TouchDown- book one The Bradford Series

Chapter 37

Thank you for reading Enjoy

Chapter 37

Aiden

"Mrs. Bradford said they've just landed and are heading to the house." Sarah pokes her head in to tell Blake the latest.

Blake nods to Georgia's new assistant. Sarah's been a part of the family for years and now she's Georgia's left hand. Laney is still Georgia's right hand. She has been since she came to America from Ireland. But Georgia is busier than ever between the company and my father's drama and the rest of the family. Georgia is one on a very short list of people who will never let me down, Blake and Emma fill that list at the top. The rest of my family is there too. Except my dad. He's let me down at every turn.

"Thanks Sarah. Let Ma know I'll get Aiden to the house as soon as he's released." Blake quietly informs her.

"I should be there now." I grumble again as Sarah leaves us.

"Knock it off. You didn't know what happened to her dad. You thought she was coming to the game." Blake growls, having heard me bitch about this all night. "Stop the fucking sulking!"

"I was pissed off at her for it!" I can't help kicking myself for getting mad with Riley. I should have known she would only not show because something was wrong.

And it did go very wrong. All of it. Riley's dad is dead. A drunk driver hit him. I'll be missing the combine. My right arm is in a sling. It hurts like hell because I wasn't focusing on the game. My mind was on Riley and Williams kicked my ass right there for all to see. Now I'm still seeing stars, thanks to that bastard.

The results came back this morning according to Lance and Cade. He was on some steroids that put him in an aggressive state. The guy's got a bad temper to start with adding this to a volatile personality, he was a bomb waiting to blow. And he did, my situation is the result.

I could have struggled through the combine with my shoulder if I'd been able to go. I could have at least made a decent show and gotten drafted. Now my entire career is up in the air. Who wants a quarterback with a bum arm? Who wants a bad boy who gets into fights on the field with his own teammates? No one.

"Good morning, boys!" Grace waltzes in with a beaming smile on her face. I've never seen anyone who enjoys their job more than she does. "Well, good news for you, kiddo. You're going home today. But no football for a while. You have to have surgery, Aiden. If you don't listen this time, you won't play again."

"I know. I just want to get home for Riley. She needs me." I haven't heard from her. I haven't talked to her since yesterday morning, before everything hit the fan. I should have called her. "I need to see her."

Grace reaches over and takes my hand. Gently, she begins to massage it. Acupressure, she helps alleviate the stress with pressure points. She did the same thing for Blake many times over the years. I have his temper. The Bradford temper.

"Georgia has her. Trust me, she's in good hands. You'll be home today and can be there for her once they're back. You can't change what's happened, Aiden. But you are right, Riley needs you. She's lost her family. She has us. But her dad's gone, she needs you to be strong for her." Grace calmly encourages me in the right direction. She's always done that. Kincade was lucky to have her for a mom.

"When can I get out of here?" I ask as Grace starts examining me.  Looking at the cut on my head, the bruises on my face, my ribs, my shoulder. I wasn't kidding about getting the shit kicked out of me. I was lucky my family was there to pull Williams off me before he killed me.

"Soon. I'm just waiting for the doctor to sign off. But I mean it, Aiden. You need to take it easy." She raises her eyebrows at me, knowing I'm not good at doing nothing.