The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Five

          "Are you excited?" Slade asked, looking over at Lacey, who was riding in the passenger side seat of his truck as he drove her to the therapy ranch that Trevor had gotten her into. 

            "If you ask me if I an nervous, the answer is yes. Excited? I'm not sure about that yet." Lacey let out a nervous chuckle. 

            Slade slung his arm around the back of the bench seat, rubbing Lacey's shoulder with his hand. "That's understandable. It's your first real session there, considering the three other times you have gone it's been all orientation and formalities. But, on the bright side, you have already gotten back on the horse, so you're goin' in with a huge advantage over most of the other students."

            "Yeah..." Lacey was hardly listening to Slade's encouraging words because she was too busy taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nervous stomach. Between her fingers, she was twirling her hair like she always did when she was nervous. 

           "You're goin' to do great, darlin'. And I will be there the whole time, so you have nothin' to worry about." Slade smiled, trying his best to comfort Lacey. 

           "I'm glad you think so. Slade, I have never ridden by myself; I've only ridden with you. And I have only been on a horse four times since my accident. I'm worried I won't be able to hold myself up right." She spoke her concern.

        "I see what you're sayin', but they will have plenty of professional staff there to help you. Try not to worry, love. If you don't feel comfortable at any time in the session, you can tell them to stop, you can get off, and then we will go home. Simple as that." 

           Lacey didn't reply; instead, she just nodded, staring out her window, only hoping things would go as well for her today that Slade thought they would go.

          Only a few minutes later, Slade's truck coasted to a stop next to the huge red barn. "Alright, darlin'. Let's grab your wheelchair." Slade began to slide out of his truck, but Lacey's hand on his arm stopped him. Turning back so he was fully in the cab, Slade looked at Lacey, seeing her giving him an almost concerned look.

        "We are almost twenty minutes early. Can we please just sit here for a bit before we go in?" 

       Slade chuckled slightly, closing his door, scooting closer to his girlfriend. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Slade pulled Lacey closer to him. "Do you want to listen to some music while we sit?" Before she could even say yes in reply, Slade turned the knob to the on position, slamming the top of the dash to make the station come in. Finally, an old classic country song came softly through the speakers. Under his arm, Slade heard Lacey laugh. "What?" He grinned because of Lacey's contagious smile.

        "I can't believe you still haven't fixed the radio yet." Lacey was still laughing hysterically. 

        "Well, I am never gonna fix if it means I get to see that pretty little smile of yours." Slade flirted, leaning closer to Lacey. 

        Even as she leaned in, the smile never faded from Lacey's lips. Slowly her and Slade's lips connected once before they pulled back. 

        Resting her head on Slade's shoulder, Lacey stared out of the windshield, looking at the big red metal barn. "Thank you for bein' here with me. I know it's boring for you to just stand there and watch folks ride horses around the arena. 

         "Darlin', I wouldn't miss this for the world." Slade smiled, softly brushing a finger over Lacey's shoulder. 

        A new Chevy Silverado truck pulled up next to Slade's old, beater Ford truck. Looking to her right, Lacey saw the Chevy door open, watching as the driver assembled her wheelchair, sliding down from her truck seat to sit in her wheelchair expertly. Letting out a sigh that she didn't mean to be audible, Lacey watched as the lady wheeled herself into the barn; she definitely was at a place with her disability that Lacey could only dream to be at.