I looked around the empty, sterile room and then I sat there and thought about how amazing it is that the pain in my chest – the one brought on by the fact that I’m here all alone, felt as real as the one in my wrist. I didn’t have anyone to blame for that other than myself. I had done everything I could to antagonize my father and then push Lexi away. I have a lot of good friends, but what I felt like I needed right now, I didn’t have. I wanted someone here with me…someone worried about me and telling me that everything is going to be okay. I wanted someone who would cry for me when I told them that this injury might well cause me to lose everything I’d worked so hard for this year – the NFR in Vegas. I felt sorry for myself, not for the injury which was a lot more mild than it could have been, but for the potential loss of everything.
I looked at my phone lying on the bedside again, and I thought about calling Lexi. The last thing she said to me when I asked her about going to the rodeo with me was, “I’d rather jump off the Empire State Building.” I doubt that she would feel much sympathy for me, and that was my fault. I should have done more to convince her that Taylor meant nothing to me – less than that even. If it were up to me, I’d wipe all memories of Taylor out of my mind and me out of hers. Taylor drove me crazy and it had been years since I’d felt anything for her other than annoyance, anger, or disgust. I closed my eyes again and drifted back to sleep. Sleep was easier…not necessarily just because of the pain in my wrist, but because of the emotional pain. I just wanted to block it all out. As I lay there feeling sorry for myself, the doctor came back in. I hoped that he had good news for me, at least.
“Mark, how are you feeling?” he asked. He was an older guy with white hair and really white teeth. He looked like the kind of guy who grew up in the city and had never even attended a rodeo. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be the kind of guy who understood that I had to get back out there.
“Better,” I told him. “The pain pill helped.”
“Are you having any headache?”
“Yeah, some, nothing too bad.”
“What about pain in your back or spine?”
“Nothing worse than I usually have after a rough ride.”
“Mark, I’m going to admit you to the hospital overnight for observation. I want to make sure that you don’t have a concussion, first off. They’ll be bugging you a lot, doing neuro checks. I see from your chart that you’re not a stranger to head injury. Have you been riding bulls long?”
I nodded. “Yeah, since I was a kid.”
He shook his head. I was right, he had no clue. “I also want to have the surgeon come in and consult on that wrist while you’re here.”
In a tone harsher than the doctor deserved I said, “Do I have a choice?” I asked him. My spirits were already low. Staying here…alone, overnight just pushed them down lower.
“You’re not a prisoner,” he said with a too-white smile. “But I would strongly advise against you leaving AMA. Without that wrist properly fixed, you won’t just be on an eight week vacation to heal…you won’t ever ride a bull again.”
“You’re just a picture of sunshine, aren’t you, Doc?”
He chuckled. I guess he wasn’t too put out with my attitude. “I try,” he said. “I’ll go call and arrange for a bed for you upstairs and set up the consult. Meanwhile, there’s someone here to see you.”
I thought I must have heard him wrong. Did he say someone was here to see me? The doc at the rodeo usually calls someone, but I really didn’t expect them to come. “What?”
“A young lady is here to see you. The nurse up front told her only family is allowed back. She says that she’s your sister.” He sounded skeptical. I smiled. I’ll be damned, Lexi showed up?
“Pretty girl, dark hair?”
“Yes.”
“She’s my stepsister. Can she come back?”
The doctor smiled again. This time his smile told me that he knew for certain that she wasn’t my “sister.” There must have been something on my face that gave away how I felt about her. I’ll have to be careful of that at home, I guess.
“Yes. I’ll send her back,” he said. I thanked him profusely. Suddenly, all of the pain went from a deep ache to a dull throb. I wonder if she would be surprised to know that she was like an anesthetic to me. I guessed that she probably wouldn’t want to hear it.
It was probably only minutes, but I was so excited to see her that it seemed like hours later before she burst through the door. Her cheeks were flushed and her long hair was wild around her face and hanging loose down her back. Her pretty eyes looked worried and maybe it shouldn’t have, but it did my heart a world of good to see her worried face.
“Mark! Oh, look at your face! Are you okay? They didn’t want to let me see you.” She didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed me into a hug and then she released me and said, “Oh my goodness. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“I’m okay. It’s just my wrist. They’re going to keep me overnight for observation and a consultation about surgery on my wrist. The scrapes and bruises are just that. They’ll heal fast. I’ve had lots of those before.”
“Thank God. Oh, but your poor face. What happened?”
“My hand got stuck in the rigging, and I got drug around for a while before they could get me off the bull. He was pissed, so he took me for a wild ride. He was trying to shake me off.”
“Oh no! I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I should have been there! You could have been killed!”
I smiled. “Then you would have just had to watch that. I’m really okay, it’s not your fault you weren’t there, it’s mine…” I’m so glad she’s here.
“No! No, it’s not your fault. I feel so bad about all of it. I had a visitor on the ranch earlier today…”
“Oh Jeez! Not Taylor again?”
She smiled. “No, Emily came to see you.”
“Emily?” Why would Emily just stop by? It was stupid to worry because my friend hadn’t even been deployed yet, but maybe it was the meds. I got a sharp pain in my stomach and said, “Is she okay? Is Bobby alright?”
“She seemed fine. She didn’t say anything about her husband not being okay. She just said that she missed him. She came by just to talk with you about him, she said. She was really nice. I like her. She also told me a few things about Taylor.”
“Taylor? What brought her up?”
“She mentioned that Taylor said you were home and that’s why she thought you would be.”
“So what did she tell you about her?”
“Pretty much the same things that you did, or that you tried to and I wouldn’t listen. She said that she keeps forcing herself on you and that you’ve done nothing to encourage her for years. She told me that Taylor loves to stir trouble and everyone who knows her knows it.”
“And you believed her?” Please say yes. Thank you, Emily!
“I do. I should have believed you. I’m sorry, Mark. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
I wanted to jump on her right now. It was so funny how you could feel like total crap one minute and everything would be okay the next. “It’s okay,” I told her. “I can’t say that I wouldn’t have jumped to the same ones had the roles been reversed.” I shuddered at the thought of another man’s hands or lips on her. “But, Lexi, I have to say something…”
“No, you don’t.”
I smiled. She was so bossy. “Yes, I do. I have feelings for you…strong ones. I don’t think of you as my sister, and the only thing keeping me from announcing how I feel to the world is that I don't want to hurt your mother.”
She smiled then and took my good hand in hers. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I feel the same way.”
“Can you come down here a little closer?” She bent over me and I lifted my head up to meet her lips with mine. God, when she kissed me, a fire flared up in the pit of my belly and spread warm blood through the rest of my body. I missed her so much and it had only been a couple of days. How w
ould I ever stand it when the summer was over and she went back home?
“Mmm,” she said with a smile when she lifted her head. “That was nice. I feel so much better.”
“Lot’s more where that came from,” I told her. “I’ve got some on reserve that I haven’t even put out there yet. They’ll make your toes curl.”
She kissed my lips again softly and said, “I can’t wait.”
She smiled at me and I realized I’d gone from “Poor me, I’m all alone” to, “I think I’m falling in love with this girl,” in just a matter of minutes.
CHAPTER THREE
LEXI
I was so glad to be here for Mark – I hoped that he was just as glad that I was here. He acted genuinely happy to see me. It had to be so hard being here all alone. On top of the fact that his father is treating him so poorly, I had done the same. I couldn’t even think of all of the things that could have happened to him without feeling sick to my stomach. I was sitting at his bedside, watching him sleep. He had a little smile on his face and I wondered what he was dreaming about. I found myself hoping it was me. I know that since I met him, he tromps around a lot in mine.
I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and pulled it out. It was Mom. I stepped outside the door so I didn’t wake him – the hospital staff seemed to do enough of that every time the poor thing tried to rest. They kept taking his vital signs and checking his pupils. I know that was necessary, but even I was irritated by it and I wasn’t the patient.
“Hi, Mom,” I answered.
“Lexi, is Mark okay?”
“He’s doing well. His wrist is broken and fractured in two places. He got dragged around by the bull. They’re keeping him overnight to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion and they’re also going to do a surgical consult on his wrist.”
“Oh, poor thing! He’s holding up okay, though?”
“Yeah, better now, I think. I think the poor guy was feeling like no one cared about him. He’s glad to have me here.”
“Oh, good. Thank you for going, honey. I’m sorry you had to drive all that way by yourself. You should have called. I would have come home and gone with you.”
“I just wanted to get here as soon as I could. They didn’t tell me much on the phone, so I was worried. It wasn’t a bad drive,” I said. “I’ll stay here tonight and that way I’ll be here to drive him home tomorrow. He’s on pain medication; he won’t be able to drive. Besides, his truck has a manual transmission. I think he’d have a hard time doing that one-handed. I’m not sure if leaving it here is okay, but we’ll figure it out.”
“I didn’t think about his truck…and Sarge! Oh no, we can’t leave him there. That poor horse. I hope someone over at the rodeo grounds is looking out for him. I’ll see if Cowboy Bob can get someone to help him go pick it up tonight or tomorrow. When Mark wakes up, just find out where the extra keys are and where they should pick it up, okay?”
“Sure, thanks, Mom. What about Rob? Does he know Mark is here?”
Mom sighed heavily. “Yes. I went out to the pasture and found him to tell him. I don’t know what’s wrong with this man of mine.”
“He’s not coming…obviously.”
“No, he’s not coming. He…never mind.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I know you’re trying to stay loyal to him, but this is me, remember?”
“He’s just been so angry with Mark and he won’t talk to me about it. When I told him Mark was hurt, he said, ‘How bad?’ I told him what you put on the note, that it was nothing life-threatening, and he didn’t even look relieved. He said, ‘Well, if he keeps doing this rodeo crap, it won’t be the last time.’ He was just so cold about it.”
“Wow.”
“I know. It’s awful. I can’t imagine you being in the hospital and me not being there. I’m really upset with Rob right now. I’m so glad you went, honey. Thank you again.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Mom. I want to be here for Mark…and for you. I’ll call you if anything changes.”
“I love you, Lexi. You’re a good girl. Tell Mark I love him, too, and wish him a speedy recovery. Call if anything changes or you need me, okay?”
Stab of guilt to the chest. I just kissed my stepbrother and not for the first time. I could very well screw up my mother’s marriage over it. I didn’t feel like a “good girl.”
“I love you, too, Mom. Talk to you soon.” I hung up and went back in to the room. Mark was awake and when he saw me, his face brightened up.
“I thought you left.”
I took his good hand. “I’m not going anywhere. Wild bulls couldn’t drag me away. I’m going to stay until they discharge you and drive you home.”
“Oh shit! I didn’t think about that. I’m not so much worried about the truck and trailer, but Sarge is here.”
“Mom said if we let her know where to pick up the truck and where you keep your extra keys she’ll send Bob to get it.”
He got that stubborn look on his face that he gets and he said, “I reckon there’s no reason I couldn’t drive it home…”
“No, I don’t see why driving an old truck with a manual transmission with a broken and fractured wrist…and let’s not forget the possibility of a concussion…”
“Fine. I’m just not sure my reputation will hold up if I’m seen in that fancy little car of yours.”
I smiled. “You know you’re hoping people see you.”
He touched my face softly and said, “With you…for sure.” It gave me butterflies in my belly. “Did your mom say if Dad knows I’m here?” God, his eyes looked almost hopeful. I was furious at Rob for being such an ass.
“I’m sorry, Mark. She told him, but he’s not coming.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t expect him to come. It’s not like I’m on my deathbed or anything…”
“He should still be here.”
“You’re here. That’s enough,” he said with a smile.
The nurse brought his dinner in. It looked terrible.
“You want to share with me?” he asked.
I made a face. “Um, no thanks. I’m allergic to…whatever that is.”
He laughed. “I’m so hungry that I don’t care what it is. Why don’t you go to the cafeteria and get something? I hate eating in front of you.”
“I hate you eating that period,” I said as he put a bite in his mouth.
“It’s not bad.”
“I can’t watch.” I went down to the cafeteria and got a sandwich and a coffee. When I got back, the surgeon had just got there.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Haney,” he introduced himself. He had dark, jet black hair and piercing gray eyes. He looked like what you’d expect a surgeon to look like.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Mark’s stepsister, Lexi.”
“I was just telling Mark before you came in that I had a look at the x-ray and MRI. I agree with the ER doctor that he’s going to need surgery to set this right.” I could tell by Mark’s face that he wasn’t happy about that.
“How long is the recovery process after that, Doctor?” I asked him.
“At least eight weeks,” he said. Mark looked sick. I felt so bad for him. He’d spent this entire year working towards the finals and this could ruin all of that for him.
“So during those eight weeks, will he be able to do any of his usual activities?”
“He won’t be able to do much at all with that hand. It will be casted after surgery…”
“Yeah, the ER doc already told me all of that,” Mark said. I’d never heard him be so short with anyone. It wasn’t normally in his character.
The surgeon looked a little bit taken aback by his tone, so in a rush to defend him I said, “He’s a bull rider, headed towards the finals. He has another rodeo soon.”
The doctor looked sympathetically at Mark. “I really wish I had better news. I suppose for now we can just be happy the bull didn’t trample or gore you.” Mark gave him a weak smile. I could tell that he felt bad for snapping at the doctor. “Do either of y
ou have any questions for me?”
“When would you do the surgery?”
“I’d like to do it as soon as I can get him on the schedule, tonight or tomorrow.”
Mark made a face. It wasn’t a happy one. I don’t think he was concerned about the surgery. It was all about the recovery time. “Then do I have to stay here longer?”
“No, it’s a same day surgery. You’ll be given anesthetic, but a mild one. Even if we do the surgery in the morning, barring anything unforeseen, you can go home by the afternoon.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Mark seemed to be trying to force a smile and he muttered a, “Thanks,” as the doctor left the room.
When he was gone, I turned to Mark and said, “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear.”
He nodded. “I just have to keep telling myself that he’s right and I’m lucky to be alive.”
I put my hand on the side of his face. “I’m glad you’re alive. You know, you’re pretty amazing, the way you can always stay calm and look at things on the bright side. I wish that I was more like that.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that’s me…amazing.” He was being facetious. I was being serious. It was going to be a long eight weeks for him, and my heart was breaking. I found myself wanting to fix this, even though I knew that I couldn’t. I was almost surprised at how badly I hated seeing him suffer. It caused me physical pain.
When visiting hours ended, he told me to go and get a hotel room for the night, but I didn’t want to leave him. I talked to the nurse, and she said that it would be okay for me to stay in the recliner next to his bed. She brought me a pillow and a blanket, and I sat with him through the night. We watched television and I read to him and I fielded a lot of calls for him from his rodeo friends. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just told each of them that he was resting, but doing well. I wrote each name down so he would know who all called. It was nice that they were all worried about him.
In the morning, they wouldn’t let him eat anything. He was taken to surgery around noon and the whole time, he griped about being hungry. If I had eaten that slop last night, I’d never want to be served anything here again. I was a nervous wreck while I was waiting, so to alleviate some of my obsessing, I went online and started researching the NFR rules. I read a lot about qualified rides and aggregate scores. I read the entire rulebook of the National Rodeo Cowboy Association. By the time the doctor came out and told me Mark was in recovery and doing well, I had a ton of information swimming in my head. The best that I could figure this all out was this: all of the qualifying scores Mark received all year are averaged at the end of the season. His total earnings are also taken into account. All of this is put up against the other winner’s scores and the fifteen guys with the best overall rankings get to go to the finals. Every cowboy doesn’t have to ride in every rodeo to be a winner at the end of the season. He just has to do really well in the ones that he’s entered and he has to have entered a lot. So far this year, Mark told me he’d ridden in almost a hundred rodeos. He would have to miss some of the big ones during Cowboy Christmas, but he would be able to make up time…if he was willing to travel a whole hell of a lot in September and October. The bottom line was he could still do this. I can’t believe how happy that made me, especially since I also read the stats on injuries and concussions. It was crazy what these men were willing to risk and the injuries they were willing to endure to get back on that bull.
Ride Me Cowboy #4 (The Cowboy Romance Series - Book #4) Page 2
