Falling Hard

by Sandy Sullivan

  Levi’s heart dropped into his stomach as he gripped the railing beneath his hands with a white-knuckled grip. He wanted to rush out there to see to his lover, but he couldn’t even if they would allow him to.

  The medical doctor in charge of riders rushed out with the team of medical personal to see to Curt. He hadn’t moved.

  Time stopped as Levi waited with bated breath. He has to be okay. He can’t be hurt really badly. I don’t know what I’ll do if he is. I need him.

  The crowd was silent. Nothing moved as they all waited for some sign Curt Walsh would be okay.

  The medical team moved him onto the gurney, lifted him into the air and rushed him through the exit chute, back through the throng of riders, and down the hall to the waiting room set aside for medical issues.

  Levi couldn’t go. He had to ride. He was up next.

  He managed to switch chutes where his bull waited, impatiently banging his horns on the railings. Levi got into position although his mind was on Curt, and not on his ride. I need to focus.

  “Word has it folks, Curt Walsh will be okay. He’s conscious now although he appears to have a concussion.”

  The crowd roared with approval and Levi could relax just a little. At least he knew Curt was awake.

  Levi nodded for the gatekeeper to release the chute.

  Time froze. Lights whirled as he did his damndest to stay centered on the bull. His butt spun around in circles. The bull changed positioned, first twirling to the right, then switching it up and spinning to the left.

  The buzzer sounded.

  He released his hand from the rope and jumped clear of the bull, rushing for the fence to avoid being gored.

  The bull fighters corralled the bull, chasing him out of the arena.

  Levi could breathe again as he grabbed his bull rope from them before heading back behind the chutes.

  He glanced up at the score board. He’d done well, but didn’t win the event, although he took second and his rankings in the world championship run probably went up by at least five spots. Curt would qualify now with his standing. One of the late qualifiers from the day before who’d ridden both of the bulls yesterday, and finished strong today, won the event by a mere half point. Cody Nash was a good rider. He was hanging in there in the race for the finals too.

  Chaps swishing around his legs, he walked back to the locker room to remove his gear. He would check on Curt in a minute. He didn’t want to seem too anxious to find out about his lover’s condition. He might give away their relationship if he did.

  He worked on his chaps’ buckles next to his gear bag in the corner. Once he had them loose he pushed the leather free of his body and stepped out. Taking the time to roll the chaps carefully, he slipped them along with his bull rope in his bag, zipped it up and pushed the whole kit toward the wall.

  He inhaled a cleansing breath as he adjusted the hat on his head. Calm, he needed to be calm in the face of his lover’s injury. Going in there freaking out because of blood, wouldn’t be the best thing.

  “Levi?” someone called.

  “Yeah?”

  “Curt is asking for you.”

  “Be right there.” With a quickness to his step, he walked through the doorway, out in the hall and into the next room.

  Curt was lying on a gurney with a bandage wrapped around his head. There was blood clinging to the white dressing.

  “Levi!”

  “I’m right here,” he said, moving to Curt’s side.

  His lover looked pale and drawn. “There you are. Where have you been?”

  “Getting my gear put away.”

  “Your gear is more important than me?”

  “No.” He glanced around. The doctor and his assistant stood near a desk where they were talking softly, ignoring the conversation going on between him and Curt. “I couldn’t make it seem obvious.”

  “What?”

  “Our relationship.”

  “Who cares? I don’t. If the whole damned circuit knows we’re fucking, it’s our business.”

  “Keep your voice down.”

  “I won’t. I want everyone to know. I’m done hiding behind a mask of indifference. I like fucking men. I like fucking women. What the hell does it matter to anyone?”

  The doctor looked over in their direction with a raised eyebrow.

  “Sshh.”

  “I will not. I fucking love you, man.”

  Levi knew it was the concussion talking, not the Curt he knew. Curt would never say something like that with others around. “I love you too. We are great friends, but you need to rest now. You’ve got a bad concussion.” He glanced at the doctor, who nodded in understanding. Hopefully, they dodged a bullet.

  “No worries, Levi. He’s been talking crazy ever since we brought him back here. We know he’s not making sense.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  “Besides, even if you two are a couple, it’s okay with us.”

  “We’ve traveling partners and friends. That’s it.”

  “Okay. Whatever. I just wanted to let you know, no skin off our noses here. What you two do in your hotel room is your own business.”

  “What do I need to do, Doc?”

  “You can take him back to your room. Watch him tonight. If he has a seizure or gets sick to his stomach, call 911.”

  “A seizure?”

  “Yeah. He has a pretty good concussion, but I’ve seen worse. He’ll be okay. Wake him every couple of hours to make sure he wakes up easily, otherwise, let him sleep. He should be more aware tomorrow morning. He probably won’t remember anything about the last day or two. Concussions typically do that.”

  “Okay.” Levi helped Curt sit up. “We need to get his chaps off.”

  “I’ll help you.” The doctor’s assistant moved over to help Levi work the chaps off Curt’s ass and thighs.

  By the time they had them off, Curt was sitting glassy eyed on the gurney.

  “I’ll be right back. Let me throw his stuff in his bag, grab our gear, and take it to my truck.” Levi stopped at the door. “Will he be okay to ride next week?”

  “He should be fine.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Doc.”

  “Sure.”

  Levi got their stuff together, put it in his vehicle, and then headed back into pick up his partner.

  Curt sat on the gurney with the help of the doctor. “Is he going to be okay to walk to the truck and into the hotel with me?”

  “He might be a little wobbly, but you should be okay. If you want, one of us can go over there with you to help you get him settled.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Tom, will you help Levi? I’ve got this here and we are done for the night.”

  “Sure.”

  The hotel was next door to the arena, so the assistant would be able to walk back. Levi was grateful for the help.

  They no sooner got him into the hotel room, and he started snoring in the bed.

  “Wake him in a couple of hours. He should be fine until then.”

  “Thanks, Tom. I appreciate the help and the reassurance. I haven’t had to deal with someone who had a head injury before.”

  “It’s not a bad one. Like Doc said, he’s seen worse. The hoof glanced off his skull. He probably got the head injury more from being bounced around by his spur, than anything.”

  He clapped Tom on the shoulder. “You guys are the best.”

  “It’s our job.” He walked toward the door. “I hope you can get a little sleep tonight, but don’t worry about him. He’ll be okay.”

  “Thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  After the door shut behind Tom, Levi tossed his hat into the chair and raked his fingers through his hair. I really could use a beer, but yeah, that’s out.

  Curt softly snored from the bed, leaving Levi to entertain himself for the evening. Oh well. It was kind of late anyway and they had two beds in the room, so he could sleep in the other one without any difficulty. The bad part wou
ld be waking Curt every couple of hours. He’d have to set an alarm. At least tomorrow, they would be headed back to his ranch and Curt could recuperate there for the next few days by sitting around, eating Emma’s cooking, watching television or whatever else he wanted to do. No work for him.

  The chair looked comfortable enough to check his email and call his parents. He wanted to let them know they would be back at the ranch tomorrow. He really needed to get in touch with his publicity guy so they could work on setting up some personal engagements. Those kinds of things were important to his career. He wanted to be the fan favorite going into the finals.

  He grabbed his cell phone to call his mom.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said, when she answered.

  “Hey, baby. You did good this weekend again. Your dad and I watched it on the television.”

  “Thanks. I didn’t win, but the points will help me.”

  “That’s great, Levi.” There was a pause on the line. “How is Curt? He looked like he’d been hurt pretty badly after his ride.”

  “He’s fine. Concussion and some scrapes from being thrown around. He got his spur caught in the flank strap. The doctor said he’ll be fine. He’s sleeping in the bed next to me right now, snoring.”

  “Should he be sleeping? I thought they wanted you to keep people awake who had concussions.”

  “Not anymore. Doc said he could sleep, but to wake him every couple of hours. The main thing is to watch for seizures or throwing up. They seemed to think he only got a glancing blow from the bull, the concussion came from being whipping around.”

  “I’m glad he’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He switched the phone to his other ear. “I wanted to let you know we’ll be back at the ranch tomorrow for a couple of days. Our next stop is South Dakota so we can spend a few days at home.”

  “Wonderful! You two will have to come over for supper again.”

  “Of course, Mom. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Good.”

  He wanted to tell his mom how worried he was about Curt after he’d been hurt, but he held back. The thought of having feelings for the other man scared the hell out of him, but there it was.

  The sick feeling he’d had when Curt got hung up stayed with him. Terror at the thought of losing his lover had him almost throwing up himself. What would happen if Curt had been really hurt? How would he feel? What if he’d died?

  The thought terrified him.

  “Levi?”

  “Yeah, Mom?”

  “Are you okay, son?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Talk to me, honey. You know I’m here to help you.”

  “I know, but I’m not sure where to start.”

  “How about at the beginning? When did you realize you were falling in love with Curt?”

  “Am I?”

  “I think so.”

  “I can’t though, Mom. He doesn’t want a permanent relationship. We are lovers, nothing more. If I try to bring feelings into this, I’m afraid I’ll lose him for good.”

  “I don’t think so, Levi. I saw the way he watched you while you two were here. I think he has feelings for you too, although he might not want to admit it just yet.”

  Levi blew out a heavy breath. “What am I going to do?”

  “Play it by ear, baby. He’ll come around when the time is right.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “I think you two are cute together, but be cautious. Don’t push. He seems skittish about having a long-term relationship with another man. I know you aren’t like that, so I think you’ll do fine, but he’s not as comfortable with it.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” His heart swelled with love for his mother and her understanding.

  “You’re welcome. So we’ll see you tomorrow for supper?”

  “Let’s make it Tuesday so Curt has time to just chill out at the house for a day. I don’t know how long he’ll be confused after he wakes up in the morning. He might be perfectly fine, but there is still the chance he could have some muddled brain stuff going on.”

  “No problem. We’ll plan on Tuesday then.”

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too, son. See you later and be careful driving home.”

  “Bye, Mom.” Levi hung up the phone, putting it down on the small table next to his chair. Curt continued to snore softly from the bed across the room. What to do? He really wasn’t sure. He knew feelings were coming in to the situation, at least on his part, but did Curt have any feelings for him at all? He wasn’t sure and how to approach the subject with his lover was another thing on his mind.

  He should probably get some shut-eye since he had to set an alarm to wake Curt every couple of hours. It was going to be a long night.

  The next morning Levi rolled over with a groan. He felt like shit after only getting a few hours of sleep. Luckily the every two hours waking schedule for Curt went well. Curt had been coherent for the most part the later the wakings became. He was able to answers questions about where they were, what had happened, who he was, what day it was, and the most important part to Levi was who his lover was.

  It would feel good to be in his own bed tonight.

  Curt woke himself a few minutes later. “God, I feel like I’ve been kicked by a bull.”

  “You were, slick.”

  “Well hell, no wonder my head hurts.” Curt touched the bandage on his head. “I don’t remember much.”

  “I bet you don’t. You had a pretty good concussion. Thank God for your helmet, otherwise you would have taken a direct blow to the head.”

  “What happened?”

  “Your spur hooked in the flank strap. You were thrown around like a ragdoll for a minute before the bull fighters cut you loose. The bull got a kick off to your helmet. The strap broke and it went flying. The second one glanced off your skull, thus the bandage and concussion. Doc says you’ll be fine, but you were out cold for a few minutes and you’ve been confused most of the night.”

  “Did I at least win?”

  “No, but you came in third. Cody Nash took the final win.”

  “Good for him. Points?”

  “You gained enough to qualify. Now you just have to hang on and keep riding well to make the finals.”

  A groan escaped Curt’s lips as he sat up on the side of the bed. “How did I get back here?”

  “I brought you back from the emergency room with instructions to wake you every two hours. You’ve been doing fine during the night, but I imagine things will be clearer today.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Head to my place to rest up for a couple of days. You okay to drive?”

  “I think so. My eyes aren’t crossing and my vision is clear. I have a headache though. A couple of Tylenol would be great right now.”

  Levi climbed to his feet to fetch the pills from his bag. He always kept some on hand because of the regular muscle aches and pains he had during the circuit regular events. After he shook out a couple into his hand, he retrieved a glass of water, and then walked to Curt’s side. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks. If I didn’t feel like shit right now, I’d kiss you.”

  “We’ll save it for later.”

  Curt peeled one eye opened and looked up. “I appreciate you taking care of me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “Probably fallen on your ass and been fucked by Jefferson.”

  “Oh hell no!”

  Levi grinned. He liked teasing Curt with the threat of the other man fucking him. Jefferson wasn’t the best option for a man on man thing. The guy was a jerk and Levi couldn’t see Curt giving him the time of day, but you never know. Things could change between him and Curt in a heartbeat. He hoped they didn’t. He loved having Curt around. “Shall we get moving? I’d like to be at the ranch before lunch. You can rest this afternoon if you want. The sunlight on the way home might hurt your head some.”

  “Okay.” Curt stood, swaying a little on his feet as he adjusted to th
e height difference.

  “Are you sure you’ll be able to drive?”

  “Do I have a choice? I can’t leave my truck here.”

  “True. I’ll keep an eye on you in my rearview mirror. If I see you swerving or anything, we’ll leave your vehicle somewhere on the way. It’s not that far to come back and get it if we need to.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I’ll grab your gear.”

  Curt’s lips twisted into a small grin. “Let me take a piss before we leave. My bladder feels like it’s about to explode.”

  “I’ll take the gear down. Where are your keys?”

  “In my pants pocket.” He reached in the left front pocket of his jeans. “I would have you go after them, but I’m really not up to extracurricular activity at the moment.” Dangling them from his fingers, he said, “I’ll take a kiss though.”

  Levi couldn’t resist the wry grin on Curt’s mouth, so he leaned in and plastered his lips against Curt’s. A groan escaped his mouth as Curt pushed his tongue between Levi’s lips and deep into his mouth. Would he ever be able to get enough of this man? He was beginning to think the impossible. He was in love with Curt Walsh.

  Chapter Twelve

  Curt’s head felt like it was splitting in two. The sunlight burned right through his sunglasses to pierce his eyes like someone was stabbing him with a fork. God, it hurt to breathe. He’d make it though, he had to. He could rest when they got to Levi’s, thank goodness. He needed to sleep or something. The Tylenol didn’t seem to do much for the headache. He had something stronger in his bag from past breaks, sprains, and other various ailments he’d acquired over the last few years. A couple of Loratab would help.

  A few minutes later, they pulled down the dirt road to Levi’s ranch. The bumping along didn’t help the pain in his head, but it would be over soon.

  The house came into view. He really liked the older farmhouse with its shutters and porch. It reminded him of his grandparents place from so long ago. He hadn’t been there in years, but this had the same feel. Home.

  As they stopped their vehicles in front, he slowly climbed out of his truck with a groan. His whole body hurt from being tossed around, his leg especially after being caught. It was his fault. He should have checked the flank strap, he supposed, although it was the contractors responsibility to make sure they weren’t frayed. He didn’t know if that was what his spur caught in or not this time. It wouldn’t happen again. He’d make damn sure there wasn’t anything to screw up his ride again.