“The ribs are a real problem, sure. But you’ve got your leg to deal with too. The bull broke the fibula. That’s the small bone in the lower leg. I fixed it in surgery with little trouble, and your tibia, miraculously, had only a hairline fracture. I also checked your right ankle, as there are often complications with ankles when the fibula breaks. But all seemed fine. The leg will heal, and it’ll heal fast. But I don’t think it’ll be strong enough to handle bull riding again.” He wore the sympathetic smile of someone who understood pain and loss on a personal level. “Maybe horseback riding.” He stepped back. “I’m sorry, Tanner.”
Summer watched the patient for his reaction. He blinked and breathed, and while his eyes seemed clear of drugs, he certainly wasn’t behaving appropriately for one who’d just been told most of his future had been erased. His mother wept, one hand on her son’s shoulder.
“So he’ll make a full recovery,” his mother said through her tears. “He’ll be able to walk?”
“With physical therapy, of course.” Dr. Verdad nodded to Summer. “He’ll only wear that hard cast and use crutches for a week or two, then he’ll move into a walking cast. He needs to get out of bed soon, and he can begin his physical therapy as early as tomorrow. Nurse Hamblin here will get him on the schedule.”
She nodded, made the notes, and handed the chart to the doctor to sign before he left. He’d get to go back to his office, or maybe to lunch, after this. She’d get over to the physical therapy facilities to schedule Tanner, and then she’d deliver lunch, more medicine, more charts, more more more.
Still, she loved nursing and as she met Tanner’s eye before ducking out of his room, she felt something pass between them. A strange understanding or perhaps an acceptance. No matter what it was, it made her blood liquefy and race through her veins.
She went through the motions of her afternoon, her thoughts never straying too far from Tanner. She asked Belinda to get him up and walking that afternoon, too unsure of how she felt. The fact that she felt anything was ridiculous. The man didn’t actually live in Three Rivers. And she’d never left town except to earn her nursing degree. Even then, she’d promptly scampered back.
Only because of Drew. Just the man’s name made her hairline prickle. So she’d had her heart broken. So what? Lots of people did. Lots of people moved on. Yet somehow Summer had moved back, started over, gone on first date after first date.
The truth she hadn’t told her friends was that she didn’t dare go on a second date. Because a second could mean a third, and then she might fall in love with someone only to have them marry your roommate.
3
Tanner noticed a marked difference in how he felt the second morning compared to the first. Breathing wasn’t easy and according to the doctors and nurses, it wouldn’t get better for several months. Broken ribs were no laughing matter, that much was certain. In fact, laughing hurt. Not that Tanner had much opportunity to laugh since waking the previous morning. At least he hadn’t sneezed yet.
He hadn’t seen the pretty honey-haired nurse again yesterday. A redhead had taken him out walking, and the shift change had landed him with a male nurse with cold hands. Tanner shouldn’t care who attended to his healthcare needs. He wasn’t going to be in the hospital forever. Heck, he wasn’t even going to be in Three Rivers very long.
His mother had arrived near the end of the evening, and he’d been glad to see her. He hadn’t seen her since starting the rodeo circuit in February. He’d asked about his older brother, but Bill was out of the country for work. And with his wife having just delivered a baby, she’d stayed in Colorado and sent her love with Tanner’s mother.
“Morning,” a familiar voice chirped, and he glanced away from his phone to find the gorgeous nurse from yesterday.
His phone forgotten, he said, “Morning,” and managed a smile.
“You seem better today.”
“There’s still some pain, especially in my chest.”
She nodded, her shoulder-length curls brushing her collarbone. “I’m afraid there will be for a while.” She moved around him, checking things and making notes. She didn’t touch him again, and he wondered what that first exchange had been about. Summer made easy conversation and he missed her sunshine when she left the room, left him alone.
His mom arrived just after Summer had put breakfast on the rolling tray next to him. His mother kept tucking her hair behind her ear and couldn’t seem to sit still in the single recliner next to the bed.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked rather than beating around the bush. Never was his style anyway.
“Tanner, I—I have to get back to work soon, and I talked to the doctor, and he said there’s no way for you to travel so far so soon.”
Tanner frowned, her words tumbling through his head.
“Your friend Ethan said you can stay with him. He has a big house with lots of room. You can keep your place in Colorado Springs, of course. Ethan said he was happy to help you get your horses and everything taken care of. He’s coming by this evening, after he gets done out at the ranch.”
The more his mother talked, the more confused Tanner became. Finally he said, “Mom, you think I should stay here and recover, is that it?”
Relief ran through her dark eyes. Dark eyes that he saw every time he looked in the mirror. “Yes, dear. Once you’re back to normal, you can come back to Colorado Springs and….”
He really wanted her to finish that sentence, because he had no idea what to put into the pregnant pause now lingering between them. He had no idea what to do with his life without the rodeo. The stubborn thought that he could still do the team roping nestled further into his mind. There were more events than bull riding in the rodeo.
Instead of letting a tidal wave of despair engulf him, he reached for his mother’s hand and squeezed it. “Okay, Mom. How much longer do you think I have to stay in the hospital?”
“A couple more days.” She looked at him with anguish in her face. “I have to get on the road in the morning,” she said. “I don’t have the kind of job I can just leave.”
“You don’t need to work, Mom.” He’d told her that over and over. Since his father’s death six years ago, she’d been working at a grocery store in Colorado Springs. Just enough to pay her bills and live comfortably on the life insurance. Tanner made millions in the rodeo, and his mother wouldn’t take a dime of it.
“I can’t take care of you anyway,” she said. “You’ll be better here, with friends and a good home health system.”
“Home health?”
“The hospital sends nurses to your house for physical therapy and whatnot.”
He wouldn’t be doing that, thank you very much. Summer’s pretty face traipsed through his mind. Although if she was his nurse….
He cleared his throat at the same time he erased the image of her wearing a naughty nurse costume from his traitorous mind. He wasn’t that man anymore—at least he didn’t want to be. “So Ethan will come by tonight and explain everything.”
“He said he would,” his mom said.
That sounded exactly like Ethan, who probably had Tanner’s horses at his wife’s boarding stables, and Tanner’s truck and trailer parked in his driveway. He’d have a guest room ready, and a wheelchair ramp built over the front steps before Tanner got released from the hospital. Ethan was nothing if not predictable—and trustworthy, and as close to a saint as Tanner knew.
Whenever he was tempted to return to his old way of life, Tanner thought of Ethan’s example. He reminded Tanner that he didn’t have to be perfect. Didn’t have to have a perfect past, come from a perfect family. But that he needed to keep trying, keep listening, and keep believing.
That afternoon, Summer slipped through the door just as Tanner was about to drift to sleep. “Time for your therapy,” she chirped.
“I’m tired,” he complained.
“Oh, well, then we don’t have to go.”
“Really?”
She laughed. “No, no
t really.” She used the automatic control to make the bed sit up higher. “Scootch on over to the edge of the bed.”
He hated the weakness in his limbs, hated that he had to put his arm around her shoulder to get on his feet, hated that she of all people had to see the bead of sweat at the effort it took to stand and hear his groan of pain.
She walked him over to his physical therapy, her voice painting melodies in his head. She told him about her family, her older siblings, their family holiday traditions. She told him about eating dinner with her parents every Sunday, and her favorite shift, and why she’d gone into nursing.
Tanner didn’t have much to add to the conversation. He liked listening to her talk, and since he’d given up talking about his rodeo achievements, he found he didn’t have much to say that held a woman’s interest anyway.
“All right,” she said when they arrived. “Jean will be back to get you in an hour.” She signed something on the counter and passed it to the woman standing there.
“Wait,” he said as she turned to leave. “Jean’s coming to get me?” He wasn’t sure who Jean was, only that she wasn’t Summer.
Summer smiled, those teeth and lips once again distracting him. “Yes, my shift is over right now.” She yawned like she’d been there since dawn. Maybe she had been. The hours seemed to warp together to Tanner.
“Oh, all right.” Tanner tried to mask the disappointment in his voice, but he failed. Summer held his gaze for a breath past comfortable, then she lifted her hand in an awkward wave and left.
Tanner berated himself for his stupidity. So he’d spent a few minutes with a pretty nurse. Didn’t mean anything. Still, the only way he made it through the next hour of torture and pain was by focusing on the shape of her face, remembering the clean, fresh scent of her hair, listening to the sound of her voice in his head.
By the time Ethan showed up, Tanner was tired, hungry, and very cranky. He listened to his friend outline the plan, and he didn’t put up a fight about it. His trailer and truck were at Ethan’s. His horses were out at Three Rivers Ranch. Ethan had taken care of everything, just as Tanner had suspected he would.
And he owed it to Ethan to show his gratitude. “Thanks,” he said, his voice tight in his throat. “You didn’t have to do all this.”
“I know I didn’t.” Ethan watched him with anxiety galloping through his green eyes. “So what are you going to do now?”
Tanner took a deep breath. “I guess my rodeo days are over.” The back of his throat felt like it was coated with sawdust, and he couldn’t believe his last rodeo had taken place in tiny Three Rivers, the speck of a town in the Texas panhandle he’d only visited twice before.
“You won the team roping event.” Ethan studied the whiteboard where Tanner’s medications and schedule had been written. “And you could rope again. Not this year. But again.”
“I’ve still never ridden Lucky Number Thirteen.” Tanner couldn’t decide how his voice sounded. He didn’t feel particularly angry, or devastated, or heartbroken. He just felt and sounded…hollow.
“Don’t hate me.” Ethan stood and put his cowboy hat back on like he was getting ready to leave. “But maybe you weren’t meant to ride him. Maybe being here in Three Rivers is what’s really lucky.”
Tanner riddled through his words. “Because I have you and Brynn to take care of me?”
“That’s one reason, sure.” Ethan ducked his head and said, “I’ll be back tomorrow night. I’ll see your ma off in the mornin’ too.” He reached for the door and had it open before Tanner could get his mouth to work.
“Ethan,” he called.
His friend turned back, his face open and unassuming.
“Thank you.” Tanner gave him a weak smile, which Ethan returned before leaving so the door could fall closed behind him. Tanner hated the silence that came with Ethan’s departure. And not even true silence, but a nothingness punctuated with the humming of machines and the occasional beeping from his monitors. At least he didn’t have the IV anymore, or the throat tube, or anything else restricting him to bed.
He got up, intending to get as strong as possible before he left the hospital. I won’t be a burden to Brynn and Ethan for long, he vowed as he entered the hall and began walking the circuit around the floor.
4
Summer enjoyed her day off by spending time in her garden and yard. Pruning bushes and eliminating weeds always brought a sense of satisfaction she couldn’t get anywhere else. Maybe as she bandaged wounds and administered pain relievers, as she watched patients get back on their feet and restart their lives.
She thought about Tanner Wolf, wondering why he of all people had wormed his way into her mind when she helped dozens of patients each week. Something about his dark eyes called to her. Something in them spoke of good times tinged with bad, of excitement dulled by tragedy, of power edged with temperance.
When she went into work the following day, she found Tanner’s chart in the discharge pile. She picked it up and leafed through it. He’d been walking more than his physical therapy required, and she noticed that he’d been enrolled in the home health program. With four broken ribs that would take months to heal, not to mention the broken leg, his name on the home health list wasn’t surprising.
She noted that a nurse hadn’t been assigned to him yet, and his discharge papers still needed to be signed by Dr. Verdad. Her heart jumped in a peculiar way, tripling when Belinda came around the corner, her car keys jangling.
“Good morning,” she sang as she shoved her purse into the closet behind the nurse’s station.
Summer dropped Tanner’s chart like it had been coated in acid, the metal on the clipboard clattering on the counter. Belinda looked at it and back to Summer. She grabbed it before Summer could cover it and danced away with a giggle.
“Belinda,” Summer warned.
She scanned the chart. “Ah, Tanner Wolf.” She met Summer’s eyes. “Daydreaming about date number two with the handsome cowboy?”
Summer folded her arms and cocked her hip. “There’d have to be a date number one for that to happen.”
“Oh, there has been.” Belinda put the file back and checked her assignment for the day. “He’s on my rotation. Want to switch?”
Summer wanted to blurt, “Yes!” but she sucked the word back into her throat. Belinda picked up the whiteboard eraser and removed Tanner’s name from her list. She used the red marker to add it to Summer’s, stopping short of drawing a heart next to his name.
“You should go see him,” she said. “Date number two.”
Summer rolled her eyes. “What was date number one?”
“You taking him over to his physical therapy appointment.”
“That wasn’t a date.” Summer reached for the coffee pot to busy herself so she didn’t have to meet her friend’s all-knowing gaze. “And how did you know that? You weren’t even here.”
“I have my ways.” Belinda giggled. “And you’ve never taken patients to their physical therapy.”
“Yes, I have.” Summer’s hand trembled the tiniest bit as she added sugar to her coffee.
“Name one time.”
Summer pressed her lips together, her mind cycling through the countless patients she’d worked with in the three years she’d been in the recovery ward. “Gwendolyn.”
“She doesn’t count.”
“Why not?”
“She’s your brother’s wife.”
“I still walked her over to the physical therapy unit.”
“And no one else until Mister Tanner Wolf.”
“He seemed like he could use a friend. That’s all.” Summer sipped her coffee and found it too bitter, despite the copious spoonfuls of sugar she’d added. She set it aside, her stomach rioting against the liquid anyway.
Belinda bumped her with her hip. “It’s okay to like him.”
“I don’t like him,” Summer said, though she actually did. “He’s a patient, that’s all.”
“Ah, good morning, l
adies.” Dr. Brady stepped over to the coffee pot. “Staff meeting in five minutes. Everyone else is in there.”
Summer followed Belinda into the staff room, where Dr. Brady had his weekend pastries already set out. Summer took a seat beside Margie and crossed her arms, like that would keep the brewing storm in her chest contained.
Dr. Brady talked about the assignments and the discharges. Summer only had Tanner on her list of patients being released that day, and she said she’d contact Dr. Verdad to get the paperwork going.
“It looks like he’ll be receiving home health,” Dr. Brady said next. “Who’s available for that?” He glanced at his notes. “He’ll need someone every day for the first two weeks, then three times a week for six more. Then we’ll re-evaluate.”
Belinda kicked Summer under the table, and she emitted a yelp of surprise. Dr. Brady focused on her. “Summer? You want to take Tanner’s case?”
Summer forgot how to speak. She only breathed because it was involuntary and she didn’t have to think about doing it.
“Yes,” Belinda said. “Yes, she does.”
Dr. Brady scratched something on his paper. “Summer Hamblin for Tanner Wolf. All right, let’s see. We have Mister Thompson coming in this afternoon. He’ll need a patient nurse.” He glanced up. “Margie?”
Summer laughed with everyone else as Margie steadfastly shook her head no. Dale Thompson seemed to be a regular in their wing, and he was cranky and combative on a good day. So the day he had surgery tended to show a side of him few could weather.
“I’ll help her,” Summer said, though the last time she’d worked with Dale, he’d thrown a full cup of water at her and ordered her to never come back.
“You’re just full of surprises today,” Dr. Brady said as he made another note.
Summer startled and turned to Belinda. “What does that mean?”
“Probably that you never volunteer for difficult assignments, nor have you been out for homecare in over a year.” She smirked at Summer.
“Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.” Summer sniffed and shifted away from Belinda.
Lucky Number Thirteen: An Inspirational Western Romance Novella (Three Rivers Ranch Romance Book 9) Page 2