Next August (2 page)

Claire is a little younger than my mother would have been, had mom lived. She has a great smile and her warmth radiates.

“You know… I’m not happy about your rock climbing expedition today.” Her smile turns into a scowl.

“Don’t worry. I bought all new equipment for him, and I hired two professional climbers to help. He’s been bugging me to take him climbing.” I put my arm around her shoulder.

“You know you don’t owe us anything, right?” She leans into my shoulder.

“We’ve been over this a million times.” I kiss the top of her head.

“You’re such a good man, August. I just wish you had a life of your own.” She smiles sadly.

“I have everything I need and want. More than enough. Speaking of needing, I ordered Sam one of my self-driving cars. Had it made to meet all his specific needs.” I walk to the table and sit down.

“Thank you so much for everything you do for us.” She sits with me.

“How’s your car holding up?” I ask her.

“August Tanner Rylan, you are not buying me another car. I have a good job now, thanks to you. I can take care of myself.” She points her finger at me.

“Okay, okay.” I raise my hands in surrender. I like it when she gets all flustered with me because she uses my full name, just like my mother did. It makes me smile. She’s one of the only people who can put me in my place.

“Are you coming to watch us today?” I ask her.

“Not everyone can take a day off to play.”

“I could call your boss and insist.”

“You will do no such thing, mister.” She waves her finger at me again.” Just please promise me you two will be safe. Besides, I don’t think I could bear to watch my only son, and you, hanging off of a mountainside.”

“I promise. We’ll be safe.”

☀

Zion is one of my favorite places to rock climb. Normally, I climb by myself, but today there’s a team to help Sam. He’s all suited up; ready to go. I walk around him and check his gear and safety harness. I bend down and double check the braces on his legs.

“Are you sure you want to wear these for the climb today? You’re just now getting used to walking in them. Much less climbing a mountain.”

“Yes. I’m fine. My physical therapist said it was a good idea. Can we just get going?” He looks up the side of the mountain with a huge smile on his face.

As always, I love his enthusiasm. “Are you not nervous about this at all?”

“I’ve wanted to do this for years, you know that. I’ve studied all your climbing videos. Read everything you have given me. Besides, I have you, and those climbing experts to help me. So no, I’m not afraid.”

All the hooks, anchors, and ropes are in place. I start my climb first, but I don’t move too far ahead in case I need to help him. Sam follows me, flanked by two professional climbers. I see him turn on the Go camera I bought him. He wants to document everything and put it on Youtube.

I make it up the first leg without any issues. I sit on the ledge and watch Sam climb. His progression is slow, but he’s doing it. His braces scrape the rock as his climbs, and he fusses at one of the climbers for trying to help him too much. I am so proud of him. This is what a father must feel like, even if he is only eight years younger than me.

Sam reaches my ledge.” I made it.”

I laugh.” You know we’re only halfway up the mountain.”

“Thank you so much, August.” He hugs me.

“Okay, enough of that. It’s going to take us until tomorrow to finish this climb if you don’t stop hugging me.”

“Well, get your ass off this ledge and quit waiting for me. I may have to pass you.”

I start climbing but look back to watch him scanning the majestic scenery with his camera. I’m glad that I could make this happen for him. He is pure joy to me.

☀

An hour later, I reach the top of the mountain. I take a long drink of water, and then pour some on my head. The heat is killer. As I squint into the glare off the mountains, I see two women a few feet away from me. Both are very fit looking. They must have just finished their own climb. One of them removes her helmet. She’s stunningly beautiful, with powder blue eyes. She smiles at me as she walks by, and my heart flutters— a wholly unusual feeling for me.

I keep watching her, but she doesn’t look at me again. She’s too busy watching the mountains. She makes me feel a little unsteady. Or maybe the heat is getting to me.

Sam is yelling at me. He’s almost to the top. I grasp his hand to help him with this last mighty effort. He wiggles over the edge and uses his powerful arms to prop himself in a sitting position. He sways as if he’s dancing while sitting down. “Whoop Whoop!I made it all the way to the top, man. Help me up. I want to walk around.”

I help him stand on his braces and slowly, one step at a time he makes it to where we can get the best view. Fortunately, it's right beside that pretty blonde. She smiles up at me and congratulates Sam on his climb. She has the sexiest southern drawl. Sam starts flirting with her. I nudge him in the ribs and it doesn’t slow him down at all. She chats with him easily, as if she doesn’t have a care in the world, and I can do nothing but stare at those powder blue eyes. Woman don’t make me speechless, but this particular little blonde has me inarticulate.

She sticks her hand out and introduces herself to Sam.” I’m Nashville, and this is my friend Anna.”

Instead of shaking her hand, Sam kisses it and bows to her.” It’s my pleasure to meet you, ladies. This is my tongue-tied friend August.”

I want to push his ass off of this mountain, but I manage a “hello.” She just smiles and continues paying attention to Sam. Finally, it seems like the small talk is all talked out, and they get ready to head back down the mountain.

“It was very nice to meet both of you,”Nashville says. She turns her back to us and focuses on her equipment.

“We need to get going too if we want to make it back down before dark.”

He elbows me.” She was hot. You should have gotten her phone number, man.”

“Who could ask anything with all that blabbering you were doing? Besides, what’s wrong with you, why didn’t you get her number for you? You seemed to like her?”

“I was just being nice. She’s not my type.” He glances down at his legs.

“Sam, you can have any woman you want, don’t let anything get in your way.” I pat his shoulder.

“I’m not man, I just think she would be perfect for you. I already have my eye on someone in my statistics class.” He nudges me.

“I don’t have a type or time for a woman in my life.”

“It might help get that stick out of your ass.”

I laugh at him.” I’d rather spend time with you. Now let’s get the hell off this mountain before your mother sends out a search team.”

“August.” He grabs my arm.

“What?”

“Thank you for today.”

“It was my pleasure,” I say as I fasten his helmet.

☀

“Are you guys ready for him?” I call down to the climbing guides. They give me the thumbs up. As Sam maneuvers into position his brace gets caught on a rock.

“August, I’m stuck.” He tugs at his leg with his hand.

“Hold on a minute. I’ll get it.” I climb down to him and do my own tugging, but his leg is tightly wedged between two rocks. I tie myself off and tug harder. My hand somehow gets caught up in the metal workings of the brace, ripping a deep gash from just above my thumb downward to my wrist.

“Shit!I yell as blood rushes down my forearm.

Sam turns around to see what I’m yelling about.” I’m so sorry!”

“It’s not your fault,” I say through gritted teeth. I grab a bandana from my bag and wrap it around my hand. Being left handed is going to make my climb down a little more difficult.

“You’re loose now, so try to move again.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll deal with it when our feet are on the ground.”

☀

The climb down for Sam is much easier. The climbers built a pulley system for him. On the other hand, my hand is throbbing, and the bandana is soaked in blood. I leave bloody handprints in my wake. This time, Sam is waiting for me.

“How’s your hand?” He takes my hand at the wrist and turns it over.

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked at it since I wrapped it.”

“Can I help?”

I hear that sweet southern drawl, and turn to stare into the big blue eyes of the pretty blonde woman from the precipice.

“I saw the blood path and thought I would see if I could help you,” she says.

Once again, I’m dumbstruck.

She looks at me like she owes me an explanation.” I’m sorry…I forget to mention that I’m an ER nurse. I see a lot of trauma. Do you mind if I look at it?”

She asks sweetly through her pink lemonade colored lips.

I extend my hand and nod. She takes gloves from her backpack and gently unwraps my hand. She washes it out with water and I try not to wince.

“You’re going to need to have your hand scanned to make sure you didn’t sever any tendons. And you need a lot of stitches.”

I hear nothing but the sound of my name on her lips. Everything after that was just noise. What the hell is wrong with me?

“August, did you hear what the pretty lady said?” asks Sam. “We need to take you to the hospital.”

That jars me. I hate hospitals. Bad memories from long ago. Just the smell of a hospital is enough to remind me of the worst night of my life. I was only eight, but I can remember every detail. I shake my head to expel those old thoughts and feelings. “Nah,” I say. “I’ll deal with it myself after we get you home.”

Nashville raises her eyebrows. “I don’t think you can deal with this yourself. I wouldn’t wait too long. You need some antibiotics and if you wait, you won’t be able to get that sewn up.”

“I’ll go as soon as I deliver him back home,”I say too firmly. Her eyes make me forget, just for a moment, why I hate hospitals. No one has ever had that effect on me.

“I actually volunteered to cover for someone for a couple hours tonight. Why don’t you meet me at Moab General after you get Sam home?”

“We’ll see,” I say. I want to see her, but the idea is also terrifying. I feel confused, so I do what I always do when emotions start piling up. I get away from the source of them. “Sam, let’s get going. Your mom will be worried.”

☀

I get Sam loaded into the car and get behind the wheel.” Why were you so rude to her, man?” He frowns. “She was just trying to help.”

“I hate hospitals, besides, I have my own physician. He can assess what needs to be done.” Once I’m away from her big blue eyes, the effect fades, and the old fear of hospitals creeps back.

“I’ve seen your doctor. He’s not near as pretty as that nurse.”

“I don’t need a pretty little nurse. Just drop it.” I glare at him.

“Suit yourself.” He leans his head against the window and doesn’t utter another word until we make it home. Then he doesn’t shut up. He pulls his camera out as soon as we go through the door. He talks a mile a minute as he shows Claire the footage from his big day. Once he runs out of information about our climb, he starts in about my hand.

Claire walks over to look at it. She scowls. “Nasty. Wow. You need to go to the hospital.”

“I’ll clean it up when I get home. It will be fine.” I pull my hand away from her grasp.

“That’s not what Nashville said,” Sam says with a smirk.

“Who’s Nashville?” Claire asks.

“Nobody,” I say as I head for the door.

“Thank you for taking Sam today and for keeping him safe.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be back next week for his graduation.” She follows me out.

“August?” She says from behind me.

I feel a lecture coming on.” What?”

“If that were Sam’s hand, what would you do?” She brushes my cheek.

Shit. Why did she have to play that card?” Okay, you win. After I change clothes I’ll get it looked at.”

She kisses my cheek and walks toward the house.” I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

Sam wheels into the doorway. The bastard flicks me off and laughs. I should have pushed him off the ledge when I had the chance.

CHAPTER TWO

August

My house has a gated entry and sits half a mile back onto my property. The view from every window: red mountains. Stella, my housekeeper, always has the place lit up like a landing strip. I’m not sure why, but I think she’s scared of intruders. I have a state of the art security system, designed by yours truly. I hit the garage door opener and slide my Jag into its pristine place. I head upstairs to check on the man who has made my life hell since I was eight years old. My father.

His aide stands as I enter the room. “Good evening, Mr. Rylan.”

“How was he today?” I ask.

“The same as always. No problems.”

If she only knew how much of a problem this man has been for me, she would choose different words.” I’ll check on him tomorrow.” Like I always do. Nothing changes. He’s always there. Silent and still in the bed, for years. I often think, with a mix of anger, sadness, and bitter irony, that he’s much more pleasant in his comatose state than he was when he was conscious.

I head to the shower and exhaustion takes over. That is until I momentarily forget about my hand and rub it through my hair.
Shit, that stings.
Pink tinges the water that runs over my chest. I hold my hand out in front of me. It’s filleted all the way down the palm, and the swelling is increasing. I finish showering and towel off. Wiping the steam from the mirror, I lean onto the sink.

I hadn’t been in a hospital for years since I was a kid. The last time, I had surgery on my eye. It left my pupil irregular shaped. My eyes are so dark brown that it looks like my pupil bleeds outward and down into the white of my eye. When I was a young, other kids would ask me all the time what happened to my eye? Why does your eye look funny? Every time they would ask it would shoot pain straight to my heart at the loss of my mother.

One day I finally screamed at this kid who kept teasing me about my eye. His name was Timmy; I’ll never forget his bright red hair and buck teeth. “My mother is dead! She died in a car accident, and I almost died too! So my eye is screwed up! Shut up about it!”

Then I ran out of the classroom, crying. I remember running out onto the playground with that whole terrible night flashing before my eyes again. My father and mother screaming at each other in the car. Her telling him to slow down. “Slow down, you’re drunk!” She grabbed his arm, but he pushed her away. The car swerved toward the curb.

I called out to her, “Mommy, I’m scared!” And I started crying.

She tried to comfort me, but my father turned around and screamed at me. “Will you shut up? I’m trying to drive!”

And then the crash.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My weird eye. The only physical reminder of that night, but what happened lingered in my mind, no matter how I tried to suppress it.

Technically I lost my dad that day, too. He blamed me for the accident. I know he did. And I blamed myself. Why was I such a cry baby? I should have just kept quiet, and he wouldn’t have been so distracted. Even if he was drunk, it's not like he never drove drunk before that night. It was his crying son who pushed him over the edge. I took up wearing an eye patch for a while after mom died. I pretended to be a pirate because pirates were tough. That and the fact that I wouldn’t talk to anyone didn’t exactly gain me a lot of friends and girlfriends. I became comfortable being a loner. It was easier.

I wrap some gauze around my hand and decide to go pay Nashville a visit rather than bothering my doctor this time of night. In all honesty, I wouldn’t mind finding out a little more about the baby blue-eyed nurse, and after all this time, I should be able to brave a hospital for an hour.

I’m distracted by delicious smells coming from the kitchen, so I stop for a bite. I ate a few power bars during the climb, but that’s it, and I’m starving.

“It’s about time you came downstairs. I was beginning to think your sniffer was broken,” Stella says and winks.

“It smells wonderful, what is it?” I sit down at the kitchen bar.

Before she turns around she pours me a bourbon. She starts to tell me what she’s cooking but stops when she sees my hand.

“What have you done? ’

“It’s just a cut. As soon as I’ve consumed massive amounts of whatever you have cooked, I’m driving myself to the hospital.”

“It must be bad if you’re going to the hospital.” She talks as she fills my plate with eggplant parmesan.

I dig in and ask her about her day between bites of food. Stella is from Italy. Her family came to America when she was a kid. She is funny, when she gets flustered at me she starts speaking Italian. When she first started working for me, I didn’t understand a word she was saying, so I started learning Italian on my flight to and from Seattle every week. She was shocked when I responded to her rant one day.

She and her husband live at the back end of my property on the lakeside. He keeps the grounds for me and washes and waxes my car. They’re both in their mid-sixties and work harder than most people half their age.

As I’m eating, she washes the dishes and stocks the refrigerator with leftovers.” Can I drive you back to your house before I leave?”

“Don’t be silly. I have the golf cart. I’ll just finish up in here. What would you like for breakfast?”

“I’m more than capable of making my own breakfast, Stella. Take the morning and sleep in.” I hand her my plate.

“Thank you, Mr. Ryland, but there is too much to be done to be lazy.”

I have tried multiple times to get her to call me August, but she refuses.” You are definitely not lazy.” I pat her arm. “Good night. Dinner was excellent as usual.”

☀

Before I pull out of my drive I contemplate if I should go to the closest hospital, or go out of my way to get another look at those blue eyes. My head tells me just to go to the local hospital, but my other head tells me to go find the girl. Guess who wins out? I feel like I’m driving straight into trouble, and trouble has a name. Nashville.

Thirty minutes later I pull into Moab General. I walk into a packed waiting room. People are hacking and sniffling all over the place. I walk up to the lady manning the check-in desk. She ignores me.

“Excuse me,” I say, “I’m here to see Nashville.”

“Nash is busy. You’ll have to wait your turn.”

“She told me to come and see her. I cut my hand.” I hold my hand up for her to see.

She doesn’t even look up from her computer.” Look, mister, unless you’re having chest pains, you’ll have to wait your turn.”

The double doors open and Nashville walks into the waiting room with a patient, an older man. I stand and watch her.

“Excuse me, sir,” says the clerk, “but you need to fill out this paperwork.”

Now she decides to pay attention to me. I take them from her and hear, “August?”

I turn around. Nashville stands a few feet away from me. I hold up my hand.” I decided to take your advice, but it looks like I may need to come back tomorrow.”

She leans close to me. So close I can smell her. She smells of mango.” Follow me.” She whispers. She grabs the clipboard of paperwork and places it back on the desk.

“He has to fill out the paperwork, Nash, and he can’t just go in front of all these people who have been waiting.” The pleasant desk lady looks like she’s about to grab my arm and toss me back into the waiting room.

Nashville grabs the clipboard back off the desk, flashes a smile at her grim colleague, and drags me through the double doors.

☀

“I’m glad you decided to come in,” she says. “I was worried that you wouldn’t. Can you fill out the paperwork while I get someone to help us?” She drags me into another room. It looks cold and sterile.

“I’m left-handed.” I hold up my injured hand.

“Oh, sorry. Here, let me have it.” She starts writing.” August. . . What is your last name?” She stops and looks at me with those big powder blue eyes.

“Rylan.”

She writes again.” Address and phone number?”

I give them to her.

“Insurance?”

“Cash.”

“Are you sure? The scan will be expensive. I can see if you will qualify for any help?”

“Do I look like I need help?” I ask.

“I’m sorry. I guess not,” she says in that southern drawl.

I think I have hurt her feelings. I just restate “cash.”

She looks down only at the paper now.” Any medical history?”

This is none of her fucking business. I’m getting defensive. “No.”

“What happened to your eye?” Now her blues have found mine.

I look down and pick something imaginary off my pants.” Birth defect.” It’s a lie, but a plausible one.

“Okay, Mr. Rylan, I think I have enough to get started. Let me go get some orders, and I’ll have someone take you to the CT Scan.”

I guess I have pissed her off. Now I am Mr. Rylan, but suddenly I’m in a panic.” No.”

She stops in her tracks.” No what?”

“If you can’t take me, I’m out of here.” I get up to leave.

She squints at me, and then stands close to me with her hands on her hips.” Do you just like being in control, or are you scared?”

“I’m not afraid of anything.” That is the second time I have lied to her.

“Well, if you were scared, I would just go with you, but since it is a control issue, you’re on your own.” She walks out.

Shit. That backfired. This blue eyed southern spitfire has single handedly taken my control away. I start to hyperventilate. I’m a grown damn man. I can handle this. Both my hands are pulling at my hair when she walks back in with a transporter and a wheelchair. She looks at me wide-eyed.

“Um…. It’s okay,” she says to the transporter. “I’ll take him. I’m sure you have other patients you can transport.”

Relief washes over me and I relax.

“Sit down, August.” Her voice is much softer, and she points to the wheelchair.

I don’t say anything, but I sit. We enter the elevator and she pushes the floor number. “So, it wasn’t a control issue. You were actually scared.” She whispers it.” Or maybe it is a little of both.” She states the last part a little louder.

“What kind of name is Nashville?” I ask, just to try to change the subject.

“What kind of name is August?”

Damn, this woman cuts me no slack. I’ve never met a woman like her.” My mother thought August was the most beautiful time of year.” For some reason, I answered her truthfully. I don’t think I’ve ever shared that with anyone since she died.

The doors open, thank god. She knocks on the door to let the tech know we’re here and ready for the scan.” Come lay down on this. Your body will go through this tube until your hand is under it.”

I lay on the hard, narrow bed. She hasn’t taken her eyes off of me. Then I hear her softly say, “I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. It is my father’s favorite place in the world. He said he loved it so much that he wanted to name his most prized possession after his favorite place.” She smiles shyly at me.

Damn. She is beautiful.

☀

We return to the cold sterile room. She has been quiet since she told me about her name.” Wait here while I go get some supplies and a physician.” She comes back with a doctor who introduces himself, but my attention is solely on her.

“Did you hear him, August?” She touches my arm and it feels she burned me. I’ve had sex with many women. None of them scorched my skin like she just did.

“Sorry, no.” I look directly at her.

“He said the tendons and ligaments are all intact, but you will need several stitches, antibiotics, and a tetanus shot.” She touches my arm again and this time, it feels like electrical energy flowing up my arm.

“Okay.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll stay here with you until the doctor is done.” Now she’s holding my hand. Is she trying to comfort me, or appease me? Either way, I don’t want her to leave.

As promised, she held my hand during the entire procedure. I clasped hers back, and I never took my eyes off of her. For some reason, I find her fascinating. The southern drawl thing is such a turn on. I need to find out more about this woman. The only thing I know we have in common is mountain climbing, but maybe there’s more.

The doctor finishes and leaves, and Nashville dresses my hand. She bites the inside of her bottom lip as she concentrates. I smile up at her.

“What?” she asks me.

“You are good at what you do aren’t you?”

“I hope so. I enjoy taking care of people.”

That gives me an idea, but I need to check her background first.

“All done. Now all you need is your tetanus shot.” She unlocks a cabinet and pulls out a labeled syringe. She blushes when she turns back around.

“Um…. I need access to your hip.”

She is actually embarrassed. That’s a good sign. I stand up and lower my jeans slightly. She’s so gentle when she inserts the needle, but it’s followed by a burn. I ignore it. It’s inconsequential compared to the heat radiating between us.