Chapter 41
Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
Callie
It’s a full twelve hours of us sitting in relative silence, the occasional movement or errand to get coffee the only change to the tense atmosphere, before a new doctor we haven’t seen before comes.
He pulls his scrub cap from his head as he enters the room, exhaustion evident in the line of his shoulders.
“Family of Ashley?” he says as he enters.
“Yes, yes that’s us,” Cash’s mom says as she stands, smoothing down the rumpled clothing she’s been in since yesterday.
“Great. They will be bringing him up soon; he’s just in recovery. We had to evacuate a blood clot on his brain stem, but I think he’s out of the woods now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wakes up today or tomorrow. We are removing life support since he’s showing signs of breathing on his own.”
The urge to throw my arms around this stranger overwhelms me but I wrap my arms around Duke instead.
Tears of happiness flood my eyes, and I see the emotion reflecting back at me from four other sets of eyes in the room.
Mrs. Colter doesn’t ignore her desire to hug him though as she barrels toward him and hugs him, sobbing her thanks.
He smiles kindly before leaving.
Twenty-four hours later and none of us have had proper meals or a shower in two days. We are running on fumes and faith, but no one wants to leave his bedside and miss him waking up.
His mother and father sit on one side of the bed, Mrs. Colter with her hand wrapped tightly around his. Duke and I sit on the other side. I hold his hand, and Duke rests his hands heavily on my shoulders. We are all exhausted and weary. But ever so hopeful.
Standing to stretch, I wrap my arms around Duke’s abdomen, holding him tightly against me, as he kisses the top of my head.
“Nearly dying has got to give me an advantage, brother,” Cash’s scratchy voice makes me spin back to him so quickly I lose my balance and nearly fall into the bed. “Careful, darlin’, I’m happy to see you too but please don’t kill me.”
I laugh as I try to breathe through my relief at seeing his eyes open, a smile on his face.
“Oh my god, Cash, I never thought I would be so grateful for your snarky comments,” I huff at him.
“Cash, my boy, my baby,” Mrs. Colter sobs from her side of the bed at seeing her son wake up and launch immediately into teasing.
“Hey Mama, hey Dad. Hey, Sleepy.” He gives a little head nod to his trainer across the room who looks, for all his unemotional posturing, like he’s breathing for the first time in days.
“What day is it? Sunday?” he asks the room.
“It’s Monday night, Cash,” Duke tells him, leaning over to hug him slightly.
“Well shit. Sorry, Mama,” he apologizes for his language and we all laugh a little. It feels so good to relax for even a second.
“Y’all look rough. You been here the whole time?” He looks Duke and I over from head to toe.
“Of course, we wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I say.
It takes a full week before Cash can get out of bed completely unassisted and comes home. During his week convalescing, he was forced to explain our unorthodox relationship to his parents, much to their dismay. His mother did apologize to Duke and I, but I could tell she still wasn’t convinced.
It’s another two weeks at home before he climbs the stairs on his own.
Duke and I have reserved any forward momentum in our relationship because it felt wrong to revel in each other’s bodies while Cash was unwell.
The time has come for me to have a conversation with Cash now that he’s downstairs lying on the couch. It feels too much like a mirror into what I went through. Duke has gone back to work, quicker this time since he trusted me to care for Cash in his absence.
“Hey, Cowboy, how’s it going?” I plop onto the couch next to him.
“I’ve had to hang up my ropes for now, Hurricane. Not much of a cowboy anymore.” His voice is filled with pain.
“Just because you aren’t riding bulls and roping calves doesn’t mean you aren’t a cowboy. You still have the ranch.”
“I know. I sent my official retirement to the association today. Everyone knew it was coming but it feels final now that it’s out there.”
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Cash. You’ve created a legacy worth remembering and now you’ll focus on the ranch.
” I climb into his lap, holding my own weight so as not to put any on his injured leg.
I kiss him deeply, pouring all my love into him.
I feel him harden almost instantly beneath me.
“There is something else I need to talk to you about. Since we are sharing.”
“Anything, baby.” He nuzzles my neck, his scruffy beard scratching me.
“It’s about the panties and nudes you keep in your nightstand.” I drop the comment into the room, and he immediately goes rigid. He doesn’t move for what feels like ages.
“Uh—” He rubs his face awkwardly. “Shit. Listen, I forgot—”
“No, you listen. I know you were far from saintly before me.” I cock an eyebrow, daring him to respond. He stays silent. “But now that there is a me, and an us, I need them gone.”
“They would be already if I remembered them. I haven’t wanted anyone else but you.”
Kissing him again, I grind against him a little.
“Good. Now would you like to make out? Maybe a little heavy petting?” I giggle against his neck, and he laughs.
“I may die.”
Leaning forward, I capture his lips with mine. He thrusts his hips up the best he can with his cast, and I feel him hot and hard beneath me. Deepening the kiss, I suck on his tongue which pulls a moan from his throat.
I climb off his lap, and he frowns up at me from his position sunk into the couch. Reaching a hand forward, he tries to pull me back, but his casted arm is useless, and I laugh at his efforts.
“Nope,” I huff out as I sink to my knees onto the rug in front of the couch and his eyes widen.
“What are you…” He trails off as I run my fingertips under the hem of his t-shirt, slipping them into the waistband of his basketball shorts.
“Can you lift your hips?”
He raises just enough for me to slide his shorts down his thighs and over his cast, and I let them pool around his ankles. His large cock springs free, bouncing in the space between us, the tip glistening with a small bead of moisture, the little ring at the tip shining.
“Fuck, Hurricane,” he murmurs before leaning his head back on the couch as I wrap a tentative hand around his shaft and give it a tug. “This, uh, won’t take long.” He huffs out a laugh.
Lowering my head, I give a soft lick to the crown, tasting him for the first time. A breath hisses out between his teeth as I look, intimidated, at the large cock I hold in my hand, unsure of what to do with the shiny silver barbell.
Looking up at him from my position kneeling between his knees, I ask, “How do I…” I gesture with my head toward the piercing.
“Anything. I don’t care. Whatever you want. Fuck, this view of you is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I laugh at his response before dropping my head back down and wrapping my lips around him, pulling him as far into my mouth as I can.
The metal feels weird on my tongue but doesn’t get in the way.
I push myself to the limit, gagging slightly, before popping my mouth off his length and gazing up at him.
He watches me intently, his mouth open, excitement lighting his eyes.
Placing a kiss against his head, I dip down and run my tongue from the base all the way to the tip, along the ridge, causing his dick to bounce comically. Sucking him into my mouth, I swallow as much of him as I can fit, and wrap my fist around the base, setting a rhythm.
Cash winds his hands into my hair, wrapping it around his fist as he pushes himself further down my throat, his breaths coming out in labored pants.
Gazing up at him, my mouth stretched open around him, I catch his eyes.
He groans low and long in his throat before his hips start moving and he proceeds to fuck my mouth, holding my head in place as he does everything he can to thrust.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” falls from his lips in a sensual mantra, causing wetness to pool in my panties.
“God. Fuck, baby. Yes.” More words gasp out of him as his cock swells in my mouth, his release close.
Reaching up, I cup his balls and tug. A long, low moan flows through his lips as he tightens his hold on my head, pushing me past my limits. My eyes fill with tears and gag.
“I’m going to come, baby. Tell me where. Where, Hurricane?” He releases his hold slightly on my head so I can pull my head off him, if I choose. Instead, I press further down, forcing more of him into my throat, and squeeze his balls gently.
A gasp pushes through his lips and his hips buck as he fills my throat with warmth, his orgasm shuddering through him. His breaths huff out and his chest heaves as he releases me, flopping back against the sofa.
Finally feeling like I cleared the last of the issues between us, I feel settled. This place feels like home, and I daydream about waiting for my cowboy on the porch at the end of the day before sending my bartender out into the evening to serve the locals their beers.