Bend (2 page)

“He only has eyes for Bo” she finished and winked at Josh, delighting at his pinkening cheeks despite her own discomfort. “Nothing personal, Josh, but no matter how cute you are, Max wouldn’t look at you twice. And Chance, here, is wrapped around my brother’s—”

“I’ll risk catching the plague out front,” Chance said, exiting the room fast enough that it really could have been called a sprint.

“I swear I was going to say finger,” Annabelle said between snickers. The cuff tightened on her arm and she forced herself to quiet down and hold still.

“I haven’t been here long,” Josh confided as he removed the cuff, “but I have heard of him—Chance—at the Xxchange. There’s all sorts of stories about him coming in and tossing Rory—I’m guessing he’s your brother?—over his shoulder and doing all sorts of wicked things to him in the parking lot. If the rumours are true, they had quite a few voyeurs watching them.” He hummed softly as he measured Annabelle’s pulse. “Wonder if there’s anything on Youtube…”

Annabelle laughed before she could stop herself. “God, I hope not, but I’d think something like that would be more likely to be up on Xtube.” She shuddered and bit back a gasp. “Now I’ll have to be really careful about what I download there. Ugh.”

Josh leant back and gave her a questioning look. “What’s Xtube?”

“Oh my god, you don’t know what Xtube is?” Josh looked confused, but interested.

Definitely interested. “You poor, poor man. Why don’t you check it out once you get home—

do
not
do it on a work computer unless you want to get fired. You can give me a call or email me and tell me what you think, if you’d like. Maybe we could be friends.” She felt like she BEND

Bailey Bradford

10

was back in elementary school, trying to navigate the minefields of popularity and friendships, but the truth was, other than her brother, Chance, Max, and Bo, she didn’t have any friends here. And there were just certain things she couldn’t talk to any of those guys about. Ever.

Josh smiled tremulously and nodded. “That’d be nice. I haven’t really had time to make any friends, and there’s some narrow-minded people out here in bumfuck Texas. And the Xxchange isn’t really a place to form lasting friendships.”

Annabelle snorted and rolled her eyes. “No shit. About the only lasting thing you’re gonna find there is a raging case of—”

“Annabelle, what have you done now?” Dr Morrow’s high-pitched tenor brought their conversation to a screeching halt. Annabelle glared up at the doctor—not too far up, the man was five-five if he was an inch, and nearly as big around as he was tall. His thinning hair was slicked back with enough grease to lube a diesel engine, and his beady brown eyes lit with an interest that never failed to make Annabelle’s stomach threaten to spew its contents up.

Added to the man’s sheer unattractiveness and creepy interest, he was a smug ass who never failed to rile Annabelle’s temper.

“
I
didn’t do anything other than my job,”
you smarmy bastard
. She didn’t add that Rory’s outburst had distracted her just long enough for Manilo to toss her on her butt. The less conversation with Dr Morrow the better, as far as she was concerned.

Dr Morrow looked at her chart and clucked his tongue. “Says here you were thrown from a horse.” He glanced at Annabelle, raking her with his lusty stare which never managed to rise up past her breasts. “A pretty thing like you shouldn’t be putting yourself at risk that way.”

Josh muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Fucking douchebag” before gently lifting Annabelle’s injured arm. He opened his mouth to speak and Annabelle just knew whatever he was fixing to say was going to get him fired.

“You seem to have forgotten what century you’re in,” Annabelle sniped. “Women aren’t second class citizens, we don’t have to stay home and spit out babies while the big strong man earns a living. Now, either take care of this or get out of the damn doorway so Chance can take me to the hospital.” Or home, that would be even better.

Dr Morrow tapped the papers on the clipboard and smiled patronisingly. “Sounds like maybe that fall addled your brain. I wasn’t implying any such thing.”

BEND

Bailey Bradford

11

Annabelle could see the restraint it took for Josh to remain quiet. His sharp white teeth were doing a number on his full bottom lip. She had to defuse this situation before her new friend found himself unemployed. Annabelle didn’t question her instinct to protect the pretty man, she’d always been quick to defend and even quicker to make decisions.

“I’m sure I misunderstood.” The words tasted like dust in her mouth, but Annabelle forged on, giving Dr Morrow her brightest smile. “It was quite a tumble and my arm, especially my wrist, hurts like a bitch.” Dr Morrow flinched at the curse word and that, right there, brightened Annabelle’s mood. Poking at the idiot while playing dumb was going to be fun. There was nothing quite like messing with a man’s Madonna/Whore complex. “That fucking horse kicked and reared like you wouldn’t believe. Reminded me of a guy I hooked up with a while back, man was hung like a horse, too and he sure knew how to use it, you know what I mean? I was walking funny for a week—”

Dr Morrow slammed the clipboard down on the counter. “I get it! Josh, let me look at that. Go check on the patient in B.”

Josh looked so reluctant and uncomfortable at leaving her alone with Dr Morrow that Annabelle nearly laughed. She’d been raised on a ranch, around men meaner and tougher than Morrow. She could take care of herself, but Josh didn’t know that. It wouldn’t hurt her any to ease his mind a bit.. “Will you ask Chance to come back in here? I need someone to hold my good hand since the doctor won’t let you do it.” She didn’t, but Morrow was standing so close she could clearly see his erection pressing against his trousers through the unbuttoned lab coat. She really shouldn’t goad Doctor Morrow but she was hurting and short-tempered and in no mood to put up with a pervert.

“I’ll get him right now,” Josh promised, looking relieved as he turned and bolted out of the exam room.

Annabelle felt a stiff, fabric-covered dick brush against the back of her left hand. That was more than she was willing to tolerate. Ignoring the pain, she turned her hand and clumsily but effectively grabbed a handful of Morrow’s balls, squeezing hard enough to make the man whimper. Glaring at his sweaty red face, she added a bit more pressure.

Keeping her voice low and level, she pinned him with an angry glare. “Swear to God, I’ll rip these useless balls right off your body if you
ever
touch me or rub your nasty dick on me like that again.”

BEND

Bailey Bradford

12

“Not if I rip ‘em off first, you fucking piece of shit.” Chance’s fist caught the doctor on the chin right after the words were spoken. Morrow squealed as he flew backwards.

Probably should have opened her hand just a little faster, she thought as the doctor slammed into the counters behind him.

Josh ran into the room, the rubber soles of his shoes squeaking on the tiles. “What happened? Oh shit!” He paled and his lips twitched. Chance reached for Morrow, and Annabelle and Josh both scrambled to intercept him.

“I think he got the message,” Annabelle pointed out as Morrow curled up on the floor.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t call the cops.”

“Let him. He better stay right there until I can get my temper under control, you hear that, Morrow? Move and I will surely beat your perverted ass.” Chance turned his dark eyed glare on her. “And you
will
file a complaint with the medical board and whoever else you need to file one with. I bet you aren’t the only female around here who’d file a complaint against him.”

“And I’ll back you up on it,” Josh offered, “and start looking for another job. Morrow wasn’t limited to harassing just women or patients.”

Annabelle and Chance both looked at him. Josh shrugged and blushed a pretty shade of red. “What? I didn’t know what to do, and didn’t think anyone would take a complaint from me seriously, and I tried finding another job but—”

“Oh, fuck it.” Chance took his Stetson off and ran his fingers through his hair. “Come on, you can follow us. I got some friends at the hospital.” He plopped the hat back on his head. “Besides, Annabelle’s seemed to take a shine to you, and I don’t want to hear her bitch about how we should have helped you out.”

“Thank you.” Josh gnawed on his lip and looked at the floor. “I can’t follow you there, though, my car’s in the shop until Wednesday. Maybe I could go then?”

Chance sighed and shook his head. “I just know I’m going to regret this somehow.

Come on, you can ride with us. You
will
”—Chance added when Josh started to object—

“Annabelle will make my life miserable if you don’t.”

Josh hesitated a moment then nodded. “Yes, okay. Thank you.”

Annabelle smiled at Josh as he moved to her side and carefully cupped her injured arm.

“He knows me too well. And I think Chance brought his laptop along, so we can amuse ourselves on the drive to the hospital.”

BEND

Bailey Bradford

13

Chance shuddered and started leading them from the room. “Do I even want to know how y’all will be amusing yourselves?”

Annabelle snorted. “Probably not, so I’ll keep the volume off.” She brightened at Chance’s uneasy look. “But I’ll bookmark the page for you! I bet you and Rory would
really
enjoy this site.”

“Fucking Christ,” Chance muttered. “I knew I was going to regret this.”

BEND

Bailey Bradford

14

“I will
not
be bitchy today,” Annabelle muttered to herself as she stirred the big pot of beans. She heard a snicker behind her and turned to glare at her brother. “What?”

Rory laughed and shook his head. He walked over and draped an arm over her shoulder. “I think you’re already teetering on breaking that promise. You never did handle being hurt well.”

Annabelle took the spoon out of the pot and set it on the ceramic utensil holder. With her uninjured hand free, she could poke her brother in the ribs, but that would be proving his point. Instead she pasted on a smile and looped her arm around his waist. “It isn’t the being hurt part that annoys me, it’s not being able to do anything because of it. I hate feeling useless.”

“I know, but you aren’t useless, you’re helping get dinner ready,” Rory pointed out.

“And you haven’t been banned from work. Chance, Max, Bo and I are just doing the heavier stuff. Chance could have made you take off until your wrist is better.”

“I’d be worried she’d kick my ass if I did that,” Chance replied, his smile taking the sting from the words. “Besides, I know how Annabelle feels. I could give her a run for her money when I’m laid up.”

Annabelle tickled Rory when he groaned. “I think you’ve just been given a not so subtle warning, bro.”

“No fair tickling! I can’t do it back!” Rory was gasping and laughing, and soon Annabelle and Chance were laughing as well. Annabelle felt the last of her bad mood vanish; it just wasn’t possible to be pissy when Rory laughed like that. On more than one occasion, Annabelle had wished she was more like her brother. Sure, they looked as alike as siblings who were of opposite sex could, but Rory truly had the personality to match his angelic face.

Whereas she…didn’t. Of course, he wasn’t so angelic when they were butting heads, but even then he was usually only trying to protect her. And she…well she always went for the balls, didn’t she? No middle ground, just full-out fury and the need to win. Her mood plummeted again just as someone knocked on the door.

BEND

Bailey Bradford

15

“I’ll get it.” Annabelle slipped out of the kitchen, leaving Rory and Chance staring at each other like two love-struck teenagers with more hormones than sense. The bite of jealousy she felt didn’t help her mood at all, but seeing Josh’s nervous grin through the screen door did.

“Joshie! About time you got here!” Annabelle pushed the door open and tackled Josh before he could come in. His firm, muscled body felt really good pressed against her own softer one. He hugged her back with a surprising strength. For some reason Annabelle’s eyes started to burn. It just felt so nice to have someone hold her, even as a friend, for a brief moment.

“I’m a little nervous,” Josh whispered against her ear. “I mean, I changed outfits like seven times, trying not to look like a twink since I’m walking into the twink-monster’s lair.”

Laughing, Annabelle leant back, keeping her arm around Josh’s shoulder. He left one arm around her hips and gestured to his clothes. “So, whaddaya think? Am I a twink in prep’s clothing or what?”

Annabelle gave him a thorough once over. He was wearing a beige—beige!—button-up, tucked in to baggy khakis. Some awful-kind-of-loafers were on his feet. Annabelle wasn’t so sure he was wearing them as she suspected the ugly fuckers were actually a pair of alien parasites that had attached themselves to her new best friend’s feet and were, even now, sucking the fashion sense right out of him. She darted a look at his hair and cringed before she could stop herself. Josh frowned, his shoulders slumping as he reached up to pat at the heavily slicked back strands. Not a single hair moved.

“Too much?”

“Is that—”
a helmet?
Annabelle bit the words back at Josh’s apprehensive look. “Are you really that nervous?”

Josh bobbed his head. “Yeah. You’re the only friend I have here, the only friend I’ve had in a long time, really, and I don’t want…” He swallowed loudly. “If they hate me, then it might be… You might not want to have anything to do with me, if it causes problems with your brother and his partner.”

Annabelle snorted and gave Josh another one-armed hug, wondering about his lack of friends and confidence. He’d seemed so self-assured when she’d met him, but maybe that was his work persona. “First off, Rory doesn’t get to pick my friends, neither does Chance or anyone else. Second, they’ll love you anyway. Chance can be a bear, and maybe he has a BEND