Not Their First Rodeo

by Christy Jeffries

  “Violet,” he shouted, anxiously looking around the stables for her.

  Up until now, he’d been methodical and organized and completely in command as he gave everyone instructions. She imagined that, as the county sheriff, he’d participated in numerous search and rescues. But this was different. These were his own boys who were lost. How was he holding himself together?

  “Over here,” she said, rushing over to him.

  There was the slightest flicker of panic in his eyes, but he quickly blinked it back when he saw her. “I’m taking Micah in one of the ATVs. I need you to stay here in case the kids and Rider come back while we’re all still out there.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Logically, Violet knew that her assignment would be just as important as the others. But she hated just sitting there not doing anything. So she pushed away her own fears and forced a confident smile she didn’t quite feel. “In fact, I’ll probably see them before you guys, because I’m sure they’re already on their way back so they can sneak in a few of Freckles’s lemon bars before dinner.”

  He nodded and sucked in a deep breath, probably to calm his racing thoughts. Violet pulled his head down for a parting kiss then added, “Be careful. And don’t worry. When they get here, I’ll take care of them. I promise.”

  Tessa and Grayson set up a command center in the conference room attached to the bunkhouse where the Secret Service agents stayed. The radio reception was much better there, plus there were maps and whiteboards to track everybody’s progress. Freckles, who had to be just as worried about Rider as she was about the children, returned to the kitchen to prep more food in case it ended up being a long night. Not that anyone could eat at a time like this. But it was probably good to have someone stationed at the house just in case they went straight there.

  Violet was left alone in the stables and found herself pacing back and forth as she waited for word. She listened intently to every transmission across the radio, her nerves becoming more frayed each time a voice came on the air to report another dead end.

  No. Don’t think about the word dead.

  “Why is it taking so long?” she asked Fabio, who was hanging his head over the stall door watching her. To keep herself occupied, Violet grabbed a bucket of treats that looked like the oat clumps Marcus carried in his uniform pocket and went down the rows of stalls, feeding one to every animal who hadn’t gotten to ride out for the search.

  She was nearly back to Fabio’s stall when it dawned on her that she was supposed to be afraid of horses. Her spirits perked up, but before she could celebrate her small victory, the radio cracked to life.

  “I have the boys.” Finn’s announcement caused Violet to jump up in celebration, sending a few extra oat treats Fabio’s way. “They were southwest of the Peabody Trail. They’re tired and thirsty, but still in their saddles.”

  “Where’s Amelia?” Micah demanded, the engine of his and Marcus’s ATV revving in the background of the radio transmission.

  “The boys say Rider got hurt and couldn’t ride,” Finn advised. “Amelia stayed to watch over him while the boys rode back to the stables to get help. But they got lost.”

  “Do they know where they left Amelia and Rider?” This time it was Dahlia’s voice, but Violet couldn’t tell if she was in the helicopter already.

  “Negative,” Finn said. “We’ll get these two back to Violet. You guys keep looking.”

  Violet wanted to weep in relief that the boys were safe, but there were still two people missing. Plus, Marcus had to stay with Micah. He couldn’t abandon the search for Amelia and Rider just because his own sons had been found.

  “I’ll take care of them,” she repeated her promise from earlier to Fabio.

  The engine of an ATV grew louder, and Violet ran to the stable doors. An agent was driving with one boy in the front seat and the other in the back sitting next to MJ. Even in the fading light, she could see the drying trail of tears down Jack’s dirty cheeks as he frantically unbuckled and launched himself out of the vehicle and directly into Violet’s arms.

  Her heart went to pieces, and she wanted to hold the child close to her until she could make sure he was truly safe. But she also had to check on his brother. Jordan was the usually cautious twin, but he wasn’t even unbuckling himself. He was sitting stiffly in his seat, MJ speaking quietly to him.

  Freckles was hurrying across the driveway with a plate of cookies and a stack of blankets. Violet set Jack on his feet, letting Freckles wrap him in a quilt and crush him in a hug, her own sparkle-stained tears running down her face.

  Violet immediately went to Jordan’s side. She noticed he had a piece of fabric holding his right arm in makeshift sling. “What’s wrong, Jordan?”

  The boy was pale, and his lips made a grimaced line as he refused to answer.

  She looked at MJ, who ran a hand through his hair before shrugging. “When we were transferring him from his horse to the ATV, his arm hit the roll bar, and he let out a scream. He wouldn’t let any of us check it out. I could tell he was in a ton of pain from the bumpy ride, so I convinced him to let me use this sling to hold it in place.”

  “Want me to call for an ambulance?” an agent asked her.

  “No,” Jordan yelled, finally finding his voice. He turned pleading eyes to Violet.

  Everyone was looking at her to make a decision that really wasn’t hers to make. Deep down, though, she had a feeling she knew exactly what was wrong. “Let’s get you out of that seat and get you something to eat. Then, you can tell me how you’re feeling.”

  The boy squished his face in pain as Violet eased the holster seat belt away from the shoulder of his injured arm. Violet didn’t think she was strong enough to lift him without jostling him even more, so MJ helped. When he was out of the ATV, MJ walked him to the bench just outside the stables and sat him down next to his brother.

  Freckles went back to the main house to get some lemonade in case the boys were dehydrated. The agent explained that he had to go back and get their horses, and MJ added, “I should return to the search. Are you sure you’re good here?”

  “We got it.” When the ATV pulled away, Violet knelt in front of Jordan. “Are you ready to tell me why you don’t want anyone to look at your arm?”

  Jordan sniffed, tears filling his eyes. “Uncle Rider got hurt real bad. The fire department only has one ambulance, and Uncle Rider needs it more than me.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you, Jordan. But you might have a pretty serious injury there yourself. Don’t you think we need to get that fixed?”

  He bit his lower lip, and Violet realized she had to try a different tactic. She turned to the boy’s twin, who was lovingly drying Jordan’s tears with a corner of the blanket.

  “You’re pretty good at diagnosing stuff, Jack. What do you think is wrong?”

  Jack, who never paid attention to any of the medical documentaries his twin watched, shrugged. “Maybe he sprained his wrist?”

  “It’s not my wrist. It’s a sub-cromal pinge-oment,” Jordan corrected.

  Violet had absolutely no idea what that was, but it sounded serious. And painful. She’d promised Marcus that she’d take care of his sons, and that was exactly what she was going to do. “How about if instead of calling an ambulance, I drive you to the hospital? Your dad can meet us there after they find Rider and make sure he’s in good hands.”

  The boy tried to shrug but winced in pain. Violet held her breath, not wanting to push his decision. “Okay, I guess.”

  Aunt Freckles was returning with two insulated cups and a couple of bottles of water tucked into her apron pockets.

  “All right, then. Aunt Freckles, can you please load up the snacks and the blankets in the car for us?” Violet forced her voice into a calmness she didn’t feel. “We’re just going to go on a little drive over to the hospital and let the doctors take a peek at Jordan’s sub pingeme
nt situation.”

  “I don’t need an ambulance,” Jordan insisted to the older woman, as though she hadn’t been listening in on the radio this whole time and knew full well that Rider was in trouble.

  “Of course you don’t, darlin’.” Freckles smiled her wide grin, her bright lipstick proving to be much longer lasting against tears than her smeared mascara.

  “You’ll like the CT-scan machine, Jord,” Jack eagerly told his twin as Violet pulled onto the main highway. Jack then rattled off all the emergency-room procedures that he’d experienced in the past five years. Instead of being distracted, though, Jordan’s little face grew even more pale as he listened in terror.

  Violet pushed her foot harder on the gas and prayed she was making the right choice.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Marcus knew this emergency room almost as well as he knew the Ridgecrest County Courthouse. The desk nurse greeted him and, before he could ask, said, “They’re in room 107.”

  “Thanks, Cathy,” he replied, striding down the hall.

  When he got to 107, the door was open, and the curtain partition was pushed aside. Violet was sitting in a chair beside the bed, showing Jordan a video on her phone. Pausing a second, he watched them without saying anything. He let the wave of relief crash through him and sent up a silent prayer of thanks that they were all okay.

  “Dad!” Jack paused from spinning in circles on the doctor’s stool. “It wasn’t me this time.”

  “So I heard.” Marcus had found out over the radio that his sons were safe, but it wasn’t the same as seeing them with his own eyes. He squeezed Jack to him before turning to look at the hospital bed. Not wanting to cause any discomfort to Jordan, Marcus had to settle for ruffling his hair. “How’s the patient doing?”

  “Sorry I got hurt, Dad. Is Uncle Rider okay?” Of course Jordan would be more concerned about his dad’s feelings and his uncle’s condition than his own.

  “Don’t be sorry, buddy. Accidents happen. Uncle Rider is in surgery right now, but he should be fine. Amelia is fine, too. She’s with Aunt Dahlia and everyone else in the lobby, waiting to hear from the surgeon. But I’m more worried about you. What’s going on in here?”

  Jordan looked at the digital machine beside him. “My blood pressure is in the normal range. Pulse and oxygen are fine. They already did an MRI, and we have to wait for the results.”

  “In fact, the doctor should’ve been here a while ago.” Violet stood. “Maybe I should go down the hall and find her.”

  “Hey.” Marcus took several steps toward the foot of the bed and grabbed Violet’s hand before she could leave. He lowered his voice. “MJ said he could tell it was bad, but Jordan wouldn’t say anything. Thank you for taking charge.”

  “Of course.” Violet squeezed his fingers in response, but she made a subtle side-eye look toward the boys, as though she was warning Marcus that they had an audience.

  They locked eyes for several seconds, and then Jordan asked, “Are you guys gonna kiss?”

  Violet immediately tried to pull away, but Marcus wouldn’t release her hand. He maintained eye contact with her while asking his sons, “Why? Do you want us to?”

  “Yes!” Both of the boys cheered, but Jack did so with more energy and crashed his spinning stool into the blood-pressure machine.

  He lifted his brows at Violet. “They want us to kiss.”

  “How about we just shake instead?” They were already holding hands, so Violet pumped her arm dramatically.

  “No!” the boys chorused. Jordan even giggled.

  “We could compromise with a hug?” Marcus suggested, pulling Violet into his arms. God, she felt good. After everything he’d been through tonight, he didn’t know how much he’d needed to hold her until she was pressed against him. Apparently, she’d needed a hug just as badly, because she wrapped her own arms around his neck and let her head fall to his shoulder.

  “Uh, excuse me, Mrs. King?” A young doctor that Marcus didn’t recognize stood in the doorway holding a clipboard. Violet pulled away from his embrace and looked around the room in confusion before finally realizing the newcomer was speaking to her. “I’m Dr. Yu, and I just got your son’s MRI scans from the radiology department. Is now a good time for me to come in?”

  “Oh, I’m not... He’s not my...” Violet started, but Jordan prevented her from saying anything else.

  “Is it a sub-cromal pinge-oment?”

  The doctor tilted her head to the side. “How do you know what subacromial impingement is?”

  Violet finally managed a reply. “He does a lot of medical research.”

  “Well, you’re close. It’s actually a dislocation. Do you know what that is?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t hear a popping sound,” Jordan replied. “Shouldn’t I have heard a popping sound?”

  “Not always.” The doctor turned to Violet. “So how did the injury happen?”

  “Oh.” Violet waited for Marcus to take the lead on speaking to the doctor, but he’d only just arrived and still wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. Dr. Yu looked expectantly at Violet. “Uh, he and his brother were riding on their horses, and the trail was getting dark. They had to go under a low-hanging branch, and Jordan was worried Jack wouldn’t see it. So he reached to push it out of the way, and his sleeve got caught. The horse kept going, and his arm got jerked backward.”

  “Ouch,” Dr. Yu said, and Marcus winced in agreement. “I know the physician’s assistant already did a cursory eval, but do you mind if I examine him?”

  The doctor continued to direct most of her attention to either Jordan or Violet, who she clearly assumed was the mother of the twins. Marcus would’ve been slightly insulted that his role as the father had been dismissed in favor of the mother if he hadn’t been enjoying watching Violet easily answer the questions.

  “Okay, Dad.” Dr. Yu finally spoke to Marcus. “I’m going to need you to sit behind Jordan and help him stay in position like this.”

  “Mom—” Dr. Yu said to Violet, and at this point nobody corrected her “—I’m going to need you to hold Jordan’s good hand in yours so he can squeeze it real tight. Now, I’m going to simply rotate your arm and move everything back into place on the count of three.”

  “Wait. Can I do it?” Jack asked.

  “No!” Marcus, Dr. Yu and Jordan all yelled at the same time.

  “Maybe I should take Jack out to—” Violet started, but Jordan interrupted.

  His eyes were wide, and his small fingers were digging into her hand. “Please stay with me.”

  “Of course I’ll stay with—”

  Pop!

  Dr. Yu had taken advantage of the distraction, and Jordan barely made a yelp.

  “Was that it?” the boy asked.

  “Yep. All done. You did great.” The doctor again looked at Violet. “He’s going to need to keep it elevated and iced. Do you have children’s ibuprofen at home?”

  “We can stop at the pharmacy and get some,” she replied easily.

  “Does he play any sports?”

  “He’s supposed to start baseball next week.”

  “You’ll have to tell his coach that he can participate in the running drills, but no throwing for at least four weeks.”

  “Got it,” Violet said, then looked at Marcus. “Hear that, Coach? No throwing for four weeks.”

  The doctor finally glanced at Marcus, and he wanted to tell her that he was also her patient’s parent, not just the coach. But with the exception of being the muscle to hold Jordan in place, all the questions and directions were given to Violet. Which was really for the best because Marcus was too emotionally drained to remember all the instructions.

  “He’ll have to wear a sling for a few days. Do you need a note for school?”

  “Any documentation you could give us would be great,” Violet said, always thinkin
g of the legalities.

  “That didn’t take as long as last time when I got my cast,” Jack said when the doctor finally left. “Can we get some ice cream on the way home?”

  “Sure,” Violet said without even consulting Marcus. For a woman who’d been reluctant to babysit for a few hours, she was certainly warming up to the motherly role she’d been thrust into.

  Cathy, the desk nurse, at least gave Marcus one parental duty. He got to sign the discharge paperwork.

  The four of them left the emergency room and stopped in the hospital lobby to check in with the rest of the family. Duke saw them coming and signaled Marcus and Violet over to talk, while Jordan showed off his new sling to everyone else.

  “Rider’s out of surgery, but they’re going to keep him in ICU.”

  “ICU?” Marcus shuddered. Connor had found Rider and Amelia first, but Marcus and Micah had arrived soon after. Rider had still been pretty lucid when they’d called for medical transport.

  Duke nodded. “He broke a rib, and it punctured one of his lungs. Freckles is back there now with him. The surgeon said the prognosis is good, but I didn’t want to say anything in front of your kids because I know Jordan would worry.”

  “You’re a good uncle,” Marcus said, then pulled his brother in for a fierce hug. His second hug of the evening. “I know I usually don’t say this, but I’m glad you’re in town.”

  “Why? Because I’m the only one in the family with a pilot’s license and could provide aerial support during the search?”

  “No, because Kendra Broman just came in the door, and someone needs to make sure her daddy doesn’t come in here looking for MJ.”

  “Big brother isn’t going to stick around and keep watch on everyone?” Duke asked, and Violet snorted. “This is certainly unexpected.”

  “I’m taking the rest of the night off. I need a few hours alone with my family to focus on what I almost lost.” Marcus wrapped his arm around Violet’s waist and pulled her against his side. “Come on, boys. We’re heading back to our cabin.”