Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(8)
“Which is total bullshit. Sierra is so freakin’ smart and she knows business—especially her dad’s business that she’s been around her whole life. I wish she’d tell those *s to f*ck off and show them bein’ like everyone else and not rocking the boat won’t set you apart.”
“You speaking from experience?”
Kyler lowered the weight to the floor. He sighed before looking up at me. “Yep. And it’s ironic I learned that from her.”
“How?”
“Sierra helped me deal with family shit when it came to picking a college. Dad wanted me to go to University of Wyoming. Period. Then the football recruiters flew me’n Dad down here to talk about the program. After the meeting, while I was getting the tour of the ASU campus, Sierra took Dad aside for a ‘come to Jesus’ chat. Whatever she told him clicked because after that, Dad was completely onboard with me attending school here.”
Now I really wanted to know what she’d said to stubborn Cord McKay to get him to change his mind. “Did she have the same chat with Cam about Anton, and with Kane about Hayden attending ASU too?”
“Those two had it easy after I broke the first barrier. Our folks decided it’d be better, if we had to go away to college, that we were together.”
I wasn’t a social media guy so I knew nothing of McKay family gossip until those two weeks I’d been back in Sundance. But during my time in Wyoming, I remembered my cousin Chassie telling me that ASU athletics had aggressively courted Kyler for their football program. Since Hayden had been named a National Merit Scholar, he had his pick of colleges across the country but had chosen ASU. Anton had decided on the Phoenix branch of Cochise Valley College after he’d been offered a full-ride rodeo scholarship.
“But we weren’t together that much last year. Living in the dorms sucked since me’n Hayden were placed in separate buildings according to our activities and Anton lived like five miles away.”
“Had to be better than living in the barracks, dude.”
“Only slightly. Mase bought this place over the summer and said we could live here this year.”
I raised a brow. “Rent free?”
“Hell no. Even a big hockey star has a mortgage.”
Mason “Mase” Morrison, Kyler’s cousin from his mom’s side of the family, was a hockey phenom. He’d been signed to play professional hockey at age eighteen right after graduating from high school. I couldn’t imagine the pressure the kid was under. He wasn’t old enough to legally order a beer, but the future of an entire hockey franchise rested on his shoulders.
“Where is Mase, anyway?” I asked.
“Scorpions are on the road. He gets back after the game late Saturday night.”
“Do you have a tough travel schedule?”
Kyler shrugged. “It’s different for college teams. The profs cut us some slack for missing class, but most of us are on the five-year bachelor’s program because of athletics, so we’ve gotta keep up our academics or face suspension.”
“Does suspension happen often?”
“As of last week two freshman football players were sidelined. The idiots didn’t bother going to their classes because they assumed coach was bluffing.”
“I’ve been assigned to work with guys like that in the army. First they bend the rules, then they break them and they act surprised when they get busted for it.”
“I don’t understand how you’re here, acting like you have a choice where you’re assigned. Isn’t that the deal with the military? They can force you to relocate anyplace they want, any time they want?” Kyler asked.
“Yeah. But this is a two-year experimental program involving all branches of the armed forces and the Veterans Administration. It’s strictly voluntary.” I grinned. “Well, voluntary meaning my CO had to put my name in for consideration.”
“So you were hand-picked? Sweet. You must be a real hero with commendations and shit, huh?”
I rolled my eyes. “Hero. Right. I’m proud of my exemplary service record and all of the specialized medical training I’ve received. What I don’t have is a BS in nursing, which would advance my rank. That’s pretty much the only reason I signed on for this. The additional education.”
“How does it work? How do you get to choose where you end up?”
“Since the VA system has had issues in recent years, the preliminary program is focused on active-duty medical personnel working with civilian healthcare specialists in the places with the highest number of violations. So my choices are Cheyenne or Phoenix.”
Kyler’s gaze turned sharp. “That’s why you were in Wyoming.”
I nodded. “One of the requirements is working two weeks in a hospital or clinic with a preceptor associated with that VA.”
“You weren’t bullshitting me—or Sierra. You’d planned to be in Phoenix for at least two weeks.”
Before he could ask the question I saw in his eyes, I answered it. “I had no idea if Sierra still lived in Sundance when I showed up to work with Doc Monroe.”
“But you had to expect if Sierra wasn’t living in Wyoming she’d be living here,” Kyler tossed out.
With the way things had ended between us years ago, I had zero expectations when it came to Sierra. But the instant I saw her…everything had changed. “When I left Wyoming, I left for good. I didn’t keep in contact with anyone.” It wasn’t like anyone had sought contact with me either. “Besides, my dad bailed out of state. My mom moved to Montana with my sister and brother. My uncles were busy doing their own shit. And the McKays…” I shrugged. “Anyway, approval for the program happened fast, which is odd for the government. Not a lot of information has been released to us individually about specifics, but I’ve heard that’ll change once I submit my final request.”