My stomach recoiled at the thought of Ava being in such pain.
Reed reached his hand out to the doctor. “Thank you so much for taking such good care of her. When will we be able to see her?”
“She should be out of recovery in about an hour and a half or so.”
As the doctor walked away, I stopped him. “Doctor Monroe, may I ask another question?”
He stopped and looked at me. “You are?”
“Um, Ava’s boyfriend.”
Damn, that sounded good.
“What is it, son?”
I glanced over to Reed before turning back to the doctor. “Ava was only here for a long weekend; she’s originally from Texas. What about traveling?”
“I would think she might want to delay heading back for a least a few days. Just the traveling alone would be rather uncomfortable.”
My mother walked up to Courtney and Reed and gave them a warm smile. “You know Ava is more than welcome to stay at the house for as long as she needs to. Plus, we have two housekeepers, MaryLou and Janet. They will be able to help her with getting around.”
“I’ll be there as well,” I replied.
Doctor Monroe shook my hand and said, “Give me a shout if you have any concerns. The nurse will make sure you have my cell number when Ms. Moore is released.”
With a firm handshake, I replied, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“Let’s all go get something to eat while we wait for Ava to get to her room,” my mother stated as she looked at Nate. “Text Dani and Rich and let them know what’s going on. We’ll go to the Post Oak Café down the road.”
I wasn’t surprised at all my mother took over. Ever since my sister Kate died, whenever there was a crisis, she seemed to jump into action. Because she couldn’t help Kate, she tried to make up for it in any way she could.
“Food sounds amazing right now,” Courtney said with a smile.
Everyone made their way to the elevator as I stayed back. “Ryder? You coming?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you guys there. I have something to take care of.”
Nate nodded and followed everyone down the hall while I pulled out my cell phone and started making calls.
I SAT IN the corner of Ava’s room while Courtney and Reed were on either side of her bed. When they brought her up from the recovery room, they had just given her a strong dose of pain med’s which put her to sleep almost instantly the nurse said.
“She’s waking up,” Courtney said as I stood up. Ava looked at her mother and smiled.
“Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
Courtney let out a chortle and said, “Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
Turning her head, Ava looked at her dad. “I feel like a train hit me. Oh hey, Dad.”
Reed pushed a strand of hair away from Ava’s eyes as he gently spoke to her. “Hey there. Are you in a lot of pain?”
Ava let out a dry laugh. “I’m feeling okay. I’d feel better if Ryder was here.”
Reed glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled. “He is here.”
Walking up to the side of her bed, I leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “Hey,” I whispered as her eyes lit up.
“Thank you for carrying me down the trail. It was very swoon-worthy of you.”