13. Clint
13
CLINT
E verything happened in slow motion. It was like a car crash scene in a movie where broken glass was suspended in midair as the vehicles collided and dramatic music played.
Clint had just dismounted, and he hadn’t even let go of the saddle yet when the horse started tilting. He took a single step back before it all came crashing down on top of him.
All the breath left his lungs with an “oof” as his back hit the ground, and the horse’s weight hit next. Stars danced in his vision as the horse rolled off him.
He wanted to suck in a breath, but nothing seemed to work. His chest was paralyzed, and panic started to set in.
“Clint!”
He knew that voice. The sound called out to him, but his body was suddenly too heavy. His neck and arms went limp, then a cold sweat crept up his neck. Bile rose in his chest, and he closed his eyes to fight off the wave of nausea.
Wait. Everything was dark before he closed his eyes. Nothing in his vision had changed.
Shoot. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Clint! Clint!” The shouts were far away, but they were getting louder.
“Clint!”
The voice was loud, and he jerked, opening his eyes quickly. The hazy form of a person got clearer as he blinked.
Oh no. The nausea was back, and a heavy weight sat on his leg.
“Clint, I need you to respond. Say something,” Nora said.
Nora. What was she asking?
“I’ll get the horses out of the way,” his dad said.
“Are they okay?” Nora asked.
“They seem fine. I’ll take them in and make sure,” his dad responded.
His dad moved around behind Nora, but she had her whole attention on Clint. Too bad he couldn’t think about anything except the pain in his leg.
“You might need to call for an ambulance. We’re heading to the hospital either way,” Nora said.
There was a veiled urgency in her tone he didn’t want to explore. When her eyes came into focus, the pinch between her brows said whatever she knew was concerning.
“What happened?” Clint asked.
“Smoke fell on you.” She reached her arm out to rest a hand on his chest. “Don’t try to get up. I don’t know how bad it is yet.”
“Hello? Yeah. My son is injured,” his dad said.
The sharp pain in his leg was unrelenting, and he clenched his jaw and reached out.
Nora caught his hand and clasped it between both of hers. “Don’t. It’s broken.”
“Geez. Don’t sugar coat it for me,” Clint said through gritted teeth.
“How hard did you hit your head? You might have a concussion too.”
Clint reached up to feel the back of his head. There was a sore spot, but it wasn’t swelling. “Probably not.”
“Are you dizzy? Nauseated?” she asked.
“Both, but it’s getting better.”
“Keep your focus on me until the paramedics get here,” Nora ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.” The pain was radiating at full force, and he squeezed Nora’s hand.
Clint rested the back of his other hand over his mouth. He was fighting the urge to blow chunks, and he didn’t want to get it all over Nora.
Her fingertips brushed lightly over his forehead, and he relaxed into her touch. If he had to be injured, Nora was the best distraction he could ask for.
After ten long minutes laid out on the ground, Clint had gotten still and calm enough to control his breathing. Nora was still holding his hand and assuring him help was coming soon, so his heart rate was still elevated. Having her this close and all to himself was a gift he wasn’t going to overlook.
Once the clouds in his mind started to clear, he remembered where they were and what they’d been doing. “I’m sorry. You said you have a lot to do today.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not leaving you.”
“Come on, Nora. I’m a big boy. This isn’t the first bone I’ve broken.”
Nora’s lips pinched tight when she looked at him. “Not like this one.”
Uh-oh. She hadn’t let him move yet, and he couldn’t really feel his leg anymore. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t really tell you much. It looks pretty bad. Can you feel it?”
“Not anymore.”
“Shoot,” Nora whispered as she craned her neck, looking over the hill for the ambulance that hadn’t arrived yet. Her lips formed an O, and she breathed out a deep breath. A sheen of sweat formed on her temples.
“Come on, you’re a nurse. It’s not that bad. ”
Okay, it was pretty bad–at least the pain was bad–but he could handle it.
She took a few more breaths as the whirl of a siren sounded in the distance. “Apparently, it’s different when it’s someone I know. I’m having a hard time emotionally distancing myself.”
The hand he still held started to shake, and he squeezed it. Her attention turned to his face, and he did his best to hide any signs of distress. He locked his gaze with hers before speaking. “There’s no one else I’d rather have with me right now. You’re doing great.”
“Oh good grief. I’m supposed to be reminding you that everything is going to be okay. I can’t believe I’m falling apart like an intern.”
“No one is falling apart. Well, as long as they don’t have to amputate my leg.”
Nora gasped. “Don’t make jokes like that right now!”
A truck pulled up and parked nearby. The door opened and closed before Clint’s mom spoke.
“Clint! You’ve really done it this time,” Vicci said.
“I didn’t do anything! The horse fell on me.”
His mom stood over him and pointed to his leg. “How’d that break your leg?”
“I took a step back, but I wasn’t fast enough. I guess my leg bent on the way down, then the half-ton horse came down on top of me. ”
“You could have internal bleeding,” Nora said, breathless in a way he’d never heard her before.
The ambulance approached, and Clint’s dad waved them over.
“I guess we’ll find out soon.” He looked at Nora and put on a serious expression. “If I die, I want you to have my baseball card collection.”
“Stop kidding around. This is serious,” Nora chastised.
“I’m not dead. I can’t stop pestering you. It would be weird if I stopped just because I got a boo-boo.”
Vicci rested her hand on Nora’s shoulder. “He’s right, honey. He’s had worse injuries. I used to joke that he was indestructible like a cockroach when he was young. There’s no reason why he should have made it this long.”
Nora stood and released his hand as two paramedics knelt beside him. They immediately launched into a string of questions, but Clint’s attention was focused on the woman a few steps away. She’d been around for some of his injuries, and she’d never acted like this before.
When the decision was made to transport him to a hospital, Nora perked up and stepped closer. “I’ll go with him.” She quickly turned to his mom. “I mean, if you’re too busy.”
His mom shrugged. “I’m not busy.”
“Yeah, Nora has a lot to do today. Just send someone to pick me up later,” Clint said .
Nora looked back and forth between him and his mom. “No, someone needs to go with you. I don’t mind.”
“Don’t waste your day sitting around with me. I’ll be fine.”
“Honestly, Clint doesn’t want anyone fussing over him all day,” his mom said to Nora.
Stepping up to his side, Nora lifted her chin. “I’ll go with you. The other stuff can wait.”
Clint tilted his head to look at her. What was happening? She’d never made a fuss over him before. In fact, she usually made comments about how he was too reckless whenever he got hurt.
Maybe she cared more than she let on.
That was a dangerous thought–one that could get his heart broken if he was wrong.