Counting on Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 3) (8 page)

The hours passed by even more slowly than normal. The Carsons, Gracie, and Emma waited in the sterile, ugly waiting room for any news that Joseph’s surgery was over and that he was out of the woods. Instead of news of his progress, they were met with an angry-looking industrial clock with a second hand that jumped from number to number to pass the time.

Six hours after Joseph was taken to the operating room, his doctor emerged, still wearing his scrubs and hair cover. “Which one of you is Emma?” Emma looked nervously at Joseph’s family members scattered around the waiting room, and slowly raised her hand. The doctor crooked a finger in her direction and asked, “Will you come with me?”

She looked back at Miranda and Gracie for confirmation, and followed the doctor with their approval. He led her through a maze of corridors to a glass-walled room where Joseph lay connected to tubes and monitors. His neck was held in a rigid brace, forcing him to look directly at the ceiling. When the doctor gestured for her to enter the small room, Joseph turned just his eyes toward her and smiled, trying to speak despite a scratchy voice left raw from a ventilator tube.

“Hey. I told them to bring you for my sponge bath. I like the water nice and hot,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper. Tears fell down Emma’s cheeks at his ability to laugh right then. She placed his hand in hers and leaned down to kiss his fingertips.

“I’ll get right on it. Just this once, of course!” she replied, smiling down at him before turning serious. “How do you feel? Can you still move your arm?” He lifted his affected arm and smiled goofily, the anesthesia still knocking him down as he managed to give her a thumbs up sign. His eyes closed as he lowered his arm and before long, he began to breathe in a soft, rhythmic pattern, telling her he’d fallen asleep.

Emma slipped out of the room, returning to the waiting room to share the news that Joseph had come out of surgery. She found the same doctor speaking to the family, the worry on their faces increasing as he continued.

“…he’ll need daily physical therapy and monitored pain management. We just opened his neck and the layers of muscles underneath, so just the surgical site is going to take time and supervision to heal.”

“Um, Doctor, how do we get him a physical therapist in the middle of a ranch? He can’t just pop into town every day, considering that Hale is the closest town and probably doesn’t have its own specialist,” Carey asked, his mind already at work on how the impossible would have to be made possible.

“Then your brother will need to stay here in Dallas for the duration of his treatment, which can easily run for the next eight to twelve weeks,” he explained matter-of-factly, ignoring the looks of disbelief in front of him.

“Stay here? You expect us to leave him here for three months?” Casey asked, jumping up suddenly. “We’re not going to leave him here without his family!”

Emma watched the discussion among the family members and the baffled doctor growing louder and louder, then stepped closer and caught Miranda’s eye. A wordless conversation passed between them as they regarded each other, finalized when Emma nodded. Miranda spoke. “I have a solution. We’ll get a small extended stay apartment for as long as Joseph needs it, and Emma can stay with him to help care for him and get him to his appointments.”

Bernard was the one to break the stunned silence. “Emma? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but don’t you think Joseph would be better off with his family, not some stranger?”

“Excuse me, sir, pardon me for saying so, but you didn’t have a problem with me being a stranger when you invited me along. I’m happy to stay if it’s what Joseph needs, or what he wants.” She stood her ground, ready for the judgmental words she knew would be coming next; they always did. But she wasn’t going to turn her back and run away this time. Joseph needed her to be strong and stand up for him but even more importantly, she needed to stand up for herself.

Bernard looked at her appraisingly before he spoke, nodding his head. “Of course, you’re right. I’m the one who should apologize to you. We would be grateful to you if you could help him. I’ll go make the arrangements.” He gestured to Casey to join him and together, they walked down the hallway, leaving to plan a place for Joseph and Emma to stay and arrange their transportation.

Miranda crossed the small waiting room and took Emma’s hands. “I can’t even find the right words to thank you. You don’t know how much it means to us that Joseph won’t be here all alone. I know he’d never agree to stay in the city on his own, and having you to keep him company will be exactly what he needs to get well, I just know it.”

“Thank you, Miranda, that means a lot coming from you,” Emma answered, before finding herself pulled into the warmth of Miranda’s tight hug. Gracie came over and piled on, too, the three of them giddy with relief at knowing Joseph would be okay and would be well taken care.

****

“Come on, pretty boy, you have six more reps,” a deep voice called out from the end of the padded platform. “You’re not getting any younger and I’m not getting any better looking, so hustle!” Joseph pulled on the stretchy length of rubber tubing with his bad arm, wincing as he angled it across his body, feeling the nerve endings and muscles scream from lack of use. He knocked out the last six pulls, then flopped backward onto the wide platform, letting his eyes close in exhaustion. “Emma, girl, make him sit up and quit being a sissy.”

Emma nudged Joseph playfully in his good shoulder, smiling down at him. “Sorry, pretty boy, Darius said you have to sit up. Doctor’s orders.”

“Nope. I’m not doing it. Tell Darius he can do it if he wants this stupid tube ripped in half so badly.” Joseph threw his good arm over his closed eyes, hiding his face.

“Come on, remember what I promised you. I have a special treat planned today if you hurry up and finish all your exercises.”

Joseph peeked up at her from under the crook of his elbow and scowled. These weeks living in the small extended stay hotel suite with Emma had been interesting, to say the least. When he wasn’t in one of his twice daily therapy sessions, she was reminding him to do his stretches or his exercises, even when they were just relaxing or watching TV. At first, it had been annoying, having some outsider boss him around, but as he grew accustomed to it, he realized Emma was just looking out for him. “Fine, but I refuse to finish my vegetables or pick up my dirty socks for the rest of the week.”

“It’s a deal. Now sit up and move it, pretty boy!” She stepped back and pointed to the rubber tubing hanging from the wall of the physical therapy unit. “Two more sets! Go! Move it!” Her contribution to his therapy had been to become a cross between a deranged cheerleader and a kitten-like drill sergeant, which would have been funny, if Joseph hadn’t been hurting so much.

This hurt was different though, and Joseph knew it. Rather than the debilitating, frightening pain that came from not knowing why his body was betraying him, this was the pain that clearly told him he was on the mend, even if he still had a long way to go. He looked forward to this pain, because it told him that he was getting better.

“Tell me what the surprise is first,” he hedged, stalling for a little more rest time by hopefully distracting Emma.

“Nope. Good little boys who finish all their exercises get surprises,” she replied in a sing-song voice, returning to her chair against the wall. “Stubborn little boys who don’t get well get to go home and get sent to their rooms.”

“Promise?” Joseph muttered under his breath, but then sighed deeply in a frustrated way and sat up, reaching for the hateful tubing again. He began counting out his reps to himself, the effort and pain creasing his otherwise handsome face. Emma watched intently, a far cry from when she couldn’t bring herself to see how he struggled when he’d first begun several weeks ago. Now, she sat by his workout station and called out her support, reminding him to straighten his arm or pull with his core as she’d seen Darius do.

An exhausting two hours later—two hours that admittedly included a marvelous deep tissue massage on his scarred back as he slept—Joseph and Emma walked out of the building hand in hand and climbed into the rental car Bernard had arranged to take them back and forth every day. She steered the car to their hotel, and walked behind Joseph as he carried himself up the stairs under his own power.

“Go change clothes, and we’ll be on our way,” she said with an eager expression, repacking items from the small kitchenette into the cooler she used to bring their lunch to therapy each day.

“How do I know what to wear if I don’t know where we’re going?” he demanded, still trying to pry the information out of her.

“Just wear regular clothes. You know, jeans and a t-shirt,” Emma answered, stashing some apples in with their snack foods and drinks.

They finally hit the road, the windows rolled up against the chill in the air that signaled Christmas would be coming soon. It wasn’t lost on either of them that Joseph would be away from Carson Hill for the holidays, a fact they refused to acknowledge or discuss. Emma turned up the radio and sang along quietly, watching Joseph’s face uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye, staring at her.

“What?” she demanded when she tired of the staring.

“You’re singing,” he answered in amazement. “It’s great! Keep singing!”

“Well, not if you’re gonna stare at me, I won’t!” she answered with a nervous laugh. “If you’re so love in with singing, then you sing! I’ll just stare at you for a while and see how you like it!” Soon, they both sang along loudly, laughing at the way they purposely sang off key.

Nearly thirty minutes of driving later, the dashboard GPS declared that they had reached their destination, but the outside of the large metal building was a disappointment. Its drab exterior belied what was inside, though, and Emma was counting on the inside to be exactly the boost to his spirits that Joseph needed.

“Okay, we’re walking in, but you have to close your eyes,” she declared with a hint of mischief in her voice as she parked in the handicapped spot next to the glass door. Joseph eyed her skeptically, but let go of a breath and did as he was told. She steered him forward, pushing on his elbows from behind him, purposely guiding him into walls and letting him bounce lightly off small objects in his path.

Once through the main doors inside the building, Joseph stood up taller, breathing in the familiar smell that he would have recognized anywhere. “Are you kidding me?” he whispered, a hopeful smile creeping across his face. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly serious,” Emma whispered in his ear, standing on tiptoe and kissing him lightly on the cheek. “But you haven’t figured out the best part yet. Open your eyes.”

Joseph blinked in the fluorescent overhead lights of the indoor arena, the pungent smell of horses having already assaulted his senses. But when he stepped forward open-mouthed to place his hand flat on Brandy’s side, he was speechless.

“How did you…how did you get my horse here?” Joseph asked, looking around frantically for his family. Emma laughed sweetly and handed over the apples she’d purposely put in their bag for the horse as Carey jumped down from the seats that encircled the arena.

“Hey there, little brother! If you can’t high-tail your butt home to ride this horse before she dies of loneliness, I figured I’d bring the horse to the city!” Carey hugged Joseph tenderly, avoiding his damaged shoulder out of habit. Joseph hugged him back more forcefully, eager to see both familiar faces from home. He turned and grabbed Emma in a tight embrace, kissing her right in front of Carey, earning himself an embarrassed cough from his older brother.

“Well, don’t just stand there making faces at the dumb animal, get up on her and ride for a while,” Carey urged as Emma looked on expectantly, clapping her hands lightly in her excitement. Joseph didn’t look as sure.

“I don’t know, guys. I haven’t been on any horse since the accident. What if I hurt her, or she throws me again? I’m not even sure I remember how to talk to her.” Joseph looked at Brandy for a long time, warring with himself over what he wanted to do versus what he thought he was no longer capable of.

“It’ll come back to you,” Carey replied. “It’s just like riding…a horse, I guess. Come on, I’ll help you up.”

Joseph looked longingly at his horse, and decided the only thing to do was to give it a shot. He placed his injured arm on the saddle and his good arm on his brother’s shoulders for support, not taking offense when his brother stooped down to give him a boost like he did when Joseph was little. As he swung his leg over the horse’s back and settled into the saddle for the first time since his accident, an unexpected feeling of contentment came over him. He looked at Emma and Carey’s proud faces, smiling sheepishly when Carey insisted on snapping a picture of him with his phone.

Joseph let the horse take the lead as she gently maneuvered in a slow walk around the arena. Not having been used to being ridden indoors, Brandy kept her flank close to the wall, letting it guide her under the once-familiar weight of her rider. After a few laps of the arena’s soft, saw dust covered floor, Joseph felt confident enough to take up the reins and try letting the horse trot in a wide circle as Emma and Carey looked on, one of them afraid for him, the other proud.

After the first hour of riding in wider, faster circles, reaching out a hand to pet his horse’s neck from time to time, Joseph was visibly tired, even from where Emma still sat silently watching him. His shoulders were slumped and his back wasn’t as straight as he’d held it before. She knew he was enjoying this too much to stop him now, but he was pushing himself too hard, and would most likely pay for it tomorrow.

“How’d I look? Do I look like a cowboy yet?” Joseph called up to them in a tone dripping with self-deprecation. “I’ll be fine as long as the cows choose to slink away on their stomachs instead of actually running.”

“You’re doing great, Joseph. Why don’t you give yourself a break for a minute?” Emma called to him. He began to open his mouth to protest but instead, he paused, nodding thoughtfully. He’d already learned the very hard way that Emma was usually right about how much effort and strain he could handle. He resumed the slow walk around the arena, letting go of the reins and patting his horse’s neck again.

“How is it that you’re the only person on the planet who can make my brother stop being stupid and stubborn?” Carey asked, a respect for her gleaming in his eyes.

Emma laughed derisively. “Believe me, if I could bottle it and sell it, I’d be filthy rich!” Carey laughed beside her.

“No, really, Emma. I mean it. I don’t think you really know how much you’ve helped him. And how much he cares about you.” Emma turned to look at Carey in surprise.

“Has he been talking to you?”

“No,” Carey admitted. “but I can just tell. If any of us had tried to tell him what to do, he’d do the opposite, just for the hell of it. But all you have to do is even hint that he should do something, and he listens. You either have him on a short leash, or that boy is in love with you.”

A pink flush crept up to her cheeks, warming her as it went. Emma and Joseph had certainly enjoyed each other’s company during the time they were together, but they never talked about anything serious. To have someone on the outside looking in say that Joseph’s feelings for her were real was both exciting and scary. This was new territory, and she didn’t have the first clue about where to go from here.

She was spared having to think about it any more when Joseph approached the low wall that ran the perimeter of the arena floor. He waved weakly with his good arm but his happy smile spoke volumes about how he felt.

“Thanks for bringing Brandy all the way up here, Carey. Really. It means a lot to me,” Joseph began, patting his brother on the arm once or twice. “I didn’t realize how much I missed her until she was standing right in front of me.”

“Well, she can’t wait for you to get well and get your butt back home where you belong. We have some ground to cover, cows to wrangle, coyotes to hunt, and all that good stuff.” Carey did his best to keep his sentiments upbeat, knowing Joseph still had a long recovery ahead of him.

“Come on, cowboy, let’s get you home,” Emma said, standing close enough that Joseph could lean on her shoulder as he dismounted from the saddle. She kept her hands at his waist until he was firmly on the ground, but suddenly became aware that his arm didn’t leave her shoulder once he was back on even footing.

Carey started to take the reins to lead Brandy back to her trailer for the long ride back to the ranch, but Joseph stopped him. “Let me do it,” Joseph begged. “I’d like to brush her and clean her up, and tell her ‘bye.” Carey stepped back and watched Joseph limp away, leading his horse slowly through the tunnel that led to the stables outside the arena. The image of the faltering cowboy and his tired horse made Carey’s breath catch in his throat.

“Hey. now, none of that,” Emma cautioned him quietly, patting him softly on the arm. “We have to keep a good thought in mind for Joseph’s sake. He’s come a really long way, Carey.”

“I know, he’s doing great. It’s just so hard to watch. It’s not fair. He should be out there tearing it up on the ranch, not struggling to sit in a saddle for an hour and then going to take a nap. It’s just not right.” His voice trailed off as his emotions got the best of him. He cleared his throat, and told Emma he’d wait for them outside to tell them goodbye.

After Joseph finished putting Brandy up in her trailer for the long ride back to the ranch, they said their goodbyes to Carey and headed back to the hotel. They were quiet on the ride back, Emma knowing that Joseph had to have been worn out, first from a grueling physical therapy session and then from getting to ride Brandy. He reclined his seat as far back as it would go, but took her hand and held it between their seats as she drove, not even letting go as he slept.