“I’m Dr. Forlani,” she said, extending her hand. “I performed surgery on your friend’s knee.”
“Is he all right?” I asked, shaking her small hand. For being so small, she had a firm grip which made me a little bit more confident about her opening up my friend’s leg.
“He will be. Your friend really did a number on his knee. Not to mention, the previous damage and scar tissue from past riding injuries. I think that it will require another surgery, but I wanted to talk to him about it before I did anything drastic.”
“If you can get him back on a bike before the season starts, then I’m sure he will want drastic.”
“I’ll go over all the options with him, but I’m confident we can get him back on a bike.”
“That’s great, Doc,” I said, releasing the breath I’d been holding since she entered the room. I felt so relieved hearing her words.
“It might not be like it used to be and it’s going to take a while, but I think with physical therapy he’ll be back to at least ninety-percent function in a reasonable amount of time.”
“Ninety-percent?” Nora asked, taking the words right out of my mouth. Guys like Brett, guys like me, we needed to be at a hundred percent. All the time.
“He had some significant nerve damage. I can’t guarantee how he will heal from that. Sometimes it all goes away, sometimes it doesn’t,” she replied. “It’s different with every patient.”
“You think maybe we can leave that part out for now?” I said, earning a confused look from the doctor. “It’s going to be a lot for him to handle when he wakes up. I mean we can tell him about the nerve damage and all, but maybe leave out the ninety-percent.”
“It’s your call, Mr. Travers,” she said. “You were listed as his emergency contact, so I’m going to assume that you have Mr. Sallinger’s best interest at heart. I’m sure he will be able to feel exactly how much damage was done,” she pointed out. “But yes, I’ll leave off that particular statistic,” she agreed. “Until I know for sure what the best course is for your friend.”
“Thank you.” I said, reaching out to shake her hand. “When can we see him?”
“He should be awake in an hour or so. You can see him right after.”
“Thanks again,” I said, as she walked away.
“I’m so glad the surgery’s over,” Nora said, letting out a relieved sigh.
“Me too,” I agreed, grabbing her hand in mine.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to run home real quick and grab a shower,” she said. “I’ll be back before he wakes up.”
“That’s fine,” I told her, noticing that she seemed a bit anxious to get out of the hospital. I couldn’t blame her, I didn’t really care to be spending my Saturday amongst the sick and injured either. She kissed me quickly and headed out the door. I would have much rather had her sit with me, but I knew she’d be back. Besides, there wasn’t much that we could do but sit and wait.
I’d held it in as long as I could. The tears and the scream that I wanted to release the second I saw Brett crash his bike echoed in my car as I drove out of the hospital parking lot. Don’t get me wrong, I was more than relieved that Reid was okay, but the entire thing had scared me. It wasn’t new to me that people got hurt racing motocross, but I hadn’t ever seen anything like I had that morning. I’d been lucky. I’d been spared the gory details of a career that could possibly result in serious injuries or paralysis, or even death.
Was I strong enough to be with a man that risked his life every time he got on a dirt bike? I knew that Reid was a talented rider, but so was Brett. There was always a possibility that he could get hurt, but the thought of not being with him hurt just as bad. If I wasn’t strong enough now, I would be. I’d make sure of it. It would never be easy, but it was a risk I had to take if I wanted to be with him. I’d support him in any way I could.
I wiped my tears as I drove, but before I came to the road that lead to my house I took a left and headed down Main Street. I needed to see someone before I went home. I needed to find out if Beau was responsible for Brett’s accident.
I walked into Gregurich Motor Sports like a woman on a mission. I didn’t greet either of the two salesmen or Samantha, the cashier. I headed straight down the hallway in the back of the store and into Beau’s office, purposely leaving the door open in case he decided to get all grabby like he had the last time we’d talked. There were three other people working there that day and I didn’t think he would try anything in front of his staff. Or at least I’d hoped he wouldn’t.
“Nora?” he said, a surprised look on his face. “What are—”
“Please, please tell me that you didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Reid’s bike today?” I hated to believe that another human being was capable of doing something that could have killed someone, but I knew better. I knew the world was full of all kinds of people, and I’d recently witnessed Beau’s mean and hateful side. I’d seen him act like a complete jackass and let his pride get the best of him.
“What are you talking about?” He appeared confused, but he refused to look me directly in the eye. He was hiding something.
I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to get him to look me in the eye as I spoke clearly. “Reid’s bike, Beau. It malfunctioned today,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s a small town, I’m sure you heard.”
“Most accidents are operator error, Nora,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Maybe Ricochet needs to learn how to ride a bike.” He chuckled. He actually chuckled like this was a laughing matter.
“This is not funny,” I snapped. “And it wasn’t Reid who was riding it.”
“What do you mean?” The color drained from his face. It made me sick to think that he was okay with hurting the one person that I loved the most. I might have hurt his feelings ending our relationship the way I did, but that did not justify him doing something so malicious.
“It was Brett,” I informed him.
“Oh.” He tried to cover up his shock. “I did hear there was an accident today, but I...”
“You thought you hurt the other guy?” I walked toward the desk he was sitting behind and placed my hands on the front of it, staring down at him. I wanted to look him in the eye and let him know that I was on to him. “You thought you hurt the man I chose over you because you’re a sore loser and a complete asshole?”
“Maybe I am an asshole, Nora,” he said. “But you did this. You ended it, not me.”
“And I’ve told you that I feel terrible for that,” I countered. “But, that doesn’t give you the right to try and hurt Reid. It’s not going to fix what happened.”
“No, but it might just make me feel a little better about it.”
“Seriously?”
“Do you know what it’s like to have everything taken from you?” He asked. His jaw clenched as he spit his words through his teeth. “Travers is a fucking asshole and I don’t feel one bit sorry about anything that happens to him.”
“So you did do it?” I wanted him to confess. I wanted to hear exactly what he did so I could tell Reid. And, I wanted to slap him in the face because I knew no matter what he said that he was responsible.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. The second I heard Reid say he thought the bike had been tampered with, I knew that it was you.” I paused, feeling a bit sad for Beau. Not because I’d broken up with him, but because he was still holding so much hatred in his heart for Reid, and now me. “I’d wished that it wasn’t you, Beau. I wished that you weren’t a horrible person, that you weren’t capable of doing something so awful. I wished that you weren’t the asshole that everyone it this town seems to think you are, but I can tell by the look in your eyes that isn’t the case. I will never forgive you for this.”