by Trish Milburn - The Texan's Cowgirl Bride (Texas Rodeo Barons)
By the time the barrel racing began, she’d managed to partially clear her head. But she couldn’t help a glance at the grandstand, wondering if Travis was sitting among the crowd.
She forced her focus back to the competitors ahead of her. For the next several minutes, she needed nothing else to matter beyond working with Bluebell to make a good, safe ride.
Two spots ahead of her, Abby prepared for her run. Savannah held Bluebell steady as Abby sped into the arena, guiding Rosie expertly around the barrels, shaving precious microseconds off her time. Cheers rang out from the grandstands for Abby, a crowd favorite. As she rounded the last barrel, Abby urged Rosie toward the finish. It struck Savannah that Abby’s and Rosie’s expressions of determination weren’t all that different. They worked as one seamless unit all the way through and beyond the finish line.
Savannah scratched Bluebell between the ears and leaned forward. “Almost time, girl. Let’s show Abby and Rosie we can still give them a run for their money.”
As Tanya Gonzales made her ride, Savannah took several slow, calming breaths. When Tanya cut the last corner too close and knocked over the barrel, Savannah did her best to push that negative image out of her mind.
When Tanya finished her run and the overturned barrel was righted, Savannah took one last, fortifying breath then kicked Bluebell into a gallop. The horse responded immediately, knowing exactly what to do.
They flew around the first two barrels as if Bluebell had wings and her feet weren’t even touching the ground. Sensing a good time, one to rival Abby’s, Savannah urged Bluebell to fly even faster. The dirt of the arena, the white fencing, the crowd beyond—it was all a blur as they raced the clock.
Excitement surged through Savannah’s veins. This had always been when she felt most free, most in control of her life, as if she was astride Pegasus and letting the world fall away below her.
They rounded the final barrel, and the image of Tanya knocking over the barrel shot to the front of Savannah’s thoughts. Before she could prevent it, she stiffened, throwing off the delicate balance between Bluebell and herself.
Savannah gasped as she felt one of Bluebell’s feet slip on the loose dirt. In the next moment, she tipped sideways. It all happened so fast, she was helpless to catch herself. One moment she was having a fantastic ride. In the next, she toppled sideways, hitting the barrel with her ribs. She tried in vain to extricate herself, but she ended up on the ground, her leg pinned beneath Bluebell’s heaving body.
Pain shot through Savannah’s left side, causing tears to well in her eyes. Before she could catch her breath, she was surrounded by cowboys and Jonesy, the bullfighter.
“Hang on,” Jonesy said.
She still fought to take a deep breath as the guys pulled her free of Bluebell. Thankfully, the horse got to her feet.
“Is she okay?” It hurt to speak, but she had to know if Bluebell was injured.
“She looks fine,” said Logan Bradshaw, one of the newer pickup guys. “But we’ll get her checked.”
She blinked a few times against fuzzy vision, and then a paramedic was there checking her for broken bones and signs of concussion.
“I didn’t hit my head,” she managed to say. “But my side hurts like the devil.”
The cowboys made a circle around her as the paramedic pulled up the side of her shirt and examined her ribs. “I don’t see any obvious breaks, but you need to get an X-ray. And you’ll have some nasty bruising.”
Please just let it be a bruise. She hated the idea of having broken ribs, especially with her dad already at the ranch nursing his own rodeo injuries.
After the paramedic was satisfied it was safe to move her, Jonesy and one of the tie-down ropers helped her to her feet.
Jonesy plunked her hat back on her head. “I can think of better ways to get a bunch of guys’ attention.”
She laughed a little and immediately regretted it as pain shot from her side through her middle to her back like a hot poker. “Ah, damn you, Jonesy.”
“Sorry.”
Though she felt as if she’d been dropped off the top of a building, she managed to exit the arena under her own power, if a bit slowly. When the crowd started cheering, she gingerly raised her right hand in acknowledgment. Again, even in the midst of her pain, she wondered if Travis was among them or if he’d gone home after meeting up with Hailey and Rita.
Part of her hoped he’d left. This wasn’t exactly her finest moment.
As she exited the arena, Abby was there to meet her. “Damn, girl, you scared me half to death.”
“Can’t say I want to repeat it myself.”
The paramedic tried to guide her toward the ambulance.
“I don’t need to ride in the ambulance. Someone else might need it more. I’ll just drive to the hospital.”
“You really shouldn’t be driving, not until you’re fully checked out.”
“I’ll take her,” Abby said as they reached the back end of the livestock pens.
“No, I need you to take care of Bluebell, make sure she’s okay.”
“You heard what the man said,” Abby protested. “You took a nasty fall, and you don’t need to drive until we see if your brain got knocked loose.”
“I can take her.”
They looked toward the sound of the male voice. Yep, Travis Shepard stood just beyond the pens. Well, she guessed that answered her question of whether he’d left.
Savannah’s heart rate kicked up a couple of notches.
“That’s not necessary.”
“But it’s going to happen anyway.” Instead of the boy she’d known, he sounded every inch the army man he’d once been, brooking no argument.
Honestly, she didn’t want to argue. She wanted to get the trip to the hospital over with so she could take a hot shower and lie down.
She nodded. “Thank you.” Then she shifted her gaze toward where the vet was examining Bluebell.
“Don’t worry,” Abby said. “We’ll take good care of her. You just take care of yourself. And if you need me, call.”
Abby nodded then allowed Travis to take her arm to steady her as he guided her out into the field of parked vehicles.
“Sorry to bother you like this,” she said.
“It’s no bother. What are old friends for?”
“But you don’t get to see the rest of the rodeo.”
“Savannah, I’ve been to more rodeos than I can count. And I saw everything I was interested in at this one anyway.”
She told herself that he was simply referring to Hailey’s ride on the sheep, but a part of her that she fully blamed Abby for wondered if he might be including her in his statement, as well. If so, he was probably mighty disappointed at the moment.
When they reached his SUV, he opened the passenger door and helped her climb in. She winced against the pain, unable to hide it. Once she was seated, she let her head drop back and took a deep breath. But when she felt Travis’s hands move close, she jerked upright, causing fresh pain to slice through her.
Travis placed his palm against her shoulder. “Hey, careful. I’m just getting the seat belt.”
She felt like a fool for her overreaction, but he simply went about pulling the seat belt across her torso and fastening it, acting as if he hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. She wanted to thank him for that but didn’t want to draw any more attention to the fact that he made her jumpy.
Honestly, she didn’t know why he made her so on edge. They’d known each other for years, even if they hadn’t spoken for the past several.
She imagined a miniature version of herself sitting on her shoulder shaking her head. “Of course you know why,” her tiny clone said. “He’s as hot as a barbecue on the Fourth of July, and you haven’t had a real date in way too long.”
Savan
nah closed her eyes, trying to shove the words away. She hoped Travis chalked it up to her being in pain, and not anything to do with his nearness. She suddenly wished she could snap her fingers and transport herself back to the safety and solitude of her apartment above the Peach Pit. There she didn’t have to deal with physical pain and a jittery, most unexpected attraction that had thrown her for a loop.
In the distance, she heard the rodeo announcer call the name of the first bull riding contestant followed by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Bull riding always came last because it was the most popular of the rodeo events. Normally, she’d be sitting in the stands, too, chomping down on a cheeseburger. Now all she could think about was not breathing too deeply and the fact that she was being hauled to the hospital by a guy who made her heart beat way faster than average. This was not how she’d envisioned her night going.
She grunted as he eased his vehicle out of the field.
“Sorry. I’m being as careful as I can,” he said.
“I know.” Still, she was grateful when he pulled out onto smoother pavement.
“If it makes you feel any better, you were looking good to beat Abby’s time before the slip.”
She opened one eye as she rolled her head toward him. “Not really.”
He smiled, and her heart gave an extra thump as if she didn’t already know that Travis Shepard was a very good-looking man.
“What happened?”
“Just lost my concentration for a split second. That’s all it takes.” She just hoped that the momentary lapse hadn’t cost her Bluebell. Sure, the horse had walked out of the arena, but Savannah wouldn’t rest easy until the veterinarian gave her mare a clean bill of health. To be such powerful animals, horses were also fragile, more so than even their human riders.
It didn’t take long to reach the hospital, but Savannah felt every bump on the way. The pain ricocheted through her body each time the truck hit one.
She didn’t move, not even when Travis came around to her side of the vehicle and opened the door.
“Can’t I just sit here for the rest of the night?”
“I’d guess they’re not going to wheel the X-ray machine out to the parking lot.”
“Well, that’s mighty inconsiderate of them.”
Travis chuckled then reached across her to unbuckle her seat belt. Thankfully, this time she didn’t jump at his close proximity. Maybe her brain was finally remembering she wasn’t normally so jumpy around men. She was a grown woman who was around guys all the time—farm workers, her brothers, rodeo cowboys.
But none of them came to her rescue like a knight in shining armor, did they?
Oh, for Pete’s sake, he’d driven her to the hospital. Any decent human being would have done the same thing. She seriously needed that hot shower, some ibuprofen and about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.
She did her best not to grunt or wince as Travis helped her out of the truck, but her efforts proved futile.
Savannah leaned on his arm more than she wanted to as he helped her toward the E.R. entrance, but she wanted to collapse onto the sidewalk even less. “You had to have better things to do on a Friday night.”
“Nah. This is way more exciting than my normal Friday night.”
She glanced up at him. “That is one sad state of affairs right there.”
Travis laughed. “Don’t I know it.”
Despite her pain, she managed to elbow him a little bit for his teasing.
Once inside, he helped her to the check-in desk where she was finally able to lean against something other than Travis’s distracting warmth. Thankfully, the E.R. was next to empty, and they took her straight back. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Travis grab a magazine from the rack and settle himself on one of the institutional chairs that was probably about as comfortable as sitting on a boulder.
She gritted her teeth through every movement, but she still didn’t think anything was broken. She’d had broken bones before. In fact, the bad break of her wrist that she’d suffered several years ago while riding in Cheyenne had led to her always carrying her ID and medical insurance card in her back pocket, even while she was riding. She didn’t want a repeat of having to sit in an emergency room waiting for someone to bring her proof of insurance to her before she could get treated.
As she waited for the X-ray results, her stomach startled grumbling, reminding her that she hadn’t had anything to eat since she’d left home hours ago. But she was also so tired that she thought there was a pretty good chance she would fall face-first into any plate placed in front of her. At the moment, she’d give up her slice of the Baron inheritance for a candy bar.
She’d finally found a position that was remotely comfortable to sit in when the doctor came into the exam room.
“Good news,” he said. “No cracked or broken bones. You do, however, have deep bruising that’s going to hurt for a while.”
“That I figured out.”
He smiled. “You’re very lucky because there’s also no sign of concussion.”
“I’ve taken enough falls over the years to know to protect my head.”
“Just get some rest and take it easy until you heal. Take over-the-counter painkillers as needed.”
After thanking the doctor, she headed out to the waiting room to find a pretty nurse talking to Travis. When he spotted Savannah, he looked happy to see her.
“My friend is finished,” he said as Savannah approached him.
When the nurse turned and saw her, the petite blonde’s features showed disappointment before she returned her attention to Travis. “If you’re ever in Mineral Wells again, give me a call.”
Travis didn’t respond other than to show the nurse a small smile.
Savannah resisted the crazy urge to tell the nurse to scoot as if she was a nosy cat. “Looks like you made a friend while I was gone,” she teased.
He made a sound deep in his throat that told her he was way less interested in the conversation with the nurse than the nurse had been.
Savannah smiled. “I’ve heard of picking up dates in bars, even at church, but never an E.R. waiting room.”
Travis glanced past Savannah then tossed what looked like a business card in the trash. Savannah swallowed any more teasing when she wondered if his resistance to the nurse’s advances had more to do with the loss of his wife than anything about the nurse.
Travis bent to retrieve a white paper bag from the burger place down the street.
“If that is for me, you are my new best friend.”
“A burger and fries is all it takes? What does the milkshake get me?”
“A homemade peach pie?”
He nodded. “I call that a good deal.”
Her stomach growled again, louder than before.
Travis laughed. “Sounds like I was just in time.”
She pointed toward the bag. “Oh, give me that and hush.”
She took the first big bite of her burger as they walked out the door of the E.R. A slurp of the chocolate milkshake followed as Travis’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and made a “hmm” sound that told her he didn’t know who it was. “Hello?”
She nabbed a couple of seasoned fries from the bag as Travis listened to someone say something on the other end of the call.
“Okay.” He extended the phone to her. “It’s for you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It’s your dad.”
Chapter Three
Savannah cursed under her breath. Even before she accepted the phone from Travis, she knew someone had reported back to her dad that she’d been hurt. Sometimes it seemed as if Brock Baron had Big Brother–style eyes everywhere. It proved useful in business but was frustrating if you were his daughter.
“Dad? Why are
you calling this number?”
“Because you won’t answer your phone.”
“It’s back in Abby’s trailer.”
“And you’re at the hospital, something you failed to mention to your family.”
Figured she’d get hurt at the one rodeo where none of her brothers or Carly was competing.
She stopped walking and had to keep herself from tossing the bag holding her dinner in frustration. “I was a little busy getting an X-ray. And before you ask, I’m fine. Just a bruise.”
A monster bruise, but her dad didn’t have to know that.
“Why are you with Travis Shepard instead of medical professionals?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she let fly what part of her wanted to say, the part that she always held at bay. “Because I didn’t think a bruise warranted an ambulance ride, especially when the bull riding is much more likely to cause serious injuries that would require an ambulance. I’m fine.”
“I can send someone to get you.”
“No. I’m here to spend the weekend with Abby.”
“You’re not riding hurt.”
She bit her lip because he would have never said that to her brothers. “No, I won’t be riding tomorrow, but I can cheer on Abby, hang out with my friends.”
Her dad didn’t immediately respond, and she wondered if for once he was holding back saying what he was thinking. It was very unlike him, but she didn’t want to tempt fate by pointing that out.
“As long as you’re sure that you’re okay,” he finally said.
“I am. Sore, but okay. You know it’s not the first time I’ve taken a spill.”
“Come see me when you get home.”
He might want to assure himself she was truly not badly hurt, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he also was using the opportunity to talk to her about the store. What little she’d eaten grew heavy in her stomach.