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“There you are,” Emilia said, as she came around a trailer. “What are you doing? You’ve got to get ready.”
Charlotte let Emilia lead her away, but her heart felt tied to the cowboy whose eyes were filled with pain and longing. How could she focus on an event when Pops could be fighting for his life and the man she loved, anxious with worry?
The man she loved….
Oh Lord, help me, guide me…I don’t know if I can go through this again.
FIVE
Austin’s boots squeaked on the floor of the hospital waiting room. He hated the high-pitched noise, but it was better than the other sounds of a hospital, like the beeping machines and rasping coughs. He glanced at Adam, who sat in a seat against the wall, his leg bouncing as if it would take off at any moment.
They had wheeled Pops in right away, and the only contact they had had with him or his mom since was when she came out to say they were taking him for some imaging testing. That was an hour ago.
“How long do these tests take?” Austin muttered, pushing his cowboy hat back to race a hand through his hair.
“As long as they take, I gather,” Adam said, leaning his head back against the wall.
“How can you sit there like that?” Austin asked, frustration lining his voice. He spun away, knowing he needed to get hold of himself. It wasn’t his brother’s fault, and he knew Adam was just as worried as he was. They just responded differently.
Adam had always been the easy-going one. He took things in stride, stayed relaxed, and was good with a crowd. Austin was more serious, straight and to the point, and he didn’t sit still well—or at all.
“We’ve got to stay level-headed, bro.” Adam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and staring at him across the mostly empty waiting room. “We don’t even know what’s going on.”
“Exactly. What if it’s his heart or something serious?” Austin froze as a myriad of horrific possibilities rushed through him, leaving his heartbeat racing.
“What if it’s just indigestion?” Adam countered. “We don’t know, and playing the what-if game will only add more stress.”
“What else do you suggest we do?” Austin resumed his pacing.
“Go over what happened back at the rodeo?” Adam said evenly, his eyes boring into him.
“We did.” Austin paused long enough to hold his brother’s eyes. “I told you, I made a mistake, a lack of focus. I’ll get my act together.”
Adam continued to stare at him. “And?”
“And what?” Austin spun back to him. “You need me to verbally tell you that I know this is your dream, too? Fine. I know it, and I won’t let you down. Better?”
Adam’s lips quirked slightly as he eased back into his chair. “Better, though that wasn’t what I was meaning. Yet, I appreciate you letting me know.” He winked and stretched.
“Ha,” Austin said, listening to his boots squeak as he paced again. “Wait,” he paused to look at his brother, “if that wasn’t what you were meaning, what was?”
“Charlotte, of course,” Adam said, waggling his eyebrows.
“You want to distract me from worrying about Pops by talking about Charlotte?”
“Well, why not? You stopped to talk to her… So?” Adam’s leg began bouncing again.
“I only told her Pops was going to the hospital, and I didn’t know what was going on.” Austin shrugged.
“That’s it?”
“You were gone a full thirty seconds, bro. What do you expect? We hashed out the last eight years’ worth of garbage between us?” Austin spat the words out, turning to stare out the window, watching the sun sink below the far mountains.
Charlotte would compete soon if she hadn’t already. He hoped she did well, both selfishly and for her as well. If she enjoyed this time at the rodeos, maybe she would be open to seeing things differently. Was there a compromise for them?
“Have you got her new number?” Adam asked.
Austin could feel his brother’s eyes boring into the back of his head, watching for any nuance that would show him what lay in his mind. He shook his head, feeling a fool for not thinking of that before. Why hadn’t he asked her? Right then would have been the perfect time…so he could keep her up to date with how Pops was doing. He dropped his head as he realized the real reason he wished he could call her right now, and it wasn’t to soothe her, though her tear-filled eyes showed how much she worried. It was to soothe himself. She had always known how to calm him down, how to distract him or help him find a solution.
