She parked by the back door. It was already propped open, and from the truck, she could see Doc and Adam talking. Zan stood nearby, twirling.Kids are so resilient.
Merry Anna wished she were twirling too. Instead, her stomach spun like a washer off balance.
25
It was the early hoursof morning by the time all the tests had been completed and Adam was released. The nurse wheeled him out, and Merry Anna jumped up from her seat in the waiting room. Zan slept curled up in the chair with Merry Anna’s jacket under her head.
Merry Anna ran over to him. “I was getting worried.”
“It’s fine. Come on. Let’s get home.” He got up from the wheelchair.
She raised the keys in her hand. “I’ll drive.”
“No, let me. You’re not comfortable with the truck. I promise I’ll pull over if I start feeling bad. Really, this isn’t my first concussion.”
He thought she’d put up a bigger fight, but she didn’t argue with him. He picked up Zan and sat her in the wheelchair in the otherwise empty emergency room. Then he pushed the wheelchair past the check-in desk. “I’ll bring this right back.”
Merry Anna was laughing. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“They don’t care. They wanted to send me out in it, and now they can say they did.” He pushed Zan through theparking lot and then moved her to the truck. Merry Anna took the wheelchair and ran it back up to the building.
When she came back, she looked at him, worry in her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive? I can do it.”
“I’d feel better if I drove.”
She paused for a moment. “I don’t like it, but you’re the boss.” She got in and took two bottles of water from her purse. She handed him one. “Here. Sip on this.”
“Thank you.” He chugged half of it. “And thank you for remaining so calm through all this.”
“I wasn’t.” She twisted in the seat to face him. “It was horrible to watch. I never knew eight seconds was so long.”
The left side of his mouth lifted. “It’s longer than most people can imagine.”
“I saw you talking to Doc when I picked you up. What was he saying? Was he telling you not to ride? How many concussions have you had?”
“He’s been telling me to quit for years.”
“Oh?”
“I’m older than a lot of these guys now.” He pulled in a breath. “I was talking to Doc about joining the sports medicine team. He’s mentioned it before. He knows I have a medical degree. I could come on as an apprentice until I got all my certifications done. I’d still be close to the sport.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “It’ll be hard for you to leave rodeo. I know how much you love it. But that sounds like a good option.”
“Rodeo is all I’ve ever wanted.” He sat there quietly for a moment. “When Rocket Fuel rolled me forward, I knew I was in trouble. A new bull that no one else had ridden before—you never know what’s going to happen. I never see anythingbut the bull. But tonight something flashed in my mind. I imagined what it looked like from your vantage point.” His gaze held hers.
“We shouldn’t have come. We distracted you.”
“No, putting that on y’all isn’t fair. The course of my journey is changing. I could fight it. Lots of people do. They ride way longer than they should, and they get hurt. I think God’s trying to get my attention.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I think I know, but I’m going to get back to you on that. I’m not putting it off, though. I promise.”
Merry Anna rested her hand on his arm. “You’re a good man. Whatever it is you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll have the best intentions.”
He took her hand. This woman had no idea how much impact she had on him. He was so thankful she was here.
The roads were empty, and Zan was sleeping quietly in the back seat.
