Ryland by Kathi S. Barton

too, but those were fading now and she only
looked slightly like a battered woman now rather than one that had a few rounds
and came out on the bottom.
    Getting out, she dried slowly. She was
tired again. Her body was still recuperating, but she could at least move
without feeling like she needed a nap every foot or so. She was pulling on a
pair of her jeans when someone knocked again. She nearly told him to fuck off
when Sandra spoke.
    “I’ve come to see if you need help with
the bandage, dear. Ryland said that you were in the shower and I thought you
might need some juice as well.” She opened the door and smiled. “Oh my, your
hair is much longer than I… goodness, it’s so lovely.”
    “It’s a pain in the as…butt. I’ve wanted
to cut it all off for years, but every time I got to a barber there’s a long
line and I don’t want to sit and wait.” Sandra took the brush and asked her to
have a seat. She brushed her hair for her and Bronwyn felt stupid, but also loved
the feeling of the smooth strokes along her head which seemed to relax her.
    “It’s a stylist. For a woman, it’s a
salon or a stylist. And I wouldn’t cut it. It’s so beautiful.” The strokes were
very hypnotic and she found herself relaxing. “What did you do at the hospital,
if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “I was a nurse.” The brush paused then
continued. Bronwyn looked at her in the mirror in front of her as Sandra
continued. She waited for her to tell her she wasn’t smart enough or give her
hell for quitting, but she did neither.
    “I would imagine that it was difficult
to give up. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken you to finish med
school then all that time working toward it only to have to it taken from you. I’m
sorry for that.”
    Bronwyn turned, took the brush from her,
and stared at her. “Why?” Sandra looked confused at her question. “Why are you
being so nice to me? I can’t understand any of you. Your sons have been in here
twice a day, each of them, and asked how I was feeling. I was offered a laptop
to play on and magazines to read. Jules even offered me his reader, telling me
if I wanted anything other than what was on there, he had a credit. Why? Is it
because they think that I’m going to be their brother’s mate or something? I’m
not.”
    “Why not?” She started to say that she
couldn’t answer a question with one when Sandra continued. “Is there something
wrong with him? Do you think he’ll beat you? Hurt you? Or is it because you’ve
lumped all males together because of a select few?”
    “All the men in my life have shit on
me.” She started to stand when Sandra told her to sit. “I’m not going to be his
mate. I don’t want to be anyone’s mate.”
    “Has he?” The softly asked question
startled her. “Has Ryland shit on you? Has he hurt you? Sold you to that man?
Given you to anyone as a plaything?”
    “That doesn’t mean he won’t.” She
flushed when she realized what she said to his mother. “He’s bossy and loud. He’ll
expect me to do his bidding, clean his house, and cook. I won’t…I don’t know
how to do those things.”
    Bronwyn turned to her when she laughed. It
took her a few minutes before she could ask her what the hell she’d found so
funny. Bronwyn was ready to have her committed when she finally told her.
    “He won’t expect you to do any of those
things, dear. Not unless you want to. He can cook and is quite good at it. He
can clean a bathroom like there’s going to be surgery done in there. As for him
being bossy and loud? You do all right in that department as well.” She stood
up and headed for the door. “I have dinner about ready. Come down and eat with
us. You’ll see that they’re animals when there’s food involved, but also the
most loving men I know.”
    She decided to go down. It was that or
stay in this room and go stir crazy. If she was honest with herself, she was
bored. She’d not been bored since…well, she