Page 32

KELLER

One could say I didn’t handle this morning all that well. It’s probably why I slammed into the construction trailer, grabbed what I needed, and stormed off. There was no damn way I’d be any use attending construction meetings. Manual labor was on my list, especially since I wasn’t fit for company.

Which is what I’ve been doing since I arrived at the job site.

The guys took one look at me, and I don’t know if it was on my face or in the way I walked, but they kept a wide berth.

I grabbed a few two-by-fours and my hammer, and started framing up the wall that needed to be done.

Of course, it didn’t help me that my mind kept wandering back to Alana, to the sleepless nights we’d tousle in the sheets, remembering the way she’d moan out my name, soft and breathless.

I could practically feel her pussy clenching on my cock like it was yesterday.

It didn’t matter how hard I swung the hammer, how lost in my own head I’d try to get, something would remind me of Alana, and my thoughts would swing right back around.

I’d been fighting the urge to track her pretty ass down and have her underneath time and time again.

I was an idiot and read her text again and again, how she admitted to wanting more, needing more, and deserving more.

It wasn’t more than a couple of sentences, not paragraph after paragraph, straight and to the point.

I guess me giving her a one-word answer was enough, and her dismissal this morning proves I fucked up, big time.

“Keller!” I have a header on my shoulder after finishing with the framing of the wall.

The other side is held up by a ladder. When the guys walked up to me, I just shook my head no, and they took off again.

I don’t answer them now, my worry is on the weight on my shoulder instead of them calling my name.

“Keller, get down from there, you damn fool.” That voice has me stuttering in my climb on the ladder.

It’s also when I feel the ladder wobble beneath me, my foot sliding as well.

It happens in a flash. One minute I’m fine, and the next minute, the header is completely off my shoulder, pulling me back.

The only smart thing I do is let that heavy fucker drop.

The crunching of a bone tells me I’m screwed, and when I close my eyes, my legs give out from the pain, knocking me to my knees.

“Keller, son, stay with me. Don’t you pass out on me.” It’s my dad’s voice.

“I’m fine. Might need to get me to the hospital, though. Heard something crunch,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Well, I’m not sure what you were thinking when you had a whole crew here and you go off half-cocked. What doesn’t hurt, and how can I help you get up?”

“The other arm is fine. Pretty sure my left side is fucked.” I watch as my dad moves around to my other shoulder and pushes under my armpit, taking most of my weight, somehow remaining rock steady while doing so.

“Yeah, I figure a visit to the hospital is in order, and if you tell me it’s no big deal, that arm hanging limply is telling me otherwise.”

“Do me a favor and wait until we’re actually at the hospital before you call in reinforcements.” If not, the whole Hart family will show up before we even get there.

“Might not be able to do that, seeing as Tanner is the one who called me to come out and check on you. Not to mention how Leena was biting her thumbnail, worried about you. I figure there’s something going on, and knowing you, you won’t say a word until you’re ready.

So, I’ll leave it at that, but I’m going to have to call Tanner and get the paperwork started on this little mishap.

” Shit, add this to the pile of shit that I keep fucking up.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” We make our way to the truck. The guys are already working on the header with more than one person. The passenger door to Dad’s truck is open, and Matt the foreman stands there waiting.

“I’ll get it all squared away. Take care, bud,” is what he says as I climb into the passenger side.

“Thanks. If you could have one of the others drive my truck to my house, I’d appreciate it. The keys are in the cupholder,” I tell him.

“You got it. Take care of yourself.” He closes the door. I tip my head back, close my eyes, and breathe through the pain that’s setting in.

“Well, hell, boy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I bet you broke your collarbone. Looks like Deke’s did when he was playing high school football and was tackled the wrong way, you know when he had his head up his own ass about that girl,” Dad says as he climbs in, starts the truck, and we move off the construction site.

“Son of a bitch,” I respond, knowing how long he was out for that season, which means I’m out of work in the manual labor department. It seems karma is showing her head a fuck of a lot faster than I’ve ever seen before.

“You can say that again.” We don’t say another word until he pulls into the emergency room drop-off.

I wave him off when he asks if I need help walking in.

There’s no way I’d ask that, anyhow. Plus, I’m sure he’s busy calling the hounds and the whole hospital will be flooded with family, something I’m not looking forward to.