Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5)
WALKER REVENGE
Bernadette Marie
Book 5 in the Walker Family Series
This is a fictional work. The names, characters, incidents, places, and locations are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real.
5 PRINCE PUBLISHING & BOOKS, LLC
PO Box 16507
Denver, CO 80216
www.5PrinceBooks.com
ISBN-10:1-63112-180-4 ISBN-13:978-1-63112-180-7
WALKER REVENGE. Bernadette Marie
Copyright Bernadette Marie 2016
Published by 5 Prince Publishing
Cover Credit: Bernadette Soehner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles. For any other permission please contact 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC.
First Edition 2016
5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC.
For Stan,
Grateful that you’ve always had, and will always have, my back!
Acknowledgements
To Stan who has always had my back—no questions asked.
To my boys who have no idea how much they protect one another, even when they’ve had enough of one another.
To my parents and my sister, I thank you for always being there when I need(ed) you.
To Clare and Cate, thank you for jumping in with both feet and understanding me, even when sometimes I don’t know what the heck I’m doing.
To my street team, thank you for your love and support. I enjoy writing stories for you all.
Dear Reader,
I am thrilled to bring you Russell Walker’s second chance romance story. As we’ve learned, Russell is perhaps the Walker most likely to get into a fight, as is the case in this story. However, in a happily ever story, we also know, that means he’s a softy deep inside.
I find, being such a passive aggressive person, I enjoy writing men with a little bit of an attitude, and the women who can give them a run for their money. Perhaps it’s a bit of therapy for me.
I hope you’ll enjoy this installment to the Walker family.
Happy Reading,
Bernadette Marie
Other Titles by
BERNADETTE MARIE
THE KELLER FAMILY SERIES THE WALKER FAMILY SERIES
The Executive’s Decision Walker Pride
A Second Chance Stargazing
Opposite Attraction Walker Bride
Center Stage Wanderlust
Lost and Found Walker Revenge
Love Songs
Home Run ASPEN CREEK SERIES
The Acceptance First Kiss
The Merger Unexpected Admirer
The Escape Clause On Thin Ice
A Romance for Christmas Indomitable Spirit
THE MATCHMAKERS TRILOGY THE THREE MRS. MONROES
Matchmakers Amelia
Encore Penelope
Finding Hope Vivian
SINGLE TITLES
Cart Before the Horse
Candy Kisses
WALKER REVENGE
Bernadette Marie
Book 5 in the Walker Family Series
Chapter One
Daytime TV sucked. If he was subjected to one more game show or stupid talk show, Russell thought he might just throw the remote control through the front of the TV.
There was only one upside to being laid up in a hospital bed—bedside food delivery.
“You look like crap,” his brother’s voice came from the doorway.
When Russell turned he saw Dane standing there, but the look on his face wasn’t one of humor, as the comment might have suggested. He looked mortified.
“Why’d you leave your vacation so soon?”
“Italy is ugly. Thought this would be a better use of my time.” Dane stepped into the room and looked down at the tubes and bandages that encompassed the lower left side of Russell’s body. “What the hell happened?”
Russell ran his hand over his stubbly chin, dragging wires and tubes along with his hand. “I got pinned in my truck.”
“Mom said you flipped it.”
Russell pursed his lips. Admitting fault wasn’t something he was particularly good at. He was better at dealing with things in a physical manner.
“Hence me getting stuck in the freaking truck.”
Dane rubbed his eyes. “I see it did a number on your attitude too.”
“Did you come here to fight with me?” He heard his words slur from the crap they’d knocked him out with. Why did that stuff have to stay in a body so long? “What the hell time is it anyway?”
“Six in the morning.”
Russell turned off the TV. “And here I thought I was watching crappy daytime TV. I guess it’s just always bad.” He winced from the pain that seemed to be greater than the pain medicine pumping through his IV. “Why are you here at six in the morning?”
Dane moved to the chair next to the bed. “I flew in and came straight here.”
“You left Italy to come here? Dude, I’m sorry.”
Dane grinned. Maybe he sounded worse in reality than Russell thought he did in his own head.
“You’re sorry? I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“How did it go?” He wasn’t in the mood to be jabbed at.
Dane’s expression changed and his eyes lit up. “It’s a beautiful place. It’ll be nice when I go back.”
“You’re going back?”
“Sure we will. That’s where Gia’s from. Besides, she wants to honeymoon in Paris.”
Russell tried to sit up but found it took too much effort. “Honeymoon? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“She proposed to me,” Dane said, and the smile on his mouth was enormous. The urge to slap it off surged through Russell.
“She proposed to you? You couldn’t even do that right?”
Dane shrugged. “You know me. I would have waited too long.”
Russell felt the quick fatigue of arguing with his brother begin to take over. He batted his eyes against it.
The next time he opened them the room was quiet. Faint light pushed through the drawn shade, and a woman stood next to him. He smiled through the haze he was feeling.
She was holding his hand in her hands. Blonde strands of hair hung around her face, but the rest was piled up in a messy bun atop her head.
This was familiar, he thought as he took a cleansing breath and then wiggled his nose because his nasal cannula was making it itch.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just getting your vitals,” her voice was soft and oh so familiar.
“What time is it?” His voice was barely functioning.
“Just past eight.”
“I was talking to Dane.”
She laughed now, and that, too, was familiar. “He left hours ago. He looked as though he needed some sleep. Pretty exciting that he’s getting married to Gia. I enjoy her store.”
That danced around in his head, and so did whatever they’d put into his IV, but at least he wasn’t in any pain.
“You know Gia?”
“Of course, I do.”
Russell lifted his hand, cords and all, and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t seeing clearly, and his mind was beginning to play tricks on him.
Now he turned his head so he could better see the woman in the dimly lit room. Her head was hung as she focused on reading the monitor at his side, but he knew the curves of her face.
He’d heard that dreams could be vivid when you were on pain meds.
Seriously that had to be what was happening.
“Chelsea?” Her name seemed louder when he said it, but she lifted her head.
“Hello, Russ.”
She went back to looking at the monitor. “What are you doing here?”
“I went back to school.” She lowered his arm back to the bed and then pushed a few buttons on the machine. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Confused. You’re a nurse?”
“Nursing student. I’m being supervised, so please don’t argue with me.”
This was no dream. She was already mad at him and he’d only said a few words to her.
Russell reached for her, and she quickly glanced out the window used for observation. “What can I do for you, Mr. Walker?”
“Stay for a little bit. I’d like to talk.”
“I have rounds to make. I can’t spend any time in here talking. If you’d be more comfortable, I could ask to be transferred to another unit.”
His world was fuzzy again, but he wasn’t done. “No, I don’t want that at all. I owe you an apology. I want to give that to you.”
She turned to the computer at his bedside, scanned her ID tag, and then entered something with her back turned to the window.
“Russ, I hate to see you in here like this, but something tells me you deserved it.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say.”
She gave him a grunt. “You got in a fight at a bar before you flipped your truck because you’d been drinking.”
“I wasn’t drunk,” he defended.
“Maybe not, but your mouth was getting you in trouble, which says to me, nothing has changed.” She tucked one of those loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear, a sign that she was nervous. “If you’re sincere about talking, I’ll come back when my shift is over.”
“I’d like that,” he said, but his tongue felt as though it filled his mouth and didn’t sound right. “I’m sorry,” he said slurring his words.
“We gave you something to manage your pain. You will probably sleep a lot.”
His eyelids grew heavy again, but he forced them back open. “I love you, Chelsea,” he managed before he couldn’t open them again.
Chelsea focused on the computer screen, or pretended to. In her month of internship at the hospital, she’d run into a lot of people she knew. She’d never thought she’d run into Russell Walker, at least not in the shape he was in.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was smiling in his sleep. And what had made him say that to her? I love you, Chelsea. They hadn’t spoken in nearly three years. She hadn’t seen him since he’d been discharged from the Army.
His mother had invited her to his “Welcome Home” party, but Chelsea hadn’t gone. How could she?
She couldn’t imagine what he thought he needed to apologize about. After all, she’d been the one to break his heart. She’d been the one to get married while he was deployed.
Chelsea squeezed her eyes tightly to ward off any tears that might threaten. The Walkers had raised decent men, even the hot-tempered Russell. He hadn’t deserved a two-timer like her.
The head nurse walked into the room. “Everything okay in here?”
“Yes. He woke up for a moment, but the pain meds kicked in.”
The head nurse checked her watch. “Okay, you’ll come back through in another hour and do this again. His surgery was major, and he’ll need to be constantly monitored.”
Chelsea nodded as she tucked her pen into her pocket and picked up her paperwork. She would certainly need to ask for a different rotation until he was better. Looking down at his bruised face and his cut up arms was breaking her heart. But she was sure that wasn’t the deep-rooted source of her anguish.
His words were ringing in her ears. Any other day she’d have written them off as banter from a patient on meds. But this was Russell Walker—her first love.
Did he mean what he’d said? Because she’d never stopped loving him, even after she’d gotten married.
No wonder that hadn’t lasted long.
Chelsea walked out of the room and down the hall to her next patient, but for the next hour, all she could think about was Russell Walker, and what might have been had she not have been so spiteful, and had waited for him to return home.
Chapter Two
Russell watched the clock. He’d had three different nurses come in and take his vitals. Chelsea never returned.
He’d seen all of his brothers. His mother had sat in the chair knitting something most of the day, and his father had stopped in three times. Now he was alone. His dinner tray sat in front of him untouched, and his freaking leg hurt so much he thought he’d cry.
But the moment the door to his room opened, he perked up. Absolute disappointment filled his body as his cousin Jake walked through the door.
“Hey,” Jake said as he closed the door behind him. “You’ve looked better.”
“I feel like hell.”
Jake removed his ball cap and ran his hand over his hair before replacing it. “Yeah, I’ve been there, remember?”
Russell did remember, though Jake had been much worse off. Not only had he crushed his leg and his arm, but he'd also had a life-threatening head injury to boot.
“What made you decide to race again after something like this? I can’t even imagine driving again.”
Jake grinned. “It’s inside me. I have to go fast. Adrenaline junkie. Maybe when you’re up and running, we’ll hit the track, and you’ll get over it.”
Russell snorted a laugh, which hurt clear down to the toes he couldn’t feel. “I think I’ll be fine without it.”
“I had Officer Smythe show me your truck. There’s nothing I can do with it. But I’m having them bring it to my shop.”
Russell sunk into his pillow. “Figured. I really messed it up, huh?”
“Dude, you’re lucky to be alive,” Jake said in a voice that could have been mistaken for his mother’s. “You’d better just write it off and be grateful.”
“Maybe I’ll replace it with some little number like Gia’s Mini Cooper.”
Now Jake laughed, and Russell knew it was at the thought of the Mini-Cooper Gia owned. “I’d love to take that thing to the track.”
When the door opened again, Russell looked to see which nurse would be coming his way with meds or needles, but to his surprise, Chelsea walked through the door, a duffle bag on her shoulder.
Their eyes locked, but they didn’t say a word. She was obviously not coming to poke him.
“Hey, Chels,” Jake was the first to speak.
Chelsea lifted her head, a look of surprise flashed across her face as if she hadn’t even noticed there was someone else in the room.
“Hey, Jake. Sorry,” she said shifting her attention back to Russell. “I didn’t know you had company. I’ll come back.”
“Nope,” Jake moved toward her, kissed her on the cheek, and pulled open the door. “I’ll see myself out. Take care, cuz. I’ll stop back by. You’ll be here for a while.”
The very thought made Russell’s pain kick up a notch.
“Is he still racing?” Chelsea asked, gripping tightly to the strap of the bag that hung from her shoulder.
“Yeah. He didn’t learn his lesson.”
“I’m heading home. I just wanted to come back in and say that I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Come sit and talk. I really could use some non-Walker visit time.”
Chelsea looked at her watch. “I only have a few minutes.”
“I’ll take them.”
She bit down on her bottom lip and still gripped to the strap of the bag. “I probably shouldn’t have come in. You need to rest and…”
“I wanted to see you,” he said trying to adjust the slightest bit on the bed, but that only caused more pain. “It was a nice surprise to wake up to you this morning.”
“I shouldn’t have even started your vitals. I just didn’t want to cause problems with my supervisor.”
&n
bsp; “You never came back.”
“I traded floors. I thought it would be best.”
“So you don’t want to see me?”
She shifted the bag to her other shoulder and looked at her watch again. “Russ, I just want what’s best for you. I’m not that. Not even now. I don’t think me being your nurse would help you heal.”
“Yeah. Having a gorgeous nurse might ruin my day,” he felt the flame of his anger rise in his chest. “I’m surprised you bothered to stop on your way out. But I guess you’re in a hurry.”
“I am. I hope everything goes well for you. I know your family will be a great support for you.”
“I’m sure they will,” he reached for his bedside remote and turned on that damned TV he’d had enough of. “Guess I won’t be seeing you again, huh?”
“It’s better for everyone.”
“Sure.”
Chelsea looked at her watch one more time then stepped closer to the bed. “Russ, I wanted to apologize to you.”
He turned off the TV. “You wanted to apologize to me?”
“Yeah. For back when we were together, and you were deployed. I’m sorry.”
The memory of it came back to him. The moment he’d seen her that morning, none of that had come to mind. In fact, he was fairly sure he’d told her he wanted to apologize. Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to do it now.
Russell sat quietly. He didn’t know what to say to that.
Chelsea moved closer to the side of his bed and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “You’re in good hands. I have to go.”
As she turned, he reached for her, which was a task, he’d realized as he pulled wires and tubes. “Please stop in again. I don’t want us to leave things the way they were. I know you’re married, and I know things didn’t work out between us, but we were friends once. Remember?”