Page 58 of Jillaroo from Jacaranda

No more bull riding? Is this doctor for real?

Ty closed his eyes against the thought.

‘Will he still be okay to work and ride his horse?’ Leah knew him well.

‘Yes, as long as he’s not riding one that will likely buck him off,’ the doctor replied.

Eager to put his two cents’ worth into the conversation, Ty tried to sit up, but pain shot through his lower back and he shouted out in agony. The curtain whizzed open and three sets of eyes peered at him.

The doctor rushed to his side. ‘Hi, Mr Parker.’

Ty tried to smile but grimaced instead. ‘G’day, doc.’

‘How are you feeling?’

‘A little sore, but otherwise pretty good.’ He finally rustled up a grin. ‘How ’bout you?’

‘Don’t try and make light of this, bro.’ At his bedside, with Rose close behind, Leah tutted and shook her head. ‘You’ve had a number of head injuries over the years, Ty, and the time’s come when you need to stop and assess the risk you’re taking every time you get on a bull.’

Ty wasn’t sure if he was frowning, but he sure as hell felt like he was. ‘Over my dead body am I giving it up.’

Leah sighed exasperatedly, exchanging anxious glances with Rose.

‘Sorry, but I’m just going to jump in here.’ The doctor placed a firm hand on Ty’s arm. ‘It might very well be over your dead body, Mr Parker, if you come off like that again.’

Oh lord, he wasn’t in the mood for another lecture about the risks he took with bull riding. ‘I’m still here, aren’t I?’

The doctor looked at him sceptically. ‘You’ve had a really serious fall, Ty, and your scans have raised some concerns, so you need to listen to what I’m about to tell you.’

He was silent for a beat, but then nodded. ‘Righto, hit me with it.’

‘I’m going to put this bluntly, so I know you understand.’ The doctor frowned. ‘If you have another bad fall like the one today, there’s a big chance you’ll go home in a body bag.’

In union, Leah and Rose sucked in a sharp breath.

Ty huffed, his headache ramping up a couple of notches. ‘Yup, got it. I’ll make sure to have a long hard think about it all when my head’s not pounding.’

The doctor nodded. ‘Good.’ He turned to Leah and Rose. ‘I’ll be back in about half an hour to check on him. Please try to make sure he stays put until I do.’

‘Okay, will do. Thanks, doctor.’

Ty waited for the white-coated bloke to leave the room before asking what was at the forefront of his mind. ‘What did I score?’

Leah remained silent, as did Rose.

Ty could tell from the looks on their faces that he hadn’t won anything. ‘Damn it.’ He sucked in a sharp breath as pain seared through his head. ‘How close was I?’

‘Fourth,’ Leah replied.

‘Which is good, considering you got hung up,’ Rose added quickly.

‘Maybe, but not good enough.’ He took a breath. ‘Damn it. I really needed that money.’

‘Money isn’t everything, Ty.’

‘It is when I’m hanging onto the station by a thread because of what I have to hand over to Kelly next month.’

‘Yeah, I get that.’ Leah regarded him with absolute compassion. ‘We’ll sort something to get her off your back, because you’re not getting on another bull.’