Ridin' Dirty (Beautifully Dirty #2) (22 page)

Ansley

I RUN ONTO THE FIELD,
they are both down and knocked out cold. Both Ryan and Cooper’s parents are there, standing beside me. I am yelling both of their names, but neither one will wake up. The
Asterisk Mobile Medical Center
nurse and doctor come on the field immediately, with backboards and the ambulances as well. They begin putting neck braces on both of them and stabilizing them, right there on the dirt.

“Ansley, please back up a little.” Kenna and Maddie are trying to get me to leave them but I’m not leaving either one of them, and they aren’t leaving me, either. They have to be fine, both of them.

Hearing both Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Brewis crying behind me is difficult. I want to go and give them support but my feet aren’t moving. Seeing them strap both guys onto backboards doesn’t change anything; I’m still stuck in the same spot.

Kenna and Maddie drive me to the hospital, following both sets of parents, right behind the ambulances.

“Kenna, you need to drive faster, don’t lose them! We don’t know where the hospital is!” I can’t help but shout at her. I can barely catch my breath and I try and talk between sobs. This seriously can’t be happening.

“Honey, it’s going to be okay. Both of those guys are young and very healthy, they will bounce back, you watch.” Maddie is trying to comfort me all the way there, but truly it’s not helping at all.

I start sobbing when the car stops at the emergency parking lot. Running into the waiting room, I finally find my footing to go to both moms and hug them tightly.

“This can’t be happening,” Ryan’s mom says.

“No, it can’t be,” Cooper’s mom states.

It hasn’t even dawned on me yet, that Cooper’s mom is here, really here. He must have been so happy to have them at the track. His parents have never even seen him race before.

We all stand together not saying much until Mrs. Brewis speaks up after several minutes of silence.

“I’m so glad Christopher and I decided to come to tonight’s race. I had to talk his dad into it, but in the end, I’m pretty sure he’s glad he came. It’s amazing to see him out there doing what he loves and being really good at it. I think he got through to his father, showing him just how good he really is.”

My body becomes numb as the doctor comes out two hours later, to talk to both sets of parents. Mrs. Evans grabs my hand as she starts to walk toward them. I look up at her and she nods her head, letting me know it was okay to follow her. I am shocked when Mrs. Brewis puts her arm around my shoulder as I stand, showing me she is okay with it, too.

The doctor says they have stabilized both of them. Ryan has a broken wrist that requires surgery to repair, but they want to wait until he’s awake before they put him under any anesthesia. And with Cooper, there are no signs of any fractures, but he does have some internal bleeding near his spleen and they are watching it. They are hopeful that they will both wake up without any major complications.

They let us all go in to see them, but only for a short time. When I return to the waiting room, it’s packed between both teams being there, as well as a couple of Supercross officials. That is when I notice that a couple of the guys are arguing a little about whose fault it was. One guy says he noticed Ryan throwing his bike in Cooper’s direction. Yet the other one is stating that Cooper would do anything to win, even if it meant taking out his “so called best friend.”

That sets me off and I see red . . . I walk over to both of them, telling them that they need knock it off and shut up. They have no idea what they are even taking about.

Jesse sits off to the side by himself, though Maddie is sitting next to him. I go over to him, he stands and we hug for what seems like forever. I feel bad for him; Cooper and he have gotten really close since becoming teammates. They support each other all the time.

I’ve been sitting for hours now and no changes. I just want them to wake up and look me in the eyes. I’m not leaving until they do. Both of their parents, along with a few others, have stayed, while everyone else left. We told them all that we’ll keep them informed.

It’s seven in the morning when a doctor comes out, stating that one of the guys is starting to wake up. Before he can say who it is, alarms start going off and the doctor runs back in. Since the boys are in adjoining rooms in the Emergency Department, we don’t know who they are running to.

I bend over, sitting in the chair, trying to catch my breath as I cry. Gripping my necklace tightly in my hand, I say a silent prayer . . .

THE END

Looking for more . . . get ready for book 3 in the

Beautifully Dirty Series

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About the Author

Paige Steele is a loving wife and a mother of two teenage boys. She enjoy crafting and hiding behind a good book. During the day she works at a medical office and at night she uses her imagination to write stories, like the one you just read. On the weekends you can often find Paige and her family at a dirt track. When she isn’t watching her boys race she is collecting ideas for her Beautifully Dirty Series.

A special Thanks to:

My Family:

To my husband and boys. .I love you more than words can say. Our times together at all the different tracks and the memories we are making when we are there, is what truly matters to me. Thank you for all your support.

MJ Fields:

You’ve helped me so much, I don’t know where to begin when saying Thank You to you, so I’ll just say . . . You are the reason why I write . . . Thank you for everything you’ve done for me!!

Back cover model ~ Kattie McKane:

I love this photo of you and it was perfect for my back cover. You’re so special to me, I hope you know that. I love you girl . . . until the next race XOXO

Front Cover model ~ Steven Brewis:

Thank you for all you’ve done and it’s an honor to call you a friend. My cover is simply amazing because of your photo! Thanks so much for your “toasts,” they were perfect. There is no stopping the future now . . . it looks bright!

Photographer ~ Don Davis:

The photo of Kattie you took was amazing and perfect for my back cover. Thanks so much!

Photographer ~ Adam Bouska:

Thank you for taking the time to get incredibly perfect pictures of Steven, because of that my covers look awesome!

To those ladies that read this book and helped me along the way:

KA, Ivy, Bobbie, Jamie, Lucy, Renee, Jacki, Laurie thank you for all your support. If I could give you all a hug right now, I would. It’s incredible the amount of support we give each other and we owe it all to MJ Fields!

To the rest of my family:

Thanks so much for supporting me in this new adventure of mine. I love you all.

Editors:

Karen, You’re incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you (I think that’s how many times you edited it too . . . lol) but you deserve one more so Thank You!!!!

Kellie, Thanks so much for all your help on this book, you’re amazing and I’m so lucky that you’re able to do this for me!

Cover Designer ~ Pink Ink/Cassy Roop:

Once again, you killed it when making my cover. I absolutely love it. Thank so much!

Formatter ~ Pink Ink/Cassy Roop:

Thanks so much! I truly appreciate it!

To the reader, I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I hope you love it as much as I did writing it.

For anyone I might have I missed, it wasn’t intentional . . . Thank you, thank you, thank you.