Nineteen
The sound of sirens had my shoulders sagging with relief. Time had crawled to a stop since I’d called 911. While I waited, I’d prayed over Tuck as he lay unconscious. Thankfully, he was breathing with the occasional moan of pain mixed in.
“The ambulance is coming. You’re gonna be okay,” I whispered.
I stood, waving my arms in the air as two EMT members pulled a gurney behind them.
“What’ve we got?” Ted asked.
Seeing his face put me at ease. We’d graduated from Eastbrook High together, and he’d always been the guy to help someone in need. Thank goodness a stranger hadn’t shown up.
“Tuck fell off his horse. I think he landed on his right shoulder, because he reached for it at one point.”
I could still remember the horror of seeing him fly through the air. I didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been out in the field getting some QT with the goats. Baby had taken off on a run, and I’d just proceeded to chase her when it all unfolded.
“I didn’t move him.” Lord knew I’d wanted to. “He doesn’t appear to be bleeding from anywhere external. He’s still breathing. Um ...” I tried to think. “Pulse seemed steady from what I could tell.”
“Do you know what caused him to get thrown?” Hannah asked, scanning the area. She’d graduated from high school a few years ahead of me. Last I heard, she was married to a local farmer and had two kids.
“The goat startled his horse.” I pointed to Baby, who stood a few yards away.
“Darn goats,” Ted mumbled.
Before today, I would’ve laughed and made him hold Baby so he could see how charming she truly was. Now I wanted to scold Baby and apologize to Nutcracker before begging Tuck’s forgiveness. I had no idea the goats would scare his horse. It’s not like Nutcracker hadn’t already seen them escape from their enclosure the few times Tuck had ridden him over here and kept him in my stables.
“Give us some space to work on him. You can follow us to the hospital,” Hannah said.
I nodded, tears smarting.
I turned toward Baby and cautiously walked forward. I needed to get her into the pen before I could leave. Maybe she understood the gravity of the situation, though, because she just let me scoop her up. Fortunately, my part-time barn hand had already taken Nutcracker to the horse stables. As soon as I had Baby back in the goat house, I unlocked Tuck’s cell phone.
The man still used a pin code—claimed if he were ever mugged, they wouldn’t be able to use his thumbprint or face to unlock it. He watched too many true-crime shows. But right now, I was thankful I knew the code and he’d never converted to fingerprint or facial security. I needed to let people know what happened so they could pray.
“Hey, son,” Mr. Hale said in greeting.
“Um, Mr. Hale, it’s Piper.” I drew in a shaky breath. “Tuck’s been hurt.”
“What happened?”
“He was thrown from his horse. Ambulance is getting ready to take him to the county hospital.”
“I’ll let his mother know. We’ll be up there as soon as we can.”
“Okay.”
“Was he conscious, Piper?”
My mouth dried. “No, sir.”
“Lord have mercy,” he whispered.
“Drive carefully.”
“You too.”
I hung up, then opened the text thread between Tuck, Chris, and Lamont.
Tuck
This is Piper. Tuck was in a riding accident. Horse threw him. He’s unconscious and on the way to the hospital.
Chris
Praying. What can we do?
Lamont
??Should we fly out there?
Tuck
I’d wait until the doctors give us more information. Thank you so much for the prayers.
Then I opened my own phone and sent a similar text to Nevaeh. She wasn’t in the guys’ group thread, but that was okay since we had our own stream going.
Nevaeh
No! Praying right now. Do the guys know?
Piper
Yes.
Nevaeh
Keep me posted.
Piper
Will do.
After grabbing my purse so I’d have my license, I hopped into my truck and rumbled out the gate. Flashes went off, but I ignored the photojournalists. I’m sure they had much to speculate about as the ambulance had left the house before I did. They didn’t matter. I just needed Tuck to be okay.
Please, God, I pray he has no brain trauma. No concussion. No spinal injuries or internal bleeding. Let every body part be well and whole. Please. Please. Please.
I bit my lip, trying to keep from crying. Right now, I needed to see, and shedding tears for my boyfriend might put me in an accident and in the room right next to his. Surely he would be okay. He had on his helmet, so it wasn’t like his head hadn’t been protected. But remembering his groans of pain and how he reached for his shoulder before passing out had me thinking something was wrong. A broken bone? Could you even break your shoulder?
Ugh. That was probably a ridiculous question, wasn’t it?
The silence of the truck’s interior threatened to overwhelm me, so I pressed the button for my cell’s music playlist. Maybe hearing some inspirational music would keep my mind from spiraling and me acting like Chicken Little. Though an acorn hadn’t fallen from the sky, I still felt like the world could be ending. Despite living with the realization that riding injuries were a guarantee in this field, I couldn’t recall the last time Tuck had been seriously injured. Maybe a sprained tendon or a bite, but this...
Stop. Listen to the music. Praise God.
My voice warbled as I matched it with the artist’s. Holiday Brown had firmly left the pop field and now sang only contemporary Christian music. I’d admired her switch and the sincerity of the words that weaved around my soul and gave me comfort. I wasn’t alone. Tuck wasn’t alone. God would see us through.
My head jerked forward.
I jolted, realizing I’d fallen asleep in Tuck’s room. My neck was stiff and my bottom sore from sitting in the hard hospital chair for so long. I stretched my arms toward the ceiling, letting out a breath. Then bringing my arms back down, I looked at my smart watch. It was eight in the evening. Oh man. The cafeteria was probably closed.
My nose scrunched.
“You always look so cute when you do that,” Tuck rasped.
“Tuck.” I raced to the side of his bed and smiled at the sleepy look on his face, then brushed his hair back from his forehead. “How are you feeling? How long have you been awake?”
“Just a few minutes. Enough time to watch you snooze.” His mouth crooked into a smile.
“Can I get you some water?”
“Please.”
I grabbed the insulated cup the nurse had left when Tuck was first moved to the med-surge floor. By God’s grace, he didn’t have anything wrong with his spine or noggin. And the helmet had done its job so he was concussion free. Though apparently you could be concussed—the reason for his blackout—but not have a concussion. Who knew?
Unfortunately, he’d broken his right shoulder and would need surgery. Thankfully, a top-notch surgeon was willing to perform the procedure. She just wasn’t able to come in until tomorrow. That meant they were keeping Tuck medicated and hydrated so he’d be ready first thing tomorrow morning.
I held the straw to his lips. “Drink slowly.”
“Are you gonna activate that naggin’ gene women are so well-known for?” Tuck’s eyes sparkled at me. Or maybe I should think of another term since he claimed real men didn’t sparkle.
“Not if you know what’s good for you.” My lips twitched.
He laughed, then groaned when the movement jostled him.
“Sorry.”
“No worries. I’ll be fine. You heard the ER doc. Just a broken shoulder.”
“That needs surgery.”
I could feel my brow furrow just thinking about it. The doctor would have to insert pins and screws. I could only imagine the amount of pain Tuck would be in after that.
Chris and Lamont had been relieved it wasn’t anything worse than a broken bone. Nevaeh too. Tuck’s parents had come and gone and would return tomorrow.
“The important thing is I’ll be able to work with Dream before the Mountain Laurel Stakes.”
“Are you serious?” I reared back. “Do you not remember being thrown from a horse? Maybe they need to run that CT scan again, because you’re acting like you took a hit to your frontal lobe.” I slid my hands onto my hips. “Not to mention you’ll be in a sling for who knows how long.”
“Darlin’, there’s nothing wrong with my cranium.” Tuck squeezed my hand with his on his good arm. “A concussion would’ve put me out of commission, but a slinged shoulder is merely a little inconvenient.”
I glared at him. He was speaking nonsense. “What if my colt thinks you look strange and doesn’t want to get close to you or, worse, hurts you?”
“That’s why we have grooms and exercise riders.” Tuck rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’m riding him myself.”
I leaned close to Tuck and said through gritted teeth, “You better not get on a horse anytime soon, you hear me?”
But he didn’t respond. Just reached out and closed the distance between us. “I love that you’re worried and want to take care of me. But I promise you, I’m okay.” He pressed soft lips against mine and held them there until all my objections floated out of my head.
Who could think when all I could feel was the heat between us and the love I had for this man?
We broke apart, and Tuck grinned. “Now I know how to win an argument.”
“You don’t fight fair, Tucker Hale.”
He trailed a finger down my cheek. “And I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon.”
“Well, I’ve been forewarned, and I think you should be too.”
He stared into my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I did my best attempt at a wink. Judging from the smolder in Tuck’s eyes, I was successful and didn’t look like some damsel with an eyelash in her eye.
I straightened just as a knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Tuck said.
The night-shift nurse walked in. “Oh, goodie, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“Drugged.”
“Mm-hmm. That would be the pain meds. Narcotics can make a person feel loopy.”
“And sleepy?”
“That too. Do you remember hearing you’re having surgery tomorrow?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That means nothing to eat or drink after midnight.”
“Why? Will I turn into a gremlin?”
I snickered behind my hand.
The nurse shook her head, but her cheeks were bunched in amusement. “Don’t worry. I’ll see if I can snag you a sandwich or a snack before then. You’ll get a full meal tomorrow. If not lunch, then definitely dinner.”
“Will I be back in this room tomorrow?”
“Yes. And I’ll be back on shift tomorrow night, so don’t you worry. I’ll take good care of you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Sure thing.” She turned and looked at me. “I’m sorry to tell you this, hon, but visiting hours are done at eight thirty. You’ll have to come back tomorrow at eight a.m.”
“Will his surgery be before then?” I wanted to be with him when he met the surgeon.
“They may have him prepped before then.”
“Can she please come in early?” Tuck pouted.
I bit back a laugh.
“Well, hon, since she’s not your wife, I doubt that’ll be possible.”
“I understand that, but I’d really appreciate being able to see my girlfriend’s face well before I go under the knife. My first broken bone.”
“How’s that possible, Mr. Hale? I’ve seen you on the news interviewed about training horses and whatnot.”
“Only got bumps and bruises before now.”
“Hmm. Sounds like God’s blessing. I’ll see what I can do about your girlfriend.”
“Thanks”—he glanced at her name tag—“Winnie.”
“If you leave your contact information with me, Ms. McKinney, I’ll make sure I notify you about the surgery time.”
“Thank you.” I paused. “Um, can I bring his parents with me? Maybe not to be in his room but to wait in the waiting area?”
She nodded. “They’re more than welcome.”
Winnie finished taking Tuck’s vitals, then left the room.
I walked over to his bed. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Hurry back.” He kissed the palm of my hand.