by M. L. Ray
“Because I plan on spending the rest of my life making her smile, if I can just get her to talk to me again.”
Trey hid his smile, thinking that his headstrong sister might have finally met her match. His mind flashed back to a conversation he and his friends had eavesdropped on many years earlier. The girls had been on the old wooden bridge just outside town and the subject of kissing had come up. They had only been just starting middle school, and were twelve and thirteen years old. He and his high school buddies had been hiding under the wooden support beams, listening in unabashedly.
“If you could kiss anybody in the world, who would it be?” Michelle asked.
“When you say kiss, do you mean on the lips and all that mushy and stuff?” asked twelve-year- old Jenna.
“Yep! Come on, now. Who would you kiss?”
“I know who I’d kiss,” piped in Michelle as she lowered her voice and softly whispered, “Tyler.”
“What?!” exclaimed Brooke. “Why on earth would you want to kiss my brother? Ewww!”
Tyler and Trey were both two years older and in high school, making them perfect targets for the crushes of the pre-teen girls. Brooke seemed upset that Michelle would be interested in kissing her brother and Jenna watched and listened as the two bantered back and forth for a few moments.
“Okay, Jenna. Who would you want to kiss, and please don’t say my brother?” Brooke pleaded.
Jenna shook her head, “Okay, I won’t. I want to kiss Michelle’s brother.”
He and Tyler had left the bridge that day, solemnly promising not to tease each other about what they’d overheard. Trey had watched his sister carefully after that day however, and she never missed an opportunity to hang around when Tyler came over.
Considering the fact that years later, he was now with Jenna, he wasn’t in the least surprised to find that Michelle and Tyler had found each other. Even after they had both left Cathedral Hills to pursue their own dreams. There just seemed to be something about growing up in this little town that always brought people back together.
“Look, if you don’t mind, could you run Michelle in for that x-ray? I’ll take Jenna with me and go rescue my parents.”
“Not at all, but you have to be the one to break the news to her. She’ll never get in my truck if she knows I’m driving her.”
“Problem solved.” Trey tossed him his keys, “Take my car. She won’t have to climb up into the cab that way, and it gets much better gas mileage.”
Tyler grabbed the keys midair and then smiled, “She is going to want to kill you after this.”
“Yeah, that’s not really anything new. She’s been moping around here since she came home. A little emotion on her part, of any kind, is welcome.”
“Moping, huh? And she didn’t say why?” Tyler asked, glancing at the house again.
Trey shook his head, “Not a thing. It’s like a part of her died and she doesn’t know how to move forward.”
Tyler said nothing. He’d seen the signs of a deep sadness in her before their last fight, but she’d never wanted to talk about work when they were together. That’s probably my fault. It’s not like we had lots of time together. A few hours a day on my way thru town. A few days to play tourist and then I was headed to yet another competition. Looking back on it, he was surprised they’d grown as close together as they had.
“Here they come. Why don’t you stay out of sight until I get her in the car?” Trey suggested, not really liking the subterfuge that was being used on his own sister, but he didn’t have time to fight with her, nor did he want to see her refuse the medical treatment he was almost positive she needed.
Tyler nodded his head and ducked back behind the corner of the house as Jenna and Michelle slowly made their way towards the vehicles. Trey’s car was sitting in the driveway, and he was hoping Michelle would be more focused on reaching it without falling, than looking around and seeing Tyler’s truck sitting next to his own.
Chapter 25
Trey met his sister halfway between the front door and the driveway. “Let’s get you into the car. It will be easier to get in and out of with that ankle being so sore.” He rushed to open the passenger door, “Let me scoot the seat back just a bit. Okay, have a seat.”
Trey watched as Michelle slowly lowered herself into the car and then reached for the seatbelt. When he saw Jenna reach for the rear passenger door, he shook his head at her and motioned her to stop. She gave him a quizzical look, but then a movement on the other side of the car caught her attention.
Jenna watched Tyler step out from around the house and head towards the driver’s side. He gave her a cocky smile and then nodded his head at Trey, mouthing the words, “Thanks” in the process.
Jenna stepped back as Trey shut the door at the same time Tyler opened his and slid inside. Michelle’s screams of outrage could be heard, even though the doors were closed. She looked at Trey with an incredulous look upon her face, “She is going to murder you in your sleep!”
“Think so? Well, she’ll have to get that ankle healed up first. Tyler actually came by at just the right time. My mom locked her keys in the car up in Ouray. They need me to go get them.”
Jenna placed her hands on her hips, “Well, I could have taken Michelle to the hospital.”
Trey nodded his head, “Yes. You could have. But I thought maybe you’d like to spend a few minutes in the hot springs, since that’s where mom and dad are.”
Jenna bit her bottom lip; the hot springs were one of her favorite haunts in this part of Colorado. It had been more than seven years since she’d soaked in the warm mineral waters, but she could still remember the sense of peace and calm that had gone along with the experience. Something she could really use right now.
But then reality came in and she shook her head, “Trey, I can’t go to the hot springs with you.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t have a swimsuit. Unless…”
“Unless, what?” Trey asked, feeling bad that he hadn’t thought about her not having the proper attire for such an outing.
“Well, when I was over at my parents’ house, I brought some of my old clothes back. They still fit, kind of. And, I didn’t look, but maybe there’s a swimsuit still over there as well.”
“Problem solved then.” Trey took a step closer to her and then tipped her chin up with a finger, “And if not, we’ll rent one at the pool. They do that now.”
Jenna smiled up at him, “Really? They never used to do that.”
“They’ve been trying to keep up with the times. Let me lock the house up and we’ll head out.”
Jenna seated herself in Trey’s truck and then waited for him to return. She was actually relieved that she wasn’t going to spend the next several hours with Michelle, feeling like she owed it to her childhood friend to spill all of the gory details about her time away from Cathedral Hills. People often said confession was good for the soul, but in her case, confession was only going to bring about a lot of self-recriminations. She’d been down that road with Trey, and wasn’t ready to do so with Michelle. Not yet.
*****
Inside Trey’s car, things were not nearly as peaceful. Michelle had ranted and raged at Tyler, even going so far as to try and open the car door. Tyler’s response had been to engage the child safety lock feature, making it impossible to open the doors or windows without engaging the controls on the driver’s side door panel.
“Take me back home!” Michelle tried one last time, gritting her teeth through the pain of both her ankle and her battered emotions. There was no way she was spending the next several hours with the man sitting next to her. She didn’t have the fortitude to deal with that. Not now.
Tyler turned at the edge of town and drove a few miles, ignoring Michelle’s angry tirade the entire time. Seeing the small turnoff up ahead, he signaled and then pulled the vehicle over before turning to meet her eyes.
“You are going to Montrose to get your ankle x-rayed. Trey and Jenna are hea
ding to Ouray to rescue your parents…”
Michelle huffed, “Let me guess, mom locked her keys inside the car again?”
“Exactly. I was available, and partly to blame for your injury. I am driving you to Montrose and we’re going to use this time to talk about the last time we fought.”
Michelle began shaking her head, “No. We’re not talking about that. There’s nothing to say. You made your choice…”
“I may have made a choice, but I wasn’t operating with all of the facts at my disposal. Was I?” He stared at her, knowing he’d just gained the advantage when she turned her head and looked out the window.
Michelle held her tongue. She couldn’t see anything to be gained by rehashing their last argument. And nothing she could say or do would bring Celia back or make things right for her. Michelle had just barely begun to get over Tyler when Celia had killed herself. She didn’t think she had it in her to go through that healing process again. Not when she was already feeling fragile and at loose ends.
She knew if her father were here, he would encourage her to talk. It didn’t matter if what she had to say was logical, or overly emotional. He would encourage her to talk. To let all of the bottled up feelings out into the open so they could be analyzed and evaluated. She closed her eyes as she thought about past instances where he had gotten her to talk, only to find out that reality and her own perception of such were completely on opposite ends of the universe.
“When you keep it all inside, it is very easy for the truth to become tainted by raw emotion. That can have a devastating effect on our ability to think clearly and make rational decisions. It’s better to let it all spew forth, and then pick out the nuggets of truth and discard the rest.”
Michelle had tried to remember that bit of wisdom as she’d entered adulthood, but when faced with so many injustices, it was harder to do each time. In the case of Celia, the woman had been robbed of so much – and her sorrow was real. For her. To her. Anyone who spent even five minutes with the woman had felt her soul-deep sorrow and loss.
“Michelle?” Tyler asked, butting into her thoughts.
She turned her head and looked at him closely for the first time. He’d lost weight, and there was sadness in his eyes that hadn’t been there a year earlier. She stared into his eyes and then asked, before she could stop herself, “What happened?”
Tyler saw her face soften and wondered what she had seen in his eyes to prompt that response. “What do you mean?” he asked softly.
“Something bad happened, didn’t it?” Michelle asked.
Tyler nodded his head, amazed at her perception. “Yeah, something bad happened. It was horrible, still is horrible, but it made me wake up and really think about what I wanted. I kept thinking about your words during our last fight, and suddenly – they started to make sense. I understood where you were coming from.”
“You did?”
“I do. I know you were scared. If I’d been smarter, I would have been scared a long time before now.”
Michelle looked away, “What changed your mind?”
Tyler swallowed loudly and then softly answered, “Adam. He’s paralyzed from the waist down.” He watched as tears began to flow down Michelle’s face. Reaching out, he attempted to wipe them away, but she scooted out of reach.
“Don’t. Please.” Michelle took a breath and then asked, “Was he riding when it happened?”
“Yes.”
Michelle was quiet for a moment, and then she asked, “One last question – you said you were thinking about retiring. Were you just saying that, or did you mean it?”
“I meant it. It’s why I’m back. Michelle…”
She shook her head, “No more. My ankle hurts.”
Tyler felt like a heel. “Of course. Let’s get you to the hospital.” He put the car back into gear and headed towards Montrose and the nearest emergency room. He knew they needed to talk things out, but she needed medical attention more. He wasn’t going anywhere, and they would finish this discussion in the near future.
Chapter 26
The trip into Montrose took over an hour, and Michelle kept her gaze fixed out the side window. She was hurting more with each passing mile, and the swelling in her ankle had worsened as her leg hung down over the seat.
When Tyler finally pulled beneath the awning of the hospital’s emergency entrance, she sighed knowing relief was close. She needed some kind of pain medication, and she needed it now!
“Hang tight and let me go find a wheelchair,” Tyler told her, not liking the way her skin had paled over the last fifteen minutes of their drive. He waited for Michelle to acknowledge his statement, but she only nodded slightly and continued to take shallow breaths.
Tyler entered the hospital and returned moments later with an orderly in tow, pushing a wheelchair. He opened Michelle door and then slowly helped her turn in the seat and put her legs out. Seeing that she was going to try and stand on her own, Tyler pushed her hands off the car door and scooped her up into his arms.
He heard her gasp but she didn’t try to fight him. He set her in the chair and then grabbed her purse and tossed the car keys to the young valet waiting patiently to the side. Parking was at a premium around the small hospital as it had been continually expanding, taking up all available real estate in a three block area. Valet parking was only offered at the emergency entrance, and Tyler was extremely grateful for it.
“Michelle, why don’t you give me your insurance card and I’ll get the paperwork started?” Tyler hated the look of pain on her face and wanted nothing preventing them from getting her in and getting her some medical assistance.
Michelle handed him her wallet, “It should be in there.”
Tyler looked at the grayish tint around her mouth and then gave the orderly a questioning look.
“Dr. Andrews will definitely want an x-ray of that ankle, so we’re going to head to radiology before I take her back. When you’re finished with the paperwork, come on back to exam room six. I’ll bring her back there after her x-rays are taken.”
Tyler nodded, “Okay. Michelle, I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Tyler nodded to the orderly and pulled him aside, whispering for his ears only, “Can you see if they can give her something for pain? The camp nurse gave her two ibuprofen a few hours ago, but the pain is getting to her.”
“Sure thing. I’ll take her over to radiology and then get something on board for her.”
“Thanks,” Tyler told him, watching as Michelle was wheeled away. He headed for the receptionist’s desk, completing the paperwork in record time so that he could get back to Michelle’s side.
*****
Michelle breathed shallowly, trying to hold back her tears. She was trying to be strong, but when Tyler walked away, she really wanted to call him back. It wasn’t that she was afraid of hospitals, but her defenses were down and she really didn’t want to be left alone right now.
“So, Michelle is it?” the young orderly asked. When she nodded weakly, he patted her shoulder and told her, “Let’s get you settled and then I’ll get you something to take the edge off that pain. Are you allergic to any medications?”
“No,” Michelle whispered, really hoping they were going to give her something stronger than the over-the-counter meds she’d taken before leaving the camp. They hadn’t even touched her pain, and her entire leg was throbbing now.
“Okay, hang in there.”
Michelle nodded her head. I don’t really have any other options at this point. Bring on the meds. Please!
The radiology employees were very kind, and before she knew it, she was being wheeled back towards the emergency department. The orderly had made good on his promise and had brought her a syringe of painkillers which had already begun to take the edge off her pain. They hadn’t been able to give it to her until after the x-rays had been taken, not wanting to interfere with a surgical fix should it be required.
Luckily for Michelle, her ankle wasn’t broken, but she had done some pretty
good damage to the tendons and soft tissue around her ankle. With the painkillers on board, and the x-rays in the orderly’s hands, she was now headed back to the ER to get her ankle stabilized so she could be discharged.
As they neared exam room six, she spied Tyler pacing worriedly back and forth outside the room. He looked very concerned and for a moment, Michelle wished she knew whether or not his concern was all for her, or if something else was bothering him. Maybe he can’t stand hospitals! He’s spent enough time in them, both as a patient and as a visitor. Maybe he’s remembering Adam! Just thinking about the happy-go-lucky man, who had been Tyler’s rodeo partner almost from the beginning, had her sobering and tears springing to her eyes. That could have been Tyler just as easily! Hence, the reason they had fought a year and some ago.
“Hey, sugar,” Tyler called to her softly as she was wheeled into the room. “Everything go alright in x-ray?”
Michelle nodded tiredly, “Yeah. No bones are broken.” She used her hands to try and push herself out of the chair, but before she could even lift her backside more than a few inches, Tyler was there, scooping her up into his arms once again. “I could have gotten myself out of that chair,” she scowled up at him.
Tyler grinned at her, and she felt her heart melt. “You could have, but then you would have deprived me of carrying you around. I like my way much better.”
“So do I, as a matter of fact,” said Dr. Andrews as he walked into the room. “Just because the x-ray showed there were no broken bones in your ankle, doesn’t mean you’re going dancing tomorrow. Soft tissue injuries actually take much longer to heal. I’m going to stabilize your ankle with an air cast for now and then wrap it.
“I want you to leave the air cast on for at least the next seventy-two hours. Elevate your ankle whenever possible. That should be almost twenty-three and a half of each twenty-four hour period, because you are not to be up walking around. Your ankle needs complete rest if it’s going to recover quickly.”
