Tied Up, Tied Down (Rough Riders #4)(73)

“Please don’t be stupid. This man is hurting and not just because he was in a fight. He needs you tonight. Forget whatever else happened today, be there for him—”


“Indy?” Colt called.

“Coming.”


By the time Sky brought the kit, a bag of ice rested on the upper right half of Kade’s face. She scrutinized his swollen mouth, the bumps and bruises on his jaw, the deep gash above his eyebrow. Her gaze tracked the splotches of dried blood on his cheek and the long line of brownish-red trailing down his neck.

Don’t cry, be strong. She inhaled slowly and was amazed her voice didn’t shake.

“Does it hurt?”


No answer.

“Let me see.” Sky’s stomach made a seesawing sensation as she inspected the deep cut. “I take it you opted for no doctor and no stitches.”


“Didn’t seem that bad.”


“Well, it sure isn’t good.” She brushed a bloody clump of hair from his forehead, over and over, at a loss for what else she could do to fix this for him. “I probably need to clean it before I can put on a bandage.”


“Fine.”


Colt dropped Kade’s keys on the table. “Since you’re in capable hands, we’re gonna head back to town.”


“Thanks. Both of you. I appreciate your help.”


“No problem.” India turned to Sky. “Is Eliza sleeping?”


“She’s upstairs in our room, if you want to take a peek.”


“I will. Don’t worry, I won’t wake her.”


“I’ll wait outside,” Colt said.

Sky ripped open an antiseptic wipe and lowered the ice pack. She winced. His eye was completely swollen shut and his eyebrow had a deep gash, which was still oozing.

She dabbed around the area. “What happened to you?”


“A guy jumped me outside of the Golden Boot. He thought I was someone else. And before you ask, no, I wasn’t drunk and pickin’ fights.”


“I wasn’t going to ask that.” But Sky wasn’t surprised Kade was defensive. She’d taken him to task on his violent behavior earlier in the day and she knew he wouldn’t appreciate her apology now. “What’s the other guy look like?”


“Not a scratch. He caught me off guard. I’d be in much worse shape if Colt hadn’t come along when he did. My cousins showed up at the end.” He hissed. “Shit that stings.”


“Sorry.” Sky wiped the area three times before she was satisfied it was clean. She attached the bandage. “It should stop bleeding now. You want something for the pain?”


“Nah. I’m good, thanks.”


She used a warm washcloth to gently clean his face and neck. Rather than relax into her touch, he tensed up. “I’m trying not to hurt you, Kade.”


“It’s pretty much a given that you will, even when you don’t think you are.”


Her hand froze. Was he referencing something besides his injury? “Kade, please listen to me. Can we talk about this? I’m so—”


“Forget it. That’s probably good enough anyway.”


Stung into silence, Sky dumped water out of the Ziploc, adding more ice, and rewrapped the cold pack in a clean kitchen towel. “Here. This should help with the swelling.”


Kade stood. “Thanks for patchin’ me up. I’m tired and I’ve gotta be up early so I’m headin’ to bed.”


While Sky paced alone downstairs, pretending to clean the kitchen, wondering why she was such an idiot about this relationship stuff, she heard Eliza fussing on the baby monitor. After she picked her up, she realized Kade wasn’t in their bed. She wandered into the hallway. The door to the bathroom was open, but the door to the spare bedroom was closed.

So, he’d opted not to sleep with her tonight.

Can you blame him?

A loud thump sounded from inside the room. What if he’d hurt himself because he had too much pride to ask her for help?

You would know about being too proud.

The stupid voices in her head always offered advice way too late.

She took a chance and knocked. “Kade? You okay?”


“Fine. Hang on a second.”


Eliza squawked.

Kade opened the door. His gaze landed on Eliza and he smiled softly. “Hey, baby girl. What’s the ruckus?”


At the sound of his voice, Eliza turned her head.

“She’s probably hungry. She didn’t finish her last bottle.”


“Sorry I didn’t hear her. She okay? Not sick or anything?”


“Not as far as I can tell, besides her crying jags the last couple days. I think you were right. I think she’s teething.”


“I’d offer to take the midnight shift, but I thought she’d shriek if she caught sight of my ugly, beat-up mug in the middle of the night. And to be honest, I’m in more than a little pain right now.”


Sky didn’t respond; she was too busy staring at the duffel bags next to the bed. He stiffened when he realized she’d seen them. Somehow, she swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, “What’s going on?”