by Grace Rawson
“So now we’re gonna head to the rodeo. I have to warn you it can get a little crazy, but I’ll get you a safe spot close to the pit.”
Ronnie helped me settle Ebony into her stall, and then we went to my truck. The rodeo wasn’t too far from the ranch and I was getting excited just thinking about riding a bull.
“What’s the longest time you’ve ever held on?” Ronnie asked me curiously. I thought back to my last ride.
“Five seconds is my longest. I try to do better each time, so one day I know I’ll get to my goal of eight seconds. That’s good enough for professional riding.”
Ronnie seemed impressed by that; really I was only three whole seconds off my mark. Though when on the back of that bull there’s so much that goes into holding on and not injuring yourself.
We pulled up to the parking lot of the rodeo, where there were already tons of trucks in the lot and people milling around, waiting for the show to start. I recognized a few faces, and people recognized me, as I held onto Ronnie’s hand and led her toward the stock. When left alone the bulls were just like any other cow, but once you did something they didn’t like, for instance get on their backs or put a flank strap on them, that’s when they got to bucking.
One of the stock contractors, Jerry, came up to us and clapped me on the shoulder. “Dayton! How you doin’ man? We gonna break your previous time today?”
“Damn right I am, I have to show off a little today,” I joked, and then winked at Ronnie. She smiled and rolled her eyes, and I caught Jerry staring at her ass. I slapped him over the head and his cowboy hat flew off, causing Ronnie and a few onlookers to laugh.
“What was that for? I was only noticing that the floor was unleveled,” Jerry said, grinning at Ronnie, his expression slightly embarrassed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am, I’m Jerry.”
Ronnie gave him her name and they shook hands. Jerry then told Ronnie that she could pat one of the bulls and told her exactly how to do it. I think she had a special ability when it came to the animals, they seemed to like her. Even Ebony liked her and usually Ebony didn’t like women.
“Hey Dayton! You’re up next buddy, get ready!” one of the event guys hollered at me. I waved before turning to Ronnie.
“You go ahead and get suited up Dayton. I’ll show Ronnie to one of the good seats,” Jerry was being too friendly, though I knew the guy and he was just trying to make up for staring at Ronnie inappropriately.
“Alright, but don’t you try and put no moves on my girl you hear?” I said. I then kissed Ronnie before Jerry led her to the stands.
*****
Ronnie
I was kind of nervous for Dayton. I had never been to a rodeo, but I knew there was a certain measure of danger for him in the sport. The announcer got the crowd excited for someone named Dallas riding a bull named Danger; that name was explanation enough. I watched Dallas lower onto Danger and then they opened the gates and let the bull out. The black beast reared and bucked, wanting to get Dallas off. The crowd went wild and Dallas held on for about three and a half seconds before he flew off and scrambled away from the pissed off bull.
Next was Dayton and he was riding a bull named Tiny. I could see the bull from where I sat, it was tan, had huge horns, and definitely wasn’t tiny. I heard Dayton shout and I looked up at him before he got onto the bull. He grinned from under his cowboy hat and I couldn’t help but smile in return. I blew him a kiss and then he got a good grip and lowered onto the bull’s back. The gates opened and the bull bucked into the pen.
Dayton rode the bull expertly and held on for a full heart stopping seven seconds. But then he lost his grip and flew off the back of the bull. He scrambled up just in time before the raging bull was about to stomp on his arm and he ran around the pen a few times, running from the bull, before they reopened the gate and locked Tiny in. The crowd was going crazy as the announcer said that Dayton had got the best time of the year so far. He beat his own previous times and was now only a second away now from attaining his goal of eight seconds. I cheered for Dayton and then he walked from the pen so the next rider could start his ride.
As soon as he left the pen though there seemed to be a commotion coming from where they kept the bulls. The crowd grew silent and then the gates started to rattle and shake as bulls were trying to escape. Someone yelled that there was a fire and my heart froze. Fire and bulls did not mix this could suddenly get very dangerous. People started streaming from the stands and I was pushed and shoved into the side aisles. There were exits for the bull riders on the north and south sides of the pen, and people were jumping over the partition that blocked the stands to get out as the normal exits were being bottlenecked.
I was right next to the south exit and it wouldn’t have taken much to hop over and be home free. I did the stupid thing and let a guy help me over the partition, where we started to hurry away from the pen through the south exit. It was smoky in the tunnel underneath the stands and soon I heard yelling…then I heard the sound of hooves and scared bulls running behind me. There was more yelling and I prayed that I didn’t get trampled as both the bulls and I ran away from the source of the smoke.
I felt first the brush of a horn and then a large angry head at the small of my back. I wasn’t fast enough to outrun the bulls. The bull gored me and I lost my footing and fell to the ground with a scream. I felt hooves stomp on my leg and arm before I could curl into a ball. The pain was tremendous and I just knew something was broken.
“Ronnie!” Dayton’s voice came out of nowhere. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening he scooped me up from the ground and managed to dodge two scared bulls running at us, pressing us against the side of the tunnel wall to let them run past. Once the sound of hooves was in front of us and the bulls no longer posed a threat, Dayton carried me out to the parking lot where ambulances and fire engines were already arriving on the chaotic scene. Bull handlers and riders were rounding up the frightened beasts as well as trying to calm them and a few horses as well.
By that point the adrenaline was leaving my system and the pain was pushing me into a state of shock. “Stay with me Ronnie, stay with me please baby, I know it hurts.” Dayton spoke urgently and carried me over to an ambulance where two paramedics took over and gave me a shot of something that soon numbed the pain a fraction.
“Her left leg is only badly sprained which is a miracle, but her left arm is in bad shape, it’s definitely broken. She might have a fracture in her ankle as well, it’s bruising pretty badly so there could be some internal bleeding. She has a horn injury in her back. We need to get her to the hospital immediately,” said the paramedic, speaking quickly as he and the other one loaded me into the ambulance. Dayton held on to my good hand the entire time. He looked like he was blaming himself. The paramedics let him ride with us.
“It’s not your fault…I was stupid…” My words were slurred from the pain medication and I couldn’t quite form my thoughts completely. It was my fault for jumping into the pen and he could have gotten hurt or even worse in trying to save me from the stampede.
The doors of the ambulance closed and we left for the hospital.
*****
Dayton
It took forever for the damn ambulance to get to the hospital. Ronnie was beyond out of it from the drugs the paramedics gave her and she kept mumbling that it was her fault she almost got killed. I shouldn’t have brought her to the damn rodeo in the first place. It was my fault she was even there. She was at the bottom of the stands and it would have taken her forever to get out by the proper exits before the fire spread. She did the only thing any scared person would do and I watched it all happen. Ronnie couldn’t hear me yelling for her when she jumped the partition. She would have had enough time to make it to the north exit. Instead of yelling at her I should have just ran for her and took her to where I knew it was safe.
She had broken bones as well as a light injury from being gored, but it could have been worse. I pressed her hand to my mouth and
she mumbled about it not being my fault once more.
The ambulance finally arrived at the freaking hospital and the paramedics rushed her into the emergency room. I couldn’t follow them after a certain point and all I could do was pace in the hall after telling one of the nurses her name.
It seemed like forever that they were in the ER, behind one of the curtains working on her. Many anxious people from the rodeo stood and paced in the waiting room.
“Dayton, Dayton!” I heard my brother’s voice and turned to see him rushing up with my parents. “We heard about the fire and the stampede, are you all good?”
My ma was doing her own assessment of me, checking my arms and legs and feeling my ribs for any breaks.
“Yeah I’m good, but Ronnie…she ain’t good man, she got trampled,” I gestured helplessly towards the door separating the waiting room and the room that held Ronnie.
“Shit man, how the hell did that happen?”
Ben and my parents were all concerned for Ronnie. They had each had a chance to meet her while she was on the ranch for my interview, and earlier in the day at the rodeo, and they really liked her. I explained what happened woodenly and then continued to pace.
“Dayton, don’t work yourself up too much. Ronnie will need you to be steady for her when they let you see her,” said my pop. He tried to get me to have a seat and I settled for standing. It took forever and all the other people waiting to see their loved ones seemed to all be called back before a doctor came out calling Ronnie’s name. I was in front of the doctor quicker than my family could stand from their seats.
“Are you all family to Ronnie Stanton?” the doctor asked skeptically. Almost in tandem my brother and parents said I was her husband. The doctor looked skeptical still, but he let it slide thankfully. “Well she’s doing okay. She’s in pain, I’ll give you that and she has a broken radius that we were able to set. She also has a fractured tibia, down by her ankle, and it’s bruised higher up along her shin. The wound in her back was thankfully not too deep. We stopped the bleeding and patched that up.” We all nodded along as the doctor spoke. I just wanted to see Ronnie and make sure she was okay.
“Don’t worry though, all of her injuries she’ll definitely recover from. We’re getting ready to admit her to the orthopedic wing, there you can see her in about ten minutes,” I nodded and the doctor went back into the emergency room. I followed silently behind him and snuck in to see Ronnie. The nurses were just snapping a gown on her as I stepped behind the curtain.
“I’m sorry sir, but you can’t be in here right now,” one of the nurses said sternly. Ronnie looked up and her eyes brightened when she saw me.
“I won’t be any trouble, I just have to see her,” I pleaded with the nurse, who glanced at Ronnie before sighing and turning her back to pretend I wasn’t there. I went over to Ronnie and held on to her hand tightly.
“Ronnie…I’m so sorry, I should’ve—”
Ronnie gave me a stern look which stopped my apology.
“Don’t, it wasn’t your fault. If anything I put you in danger. You could have gotten hurt or worse trying to get me out of the way of those bulls,” Ronnie sounded groggy, but otherwise aware and kept my mouth shut instead of arguing with her.
“I’m just sorry you got hurt,” I said, remorse heavy on my voice. Ronnie simply grinned, perplexing me. I glanced at the nurse who shrugged and pointed to the IV bag hanging that must have definitely had pain meds in there.
“I’ll be fine I promise. I could have suffered a lot worse if it wasn’t for you acting so quickly Dayton…” Ronnie’s expression sobered a bit and she looked at me with surprising clarity. “I love you,” I knew she was technically under the influence of medication, but her admission made my heart soar all the same. I beamed at her and she giggled.
“I love you too Ronnie,” I said simply before I kissed her softly on the lips.
I stayed with Ronnie while the nurses brought her up to the orthopedic floor and settled her in. She was going to need a couple casts the next morning and then she would be free to go that afternoon. They simply had braces and stints on her for the time being.
The nurses left the room, and we were alone.
“Dayton I know I have pain medication, but I was serious, I do love you…”
“I love you too Ronnie, and I’ll say it a thousand times over once you’re off the pain medication.”
Ronnie giggled and then soon dozed off.
*****
Ronnie
I had never been sickly growing up. I only caught the flu once and never had any allergies. I certainly never had any broken bones. I think having a broken bone, a fracture and a horn wound was to make up for all of that somehow. Being in the hospital was definitely not fun and the pain of my arm not being one unbroken length as it should have been was excruciating. Whenever the pain would get to be too much for me the nurses would give me pain medication and that just made me horribly groggy.
I knew my parents were there and Dayton hardly ever left my side, his family came to visit me a few times too which was sweet of them. But Dayton went above and beyond; he made sure I didn’t have to do any unnecessary movements and catered to me as if I were way more injured than I actually was. Which earned him points with my normally stoic father who thought no man was good enough for me. By the time I was discharged from the hospital my dad and Dayton were even talking about football. Who knew Dayton was a Dolphins fan as well?
A few days after the incident I was back home and being spoiled by my parents as well as Dayton and his family when they came over to visit. Dayton was there with me every day though. I was actually surprised he hit it off with my parents so well. I knew my mother would love him, but my dad didn’t try to scare him away, which was rare. When I was in the hospital I was on a lot of pain medication and I vaguely remember ‘I love you’ being thrown around. I just wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was Dayton and me saying it.
Dayton kept looking at me as if he had a secret and was waiting for me to remember what it was; I just wasn’t sure if that was it. I mean I did love Dayton, already, he was everything I was pretty sure I would ever want, plus he got along well with my dad so that was an added bonus.
It was just after dinner and my parents had gone home for the night. They only lived one county over and it was an hour drive to my place. Dayton just came back upstairs after cleaning up the kitchen and he was holding a cup full of ice cream.
“You’re spoiling me Dayton,” I said, grinning, reaching for the cup and spoon. Dayton chuckled at me and got into bed.
“I want to spoil you. I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting to spoil you…even in the afterlife!”
I laughed and Dayton grinned while he reached for the television remote to put on a movie.
“You plan on being with me through until the afterlife?” I asked him, only half jokingly. Dayton looked at me and nodded, his expression serious then.
“I love you and I want to be with you for as long as I exist,” his words touched my heart and I was speechless for a moment as tears clogged my throat.
“So that was real? You actually said you loved me in the hospital?” I asked, my voice thick with unshed tears. I kind of hated that I was being such a girl in that moment. One would think we were about to say ‘I do.’
“Of course it was real, I also said that I’d say it a thousand times over once you were off the pain meds,” Dayton smiled at me and I leaned over to kiss him softly on the lips. I kissed him twice more before pulling away.
“I love you too Dayton Fields,” I said and his smile widened to full on breathtaking. I couldn’t believe this man was all mine.
*****
A few months later, I was successfully head over heels for Dayton as well as moved in with him on the Ranch. I had finally healed up and back to normal mostly, though my shin still hurt a bit whenever I ran. It was my birthday and my parents as well as Dayton’s family and our friends were at the house celebrating. It was dusk
and the seemingly endless fields were beautiful under the darkening sky.
Dayton tugged me in the direction of the field out front. “Come on, let’s go make your birthday wish on the first star,” he said.
We walked out a ways from the house, to our sort of special spot, where that cow had interrupted us, and Dayton and I found the first star in the darkening sky. I closed my eyes and made a wish while Dayton held onto my hand. I felt a large nose nudge my back and I knew another cow must have wandered far from the rest of the herd. I opened my eyes and looked down at it, she had a note attached to her tail. I snagged it before she continued on her way. I glanced up at Dayton questioningly and he shrugged, seemingly just as clueless as I was. I opened the note and in Dayton’s handwriting was the question, ‘Will you marry me?’
My heart leapt in my chest and tears threatened to fall from my eyes.
Dayton reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful silver engagement ring. There was an impressive diamond on it. The breath fled from my body then. I was surprised, even though I shouldn’t have been. I hadn’t been expecting him to actually ask me right on the spot like that. Though I did know he had seemed to be hiding something for the past few days.
“Ronnie Stanton, you are all I’m ever going to want in this life and however many ever more come after that. I love you and I want to marry you so…will you marry me?”
My eyes did fill with tears then; his gaze was sincere and he spoke without any hesitation. I knew I’d be happy with Dayton as long as I was with him, and there was no one else I could see myself being with for the rest of my life.
“Baby please say something, you’re killing me with all those tears,” Dayton said and I remembered I hadn’t actually said yes yet. I giggled and then nodded before the words fell unhindered from my lips.
“Yes, of course I’ll marry you Dayton,” Dayton’s breathtaking smile was back and he put the ring on my finger. He kissed me and then held me in a gentle embrace, then laughed, overjoyed. Dayton kissed away my happy tears and then picked me up and spun me around before kissing me again. I couldn’t help but think about how much I loved him.