Page 40 of Ride Me Reckless

Colt.

My heart fluttered.

He never called. Texted, sure—once or twice. But a phone call?

I answered before the second ring.

"Colt?" I said, breath hitching.

Only it wasn't his voice.

"Hi, is this Tessa Walker?" a woman asked, professional and calm. Too calm.

"Yes," I said slowly. "Who is this?"

"This is Nurse Davidson from Lovelace Regional Hospital. I'm calling on behalf of Colt Bennett."

Everything inside me went still.

The nurse kept talking, her voice like static in my ears.

"There was a house fire at your mother's residence earlier this evening. Colt found her inside and brought her to the hospital. She's stable now, resting. But Colt… he injured his back carrying her out."

My knees buckled. I dropped onto the bottom trailer step.

"He insisted we call you," the nurse added. "Refused any treatment until we got you on the line."

"What—how bad is it?" I whispered.

"He's in the ER now. They're evaluating him for a slipped disc or worse. He's in pain, but he's conscious. Very concerned about your mother. And you."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Can I… talk to him?"

"We're about to take him for imaging. The doctor can speak with you in a few minutes if you'd like to stay on the line."

"No… that's okay. Just—tell him I'm coming."

I ended the call and just sat there, staring at nothing.

Callie appeared in the doorway. "Tess?"

I looked up.

She took one look at my face and put the box down. "What happened?"

"There was a fire," I said, voice brittle. "At Mama's. Colt got her out, but he hurt himself. He's at the hospital."

Callie's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

"She's stable. He's… not great."

I stood, legs shaky but locked in purpose now.

"We're going back."

Callie didn't argue. She just grabbed her keys, and we hitched the trailer to the truck. Then, I climbed into the passenger seat without looking back—until the engine fired and the rearview mirror caught one last glimpse of the racetrack behind us.

All the noise, the speed, the thrill of the win—it felt far away now.