Love Me, Cowgirl (The 78th Copper Mountain Rodeo Book 4)

by Eve Gaddy

  They called her name over the PA system. They went to the far end of the alley, which wasn’t far since the arena wasn’t large either.

  Halo burst out of the gate and took the first barrel, the money barrel, tightly. Then across to the second. Halo scrambled, nicking the barrel, but held up. On to the third barrel and the run home.

  Halo lost her footing at the third barrel. Honey knew she was going down and tried to hold her together, but couldn’t. In the next instant, she went sailing through the air and landed with a bone-jarring crash in the dirt.

  *

  “Honey! Wake up!”

  She blinked, but everything was a blur. She knew someone was talking to her, but she couldn’t… They were doing it again. She just wanted them to go away. Her head hurt. Her arm hurt. Her back throbbed. What was she doing? Why was she lying in the dirt? Oh, my God. Halo fell.

  “Halo. What happened to Halo?”

  “She’s fine. The crew took care of her.”

  Honey didn’t know who was talking. People were bothering her. Something went around her neck. A man picked up her arm and she shrieked, “Stop it! Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!”

  “Sorry, but we have to. Big hurt, then it will be better.”

  He did something to her arm. She nearly passed out again. Pain came in a huge wave, but then, surprisingly, it was a little better. But damn, her head was killing her.

  “We’re going to put this splint on you and take you to the hospital, Honey.”

  “Don’t need a hospital.”

  “Oh, yeah, you do.” Two men picked her up and put her on a backboard, then on a gurney, and loaded her into the ambulance.

  “Will you turn on the siren?” Honey asked. If she had to ride in the ambulance, she wanted a siren.

  The EMT who was in the back with her laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The siren started wailing and Honey cursed herself. She really must have scrambled her brain. Why hadn’t she realized the sound of the siren would make her head hurt worse?

  She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and endured.

  *

  Sean’s day hadn’t been any busier than usual, even with the rodeo in town. There were the same number of sprains, fevers, colds, the occasional high blood sugar, chest pain, and indigestion masquerading as something worse as normally came in. None of which, thankfully, required hospitalization.

  Around eleven it started getting busier. Still minor issues, but more of them. Then the first injury from the rodeo came in. A bareback bronc rider who’d been thrown and rolled on by the horse. He was fortunate in that he only had broken ribs, not a concussion. Concussions weren’t unusual for rodeo participants, but they could be quite serious. Lucky for this cowboy that the horse had only managed to break ribs. It could have been a lot worse.

  Sean was in the middle of stitching up a man who had fallen into a fence and had a three-inch gash on his leg when he heard they were expecting another injury from the rodeo. But he didn’t hear any details at all until he met the nurse, Mindy Whistler, outside the cubicle.

  “It’s one of the barrel racers, Dr. Sean. The EMTs treated her for concussion and a broken arm.”

  A barrel racer. Oh, shit. Surely it wasn’t… He pushed the curtain back.

  Honey lay on the gurney, a cervical collar around her neck and her arm encased in a balloon splint.

  The nurse, who had followed him in, said, “She’s been conscious since she came in, Dr. Sean.”

  Damn, she looked so young, her eyes closed, her face pale and she was clearly in a lot of pain. He looked at her chart. Significant head trauma, loss of consciousness. Broken wrist, reduced at the scene. No other obvious injuries.

  He laid his fingers on her uninjured wrist. “Honey, it’s Sean.” Her pulse was racing, no doubt in part due to the pain.

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Sean?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Do you know where you are?”

  Her eyes clouded in confusion. “I’m… I’m at your apartment?”

  Sean glanced at the nurse, but she had turned her back to him. He knew she’d heard and also had no doubt the word would spread that he and Honey were sleeping together, but honestly, half the town probably already knew. “No, you’re in the hospital.”

  “Hospital?” Honey frowned. “Why? What—where’s Halo? Is she hurt? I was—wasn’t I at the rodeo?”

  “Yes. Do you know what happened?”

  “Where’s Halo?” she repeated, trying to get up. She fell back with a cry of pain.

  “Be still. Halo is fine.” He hoped, but he really had no idea. “But you’re banged up. Can you tell me what year this is?”

  “Why? That’s stupid. It’s—my head hurts. Where am I?”

  “You’re in the emergency room at the hospital.”

  “Oh. Is that why you’re here?”

  “Yes. I’m working today. Can you tell me what happened?”

  “We were running barrels. Halo—oh, God, she fell. Is she hurt? Is that what happened?”

  “You had an accident during your run. Do you remember anything about it?”

  Her brow furrowed. “We were running the barrels. I—something happened. I don’t… I don’t remember. Where is Halo? Is she hurt? I have to see if she’s okay.”

  “Calm down, Honey. I’ll find out about your horse.” He turned to Mindy. “Did anyone come in with her?”

  “One of her friends.”

  “See what you can find out about her horse. She’s fixated on her, and I doubt she’ll calm down until she knows what’s up.” He turned back to Honey and took out his flashlight, shining it briefly in her eyes. “Pupils equal and responsive,” he said out loud. “Responsive to light. Can you move your legs?”

  Grudgingly, she moved both legs, then her uninjured arm. She balked at moving her broken one but after a brief argument, she did it. “My arm hurts. My head hurts. My back hurts too. Did I fall on it?”

  “I’m not sure. Do you remember any more about what happened?” Sean asked her again. “Do you know where you were and what you were doing?”

  “No. Maybe. I was—I fell. Or Halo fell.” She tried again to get up. “I have to see Halo. Where am I?”

  Sean pushed her back gently. “You’re in the emergency room,” he repeated patiently. “You had an accident.”

  “I hurt.”

  “I know. We’ll get you something for the pain soon.” As soon as he had a better idea about what was going on with her.

  Mindy came back and spoke to Honey. “Your friend Martha said that your horse is fine. She didn’t want to leave you, but the crew got her out of the arena. Tanner McTavish had Talon Reese, the assistant vet, check her out and then she and her sister took your horse back to her place. She said don’t worry.”

  “Tanner took Halo? Why?”

  Sean shook his head and answered her again. “Tanner took Halo back home when you came to the hospital, Honey. She’s taking care of her.” He spoke to Mindy. “I want a CAT scan of the head, cervical spine and back. After that she needs an x-ray of her left wrist and forearm. She can stay in the balloon splint for the x-ray, then we’ll change it out.”

  “I’ll let radiology know.”

  “Tell them we need a wet read on the CAT scan.” A patient from the ER implied a wet read—meaning, the ER doc wanted the report as soon as possible. But Sean figured it wouldn’t hurt to emphasize he wanted it done quickly.

  Then he spent the next half hour seeing other patients, but Honey was never off his mind. Fortunately, the report from the CAT scan came back as good as he could have hoped for. No intracranial hemorrhage, which was what he’d been really worried about. Her cervical spine was normal, as was her back. Her distal radius was fractured, and she’d probably need surgery, but that was for Wyatt, who was the orthopedist on call, to say.

  In the meantime, he put her in a volar plaster splint and made sure she had some pain medicine on board. It occurred to him that with a broken arm and possible surgery, Honey was going to
have to stick around for a while. Eight to twelve weeks until it would be fully healed. He wondered how she’d take that. For himself, he didn’t mind a bit that she’d be staying in Marietta longer. Although like Honey, he didn’t want anything serious, he was enjoying their fling, as Honey insisted on calling it.

  Sean called Wyatt. “Have you looked at Honey’s x-ray yet?”

  “Yes, just now. It’s what you thought. A fracture of her distal radius with articular involvement. She’ll need surgery. A plate and screws.”

  “I thought she would. I’m keeping her overnight. She’s pretty confused.”

  “I’ll come by and take a look at her. Probably do the surgery Thursday. Possibly Wednesday. That should be long enough for the swelling to go down a bit.”

  “Thanks, Wyatt.” Sean knew the other orthopedists were good, but he was still glad that Wyatt would be taking care of Honey.

  Chapter Ten

  “Dr. Gallagher, Martha Lockhart asked if you could speak to her about Honey Jordan.”

  Puzzled, he looked at the nurse. She was one of the few who always called him Dr. Gallagher, rather than Dr. Sean. “Is she on Honey’s HIPAA?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “All right. Is she in the waiting room?”

  “Actually, she’s coming this way.”

  Sure enough, Honey’s friend was walking down the hall leading to the ER.

  “Can I see Honey now?” Martha asked without preamble. “And can you tell me what her condition is?”

  “Yes. I understand you’re on her HIPAA.” She nodded, so he continued. “She has a concussion, but she’s not having a brain bleed, which is great news. She should recover fully from that but I am keeping her overnight, due to her confusion. The worst of her injuries is her fractured radius.” When she looked confused, he added, “Her wrist is broken. She’ll have to have an operation to get a plate and screws.”

  And, he suspected, she would pitch a fit when she discovered how long she’d be stuck in Marietta. “How is Halo? Honey was told she was fine, but I wasn’t sure how accurate that was.”

  “Halo is okay, thank God,” Martha reassured him. “A concussion and a broken wrist are nothing compared to how she’d feel if Halo was hurt.” She shook her head. “I don’t even want to think about that.”

  “I’m glad she doesn’t have to.” If anyone would know the answer to his next question, Martha would. “Is there any family who should be told about the accident? I know her father’s in town.”

  “I told her brothers. They’ll be here, probably later tonight. They live in Billings.”

  Definitely issues with her father, he thought.

  Martha added, “Her brothers will tell her father. He’s—he’s hard to get hold of sometimes.”

  “Okay, I’ll leave the family to you. If they have any questions, or you do, here’s my phone number.” He handed her a slip of paper with his cell number written on it.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, don’t be surprised if she doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

  “I won’t. I know a lot of people who’ve had concussions. Luckily, I haven’t. Yet,” she said, knocking on her head in lieu of wood.

  Sean returned to treating other patients, but he checked on Honey several times during the night. Not because he didn’t trust the nurses. Marietta Hospital’s nursing staff was first rate. He told himself he would have done the same for anyone he treated. Especially if he knew them. To a certain extent that was true. If he’d been worried, he would have checked with the hospitalist whose care she was now under. But he wouldn’t have gone to see her personally, at least, not four times during the night.

  She was only awake one of the times he looked in on her.

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Sean? What are you—oh, I remember. I’m in the hospital.”

  “You are. How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit.”

  He hid a smile. “I imagine so. You have a concussion and a broken wrist. Both are painful. I’ll ask your nurse if it’s time for more pain medication.”

  He pressed the button on her bed. Someone answered almost immediately. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, this is Dr. Gallagher. Could you ask the nurse if Honey can have more pain medication?”

  “Yes, Dr. Sean.”

  She reached for his hand with her uninjured one. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

  He took it and squeezed it gently, reassuringly, careful not to bump her IV. “It’s my job.”

  “I’m still glad it was you.”

  “Have you seen your family? Martha said your brothers were coming, but she didn’t mention your father.”

  “I’m sure my father isn’t coming. Big surprise,” she added, obviously unhappy about that. “But my brothers got here a while ago,” she said, perking up. “The nurses let them see me for a little while, even though visiting hours were technically over. Which they made sure to tell us.”

  He laughed. “They’re not that strict with family. Especially since you aren’t in ICU.” She sounded much less confused, for which he was glad.

  The nurse came in and gave her a pill. “Call me if you need anything else.”

  “I will. Thank you, Betsy,” Honey said. “Your brother came by,” she told Sean as the nurse left the room. “Dr. Wyatt. That’s what the nurses call him. They call you Dr. Sean.”

  “Since there are three of us here now, they have to differentiate. Jack’s been here the longest, so they usually call him Dr. Gallagher. A fact that he finds amusing. Some of the nurses call all three of us Dr. Gallagher. It can get confusing, especially if all three of us are working.”

  “I have to have an operation.”

  “Yes. Wyatt’s very good. You’re in good hands. We can talk about it tomorrow if you want. Time for you to get some sleep.”

  “Can I have a kiss?”

  Rather than argue, he kissed her on the forehead. “Get some rest.”

  She pouted. “I wanted a real kiss.”

  “Not until you’re home,” he said. “It’s considered bad form to kiss your patients.”

  “But I’m not your patient anymore, am I?”

  “Not technically. But it’s still not happening. Go to sleep, Honey.”

  *

  Honey loved her brothers. She really did. But having them alternate staying with her to “take care of her” was not going to work. Mick, the eldest, looked a lot like her, with black hair and blue eyes. Kevin, the middle kid, resembled both of them, except his hair and eyes were brown. They were both in construction and had the bodies to prove it. Mick was brooding, Kevin more happy-go-lucky.

  And they were both annoying as hell when they got it into their heads to help her, take care of her, protect her, or anything else they decided was necessary in order to look out for their baby sister.

  “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Mick asked when she shuffled out of her bedroom.

  She sat on one end of the couch, wincing when she saw her brothers had simply pitched the stuff on the couch and chair—most of it her purse-making supplies—onto a pile in the corner. But she didn’t have the energy to complain. “I’ve been in bed. I’m sick of being in bed.”

  “You haven’t been home two hours,” Kevin said. “Get used to it.”

  “Speaking of home, don’t you two need to get back to Billings and to work?”

  “Nice try, Honey,” Kevin said, “but we told you, we can alternate. We don’t have to both be in Billings all the time. Either one of us can handle things, if necessary.”

  Mick, who’d gone in the kitchen, came out with a sandwich. Leaning against the doorjamb, he took a large bite.

  “How many times do I need to tell you both that I don’t need a damn babysitter,” she said, her voice rising on the last word.

  “Oh, yeah? Who’s going to take you to your surgery? And bring you home and take care of you afterward?” Finishing the sandwich, Mick added, “It’s outpatient, you know. You can’t do it
alone.”

  “Where did you get that food?” she asked, momentarily distracted.

  “There’s a thing called a grocery store,” Kevin said. “You should go to one some time.”

  “Ha, ha.” She started to get up, but Mick forestalled her.

  “What do you need? I’ll get it.”

  “I’m going to get a pain pill.” Three more days until the operation. Surely it would stop hurting so much before then. After that? She had no clue. She’d been hurt before, of course, and even cracked a rib or two, but she’d been lucky and never broken any other bones. Or had an operation of any sort, for that matter. Until now, damn it.

  “I’ll go get it,” Kevin said.

  “I’m also going to the bathroom. Do you want to do that for me too?” she asked sweetly.

  “Is being cranky a good sign?” she heard Mick ask as she left.

  “I don’t know,” Kevin said. “But she’s sure got that covered.”

  Honey pretended she didn’t hear them. Responding was way too much trouble.

  When she returned, Sean was there, talking to her brothers.

  “I didn’t know doctors made house calls anymore,” Mick said.

  “Yeah, that’s taking personalized service to a new level, isn’t it, Mick?” Kevin asked, putting in his two cents.

  “I see you’ve met my brothers. You’ll have to excuse them. They’re asses.”

  “We met last night. Briefly,” Sean said. “How are you feeling?” He crossed the room, took her chin in his hand and planted a kiss smack on her lips.

  “Too personal,” Mick said, looking thunderous.

  “You didn’t tell them?” Sean asked her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms and looking at her closely.

  “Tell them what?” She was still reeling from the kiss. Or something.

  “Honey and I are dating.” He propelled her to the couch, gently but firmly.

  What in the hell is he doing?

  “No, she didn’t say a word.” Kevin and Mick exchanged looks. “You haven’t mentioned dating anyone, Honey.”

  “Last I looked, I was a grown woman and who I see is my business,” she said crossly. “This is Sean. We’re dating.” She gave Sean a look that promised discussion later. “Now go away, all of you.”