“No surprise there,” Jesse says, his eyes shining.
Sofie wipes her cheeks and glares at me. “You both scared the shit out of me and I’m not over it.”
I can’t help but smile, but it cracks my dry lips. “CJ saved her.”
Jesse gives a soft huff. “Sounds like you all saved each other.”
A man in scrubs and a white coat steps into the room. He flashes me a confident smile. “Officer Whittaker.”
“Rowdy, please.” I offer my hand. The movement awakens the pain in my leg, but it’s tolerable thanks to whatever pain meds they’ve got dripping into my IV.
The doctor grasps my hand. “Doctor Greg Camden. How are you feeling?”
“Grateful.” The word comes out low and soft, like a sigh.
Dr. Camden nods, his expression warming for a split second before it sobers again. “The bullet lodged in your femur. The repair was…extensive. You also lost a lot of blood.”
“Permanent damage?” I have to force the words past my shaking lips.
Dr. Camden gives me an appraising glance, his eyes serious. “You’ll most likely walk with a limp. And the recovery won’t be much fun. You’re also in dire need of a hip replacement, but I think you already knew that.”
The bargain I made during our escape flashes through my mind.
“That joint is basically bone on bone.” Dr. Camden winces. “It must be excruciating.”
Sofie and Jesse exchange a glance.
“I understand.” I swallow the knot of apprehension. “How about…riding a horse, or…skiing.”
“One recovery win at a time, okay?” He gives me a reassuring nod, but the weight of uncertainty about my future is too powerful, and I look away.
The next time I open my eyes, Sofie and Jess are gone but CJ’s here.
“Hey, pardner,” I croak.
With a hard exhale, he offers his hand. The knuckles are covered in bandages, affirming my suspicion about how those two men ended up unconscious. “It’s good to see you, sir.”
I blink back the emotion clawing at my eyes. When our hands meet, I tug on him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders so I can pull him in close. “Thank you.”
He gives a startled huff. “What for?”
“Going after Linnie. Getting us out of that mess.”
He gives a low hum. “We make a pretty good team.”
“A great team.”
When I release him, his eyes are glassy. “Linnea’s going to beokay.” He sniffs and shuffles his feet. “They didn’t hurt her…like that.”
Relief softens the tension in my shoulders, and I release a silent sigh. “If you hadn’t gone after her. If you had hesitated like I did?—”
“We both did what we had to do.”
CJ and I lock eyes, the silence turning charged. “She’s, um, going to need someone to take care of her for a while.”
When I don’t answer, he tucks a wild curl behind his ear and fixes me with an earnest gaze. “Looks like you might, too.”
I look away. Dr. Camden didn’t say I’ll never ride again, but he also didn’t offer a guarantee either. Or how and when a hip replacement fits into the plans. “Yeah. I’ve…got a long road ahead of me.”