He pushed the plate away and left.
The door banged shut behind him. Ranger gazed at it longingly, but he’d used all his balls facing down Nash’s fists, and he stayed where he was.
I reclaimed my throne and jabbed my finger at him. “Eat.”
Ranger ate, making short work of the stacked breakfast sandwich I’d dumped in front of him, as if he’d be off the hook the moment he’d swallowed the last bite.
Bless.
He shoved his plate aside and reached for the mug, draining it before he wrapped an arm around himself again and stood.
I raised a hand to stay him, ignoring the chipped and neglected state of my nails. “Take your clothes off.”
Ranger blinked. “Eh?”
“Strip.” I pushed my chair back, gesturing at his top half. “Let me check those ribs.”
“My ribs are fine.”
“Honey, please. Nash was raging. Just because you can’t feel ithereyet—” I tapped my temple. “—doesn’t mean he hasn’t hurt you. And it’s not like you tried that hard to stop him, is it?”
Facts. Ranger hadn’t survived this life by fighting the way I’d witnessed from across the yard. Yeah, he’d hit Nash—because Nash let it happen too—but he’d taken more than he’d dealt.On purpose. Because he’d needed the world of hurt Nash had inflicted on him to drown out a deeper pain.
I waited for Ranger to lose his ratty tee.
He complied and let me assess him the way I’d learned over the years. I was no medic, but I’d seen my fair share of broken men, and we hadn’t always had brothers like Folk, Saint, and Locke around to stick them back together.
Besides, Nash had cracked his own ribs three times. Rubi twice. Cam more times than I could remember. I knew that stoop and grimace like the back of my hand.
“I think you broke this one.” I pressed my thumb into the tender spot. “Or at least bruised the fuck out of it.”
Ranger hissed. “Oh well.”
“You can still ride?”
“What do you think?”
“Honestly?”
Ranger shrugged, his gaze flinty as my hands remained on his naked torso, and of course Rubi chose that moment to open the chapel door.
“All quiet on the western front? And what thefuckare you doing to Ranger? Leave him alone.”
“Nash broke his ribs.”
“Shocker.” Rubi opened the door wider. Lida trotted in and wedged herself between me and Ranger, using her furry backside to push me away. “See? Even the dog knows you’re mean.”
Ranger snorted and reached for his shirt, shrugging into it with a wince that made Rubi give him a longer, shrewder stare.
“We need you on the road, brother.”
“You’d have to kill me to keep me off it.”
“Fair enough.” Rubi wove his arms across his chest. “But no more scrapping in the yard ten minutes before the school run. Liliana saw the whole thing and Mats has got the right hump.”
Ranger acquiesced with a curt nod and took his chance to escape, taking Lida with him, whether he’d intended to or not.
With him gone, I faced Rubi. “That was no scrap.”