A Penny Saved is a Love Earned Pt. 01

It's been a lot of fun writing stories here, and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who's written to me and/or commented on my work. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for being gone for so long, but if you like what I write; it takes me more time these days, what with my second book getting ready to come out soon, but again, thank you all. Oh, one more thing, this story is a work of pure fiction as are all the characters, as well as some of the things mentioned.

MoogPlayer

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"LOOK OUT, BOSS," someone shouted, as I walked across the construction site. All of a sudden I was hit from behind, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the Intensive Care Unit of one of Baptist Hospital.

~~~~~~

Hi, my name is Bryan Rogers, I'm a General Contractor, and I own the construction company I work for. I stand six feet, four inches tall, weigh somewhere in the vicinity of two hundred and forty pounds, and I have long dark brown hair with sky blue eyes. I'm forty nine years old now, but I was barely thirty five when what I'm about to tell you happened.

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Chapter One

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee to two of the most loving people I know. I had a normal child hood and I have a sister, Megan, who is three years older than me. Most of my friends growing up all wanted to be professional musicians when they were old enough, but not me. Granted, I took piano and guitar lessons, but I never felt the calling to play for anyone but myself and that was good enough for me. Two of my friends became major stars, but this isn't about them so, they will remain nameless.

~~~~~~

I went to the University of Tennessee after high school and majored in Engineering, hence the reason I work in construction. I graduated Magna Cum Laude because my Mom, Linda, and my Dad, Jake, instilled a great work ethic in me that has stayed with me till even now. I married my college sweetheart, Vicky, a week after we graduated, but she left me two years later for someone who had more money, jeez, what a bitch.

~~~~~~

My English mother, who came from money, was an only child; and when my maternal grand parents were killed in a car accident when I was twenty-seven, they left Megan and I everything they owned. Needless to say, neither of us had to work again if we so chose, but Mom and Dad raised us better than that.

My sister chose to open a boutique, which she now owns a nation-wide chain of, and I chose to open my own construction firm. Rogers Construction Incorporated (RCI) does work all over the country, but I was out on one of my job sites in Nashville when the accident happened.

~~~~~~

"Take it easy, Mister Rogers. You're in Baptist Hospital and you've been in a very bad accident," a female voice said to me, the moment I opened my eyes.

"What happened?" I asked, once my vision began to clear and my eyes came into focus.

The lady that was standing next to the bed I was lying in had a kindly face, and I placed her somewhere in her mid to late fifties. Her name was Joyce, and with a warm smile, she looked at me and said, "Your workers told us that you were standing too close to a truckload of two-by-fours, when the straps on the truck broke and the whole load came crashing down on top of you. You're very lucky to be alive you know."

"If you say so," I groaned, realizing that I couldn't move, "How messed up am I?"

"Let's see," she smiled, looking at my chart, "Your left leg is broken in two places below the knee, as is your left arm below the elbow. You've got six cracked ribs and your left hand is broken, too."

"I guess it's good that I'm right handed then," I chuckled, and then groaned in pain because of my ribs.

"Are you in pain?" Joyce asked.

"Yes," I groaned, "You could say that."

"I'll be right back, sweetie," she smiled, heading to the nurses station, "I've got something that will take care of it real quick."

~~~~~~

Two minutes later she came back with a half full syringe and needle making me ask, "You're not going to give me a shot, are you?"

"Not in the hip," she grinned, grabbing my IV line at the entry port, "But you'll like this, I promise, Mister Rogers."

I watched as she stuck the needle into the line and pushed the syringe down. Only a few seconds passed before I began to feel warm and fuzzy as I smiled and said, "You can call me Bryan, my father's name is Mister....." and then I was out.

~~~~~~

"Hi, sweetie," my Mom said, the next time I opened my eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Hi, Mom," I smiled, as soon as my vision cleared, "I've been better."

"Jessica Clark, your office manager, called us as soon as she found out what hospital you were taken to," Mom smiled, "She was so sweet to do that."

"What the hell happened, son?" I heard Dad ask, as he came into view.

After I told my parents what had been relayed to me, I saw Mom's face go pale as she said, "Oh my God, honey, you could've been killed," as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Take it easy, Mom," I smiled, "I'm a little banged up right now, but I'm going to be just fine, okay?"

"Your mother's right, son," Dad replied, "You were lucky, damn lucky."

~~~~~~

"Good morning," said a bright cheery female voice, waking me the next morning, "How're you feeling this morning, Mister Rogers?"

"My name is Bryan, dammit," I growled, feeling rather foul the moment I opened my eyes, "And my leg hurts, my arm hurts and it hurts like hell just to breathe."

"Alright, Bryan," she replied, "My name is Doctor Penelope Brennon, and I'll order the nurse to give you something for the pain. Will that be better?"

"Okay," I replied, my vision beginning to clear enough to see her.

Dr. Penelope Brennon stood roughly five feet, seven inches tall, and couldn't have weighed any more than a hundred and twenty pounds at the most. She had her dark hair tied up in a pony tail that gracefully hung down her back, but her most distinctive feature was her eyes; they were such a dark shade of brown that they almost looked black. She was nice and slender with a very beautiful, almost Native American look, which made it very hard to tell her age. I would've said that she was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight at the very most. However, her body was difficult to distinguish because of the loose, baggy scrubs she was wearing, not to mention the long white lab coat she wore over them. But in my opinion, she was a very beautiful woman.

"Your leg and arm will both heal rather nicely on their own ," she smiled, "However, I had to repair your hand, because three of the metacarpals were totally shattered. But after some physical therapy, it will be just as good as new."

"So, tell me, Doctor," I said, "How soon before I get out of here?"

"I'm having you moved out of ICU and into a regular room today," she smiled, "But to be honest with you, I don't see you leaving here for at least another eight to ten days, Bryan."

"And what am I supposed to do about work?" I indignantly asked, "I can't be away that long."

"Don't listen to him, Doctor," laughed my sister's voice from the doorway of my room, "He's a big baby, and he always has been." I looked to see my sister coming into my room with Samantha, or "Sam", my eighteen year old niece in tow.

Let me take a moment to describe my sister, Meagan. She has the same eye and hair color as I do, and like me, she is also tall, especially for a girl, five feet, ten inches. She weighs about a hundred and thirty pounds and her measurements fit her height. She may be my sister, but Megan is as beautiful as they come, and Sam is well on her way to surpassing her mother in beauty, if that's possible.

"What're you doing here?" I smiled, always pleased to see my big sis.

"Mom called me last night and told me what happened so; we took the first available flight out," she sweetly replied, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek, "Are you gonna be alright, little brother?"

"Hi, Uncle Bryan," Sam sadly smiled, also leaning down and kissing me on the cheek, "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Don't worry about me, you two," I smiled, "Doctor Brennan here says that I'll be outta here in no time."

"Bullshit," Megan giggled, "We just heard you whining like a baby about it a few minutes ago." I heard Doctor Brennan snicker, indicating that she thought the way my sister was antagonizing me was funny.

"Please, Doc, don't laugh at her," I grinned, "It only makes her worse than she already is."

"I'll be back to see you once they move you into your regular room later on today," smiled Doctor Brennan, as she made her way to the door, "See you later," and then she left.

"Ooo, she's pretty, Bryan," Megan said, after Doctor Brennan eas gone, "You need to ask her out when you get out of here. Besides, she likes you, I can tell."

"Gimme a break, Megan, damn," I complained, "My left leg is in a cast from the ends of my toes, up to the middle of my thigh. My left arm is in a cast from the middle of my bicep to the second knuckles of my fingers so; pardon me if I'm not in the mood for dating advice right now, as if I ever listened to you to start with."

"I've already apologized for introducing you to Vicky," she replied smiling and feigning innocence, "Stop being such a grumpy bastard," as Sam was giggling alongside her.

~~~~~~

Once I was in my regular room, there were chairs for both Megan and Sam. And as I was being moved, my sister let me know in no uncertain terms that the primary reason that she and Sam were here was because they intended to take care of me; even after I left the hospital, until I was able to get up and around, back on my own two feet.

"Oh no," I teased, "That means I have to listen to you two nag me for the next two and a half months."

"Oh shut up," Megan laughed, "You big baby."

"That's right, Uncle Bryan," Sam giggled, "You better stop your whining before I tickle you like you used to do to me when I was a little girl."

"Yeah," Megan laughed, "And that's serious shit with cracked ribs."

"Alright," I smiled, "You two win.....for now."

~~~~~~

I was divorced from Vicky right before I turned twenty-five. And because he cheated on her, Megan divorced Mike Lambert, Sam's father, when Sam was fourteen. I always thought he had treated both Megan and Sam like shit from the time my sister got pregnant with Sam. I wanted to kick Mike's ass for him several times during their marriage, but because my sister begged me not to, he was given a stay of execution. However, the moment he got served with divorce papers, he tried to force his way back into the house and thrash my sister.

It was then that she finally turned me loose on him; she had no choice, really. I beat his ass for a good five to ten minutes before I let him up off of the ground and told him that if he ever returned, I'd kill him.

After that, my relationship with my sister turned from a not only a close sibling relationship, but to that of two very good friends who loved each other dearly, hence the reasons she got away with the shit she was saying to me in the hospital.

~~~~~~

Not too long after I was moved to a regular room, Doctor Brennan came back to see me. And when she walked into my room I realized that Megan was right about how pretty she was. I don't know why, but I was happy to see her....now how strange is that?"

"Hi, Bryan," she smiled, "How're you doing this afternoon?"

"I'm getting kind of hungry, Doc," I replied, "Please don't tell me that I'm going to be on some kind of restricted diet."

"No," she laughed, "You can have anything you want."

"That's good," I grinned, "Megan; go get me some Mexican food. You know what I like."

"You got it, sweetie," she replied, getting up, "Come on Sam, let's leave so that your Uncle Bryan can flirt with the pretty Doctor," and with that, they were gone, leaving a trail of girlish laughter in their wake.

"You'll have to forgive them, Doc," I sheepishly replied, "My sister and niece, both, love to embarrass me at every given opportunity."

"I think it's sweet," she giggled, "I can tell that they love you very much."

"Yeah," I smiled, "They're good girls and I love them, too."

"I'm going to have a walking brace attached to the cast on your leg the day after tomorrow," she told me, "We want to get you up and walking as soon as possible."

"Is it gonna hurt alot," I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I imagine it's going to be real tender, Bryan," she soothingly replied, "But the sooner you start walking, the quicker you get out of here."

"If it means I get out here sooner, then, I'm willing to give it a shot," I said, "Besides; you'll give me something for the pain, right Doc?"

"I'll see what I can do," she smiled, "In the mean time, I want you to get some rest so those bones can mend, alright?"

Okay, Doc," I grinned, "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," she sweetly smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow, handsome," and then she slowly turned away, giving me a quick wink right before she disappeared from my room, and down the hall.

~~~~~~

"Have you decided where you're going to be staying while you're here?" I asked Megan, as we ate.

"Yeah," she grinned, "We're staying at Mom and Dad's."

"Bullshit," I said, "I'll call Jessie and get her to bring my truck so that you can stay at my house."

"Really?" Megan wistfully asked, "You don't mind?"

"Oh cool," Sam smiled, "Thanks, Uncle Bryan. Does that mean we can use the pool, too?"

"Samantha Leigh," Megan scolded.

"Of course you can, baby girl, the hot tub, too," I grinned, "My house is your house. You know that, sweetie."

"Thanks, Bry," Meagan smiled, leaning down and lightly hugging me as she kissed me on the cheek, "While I love them both dearly, I really didn't want to stay with Mom and Dad."

~~~~~~

I called Jessie, who was thrilled to hear my voice, and had her come and get Megan and Sam and then take them to my truck. I thought Jessie was going to squeeze me to death when she hugged me, but I survived. She's only twenty-three, but she's been with me, my company, almost from the beginning, and runs my office like a ship captain...and nobody gives her any shit either.

~~~~~~

As the hospital's visiting hours drew to a close, Megan and Sam were ready to go home and get some rest. I received kisses on the cheek and promises that I would see them both the next morning.

~~~~~~

As I was getting ready to go to sleep, a nurse popped into my room with a needle and syringe in her hand and said, "Hi Bryan. My name is Sherry and I'll be your nurse tonight. Doctor Brennan ordered this to help you sleep." And after she put the needle into my IV and depressed the plunger on the syringe, I was out like a light."

~~~~~~

Per my orders before she left the previous night, Megan and Sam arrived with four scrambled eggs, two orders of hash browns, plain, and two waffles, from Waffle House™, at six-thirty the next morning

"I wouldn't feed that shit to my dogs," Megan giggled, as she watched me eat, with Sam giggling as well.

"Screw you," I replied, with a mouth full of food, ketchup running down my chin, "This is what I eat every morning."

"Ooo, Bryan," Megan disgustingly replied, "That is so gross."

~~~~~~

"Good morning, Bryan," Doctor Brennan said, when she came in to examine me after I'd eaten breakfast, "How are you, this morning?"

"I have two problems, Doc," I casually replied.

"Okay," she replied, "And what might those two problems be."

"I'd like to get this damn catheter out of me, for starters," I explained, "And I absolutely refuse to use a bed-pan."

"I can take care of the first problem easily enough," she smiled, "But until you start walking, you're going to have to use the bed-pan, unless you can think of another way."

"Uh oh," Doctor Brennan," Megan laughed, "You shouldn't have told him that."

"Oh, really," Doctor Brennan asked, smiling suspiciously, "And why not?"

"I don't know whether you know this or not," my sister devilishly grinned, while leaning over and patting my shoulder, "But my darling baby brother here, is a very brilliant engineer, and trust me when I tell you, he will think of another way, you can bet on it."

"Jeez, Megs," I groaned, "Gimme a break."

"I'm not giving you anything, Bryan," Megan giggled, "I know you, and I also know that even if you have to get two of your guys to come in here and haul your ass to the can, you'll do it to keep from using the bed-pan."

I couldn't recall being anymore embarrassed in my life then I was at that particular moment. And no longer being able to suppress her laughter at my sister's comments, Doctor Brennan finally burst into a beautiful fit... (Did I just say that?)...of girlish laughter, which I somehow felt not only compelled by, but attracted to, both at the same time.

"Don't listen to her, Doc," I nervously chuckled, "She's just yanking your chain."

"Oh, I highly doubt that, somehow," she giggled, "And I think it was your chain she was yanking, not mine."

By this time, both Megan and Sam were laughing so hard, they were almost in tears, while Doctor Brennan giggled right alongside of them.

"You'll have to forgive those two, Doc," I chuckled, relenting, "Both my sister and my niece have, for a long time now, both become notorious shit starters."

"I really needed to laugh like this," Doctor Brennan giggled, "Thank you."

"I'm serious, Doc," I replied, with a smirk.

"Okay, I believe you," she laughed, "Now back to business. How are you handling the pain today?"

"I'm doing better than I was yesterday, I replied, "But my leg hurts worse than anything else."

"What about your hand and arm?" she asked.

"I've got a dull ache in my arm," I told her, "And I'm beginning to feel little twitches in my hand, kind of like little electric shocks, just not as painful."

"Both your arm and leg are going to hurt for a little while," she explained, "As for the twitches you're feeling in your hand, that's to be expected. You had reconstructive surgery done on it less than seventy-two hours ago, your body is beginning to heal and your nerves are coming back to life."

"Is it going to get any worse than it is now?" I worried.

"You can relax, Bryan," she soothingly purred, "You're going to be fine, I promise."

"Thanks, Doc," I smiled, relieved, "I was beginning to worry for a minute there."

"You don't have a thing to worry about," she brightly smiled, "Trust me."

~~~~~~

Shortly after Doctor Brennan left my room to continue her rounds, a nurse came in and removed my catheter, and you can bet your ass that Megan and Sam both teased the hell out of me over that one.

As far as how I was going to take a dump without using the bed pan went, my sister had unknowingly given me a solution to that problem when she suggested that I get a couple of my workers to help me back and forth to the bathroom. Little did she realize that I would be doing that very thing?

~~~~~~

After the affair with the catheter had run out of steam, as far as Megan and Sam were concerned that is, I got on the phone to Jessie and had her send Mark Anderson, my second in command of the company when I'm not there, and Tommy Clark, who is not only Jessie's younger brother, but also one of my best superintendents, to meet with me in my hospital room.

~~~~~~

While I awaited their arrival, as well as while Megan and Sam were watching some soap opera that was on the television, I borrowed, stole actually, a couple of blank sheets of paper that were in my nursing charts. After borrowing a pen from my sister, I sketched out a drawing that I thought would work nicely to suit my needs. All I needed now were the measurements, and that was where my guys would come in handy.

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Chapter Two

"Hey, Bryan," Mark smiled, walking into my hospital room with Tommy coming in behind him, "How're ya feelin boss?"