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The lights were dimmed, and I had been tired earlier, but now, I couldn’t sleep.
Harlyn and Dr. Clark had left half an hour ago, and the TV droned on quietly while I tried to doze off.
“Fucking bullshit pillows,” I grumbled. I grabbed the pillow from behind my head and pounded it with my fist.
I didn’t plan on asking Dr. Clark to come be my nurse, but I was beyond desperate to get the hell out of here. If having Dr. Clark stay with me was my ticket home, then I was fully ready to cash that fucker in and get the hell out of here.
“Damn, you really must have been banged up pretty good in that wreck if you’re going to sleep before nine.” Jay strolled into my room and stood at the end of my bed with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Hell, they let anyone in here,” I grumbled.
“You must not be that bad if you’re still grumbling.”
I rolled my eyes and wished to God I would have fallen asleep before Jay walked in. “Pretty sure it’s past visiting hours. You can see yourself out.”
“Damn, Roc. You’re as savage as ever.” Brooks walked in behind Jay and moved to the side of the bed.
“You can stay. He can wait for you in the car.”
Jay held his hand to his chest and stumbled back a step. “I’m wounded. Completely wounded,” he gasped.
Brooks laughed. “Not sure why. The only difference from when he normally talks to you like that is he’s laid up in bed.”
Jay moved to the side of the bed and plopped down in the chair. “Totally thought two broken legs might dull Roc’s sharp edges.” He kicked his feet up in the bed and looked up at the TV. “I was completely wrong,” he muttered.
“What the hell are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be working on getting everything loaded for the race this weekend?” It was Thursday, and King Racing should be in full-swing getting everything ready.
“Just got done with the car. Remy headed home to Harlyn, but Jay and I figured we would head over here to see how you were doing.” Brooks nodded to my legs. “You got any feeling in those fuckers or do they have you doped up on pain meds?”
“I can feel them all right. Though they do have some meds going through me that help dull the pain.” They also made me tired as fuck. I was glad when Dr. Clark had said they would be knocking back my dosage. “You sure you’ll be ready for the race?”
I know Harlyn had said Frankie had taken over the reins of the team, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to stop worrying.
“We just need to double check the load, and we’ll be hitting the road bright and early in the morning.” Jay laughed. “Kind of fucking weird having Frankie boss me around.”
“Please,” Brooks chuckled. “How is that any different from when Roc was around? I’m two steps away from marrying the chick and I know damn well how bossy Frankie is. She was made to run the team.”
“Yeah, but she better not get too comfortable doing it.” I was returning to the team. Frankie was only going to have a couple of weeks playing boss before she was back to being car chief.
“We know you’re not replaceable, Roc,” Brooks assured me. I had been working with Brooks for years now, and he was more like a son to me than my driver, and ultimately, he was the owner of the team. “Your place is with King Racing.”
Jay chuckled and shook his head. “I gotta say, I’m pretty surprised you’re even still in here. Figured you would have conned your way out of here and back to the shop by now.”
“Working on it.” Hopefully, I would be out of here by the morning, if everything went to plan.
“Don’t rush this, Roc,” Brooks warned. “If you need to be here then just be here.”
“What I’m doing here, I can be doing at home. Running up a huge fucking bill to just sleep all day and night.”
“You don’t need to worry about the bill for all of this, Roc. King Racing has this all covered.”
Jay patted the side of the bed excitedly. “That means you should totally have a couple of sponge baths every day. I bet those fuckers are like five hundred bucks a pop. And,” he drawled, “I bet we can find a hot nurse or two to give them to you.”
Brooks leveled his gaze on Jay. “How is it that you actually have a girlfriend?”
Jay shrugged. “I’ve got my eyes only on Delaney. Now, that doesn’t mean I can’t help Roc get a little bit of action.”
“Oh, you have some late night visitors.”
“Not her,” Jay mumbled under his breath.
Brooks slapped him upside the head and stepped back from the bed. “Sorry, ma’am. We got off work late and decided to drop in to see Roc.”
The older nurse walked over to the other side of the bed and grabbed my chart. “No worries, boys. I was just surprised to see you.”
The nurse was well into her sixties and had long white hair pulled into a ponytail. Not exactly the woman I wanted to give me a sponge bath.
“They were just leaving,” I grunted.
“So,” Jay drawled. “Are you the only nurse working tonight?” he asked.
I cut through him with a glare and shook my head once.
“I’ve got this side of the hall. Mickey has the other side.” The nurse marked a couple of things on the chart then hit the button on the machine next to me. The blood pressure cuff tightened slowly.
“And how is Mickey tonight?”
Brooks elbowed Jay in the gut, and Jay doubled over clutching it. “Shut the hell up, dude.”
“She’s seven and a half months pregnant with some wicked acid reflux tonight. That is how Mickey is tonight,” the nurse laughed.
“Poor Mickey,” Jay cringed.
“Would you two get the hell out of here,” I growled. I would much rather sit alone in the dark than listen to Jay babble on.
“We’ll let you rest, Roc. Frankie and I will come in before we leave for the race.”
“Good, good,” I muttered. “There are a few things we need to go over.”
Brooks chuckled and clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m sure Frankie will love to hear whatever you have to say.”
“Maybe we should check on Mickey to make sure she is okay,” Jay mumbled as Brooks pushed him out the door.
“Later, Roc,” Brooks called.
“If that boy is looking to hook up with Mickey, he’s barking up the wrong tree.” The nurse shook her head and wrote something down on my chart.
That was the one thing I knew Jay wasn’t up to. “His girlfriend lost their baby a bit ago. Still pretty raw for him.”
The nurse looked up from the clipboard and frowned. “Oh my, now I feel stupid for even thinking he was going to hit on her.”
I waved my hand. “Two months ago, you would have been completely right.” The one-eighty Jay had done as soon as he found out Delaney was having his baby shocked all of us. It was a damn shame the little guy didn’t make it. “He’s got a girlfriend now but that doesn’t keep him from trying to set me up with any and every one.”
The nurse laughed. “Well, you might have a better chance with Mickey only because her baby daddy is in his forties.”
I waved my hand. “Not looking.”
The nurse tsked and finished looking everything over. “You’re one of my easy ones for the night. If you need anything, just hit the button; otherwise, I’ll be in a bit later.”
She flitted out of the room and turned the lights off completely.
The TV shone brightly, and I turned up the volume. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon so I might as well watch reruns of Gas Monkey Garage.
I wasn’t going to get a good night's sleep until I was out of this place, and that all depended on Dr. Clark now.
*
