by Mary Calmes
“Really?”
“Oh yes, really.”
“A bad one?”
“I’m not sure, so we’re going to take a trip to the hospital.”
“I’m coming with you,” Glenn told me.
My smile was wide. “Two trips in one day. How bright are we?”
“Oh, yeah,” the nice lady paramedic said sarcastically. “This whole rodeo thing is brilliant.”
“We’ll follow,” Everett told me.
“No, no, no.” I grabbed his hand as I saw spots. “Stay here and pick up any trophies and make sure that the ranch participation and mine is recorded.”
“One of us needs to go with you,” he argued with me, and I noticed that his expression, usually twisted into a scowl, was really very concerned.
“Don’t worry. Rand really isn’t going to hurt you.”
“It’s you I’m worried about, Stef, not Rand.”
And I would have said something comforting, but I suddenly needed to throw up.
THE concussion was mild, my reaction to it, for whatever reason, was not. I was sensitive to light, I was nauseous, and my head was throbbing so hard that they gave me a shot of pain medication. After that, I was just fine. They wanted me to stay overnight, but I didn’t want to. I had to be in a truck at four in the morning.
“I’ll watch him,” Glenn promised the doctor, and I waved.
My ankle, as it turned out, was not the problem. I had broken my right fibula, which was better than breaking my tibia or my ankle, but which still hurt like crazy. I was given a second dose of pain medication after they put my leg, from knee to foot, in a cast.
“I’m surprised you didn’t break your neck the way you landed,” Glenn told me, and from the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice I was guessing that I had scared the crap out of him. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
I tipped my head at his cast. “Grazing rights, asshole, just like you.”
“But I’ve ridden a bull before.”
“Which makes the fact that you got hurt just like I did that much funnier,” I laughed at him. “What time is it anyway?”
“It’s a little after six,” he told me.
“Well, are you driving me back to the rodeo, or are we walking?”
“I have a date,” he told me. “We’re catching a cab.”
I agreed and asked for pain medication to go. The doctor, Norman Aust, did not want me to leave, but after I lied and said that Glenn would watch me like a hawk, he agreed to let me go.
“Sorry,” I told him as I hobbled out on my crutches, “I think doc thinks that you’re my boyfriend.”
“That’s alright,” Glenn grumbled, walking behind me.
“Oh yeah? It’s okay my doc thinks you’re a homo? Thinks you’re queer?”
“God, you are fucked up. Get in the cab.”
I got in and kept up a steady, rambling dialogue for Glenn all the way back to the campgrounds. Once we were there, he was going to walk me back to my trailer, but I had called ahead, and Everett and Dusty were there to meet me.
“Hey!” I greeted them, and the looks I got of absolute horror were funny.
They talked while I hobbled, and halfway there I stopped and explained to them that the whole walking with crutches thing was exhausting.
“This really sucks.” I smiled at them. “And don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I’m not crazy.”
Everett just shook his head as he took my crutches away, put my arm over his shoulder and waited while Dusty positioned himself under my other one. I moved a lot faster with them on either side of me.
My shower was an experience, and I wanted a nap when I was done. Wrapping my cast in garbage bags was a pain in the ass, but since I couldn’t get it wet, I had no choice. And I was dirty and gritty and there was sand in my hair, so I had to get clean. Bella put her head in my lap when I was done and didn’t even try and wrestle my socks from me like she normally did. I stretched one of my black socks over the outside of the bottom of the cast because otherwise, my toes would freeze off. I had no idea how I was going to drive or ride Ruby or do anything at Rayland’s ranch. I was thrilled the rodeo was officially over.
Dusty and Everett and the others came to collect me, and you would have thought that all of them had broken their legs instead of me. I had to take some Vicodin, and because I hadn’t eaten all day, it made me kind of loopy and a little queasy. I needed food.
They all stuck close to me through dinner, and then I was escorted to the bleachers. I sat there and clapped and cheered, whistled and yelled when every category was called. The only two events that another ranch won were the bull riding that Glenn Holloway had taken and the saddle bronc, which the Twin Oaks took. But my ride was not the worst, only second to the worst, which filled me with a small amount of pride. I was pleased to see Glenn walk up onto the stage and receive the appreciation of the crowd. Rachel Webber, his date for the evening, was glowing.
A different band took center stage the second night; this one was tame, all covers, no original music at all. But they were decent, and the dancing was in full swing as I was looking for Rayland Holloway. I wanted to find out where to meet him at four in the morning. I didn’t see the man anywhere, but I saw Glenn, and even though I didn’t want to interrupt his date with Rachel, I crossed to the table where they were.
“Stef,” Glenn greeted me with a warm smile, standing up to take my hand. “I never did thank you for earlier. Apparently that bull was gonna stomp all over me if you hadn’t gotten there when you did. I guess a lot of people got it on their phones, and between last night and today, I think you’re a hit on YouTube.”
And that was funny for like a second and a half.
Rand.
I was so dead if he saw it.
I forced a smile. “Well, you returned the favor when you went with me to the hospital, so thank you back.”
“You all right on those?” He gestured at the crutches.
“Sure.”
“Maybe you should rest, huh?”
“Maybe,” I agreed, looking at Rachel. “You look beautiful tonight.”
She flushed beet red, and I bent and kissed her cheek.
“And you are very good for my ego, Mr. Joss.” She beamed up at me. “I’m so glad you’re all right. You gave us all quite a scare earlier.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
My eyes were back on Glenn and his on me. “Are you still coming home with us tomorrow?”
“I am if you tell me where to meet you.”
“I’ll come by in the morning and get you and your horse and your damn dog,” he told me, his eyes glowing.
“She’s a cute dog. You’ll like her.”
“My dad says she’s scary as hell.”
“She won’t be scary to you.”
“Good.” He nodded.
“I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“In the morning.”
I left them and found a seat to watch the line dancing. It was a much smaller crowd than the previous night, and most people were leaving, as it was already Sunday night a little after nine and most people had to work the following day. I was enjoying watching Rand’s men dancing and didn’t even notice when Carly Landry took a seat beside me until she cleared her throat, and I turned my head.
“Hi,” I greeted her.
“I’m so sorry about my brother, Stefan.”
“It’s okay.” I went back to watching the dancers, using my crutch to move a chair over next to me so I could elevate my leg. “He loves you. I get it.”
“But it doesn’t excuse him hitting you.”
“I’ll live,” I told her, adjusting my ankle on the chair to take the weight of the cast.
“I think that….”
I waited a second before I looked back at her. “You think what?”
Her face was pinched with pain. “I’m sorry, but I think just like my brother does, that this is a phase for Rand. He’s going to come out of this, and when he
does, he’s going to come looking for me.”
She was holding on to that hope so hard, so tight. I was going to say something when my phone rang. Seeing the number, his number, on my display, my heart sank.
“Excuse me,” I said, slowly getting to my feet, the crutches hard to maneuver while I was trying to answer my phone.
“Oh no, Stef, please stay.”
“I have to take this. My….” I hesitated. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Best friend wants to talk to me.”
“Oh, of course.” She smiled at me. “But please do come back.”
“Do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
I left one crutch leaning on the table. “Will you ask my friend Everett to bring this back to the trailer for me? You remember him from the awards, right?”
“Sure.” She smiled at me.
I nodded, and started walking away with one crutch as I hit the answer button on my phone. “Hi, I missed you.”
“Did you? I don’t know how. You’ve been so busy saving people from fuckin’ bulls!”
“Wait—”
“Jesus Christ, Stef, you must’ve taken ten years off my life with that shit!”
Oh, he was mad, and he didn’t even know the best part yet. “See—”
“Your ass better be in the truck headed for home right fucking now!”
I laughed at him. “That’s actually not possible.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Well, I promised—”
“And what the fuck were you doing parading around in those jeans and that shirt last—”
“Parading?”
“You are not allowed to put on your fuck-me clothes if I ain’t there to do the fucking!”
And for whatever reason, I could not stop smiling. “Is that right?”
The growl of frustration made my smile nuclear.
“Did you think I was hot?”
“Stefan, so help me God, I am going to beat the living—”
“Who sent it to you?”
“Stef—”
“Who?” I laughed, wondering if it was Everett or Chris or Dusty.
“Pierce.”
“That little narc,” I chuckled. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
“You are in so much trouble.”
“Why? I came to save the grazing rights, Rand. How can I be in the wrong?”
“Did it ever occur to you that I own a very successful business and that one of the marks of a good businessman is being organized? What makes you think I didn’t know the damn rodeo was this weekend?”
“You had no idea,” I told him, “until someone told you—I’m thinking Zach.”
He grunted.
“Don’t get all self-righteous on me. That’s bullshit.”
“Fine, I didn’t know, but I wouldn’t have wanted you there alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have half the ranch with me!”
“But I’m not there!”
“So what? You’re where you needed to be, and I’m where I needed to be. It all worked out for the best.”
“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you missed this rodeo for the last two years?”
“Because it had nothing to do with you or us, so why would I mention it?”
“Rand, I don’t just wanna know about stuff that affects you and me. I wanna know about everything. And I definitely want to know everything about your family.”
There was a long silence, and I had to stop and lean on the fence. I really needed to lie down.
“Rand?”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you need to know everything?”
“Because if I’m really your partner and you want me to stick around, then your family is my family.”
“You know I want you to stick around.”
“Then?”
He took a breath. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay my family is your family, asshole.”
I laughed at him. “I appreciate it.”
“I want you to come home.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“God, what a mess.”
I was about to give the man heart palpitations, so I decided to change the subject while I still could. “You know, all the guys have been worried about what you were gonna do to them when you found out they came with me.”
“They’re your men as much as mine. That all made sense to me.”
God, I loved him.
“And I understand since I didn’t tell you, why you raced off to protect my rights, your rights to—”
“I did it for you, Rand. I mean I know that the ranch is half mine, and I used that this weekend to my benefit, but when I think of it, I think of you.”
He was quiet.
“Rand?”
“I used to think of the ranch and think of my father.” He took a breath. “You saying that you think of me––that might be the best thing you’ve ever said, after you love me and you were gonna stay.”
My throat hurt.
“But you should have told me what you were doing, where you were going.”
“Yes, I should have.”
“I’m sorry, did you say I was right?”
“Don’t be an ass.”
“According to you, I already am one.”
I laughed at him. “Hey, I know this is gonna sound stupid since I came here and everything, but I was thinking that maybe you should give Rayland the grazing rights?”
It took him a minute to respond. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t really need to graze the cattle here, do you?”
Nothing.
“Rand?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You have other land, but Rayland only has this and his ranch.”
“What’s your point?”
“I just think that there’s a lot of bad blood between you and him, and I think it would go a long way to making peace.”
“And why do I care about that?”
“Because we’re talking about your family.”
“Lemme understand. You want me to just give the man my share of thousands of acres of land just because you think it would be a nice gesture?”
“I think it would be an olive branch.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Rand—”
“After what he just did to me? Are you kidding?”
“I just want you to think about it.”
“I’m thinking about a lot of things, Stef, but I’m not ready to do anything with that land right this second, all right?”
That was fair. “All right.”
“Okay, so my cousin Zach is gonna sell his ranch.” He exhaled deeply.
“Really.”
“Yeah, he’s done. He’s not sure what he wants to do, but he’s tired of ranching, and from seeing his men this weekend, they’re tired of being there with him. I offered a few of them jobs, and two of them are taking me up on it.”
“And the others?”
“The others don’t wanna work for a gay man.”
“I’m sorry, Rand.”
He grunted. “It’s their loss, Stef. It’s a privilege to work on the Red Diamond. I won’t ever beg anyone to take my hand.”
His pride made me smile. I loved the confidence in the man’s voice.
“Except for you, that is,” he laughed softly. “You, I will beg.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Okay then, Stef, please come home.”
“Not yet.”
“See, it ain’t workin’ not to beg.”
“I have things to do first.”
“Like what?”
“Like getting you to give the grazing rights to Rayland.”
“We just put that conversation to bed.”
“Let’s wa
ke it up.”
“So you’re saying if I agree to give the grazing rights to my uncle right now, you would come home?”
It was my one card to play.
“Yes.”
“Done,” he said without pause.
“Great,” I sighed. “So I’ll meet you on the White Ash, and you can give Rayland the grazing rights.”
“Oh fuck no!”
“Oh fuck no, what?”
“Oh fuck no, you are not going out to the White Ash!”
I smiled into the phone. “Why don’t you meet me there?”
“Stef.” His voice lowered in warning.
“Or wait for me at home.”
“Stef.”
“I need you to see Rayland.”
“Why?”
It was not my place to say. “I just do, and Glenn needs our help.”
“Glenn? Since when do you care about Glenn?”
“Because your family should be together, Rand, not apart,” I told him. “The grazing rights will smooth the way with Rayland, and Glenn likes me so—”
“Likes you?”
“Yeah, we’re friends.”
“You and my cousin are friends?”
“Yeah.”
“Since when?”
Since the hospital two times, but I didn’t want to say that, so I went with the other. “He saved me from Gil Landry.”
Beats of time passed. “I’m sorry?”
“You know, Glenn really wants to start a restaurant, and I want to help him with that, and I really think he needs a friend, and he held my hand so tight today at the hospital that I think—”
“Held your hand?”
“Glenn is on the verge of either taking a left turn to greatness or making a right into mediocrity and loneliness.”
“That’s very dramatic.”
I was still hopped up on pain medication. “He could be just like you if we help him.”
“Like me?”
“Yeah. Happy. You’re happy, aren’t you?”
Silence.
“Aren’t you?”
“Not right this second,” he groused at me.
Just thinking about him scowling on the other end made me smile.
“Yes, Stef, I’m happy,” he admitted grudgingly.
“Well then, come pick me up at the White Ash, okay?”
He was silent and so was I.
“You talked to my mother, didn’t you?”
It was lucky that I was still holding on to the corral fence. “Yes.”