Roping Her In

Chapter: 18

As I was loading my horse after Zeek had, Cox came up to my trailer. "Sorry about the win baby." He said. "I gave it to you two. My roping partner isn't all that." I said. He sighed. "I didn't want to win it like that." He said. "I did. The only reason Joshua High got this far is because of me." I told him.

"Don't get hurt doing it baby. When I saw the miss, your horse looked like he was about to fall." He said. "He knew what he was doing." I said. "I guess this means spring rodeoing and we could be traveling together?" He asked. "Possibly." I told him. "I'll let you know who all will be going to regionals on Tuesday." He said. "I'll let you know Monday." I said. He nodded. "Bonfire tonight?" He asked. "Possibly." I answered.

"Might want my hoodie. It's already getting chilly." He said. "I know. Kady offered to let me spend the night with her before we go to the mud rally tomorrow." I said. He nodded. "If you need anything, text me. I'll be there in an instant." He said. "Thank you." I told him. "I'll see ya later." He said before we parted ways. I met up with Kady at Rose Thorn before we went to the bonfire in her truck. I had switched hoodies for Cox's Burleson because his is warmer.

We got there and I immediately found Cox. He pulled me onto his tailgate and nearly his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder. "That was f*cking stupid of you to give up going to regionals. But you are still going even without your roping partner." Chaz said coming up from the side. "Teammates are all a**holes to me." I said.

"Oh. So he didn't deserve it." Chaz said. I nodded against Cox's shoulder. Cox kissed my forehead. "I'd say I'm tired too baby." He said. "We are going to need some sleep before heading that way tomorrow." Kady said. Cox swept me off the tailgate and carried me to Kady's truck. "Mace should be doing that for me." Kady said.

"With him on crutches, I doubt he could." Chaz said. Kady got in and Cox put me in the passenger seat. We kissed before he told me goodnight and that he will see me sometime this weekend. The night wasn't that long and we both slept pretty good. Her dad wasn't super thrilled, then her mom jumped on his case about letting her have a girl friend that she can hang out with instead of just guys.

Morning told otherwise. Her parents were gone and since basketball had started, Kady said that her mom dragged her dad to one of her brother's scrimmages. We got dressed, did our hair and makeup. The both of us trying not to impress anyone.

We ate breakfast before getting into her truck. We started off on the backroads to the highway to get there. We stopped at the second to last stop sign before getting on the highway for a second when she got a call. Before she could answer, her truck was hit at an angle. My head went forward and that's the last I remember.

Little pictures faded in and out. I could hear Cox, Mase, Dan, sirens, a horrible sound. It was like a horrible dream. Next thing I saw was white. "Jesse." Cox. "Probably let her rest." Dan. "I know." "Thank you for calling me." "I knew someone would want to know." "I don't have anything I'm doing. If you need to go get some things or do something, I'll stay here and alert the nurse." "Thanks. Let me know what all either of you may need." Dan said before leaving.

"Wish this could have been prevented." Cox said. My right leg felt stiff. I tried to move it. It hurt severely. I moved my left leg. I willed myself to wake up. The light was too bright for me. I tried to get my eyes to adjust. No use. I groaned before covering my head. If it was Cox in the room, he would turn the lights off.

I moved a little more. "Jesse." He partially uncovered my head. I opened my eyes. "Head hurting?" He asked softly. I nodded. I uncovered myself a little more than he did. My arm was in a cast. So was my right leg. "Doctor said you would be out for roughly three months." He said. "All fractures?" I asked. He nodded.

I tried to sit up. "Hang on. Let me help you." He said. He hooked his arms under my arms and hoisted me up in the bed. Then moved to fix the two pillows holding my leg up. "What's the total damage?" I asked. "Fractured knee and fibula then in your arm, ulna and elbow." He said sitting on the left side of the bed.

"What happened exactly?" I asked. "I don't know who it was that hit you, but they hit on your side of the truck, the airbag deployed after you hit your head, then Kady cut the airbag from suffocating you." He said. I looked around the room. He moved closer. "Hey. Are you ok?" He asked. I nodded.

"Tired and hurting." I said before a nurse came in. "Oh good. Your up." She said. I stretched my non injured leg. Cox moved off the bed. The nurse checked my vitals and everything before seeing if I could feel my toes. "Yeah." I told her. "Hurting anywhere?" She asked. "My head. Migraine kind of pain." I said. "Ok. I will see if that can be worked with." She said before leaving.

"What else happened?" I asked Cox. "Kady called me panicked when it happened. Mace happened to be at my house along with Chaz and Hyde, as soon as I heard that you two got into a wreck, I told them, hung up and called Dan." He said. I nodded. "Were you two there?" I asked. "Yeah." He said.

"Picked up your phone when it fell out of your pocket." He said pulling it out. "Thank you." I said. My eyes felt heavy. "I'll keep an eye on ya baby." He said. I nodded and fell asleep.