before looking at his screen again.
He saw a message from LuAnn and his heart rate increased. Tapping the message, it opened, and he read her words. The last sentence, "Looking forward to tomorrow."
Shit. He didn't know how long he'd be here, but one thing was for sure, he couldn't ride today.
Starting to text her back, he’d become a bit dizzy trying to read the small text, so he’d delete it and start again. After a few tries, he typed out a message.
"I had an accident. In the hospital."
Sending that text off, he lay his phone on his lap and reached over for a packet of crackers.
His phone chimed and he excitedly picked it up to see a text from Dog.
"We got your truck and took it to the shop."
He quickly sent a thumbs up and lay his phone back down. Chewing his crackers slowly, he swallowed and waited a moment to see if his stomach would tolerate the dried food before taking another bite.
His phone chimed again, this time it was JT. "You up?"
He managed to type out, "Yeah."
Within a couple of seconds his phone rang.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Just wanted you to know that your truck is at the shop and we called your insurance agent to send an adjuster out. He'll be here later today. How are you feeling this morning?"
"Headache. My nose doesn't like the smell of food and I have to piss."
JT laughed on the other end of the line and said, "Sounds like you'll be back to normal soon. If you were ever normal that is."
"Fuck off," Chase growled.
JT laughed again. "I'll let you go piss. I just wanted you to know we're taking care of your vehicle. Don't worry about that. Get better, bro."
"Thanks."
JT hung up first and he decided he really did need to piss. Tossing the covers back, he pushed the button on his bed to raise the head allowing him to sit up. Slowly twisting so his legs dangled over the side, he waited a moment for the dizziness to subside. Once he felt ready to try, he slid off of the side of the bed until his feet touched the floor.
"Whoa, hang on, Mr. Matthews."
A nurse hastened her steps into the room. "You should have assistance the first couple of times you get up, Mr. Matthews."
"Chase. My dad was Mr. Matthews, and he was a bastard."
A cool draft reached his backside and he consciously reached back to pull his gown closed. That's when he realized, someone pulled his clothing off and he didn't remember a damned thing.
The nurse said, "Here, are you able to stand still for a minute?"
"Yeah." He was actually grateful for a minute to let his body readjust to this position.
The nurse came back with a robe and helped him into it covering his backside.
"Thanks."
"Okay, now we'll take it slow. I'm going to be right here alongside you holding your arm so I can help you if you lose your balance.”
"Okay."
27
Entering the back of the greenhouse she wondered when Chase would respond. It had been a while since he told her he had been in an accident. She asked if he were alright, where he was and if there was anything she could do. It had been over an hour and he hadn't answered.
She tried focusing her mind on her work, but her worry twisted so in her gut that she thought she'd throw up. Trying to think past this moment her brain kicked into gear and she grabbed her phone and checked for a response from Chase. Still nothing.
Then she called Linda. She nervously waited for Linda to answer as she walked toward the breakroom to stash her lunch.
"What's up? Is everything okay?"
"Linda, I got a text from Chase over an hour ago that he'd been in an accident and is at the hospital. I don't know which one or how badly he's hurt. Do you think Tanner would call Dog and ask about Chase? I'm so worried about him and I want to go see him."
"Actually, I just got off the phone with Tanner and he told me Chase is at St. Catherine's Hospital. Apparently his truck rolled after he'd been hit by someone running a stop sign last night. He has a concussion, so they are keeping him for a couple of days to make sure there isn't lasting damage."
"Oh my God." She looked around worried that if she asked for time off of work this soon it wouldn't look good to her bosses. But, she