Chapter 9

Nick really wished he could send Katie outside for this conversation. The fact that he'd promised to keep her in sight was only part of it. He knew her too well to think she'd go willingly and the last thing he wanted to do was fight with her over it in front of the doctor.

"I know it's dumb, doc. But you know that athletes compete while injured all the time. I've done it. We've all done it. If I can get through tomorrow, the prize money will let me take some time off to recover."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Katie's mouth open and then clamp shut before she looked down. Her hands twisted in her lap, and she kept picking at her nails. Her stress would have been obvious, even to someone who didn't know her as well as he did.

The doctor sucked her teeth, making a tsking sound and bringing his attention back to her. "I understand, and you're right. Plenty of athletes do go right back out there. Now, you want to know how many end up regretting it? Because I've got some stories."

He didn't need to hear them. He'd seen them play out. "I know the stories too, doc, but they don't change facts much. I'm going to need the money to pay for the time off, and that's even if the ranch doesn't drop me when they find out I can't work for a couple weeks."

Nick was tired. His leg was throbbing, and he just wanted to take something for it so he could rest. His eyes locked with the doctor's and a silent battle of wills commenced, as he tried to make her understand how limited his options were.

Finally she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Okay, cowboy. I'm not dumb enough to think anything I say is going to change your mind. I'll write you some scripts and we'll get you in a boot." Her tone turned official as she spun back to the laptop and started typing.

He watched her for a second, reading over her shoulder as she put down detailed notes about his injuries, and then he turned to look at Katie. She seemed to have shrunk, pulling into herself, until she looked smaller. Despite being angry that she'd lied to him, he wanted nothing more than to take her into his lap and hold her.

It would have to wait.

When the printer started to whirr, the doc grabbed a prescription pad and scrawled out the medication details on several sheets. She passed those to him, talking as she went over to retrieve the printouts. "I strongly suggest you make an appointment with your own doctor to get checked in a couple of weeks. If it's not healing, they'll probably recommend a hard cast—so, keep that in mind when you're throwing yourself off horses."

It was a bull he'd be trying not to get thrown off of the next day, but he kept that to himself. "I'll try, doc. Anything else I need to know?"

"I'm going to give you crutches; use them. Icing instructions and everything else for the leg and knee are on here." She waved the printed sheets at him. "I assume you can read better than you can stay on a horse?" Her tone was tart.

"I'll sound out the big words," he retorted. He didn't take her annoyance seriously. Medical staff at rodeos were always like that. Cowboys were stubborn and rarely took their advice, which made them cranky. Nick couldn't say much since he was no different.

At least the on-sight medical was free. The professionals were all volunteers, and the cost of the supplies was covered by the rodeo. His injury was far from the worst he'd ever received while competing, or on a ranch for that matter. If he could keep the other expenses down, and he placed well today, he might cover the days he was going to have to take off.

It galled him that he needed Katie's help to navigate the stairs when the doctor finally let them go. But they made it to the bottom. It was going to be a long walk to the parking lot on crutches. He wasn't looking forward to the trip, but at least the injured leg wasn't his driving leg.

Since the truck was manual that wasn't going to help much today. With the boot on it would be nearly impossible to drive, but in a couple of weeks he'd be able to manage. That was something at least. He was still left with an immediate problem.

"Katie, I need to wait until the end so I can see how I placed, and I'm going to need a ride. I'll also need to find someone to drive my truck back to the ranch, so it will probably be easiest if I find one of the guys I work with. But I—"

Katie stopped short. "Wait, I thought you were coming back to my house?"

"Not really up to continuing date night, darlin'. I need to get these scripts filled and put my leg up."

"Can't you do that at my place? It's not like you've never stayed over before," she pointed out.

"True. You okay with driving me out to the ranch tomorrow then?" Not that he was looking forward to a couple weeks of leisure while trapped in the bunk house alone.

It wasn't the stark quarters that old time cowboys had lived in. It was actually a pretty comfortable cabin, if you didn't mind sharing with six other guys. There was even a small kitchen and a living room area with a television, but he'd never been much for watching. He was more of a reader, which seemed to surprise some people.

And that reminded him, "Would you mind swinging by the library on the way? If I'm going to be laid up, I'd like to grab some new books to read."

She frowned. "Sure, I don't mind driving you but… why don't you just stay with me? I know it's not much, but I think it's going to be more comfortable."

Nick tilted his head. "You mean for a couple of days or…?"

"Until you're better. It's only a few weeks." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a firm look. "You're going to need someone to help you get around."

He had managed by himself before, but having someone there would be nice. Cowboys worked all day and slept all night, so he wasn't going to get much help from any of the other hands. And then there was the fact that it was called a bunkhouse for a reason.

Some ranches had modernized and used trailers for the live-in ranch hands. Some even had small houses for married men, but group quarters for the single cowboys weren't that rare, even now. And bunkbeds were still the standard way of sleeping a lot of people in a small space.

Nick always tried to grab a top bunk when he was hired on. There were less odors up there and six men in an enclosed space could make a lot of stink. But now, with his leg messed up, climbing up into that top bed was going to be an issue.

Spending a few weeks at her house was going to mean a big change in their relationship though. They would be living together, if only temporarily, and he wasn't entirely sure either of them was ready for that. Moving too fast could ruin everything, even if there were a lot of positives too. "I don't know, Katie."

"Listen, I'm going to worry more if you're stuck out there and I don't know how you're doing. It's not that big of a deal. You can even sleep on the couch if sharing a bed isn't comfortable for you."

He chuckled as one eyebrow went up. "We've shared a bed more than a few times, Katie."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to his leg. "Comfortable with the injury, I meant."

Oh, right. "That wasn't really what I was worried about." She did tend to be a restless sleeper though, so it was a fair point to consider. "I'm just wondering what this is going to mean for us, and if we're ready for it."

Katie rolled her bottom lip under, pinning it with her teeth, and was silent for a few seconds. Finally she shook her head. "It doesn't have to mean anything. You're just staying so you can recover."

He could tell she didn't believe that. She wasn't na?ve. It would change things, but whether it would be for the worse was something they couldn't know yet.

"You'll be betteroff with me. Besides, it will give us more time together, right? If you're going to be off work anyway, we might as well get some advantage from it."

There was that.

"If you're okay with it, I guess we can give it a try," he said. He wasn't sure how he felt about it and he'd have to take some time later to unpack everything. Right now all he was feeling was pain and he really wanted to relax somewhere and put his leg up. Unfortunately it would be a while before he got a chance to do that.

They found a place near the other competitors to sit down. That helped. He was able to hear the scores from there and keep an eye on things. It had the added bonus of putting him in exactly the best place to catch one of the cowboys he worked with, so he didn't need to chase around looking.

After arrangements were made for his truck to be driven back to the ranch, he felt a little easier and he could relax. Katie fussed next to him, worried about his pain levels, and finally he ended up sitting sideways on the bench with his leg in her lap.

The throbbing died down a little, but Katie calmed down once she felt like she'd helped, and that made them both feel better. "Are you sure we need to stay?" she asked.

"We don't need to, but I really want to know how I placed. I'm pretty sure I hit a money spot, and I'm going to need it with this leg."

She ran her hand over his thigh, staying above the injured knee. "Can you get unemployment for the time off? Disability?"

He just shook his head. "Nope, but if I place today and tomorrow, I'll—"

"Tomorrow?" Her tone was flat, and then her mouth thinned into a tight line. She'd obviously forgotten.

"I'm hoping the swelling will go down overnight, so I can still compete tomorrow. The payout is good."

"Nick, you can't! Look how much pain you're in now. You won't be able to hold on and you'll get hurt worse." Spots of red were rising high on her cheeks.

"Darlin', I know you're worried, but I'm going to be fine."

"No—no you're not. You told me you'd be fine today and look," she blurted, thumping his thigh with her fist.

He winced as it sent a ripple down to the injury. "Careful, girl," he said. A low growl of pain made the words rumble.

She looked down as if just realizing what she'd done. "Sorry. But… but if that hurts just imagine what the horse will do tomorrow."

"Bull." After he corrected her, he realized he shouldn't have.

"What?"

It was too late to take it back now. "The bull riding event is tomorrow," he explained.

Her eyes flew open wide, brows rising into her hairline. "No. No, absolutely not. You can't, Daddy!"

It was the second time he'd noticed her defaulting to Daddy when she was upset, and he wondered if it was on purpose. "Katie, darlin', I've ridden a lot of bulls before. It's not as bad as it looks." That wasn't exactly true, but there was no reason for her to worry more than she already was.

"It's a bull. A huge fucking bull." Her voice rose with each word until she was practically shouting. People turned to look.

Nick sighed. "Yes, it is. But there's no point in fighting about it now. Let's wait and see how I feel tomorrow." It was only forestalling the inevitable. If there was any way to manage, he was going to try to get to the event.

It wasn't just him being pigheaded. He'd invested in the entrance fee, and he needed the money, especially if he was going to need a few doctor's visits. X-rays weren't cheap and his bare minimum insurance didn't pay for much.

When he'd traveled the rodeo circuit and held a CPRA membership, he'd had better insurance, but even that didn't cover enough. He wasn't the first cowboy to compete injured, and he wouldn't be the last.

Her mouth opened and then closed. She was quiet after that, sitting there stiff, with her lips pressed so tightly they whitened. Her eyes pointedly avoided him.

Women either loved rodeos or they hated them and when it came down to a cowboy's steady girl it tended to lean towards hate. They saw the real aftermath, the things the audience didn't, the long-lasting consequences of the sport. He wanted to reassure her, but he knew there wasn't much he could say to make her feel better.

They waited there until the last competitor had been scored. Nick got up and went over to wait with the other competitors as they called the winners. There were eight prize places and they started with the lowest award, barely enough to cover the entrance fee, but at least that cowboy would break even.

As the numbers went up, so did the prizes. Nick was relieved and anxious in turns, each time a number was called but not his name. He was hoping for a bigger payout, but anything would be better than nothing.

He shook that off and calmed himself. There was no way he hadn't hit at least the top four. He'd done very well, but the horse's display counted too, and the stallion had been the wildest ride he'd had in a long time. That was going to matter for points. It had to.

Nick's nerves wound tighter as they got up to the top winners. A gal took third place with a respectable seventy points, and she collected her prize with a big smile on her face. Nick cheered for her with the rest, but his insides were twisting.

In the old days they'd announced the scores directly after each competitor. So by the end, you knew who was ahead. This new style was supposed to build suspense, but damn if he wasn't about to explode from stress.

There were only two money prizes left. Only two chances to make back some of what the ride was going to cost him. And then there was only first place left to call.

One last shot.

He'd been in the trailer with the doctor a long time. He'd missed half the rounds, so he had no idea what his competition was. He fretted and worried as the seconds ticked on. It probably wasn't taking them much longer to announce the last prize, but it sure felt like forever.

He closed his eyes, fists clenched at his sides, as he tried to push away the throbbing pain and the anxiety. Just let me win, he prayed. He was so focused that when the next announcement came, he missed it.

It was only when the other competitors clustered around him, slapping him on the back and shouting congratulations, that he realized he'd placed first. A dizzying rush of emotion swelled, making his chest tight. He tipped back his head and released it all in a whoop of pure excitement.

The cowboy who'd taken second stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Nick needed help. It was either accept his offer or endure the whispers and stares of the audience as he slowly hobbled up the steps. Not much of a choice, as far as he was concerned.

Nick leaned heavily on his arm as they climbed back up the stairs. Each one caused a bolt of pain to shoot up his leg, and he honestly couldn't decide whether it was his knee or the break that hurt more.

But the comically large check they placed in his arms made up for it. It was fake, of course, just for the show, but it came with an envelope holding the real thing. Twenty-five hundred dollars might not seem like a huge amount to some folk, but it was a pretty decent prize for a small rodeo.

Cowboys in general didn't make a lot, despite the backbreaking (sometimes literally) work, so it was quite a windfall for him. If he was careful, it might cover his time off work. Probably not the doctor's visits, but maybe he wouldn't need many.

Winning hadn't seemed quite real until he was up there, smiling at the crowd, and listening to the cheers. The relief that blew through him made his legs shake—or maybe that was just the pain. Either way, getting back down the stairs was harder and the large cardboard check didn't help.

He struggled on the first step, but a trio of rodeo staff hurried over to assist him. Getting hurt in the ring was one thing, but falling on the stairs was lawsuit territory and that they might be held accountable for. One took the check, another handled the crutches, and a third braced Nick so he could hold the railing and hop down each step.

As soon as his good foot hit the dirt, Katie pushed in to take over for them. There was a possessiveness in the way she shouldered through, and he had to hide a snicker when she ‘accidentally' clocked one of them with his cowboy boot, which she'd been carrying since they'd left the medical trailer. "I've got him, thank you," she said pointedly.

The aggressive tone had him grinning, despite the pain. "Thanks for the help, guys. I think we'll be okay from here."

Nick was no stranger to crutches, so once he was settled, he was steady enough. "We can go now, darlin'. We do need to hit the drug store on the way home though. Gotta get these scripts filled." Pain made his voice gruff, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

The doctor had given him something, but it was already wearing off. It shouldn't have. It was meant to have lasted four hours, but the adrenaline surging through him was probably responsible.

The trip to the parking lot took forever, but when they were almost there, Katie stopped. "I think I should grab my car and drive it around," she suggested. "Will you be okay the rest of the way?" Her mouth was pursed, her eyes focused on him, as if weighing the options.

The mothering was sweet. It had been a long time since anyone had looked after him and Katie was turning out to be a fierce protector. "I'll be fine, sweetheart. Not my first time on crutches, but I sure would appreciate you saving me the trip through the lot."

She jerked her head in a nod. "Okay, then that's what I'll do. Just… just be careful." After one last look, to make sure he was steady, she turned and hurried away. With the cardboard check flapping under her arm, and his extra boot banging against her thigh, she ducked and weaved through the crowd until he lost sight of her.

Nick sighed. Now he had to follow through on his end, and make it to the gate so she could pick him up. It wasn't going to be easy, but it would have been just as hard, or harder, with her at his side. He wasn't usually the macho type who thought men couldn't show it when they were hurt, he just didn't want her worrying too much.

With her gone, he could at least let out the occasional curse as he picked his way through the crowd. Every step sent pain shooting through his leg and the weight of the walking cast dragged at his throbbing knee. The only way to get through it was to narrow his focus until the world was just a series of actions.

Plant the crutch tips in the dirt ahead of him. Squeeze the padded top against his ribs. Step forward with the good leg, while trying to keep as much weight as possible off the broken one. Repeat over and over, with his eyes on the ground so he could pretend he was almost there.

For the most part people got out of his way when he crutched through, which helped. Those who recognized him as the first-place winner shouted congratulations but didn't try to stop him. He would flash them a tight smile and then go back to focusing on the ground.

Plant. Squeeze. Step. Limp.

It worked and eventually he didn't have to pretend anymore. When he passed through the arch Katie was there waiting. She jumped out of the still running car to open the passenger side door for him. And that was when he was presented with his next challenge.

"Fuck." He glared at her car. He was used to climbing up into his truck, but her car was low to the ground and getting in was going to be rough. How the hell was he going to do it without bending his knee too much?

"Let me help," she said, as she hurried to take the crutches and put them in the back seat. With her supporting his weight, he was able to get in. To be more specific, he kind of fell inside and sprawled half across her seat, while Katie tried to lift his legs in.

A long stream of curse words burst from him as she banged the injured leg on the door. "Sorry," she blurted as she froze. She waited for him to catch his breath, before she made a second attempt to lift the booted leg in.

With her help, he managed to get seated properly and belted in, but it left him sweating and trembling from the strain. "That was worse than the fall." His voice was rough and raw sounding, which was how he felt.

She got in on the driver's side and took a good look at him. "Poor Daddy. We really need to get you some pain killers."

"Not gonna argue with that," he agreed. The increased pulsing was sending shocks of agony through his body, and he had to grit his teeth tightly to stop another sweary rant. He settled back in the seat and got as comfortable as possible, which wasn't very.

To be fair he didn't think Katie was deliberately hitting every single pothole between the fairgrounds and the drugstore… it just felt like it. Once they'd parked, she held out her hand. "Gimme. I'll get them filled."

Nick wasn't sure they'd let her, but he was positive that he wasn't up for standing around and waiting, so he just nodded. "I'll give you my wallet. My license and debit card are in there." He reached for his pocket and then stopped. "Damn it!"

His head thumped back against the seat with a growl. "I left it in my truck." Riding with a wallet in your pocket was a bad idea any time, but it could be a disaster in a rodeo. He'd stashed it under his seat with his phone, in a crumpled fast-food bag and gone in with empty pockets. The ignition key had been tucked in the visor—no worries about anyone stealing his old rust bucket, but there were plenty who'd have grabbed what cash he had.

"Should I take you back to get it? You don't think someone will take it, do you?" She turned in her seat, frowning.

"Randy might already have left with the truck." The stress of the day was starting to get at him. His hands clenched into fists, and he closed his eyes.

Katie leaned over and kissed his cheek. "The pharmacy staff knows me, at least some do. I used to get all my mom's meds filled here. If there's a problem they can just come out and see your leg for themselves."

Nick blew out a long breath. "Thanks, darlin'. Wait… do you have enough money? Obviously, I'll pay you back when I get my wallet, but do you have enough to cover it now?"

She stopped, half out of the car, and looked back over her shoulder. "I got paid the other day. And if it's not enough I'll use credit. Don't worry, Daddy… I know you're good for it."

And then she was gone, leaving him alone with a ferocious ache that made it hard to sit still, and his thoughts. Katie was suddenly calling him Daddy more than she ever had outside of a scene. He liked it… a lot.

He wished he could look forward to spending a few days, or more, at her house. It would have been a great chance to bond, but as things were, he wasn't going to be at his best. Most likely he'd be sleeping and complaining a lot, but he did love seeing this nurturing side of Katie.

There'd never been a chance for him to see this part of her before. It was a good sign for their future relationship, if she was able to be a full partner in sharing the burdens. Some submissives weren't at their best when they had to step up for a while.

He'd seen too many D/s relationships fall apart when the Dom hit a rough patch and couldn't stay on top of their game. Of course, Nick didn't expect a little injury was going to hold him back for long, but he loved that Katie had immediately seen his need and rushed to take care of it.

Sharing the worries and stress made for a solid partnership.