ll feel a slight pinch. Deep breath. Here we go, three, two, one. Not so bad.”

  “No.” Considering she felt like one big giant ball of pain, a pin prick was nothing.

  Then the doctor began wrapping up her wrist and added a brace to it.

  “Now, if all your friends could wait outside, I need to put on this shoulder brace. You’re going to have to keep it immobile for a few weeks until it heals.”

  “I’m staying, Doc,” Cole said stubbornly as the rest of the crew filed out.

  “Now see here—”

  “It’s fine, he can stay,” Mia intervened.

  “Fine, you’ll need someone to help you anyway at least for the first week or so. At least it’s not both arms and is just your left, non-dominant hand.”

  They helped her remove the top of her hospital gown and then proceeded to fasten the brace around her left shoulder. There were Velcro straps and they pretty much bound her boobs up, which was good because she doubted she’d be
wearing a bra for the next little while. It went up and over her left shoulder. The way it was fastened would make it difficult to lift or move her arm. She could bend her elbow but her wrist was all bandaged up, making that immobile as well. She was sure she made quite the sight.

  They helped her back into her gown and she reclined on the bed, feeling like she’d run for miles. She was exhausted. Then they allowed the horde back into her room, where they all waited for her blood tests to come back. Through it all, Cole was at her side, his dark gaze watching her intently. It was like he was memorizing every bruise, every bandaged cut.

  The nurse came back in a few times to check on her concussion.

  It got late, with all her visitors beginning to taper off as the day turned into evening.

  Everyone but Cole finally left, with Spencer promising to drive to the lodge to deliver her things. Mason and Emily promised to have her cabin ready for her.

  Mia pretended to sleep once it was just her and Cole. She didn’t want to talk, not in the state she was in. And he seemed content to just hold her right hand.

  She slept fitfully, but Cole never left her side that night. She didn’t know what that meant—or if it even meant anything.

  In the morning, her blood tests came back normal, the doctor administered pain medication that made her drowsy, and the rest of the pain became a trifling thing. The doctor gave discharge instructions to her with Cole overseeing it all and asking questions. The doctor added a sling for her wrist.

  Cole helped her dress. With her arm bandaged up this way, he could do little more than settle the shirt over her head with one arm in its sleeve and the other trapped awkwardly under the shirt. Then he wrapped her up in his big coat. They put her in a wheelchair and wheeled her to the exit while Cole went to get his truck.

  Cole was the soul of attentiveness, helping her up into the cab of his truck, buckling her in, making sure she was comfortable.

  She knew he was doing this because it was the type of man he was, always there to lend a hand. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep on the way back home… er, to the lodge. These pain meds were making her loopy. He even stopped at the drugstore on the way back and got the rest of her medicine. And in the end, she did fall asleep, wishing she could erase the last twenty-four hours.

  Chapter 31

  When they arrived back at the lodge, Cole carried a sleeping Mia inside her cabin, mindful of her shoulder and wrist. Spencer, Mason, Emily, and Alex were already there. Spencer and Alex were carting her belongings back inside. Mason and Emily were carrying in groceries. Cole smiled at Emily’s need to feed everyone.

  He laid Mia on the couch and put her prescriptions on the end table. He’d have to set his alarm to make sure she took the meds at the right times.

  Once he’d made sure she was covered with a blanket and as comfortable as she was likely to be for a bit, he turned to Mason and said, “Stay with her. I need to go grab some of my stuff. She’s going to need me to stay with her and help her out.”

  “Not a problem. We won’t leave her. We should move your tours around over the next week or so,” Mason said.

  “Or I can help. I’ve been in that damn office far too much lately,” Spencer chimed in, hefting a suitcase back to the bedroom.

  “I’d appreciate it, Spencer.”

  “Whatever Spencer can’t do, I’ll fill in as well,” Alex added.

  “Thanks,” Cole said. He left Mia with them and drove his truck up to the house instead of walking because he didn’t want to leave her for long. Once inside, he packed a suitcase full of clothes and his toiletry items; toothbrush and the like. He’d be with her for as long as she needed him. If, after everything, she told him to go, well then they would deal with that as well.

  Once he had everything he could think of that he might need, he hefted the suitcase down to his truck and drove back to Mia’s. If he had to sleep in the second bedroom, he would, but he wasn’t leaving her while she was in need.

  When he got back to the cabin, Emily was cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

  “What in the world are you doing?” Cole asked.

  “Making sure you don’t have to do more than heat stuff up. This will be just a basic soup and some bread. I’ll make more at the restaurant and bring it over,” Emily said, moving about the small kitchen efficiently.

  When everything was in, Spencer and Alex took off, not wanting to disturb Mia. Once Emily finished cooking, both she and Mason left as well. Through it all, Mia had slept. Cole lowered himself into the chair beside the couch and watched her sleep.

  He had come so close to losing her. The thought had given him a few bad moments in the dark hours of the night and he was sure he would have more of them. But for now, he was content to just watch her sleep and know he’d been given a second chance. One that he didn’t plan on wasting.

  Chapter 32

  Mia blinked, her eyes bleary with the pain meds. Cole was leaning back in the chair, his head tipped forward and his eyes closed.

  He’d stayed with her, all night long and now. For all his faults in the relationship department, he was a damn good friend. Mia didn’t have anyone else in her life who would have stayed with her this way.

  She moved to sit up—or tried to—but the pain! Sweet heavens!

  Cole shifted and said, “Here, let me help you up.”

  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m here to help you out, whatever you need,” he murmured, and gently helped her move into a sitting position.

  She spied her computers and her bags. The scent of something delicious was in the air and she had a feeling Emily was responsible.

  “It’s nice that everyone has done this, but you don’t need to stay. I’m sure I can manage on my own.”

  Cole picked her up and sat them both on the couch.

  “What are you doing?” she sputtered.

  “I was wrong, Mia. So damn wrong. I’m so sorry for everything I said. I’m an idiot,” Cole confessed. He was looking at her with such naked emotion, she wondered if she was dreaming, if this was some fabrication of her drugged-up psyche on pain meds.

  “I don’t understand. It could be the pain meds talking.”

  Cole stroked his knuckles over her cheek and said, “Mia, from the moment you set foot on this property, you rocked my entire world. I’d gone so long believing there would never be anyone for me—until I met you. And I want you to stay here with me once you’re all healed up. Or I’ll move to Chicago. It doesn’t matter. Mason can hire someone to run the tours. I’m not needed here.”

  “You would do that, for me?” she whispered, too afraid to hope.

  “I love you, Mia. And I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

  She said, “Cole, I—”

  “Just say you’ll think about it. And forgive me,” he said, and the wealth of his feelings for her blazed in his eyes.

  Mia’s heart stuttered and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “If you’d let me speak. Silly man, I love you. It’s in the past.”

  She kissed him then. She moved and hissed at the pain.

  “Just let me hold you for a bit. I’ll start making arrangements to get us to Chicago. You’re not in the city proper, are you? We might need to find a space that’s better suited,” Cole said, and she could tell he had thought it through. She put her fingers over his lips to silence him.

  “Do you really think I’d take you away from your home? A place that you love?” she asked, finally beginning to understand what his brother had meant the other day. Cole would wither away in Chicago, and she’d never be able to live with herself if she took him away from something he loved.

  “It’s just land, Mia. Without you, it doesn’t have any appeal,” he stated.

  “I’m not taking you away from the lodge. So you can forget about it. You’ll just have to teach the city girl how to survive out here. You know, so I don’t bring home a kitten that’s actually a mountain lion. That sort of thing.
”

  A smile spread over his face. “I think I can do that, city girl. I’m all in.”

  And then her sexy surly cowboy kissed her with the promise of all their tomorrows. Mia gave little thought to the steel and stone buildings she was trading in for a life in this untamed land. Her bad idea had led to this one man and the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  “What do you think? Think you could live here with me?” Cole asked, eyeing her as they stood outside the finished cabin home. It was half a mile away from the main lodge property and surrounded by pine trees.

  Mia was flabbergasted. It was stunning. Crafted to appear like a huge, two-story log cabin. The cedar wood had hues of amber and rose gold. The window panes glistened in the sunlight. It looked inviting and warm. She said, “It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what it looks like inside.”

  “So that’s a yes?” he asked, a dark brow rising and almost disappearing beneath his hat.

  Mia glanced at him suspiciously. “You trying to get rid of me, Cole?”

  “No, quite the opposite, in fact. So you will?” he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

  “Of course.”

  At her response, Cole sank to one knee, just as the rest of the club members pulled up to look at the new house.

  “What are you doing?” Mia whispered, not paying any attention to the others, who were all being quiet for a change.

  “Mia Elizabeth Evans, would forever work for you?” Cole asked, with his love for her shining in his eyes.

  “What are you saying?” Her voice trembled, and she felt moisture enter her gaze.

  With his free hand, he drew a diamond ring out of his pocket and held it up. “Marry me, Mia. Live with me here, in our home, have children with me and grow old with me.”

  “I’m in,” she replied, her heart overflowing with love for her cowboy.

  “Yeah!” Cole grinned and slid the ring on her finger. Then he stood and pulled her into his arms while their friends cheered. “Be sure, because once we say I do, I’m not ever letting you go.”