Bareback

by D. Jackson Leigh

  “God.” Tory gingerly felt her leg. “It feels like it’s completely dislocated.”

  Somebody had called the paramedics, and Jessica bit off a scream as they splinted her leg and lifted her to the stretcher. “Where’s Rampage?”

  “He’s right over there,” Laura pointed.

  Jessica tried to rise from the stretcher when she saw who was holding Rampage. The pain was a hot brand, a loud noise in her head, and she felt everything was slipping away from her…Skyler, the trials, Rampage. She wanted to strike out at something or someone. “I don’t want her near my horse. Get him away from her,” she insisted. Does that bitch have to put her hands on everything that belongs to me? She grabbed Tory’s torn sleeve. “Get my horse away from her.”

  “I’ll take care of Rampage for you, Jess,” Tory said as she gently pushed Jessica back down to the stretcher. “These guys need to take you to the hospital. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  Jessica lay back on the stretcher and closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  Tory hesitated while she made a quick decision. “Kate, before you go, I need to tell you why Skyler asked you not to let her ride till I got here.”

  Kate’s shoulders slumped as she listened. “I can’t believe none of us picked up on what she was doing.”

  “Skyler blames herself,” Tory said.

  “No good can come from placing blame now. We all ignored our better judgment.” Kate put her arm around Laura and kissed her cheek. “Come on. Let’s go tell her we love her.”

  *

  The lights of the emergency room were bright and Sarah squinted as she stepped in from the darkness of the parking lot. She spied Kate at one end of the emergency room waiting area, gesturing emphatically as she talked on her cell phone. Sarah leaned against the wall and listened to Kate’s side of the conversation.

  “Look, if he’s the best orthopedic surgeon in the state, then I need him down here tonight.” Kate gesticulated impatiently. “There’s got to be something I could use to get him here. Does he like golf? Tell him that if he’ll come down here, I’ll give him my four tickets to the Masters golf tournament next month. Not only that, I can make sure he gets to play the course after the tournament as the guest of one of the members. That’s right. Augusta National.”

  A huge smile broke across Kate’s face. “Great. Since you guys are at Duke, he’s only about an hour away. We won’t let them do anything until he gets here. Yes, yes. I’ll see if I can cut the red tape for him to use their operating room. What’s his cell phone number?”

  Sarah dug into her jacket pocket and handed Kate a felt-tipped pen. She used it to write the number on her own arm. As she ended the call, she turned back to Sarah. “You are here because…?”

  “Shut up and give me your phone.”

  Kate had never been much good saying no to Sarah. She meekly obliged and listened to another woman who knew how to get what she wanted. Sarah even smiled sweetly as she spoke.

  “Margaret? Hi. It’s Sarah Duke.” She exchanged the usual niceties before asking, “Is your handsome husband home? I’ve got sort of an emergency here that I need his help with. Thanks.”

  She tapped her foot and covered the phone, telling Kate, “Always go straight to the top.” The smile appeared again. “Robert, how are you? Well, I’ve been better. Actually, I need your help. No, I’m fine, but a friend of mine has been rather seriously injured in a riding accident. Her orthopedic surgeon is on his way here, and he’s probably going to need to do surgery in your hospital. His name…” She raised an eyebrow at Kate.

  “Dr. Richard Struthers,” Kate filled in.

  “Did you catch that, Edward? So, you’ve heard of him? No offense to your doctors, but my friend’s career may rest on this surgery and her injury has a complicated history. Thanks, I knew you would help. Give the kids a hug for me.”

  Kate tucked the phone into her pocket, impressed despite herself. “Thanks.”

  “It’s the least I could do,” Sarah said. “I know how much Jessica means to Skyler. I failed her as a lover, but I don’t intend to fail her as a friend.”

  *

  Jessica blinked and frowned when her eyes shifted to Sarah standing in the doorway. Damned if this woman wasn’t everywhere she turned. “What are you doing here?” Bitterness soaked her voice. “Come to gloat already?”

  Kate had told her that Sarah moved a mountain of red tape so Dr. Struthers could use this hospital’s operating room, and she wanted a few minutes alone with her. Jessica wasn’t impressed. She suspected an agenda.

  Sarah sat down in the chair next to the bed. “I won’t take much of your time. I know you are in a lot of pain, Jessica, but I really am just here to help.”

  Jessica glared at her. “I saw you kiss Skyler.”

  “What you saw wasn’t what you think,” Sarah said. “One of the security staff told me you left in a cab with a friend of his driving.”

  Did she have spies everywhere?

  “What I saw was that you just can’t stay out of my lover’s life,” Jessica threw at her.

  “You listen to me, damn it. I went there to apologize to Skyler for being a spineless idiot and betraying her. What I did hurt both of us very much, but it made me grow up a lot. That kiss was a good-luck peck.”

  “You didn’t look that happy when you left.”

  “Haven’t you ever felt ashamed?” Sarah asked. “From what I hear you’ve made a few of your own mistakes.”

  “Yes, and I don’t need you to remind me,” Jessica said bitterly.

  Sarah surprised her by laughing. “I can see why Sky loves you. You’re as stubborn as those horses she loves to win over.”

  “Thanks. I think,” Jessica said wearily. She wanted Skyler. Tears prickled and she swallowed a small sob.

  “I just wanted you to know something,” Sarah said. “I told Skyler I’m happily married to a wonderful man now and I’m really happy to see that she seems to have found the same thing with you. She deserves to be happy, and apparently you’re the one who does that for her.”

  Sarah’s declaration made it impossible to hold on to the anger that was keeping her fears at bay. Jessica blinked and wiped at the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks.

  Sarah stood up. “Give Skyler a chance, Jess, and she’ll stand by you through thick and thin. She’s the strongest person and the purest heart I’ve ever known.” She patted Jessica on the arm. “Right now, I need to get home or my husband will be wondering if I’ve run off with a stable hand…or a trainer.”

  “Sarah,” Jessica choked out. “Thanks.”

  *

  “Miss, visitors must have a pass to come back here.” A nurse hurried after Skyler. “If you will just wait at the admissions desk, we’ll see if your friend is still in the ER and can have a visitor.”

  Skyler shook off the woman’s hand, moving quickly from room to room, pulling doors open. “Jess? Jess? Where are you?” she shouted in the hallway.

  Kate stepped out of a doorway in front of her, muttering, “Bull in a china shop.”

  She jumped back as Skyler burst into the room and rushed to Jessica’s bedside. She looked Jessica over quickly and put her hand to her love’s cheek, desperate with worry. “Jess, are you okay? Did they give you something for pain? What did the doctor say?”

  Jessica reached up to gather her close. Clinging to her, she sobbed like her heart was breaking.

  “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize you were doing this to yourself,” Skyler said. “I should have seen it and stopped you.”

  Jessica sobbed even harder, and Skyler whispered words of reassurance as she kissed the tears from her face. After a while, Jessica’s tears subsided, and Skyler handed her some tissues to blow her nose.

  Jessica’s red-rimmed blue eyes swept up. “I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just didn’t know how to tell you. And the longer I waited to tell you, the more afraid I was that you wouldn’t love me anymore if you knew I wasn’t being
honest.”

  Skyler held Jessica close and kissed her deeply. “Oh, Jess. I know you weren’t trying to hurt me. I’m not going anywhere. You own me, heart and soul.”

  Jessica rested her head on Skyler’s shoulder. “And you own my heart. I’ve been scared to death I might lose you.”

  “You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” Skyler gently joked. “You’re stuck with me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Ms. Black…Jessica, I don’t think you understand the full impact of your injury,” Dr. Struthers said. “Although you should be able to walk, or golf, or maybe ride horses at a leisurely pace, you’ll never be able to participate again in sports that require running or jumping…or jumping horses.” In a gentle tone, he finished, “I’m afraid your professional riding career is over.”

  Jessica sagged back against the pillows, her eyes fixed on a distant spot somewhere beyond the people standing around her bed.

  Skyler watched her pale face for a moment, and then asked, “Jess, are you okay?”

  Jessica’s eyes moved to Dr. Struthers. “Why can’t you fix it?”

  The surgeon returned to the X-ray he’d just discussed in detail. “Those ligaments were too weak to hold the femur and tibia bones in place, so when you continued to jump horses you pounded the ends of those bones into the lateral and medial meniscus.”

  “Cartilage?”

  “Yes, the cartilage is the knee’s shock absorbers.” He used his pen to point to certain areas of the X-rays. “Once those were pounded flat, the ends of the bones were left to pound together, slipping and sliding in directions they shouldn’t. At that point, you must have been injecting a great deal of local anesthetic into that knee to dull the pain.”

  He paused once more and drew a deep breath to deliver the verdict. “The impact of that final jump has done significant damage to the ends of your femur and tibia. There really is no other viable option here but total knee replacement.”

  Jessica closed her eyes a moment, struggling against the haze created in her head by the pain medicine. Finally she asked, “What’s the recovery time?”

  “We should do the surgery immediately…tonight. You’ll have to stay in the hospital a few days, and then you’ll go home with a walker or crutches. The total healing time really depends on your dedication to a regular physical therapy routine. Usually it takes three months, but most total knee replacement patients are elderly. Your young age and excellent physical condition should shorten that period.”

  “But even though my knee has been replaced, it won’t be as good as new?”

  “No,” he said.

  “I understand,” Jessica said dully. With a long, sorrowful look at Skyler, she said, “Let’s just get on with it.”

  The surgeon nodded. “They’ll come get you in a few minutes to take you to the operating room. I’ll see you upstairs.”

  After Dr. Struthers left the room, Skyler moved to sit on the bed, facing Jessica and holding both of her lover’s delicate hands in her own larger ones. They stared at each other for a long moment until Jessica finally spoke. “See what you’ve gotten yourself into? Now you’ve got a crippled girlfriend and a useless rider when you were just about to make your name as a trainer.”

  Skyler smiled at her. “What I’ve got is the most beautiful woman in the world in love with me. Crippled? I thank God it was your knee, not your neck you busted. And, maybe now I won’t have to endure long months away from you while you travel the world with the Olympic team. That was your dream, Jess, not mine. I’m very happy working for Kate and with the kids at the center. I’m ecstatically happy when I can crawl into bed at night and wrap my arms around you. I’m in heaven when I can wake up and the first thing I see are those baby blue eyes.”

  Jessica stared down at their entwined fingers. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”

  “I’m telling you the truth.” Skyler looked into her eyes. “Winning an Olympic medal is all about spending the rest of your life looking back at what you once achieved. Being with you makes me look forward to what’s in our future.”

  Jessica gathered the front of Skyler’s shirt in her hand and pulled her down for a soft, lingering kiss. “I love you, Skyler Reese.”

  “And I love you. Don’t you ever doubt that again.”

  *

  “Hey, sleeping beauty,” Skyler said softly, many hours later. “How are you feeling?”

  Jessica blinked slowly. “You’re all still here.”

  “We’re leaving now,” Laura said, stroking her daughter’s hair.

  Skyler had insisted the rest of them return to the hotel so Jamie could sleep in a proper bed instead of a chair in the waiting room, where she’d been ever since Skyler arrived hours earlier. Laura and Kate kissed Jessica good-bye and waited for Jamie to hug Skyler. The girl’s injuries had been the second major shock of their day, but realizing that too much fuss would make her uncomfortable, they’d just smiled and made her feel welcome.

  As they left the room, Jessica’s eyes closed for a minute, then opened to focus on Skyler again. Her voice was hoarse, but clear. “Hey good lookin’. You haven’t been chasing any nurses while I was out, have you?”

  Skyler grinned, and dropped a soft kiss on Jessica’s lips. “None that I could catch. Guess I better stick to the slow beautiful ones with a bum leg.”

  Jessica smiled, but keeping her eyes open was obviously a struggle. “Sleepy,” she confessed.

  “Then go to sleep, baby. I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Skyler said, stroking the dark head and delivering another quick kiss as Jessica lost the battle to stay awake.

  *

  The weary group breathed a sigh of relief when they walked into the welcoming hotel suite. Kate settled Jamie in Skyler and Jessica’s room, then fixed stiff toddies and delivered them to the balcony where Laura was staring into the darkness.

  “Jess is going to be fine,” she said as she handed Laura her drink. “Skyler won’t take her eyes off her all night.”

  Laura took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know. Jess is tough, and she has Skyler now. She’ll figure things out and bounce back.”

  Kate stood behind Laura and wrapped her arms around her. “Feeling a little pushed aside?”

  Laura leaned back against her solid frame. “Well, maybe a little. Our little girl is all grown up. But I was thinking about something else, Kate.”

  The love so evident between Skyler and Jessica had made Laura’s heart ache. Watching her daughter cling to Skyler for strength and hearing Skyler’s heartfelt confession of love played over and over in her mind. She remembered a time when she and Kate were bonded like that.

  It had been preying on her mind that her excuse for being in North Carolina, to see Jess compete, had come to an end. Only a few days more and she’d be packing her bags to return home. Alone again. Much worse than just being alone, she would be without Kate. She finally admitted to herself that only Kate could fill the empty space in her. Not another lover, not a child…even as much as she loved Jessica. Time was running out to lay her cards on the table.

  “I was thinking about how we make stupid decisions when we’re young,” she said. “Jess numbing her knee so she could keep training. And me sending you away all those years ago because of my insecurities.”

  Laura’s eyes filled with tears. She laid her head back against Kate’s shoulder and turned her face to look up into her hopeful eyes. “After all this time, I still love you, Kate Parker. This has been the happiest I’ve been since I let you walk out of my life. If I could go back and live those years all over again, I would live them with you instead of without you.”

  Kate caressed Laura’s cheek, and bent to softly reacquaint herself with her one true love’s lips. “And what do you want to do with the years ahead of us, baby,” she murmured against Laura’s warm mouth.

  Laura turned to face her, offering a smoldering kiss that gave her answer. They were both shaky when they finally parted. Laura
could feel Kate’s heart pounding in her chest. Kate took her hand and stepped toward the door to the suite.

  “Come to bed with me, Laura,” she coaxed. “It’s been way too long.”

  Laura turned shy, staring at her hand in Kate’s. “Kate, I’m not twenty years old anymore. This isn’t the body you remember.”

  Kate chuckled softly as she drew Laura again into a warm embrace. “You think I look the same?” Her eyes twinkled as she cocked her head. “You do remember how, don’t you?”

  “Why don’t you try me?” Laura’s mischievous look was the one Kate often recalled on lonely evenings. It always melted her. “Let’s see how many of your hot spots I remember.”

  *

  The sight of Sarah in Jessica’s hospital room stopped Skyler cold. The two women smiled at her, enjoying her discomfort at having them both in the same room together.

  “Hi, Sarah.” Skyler strode over to take Jessica’s hand and give her a light kiss. “Where’s Laura?”

  “I sent her back to the hotel to spend some time with Kate,” Jessica replied smugly. “I don’t suppose the Parker heiress filled you in on what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on?” When Skyler returned to the hotel a few hours earlier to shower and change her clothes, Kate had been in an unusually good mood. But she hadn’t shared any news. “Is it about Jamie?”

  Sarah and Jessica exchanged conspiratorial smiles. Surprisingly, Sarah was the one to speak up. “It seems that the sparks flying off you and Jess have ignited the old flame between Kate and Laura.”

  Skyler’s eyebrows shot up. “No kidding. And I thought that old dog didn’t hunt anymore.”

  Jessica laughed. “Mom and Kate aren’t that old, you know. Mom is only fifty-two and Kate just turned fifty-six. We’ll be that old before you know it. Look at me. I’m already using a walker.”