AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Look," he said, his tone proving he was the no-bullshit kinda guy. "Maybe you wanna look tough in front of your girl. Maybe you even think you're that tough. Well, I'm here to tell you that in ten years, you won't think showing off for some woman was worth it. When you need a walker before you're forty? When you're paralyzed?" He jerked his chin at me. "When your brain gets scrambled so much you don't recognize her anymore?"
"First off," I said, matching his tone, "that girl ain't a fucking buckle bunny. She's not some piece of ass I'm trying to impress. She's my partner, and I mean that in the team sense. She's the best damned bull rider I've ever seen. So stop thinkin' my dick's the one talking here."
"Then take the time off," he told me.
I just shook my head. "Can't, doc. That's the shit you don't get. If I'm laid up, then she's a sitting duck. There are people willing to make sure she takes the next hit. I just gotta hold on until finals, and then I'll rest all you want."
The doctor licked his lips. "Your chart says you have an opiate addiction."
"Real bad one," I admitted. "Got hooked on pain killers when I did in the knee the first time."
"The one you had the brace on?"
I nodded. "Yep. Ate that shit like candy. When I ran out, I just came off hard again. With it all over prime time, well, ain't hard to get more meds. Take a little tumble, get hooked a bit by a horn, and I had a whole new bottle to suck back. Mix it with some alcohol - because we boys in the PBR think that shit is the same as water. Well, ain't so good for a man."
"How'd you get clean?" he asked.
I smiled. "Our doc. He called my ass out. Told me he'd call my mama next. Couldn't let her down, so promised I'd figure it out. I did too. Vape a shit-ton of cannabis, but it works better than that shit y'all use."
"It actually does for some people," the doctor said. "I'm just worried this might set you back."
"Told 'em not to give me any morphine," I grumbled.
"And they didn't," he promised. "We made sure all of your medication, including the anesthesia, would be safe for you. Still, for some people, the recovery puts you back in that state of mind."
"Yeah, but now I got Cody," I explained. "I got me a reason to push through it. See, that's the thing, doc. That woman? She needs me, so I gotta make sure I'm in one piece so I can be there for her."
For a long moment, the doctor watched me, judging me. "Four weeks," he finally said, "but if and only if you do physical therapy and pass a checkup with your local doctor."
"Willin' to send that to the PBR?" I asked. "Guy's name's Anthony. He's the biggest motherfucker you've ever seen. Big enough thatI'mscared to fuck with him." Then I leaned back and smiled. "He's also a damned good physio guy. Somehow, he keeps me walking, and if you tell him what I need, he'll hunt my ass down and make sure I do it."
The doctor just laughed. "Then I think we have a deal. Just know this is going to hurt more than you can imagine."
"Naw," I mumbled. "This ain't nothing. You didn't add no more metal to me. Trust me, doc. I got this. I just gotta make it to finals, and I'm willin' to do anything to make sure of it."
Chapter26
There'd beenfour re-rides for the night. Those felt like they took forever, but Jorge and Isaac managed to handle the bulls. Granted, Wes got scooped a bit, but he walked out of the arena with a smile on his face, so I was calling it a win.
Once that was over, we had the award ceremony. My score on Disco Breakout had thrown me safely into first place, so I got the privilege of jogging out to stand on the bull pen with four of the buckle girls smiling up at me. Cletus made some jokes. The announcer praised my riding, showing clips of it on the big screens. Once all that was done, we prayed again, and this time I bowed my head and added my voice.
"God, let J.D. be ok," I breathed.
Short, simple, and right to the point, but I was pretty sure it was all the big guy needed. The shitty part was how long all of this took. Hours. When the whole shebang finally began to wrap up for the night, I hurried my ass back to gather up Cody and J.D.'s shit.
This wasn't how this weekend was supposed to go. I was supposed to be making her notice me, but not even I was that big of a dick. Ok, close. Yeah, maybe I was, but J.D. was my friend. The man had done me a few favors.
I knew he could've stolen Cody away from me if he'd wanted. That had been one of my wake-up calls this week. When he'd sent me to St. Louis instead of that bumpkin town by Cody's place? He could've moved right in. He hadn't.
He'd given me the chance to pull my head out of my ass. He'd given me tips to help me understand a woman like her. He'd bent over backwards to be my wingman, even if he'd been working on a little piece of the same girl.
So I owedhimthis. That trumped everything else. My daydreams about making Cody fall back in my bed had to go on hold for a bit, because this shit wasn't gonna impress anyone. Still, she might need me a bit, and if I stepped up to help, then maybe I could show her I was a changed man?
But was I?
I growled under my breath, not knowing the answer. It also didn't matter, because I was a man on a mission. With her gear, his, and mine, I was loaded down like a damned pack mule, but I knew how these nights went.
J.D. would be stuck in the hospital. She wouldn't leave his side. I was willing to bet Tanner wouldn't either. That man had looked a little more shaken than I'd expected. So, they were gonna need something that wasn't coated in dirt, sweat, and bull. This was where I came in.
