Once Upon A Rodeo

Chapter Twenty Three - [Going Home.]

I woke up tired and stiff the next morning.

Needless to say, it had been difficult to get good rest on the tiny hospital bed. It was shortly after eight in the morning when my eyelids fluttered open, and I blinked against the harsh hospital lighting for a moment before remembering where I was.

I looked down at Brantley, who was still fast asleep. I touched his face gently, incredibly glad that he was okay. His injuries definitely should have been worse than they were. We had all gotten lucky.

As quietly and gently as I could, I slipped off of the bed and out of the room. I found a nearby bathroom and got freshened up, then asked one of the nurses for directions to the cafeteria. I knew the hospital food would not bode Brantley over.

I got a decent amount of food, and a couple of coffees and headed back to the room. Brantley was awake when I got there, which didn't surprise me. He was a heavy sleeper, but I found out recently that he generally awoke shortly after I did.

"Good morning," I said, setting down the food on the bedside tray table. He slipped his fingers into the back of my hair, pulling me in gently for a kiss.

"Good morning. Thank you for bringing breakfast."

"I knew that this hospital food wouldn't fill you up. How are you feeling?"

"My ribs are sore, but that's about it."

"And your head?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

Brantley put his hand on my thigh as I sat down on the bed beside him, and he smiled at me.

"My head is fine, sweetheart."

I narrowed my eyes a little bit at him.

"Are you lying?" I asked.

This made him laugh.

"Kennedy, when have I ever been anything but bluntly honest with you?" He asked.

I relaxed then, because he was right. He was certainly one of the most truthful people I'd met. We ate breakfast quietly, because both of us were very hungry. Shortly after we were done, Brantley's parents, Callie, and Rose showed up.

"Has the doctor been in yet?" Charlotte asked after kissing her son on the forehead.

"Not yet," Brantley answered.

"How are you feeling?" Charlotte asked, peering at him closely.

"I feel good," Brantley said.

"Do you?" Charlotte asked skeptically, just as I had. But she held his chin gently, looking at each side of his face as if looking for signs he was lying.

"Ma," Brantley said, laughing as he pulled back from his mother. "I'm fine, I promise."

The doctor came in a few minutes later and asked Brantley a few questions. He looked at his pupils, did a few tests, and said released him. All he had to do was rest for the next few days with little physical activity.

Charlotte hovered over Brantley on the long walk from the hospital room to the truck. Emmett tried to get her to stop, but she was too concerned. I couldn't blame her, and fell back to walk with Rose and Callie.

"How'd you guys sleep last night?" Rose asked.

"I think he slept well. I fell asleep pretty quickly, but that damn bed was uncomfortable and small. How about you guys? Did you find a hotel pretty quick?"

"Yeah, there was one right down the street. We all passed out pretty quickly. Except for my mom, probably. She was worried sick," Callie answered.

The drive back to Hudson seemed so much longer than the drive there. I was exhausted, and I'm sure Brantley was as well. I actually dozed off a few times, my head resting against Brantley's shoulder.

A little after one o' clock in the afternoon, we pulled into Brantley's driveway.

"Make sure you get a lot of rest, Brantley. And drink a lot of fluids."

"I'm not sick, Mama," Brantley said, humored by his mother's over protectiveness.

"I know, but I just want you to get better quickly. Make sure-" Charlotte began, but Emmett placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be fine, Charlotte," Emmett said gently.

Their eyes met, and Charlotte seemed to relax. She turned to Brantley, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek.

"I'll bring some food by later tonight."

"Thank you, Mama," Brantley said, nodding.

Everyone said their goodbyes to Brantley and I, and we walked back into the house, both of us more tired than we wanted to admit. We wanted to shower, but we were too tired to do anything but shrug into pajamas and crawl into bed.

—-

Several hours later, I was slowly pulled out of the deep sleep that I was in.

I yawned, stretching in the bed. My arm touched the vacant spot next to me, meaning that Brantley was gone. The spot was warm, so he hadn't been gone for long. I found him downstairs, going from the living room to the kitchen with tupperwares full of food in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked, my stomach growling.

"Mama brought by spaghetti, garlic bread, and some brownies."

"Ohh, that sounds good," I said, following him into the kitchen.

"Well, it's all for me," He teased, the corners of his mouth turning up in a mischievous smile.

"You gotta share!" I giggled back.

"No, I sure don't. My mama's spaghetti is the best," He said, "And it's all mine."

We heated up the food, eating enough of it between us to feed three or four people. Afterwords, I warmed up a couple of brownies and topped them with vanilla ice cream.

While we were laughing and talking, I looked over at him.

His eyes were bright with happiness, and he smiled widely. My heart swelled. I had fallen, and I had fallen hard. I really did love him.

I wasn't going to say anything, though.

Now wasn't the right time to bring it up. We'd been together too soon to talk about love. I knew he liked me, but I didn't know how serious he was. I didn't want to ruin it when things were going so well for us.

And boy, were they going well.

Author's Note: Sorry, this is really short. :( I just wanted to write something for you guys. Don't worry...Drama IS coming. ;) I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. One really, really big trick. Stay tuned!