“I missed you guys,” Rager told them, holding them closer.
I was so nervous they were going to hurt him by climbing all over him but he didn’t seem to mind one bit.
“How’s he doing?” Mom asked as we watched him talk to the kids. She handed me a stack of mail.
I flipped through the mail. It was mostly cards for Rager and our family, but there was one that caught my attention. “He didn’t say much. Spent some time with Caden though.” I stared at the envelope in my hand. It had Levi Motorsports on the envelope. Easton’s race team he created with the World of Outlaws. I couldn’t believe he started a dirt racing team, but then again, I could.
“Your dad went to see him today.”
Sighing, I opened the card. “It so hard to see. I hated leaving Kinsley.” My eyes dropped to the card. It was from Easton, or rather his company, wishing Rager a speedy recovery. I snorted. “I can’t believe he sent this.”
Mom peered at the card and then frowned. “I’d throw that away before Rager sets it on fire like he did the Christmas card last year.”
I smiled. “You’re right.”
The door opened behind us.
I turned to see who it was and snorted. Rosa came walking through the door with her suitcase in hand and a case of White Claw in the other. “If he needs a sponge bath, I call dibs on that particular job.” And then she kicked the door shut with her foot.
“Not a chance!” Rager yelled from the living room.
Rosa rolled her suitcase through the foyer with a kick and then cracked open a White Claw. “He’ll give in.” Rosa hiccupped. “Everyone loves a happy ending.”
I had to laugh, and you know what, it felt amazing and even earned me a wink from Rager. I knew then I couldn’t be scared of what the next three months would look like, or the next year. I had to show him my support. The statement that behind every strong man, there was a stronger woman, was true. Being married to a race car driver, it was unlike most marriages. It was exciting, thrilling, everything you’d think being married to a professional athlete was like, but it was also scary. It was never boring, instead terrifying most days, and on top of that, you trusted them with your heart while trying to love yourself in a sport that left little room for that.
“Oh, I forgot something.” Rosa set her White Claw down and jetted out the door. When she returned, she handed me a plant. It strangely resembled a dick.
“What is it?” I held it awkwardly and then set it on the table in our foyer.
“A penis plant. If your husband can’t get it up, that’s for you. It’s organic.”
I blinked slowly, unbelieving. Mom burst out laughing beside me. “I should give one to your dad. Here’s a plant that has your personality,” she teased, cracking herself up.
“I can still get it up,” Rager yelled from the living room.
“What’s get it up?” Pace asked Rager, sitting next to him.
Rager didn’t miss a beat. “You know, like getting up from the couch.”
“Oh.”
WHILE ROSA TOOK care of the kids that night, got them bathed and into bed, Rager and I spent some time alone. I helped him shower, after I assured him the door was locked and Rosa couldn’t get in our room.
“She probably had a key made,” he teased, limping to the bed in a pair of shorts after the shower. He had crutches for the ankle but they bothered his ribs, so he limped everywhere most of the time.
“Maybe we should get you a wheelchair,” I joked when he tripped over the rug underneath our bed.
But then I caught onto his expression. He looked tired, as though he hadn’t been sleeping much, but also worried, and then I realized what I said. Caden would be leaving the hospital in a wheelchair and more than likely be in one the rest of his life.
I didn’t know what to do so I stripped. Dropped my robe to the floor. It seemed like the only option for accidentally—always—saying the wrong thing around him. I had been trying so hard to be careful, but it was hard to know what to say in a situation like this. There I stood, buck-ass naked in front of him and waiting to see what he’d do next.
He looked, of course, but it took a minute for the reaction. At least not at first. It was long enough that I bent down and reached for my robe.
And then I heard his rough voice. “Don’t do that.”
I fumbled with the fabric before letting it fall to the ground again. “Do what?”
“Strip in front of me.” He paused and leaned back on his hands that were flat against the mattress. “And then cover yourself up.”
I swallowed over the lump in my throat, the dim lighting in the bedroom casting shadows on his face and the buzzcut he now wore. “I wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted.”
His eyes dragged down my chest to the rest of my body, slowly, as though he was worshiping me with a look. I momentarily stepped out of my own head long enough to see that my husband had slipped his right hand inside his shorts and was rubbing his cock. Holy fuck. I watched brazenly the way his shorts moved with every stroke and his hooded eyes. Why had that been the hottest thing I’d seen in months? Probably because, life threw us the fucking black flag, and we’d been in the pits stuck at motor heat for far too long.
I stepped closer to the bed, wanting his
