Cavanaugh rode out the chute on Life-Long Dream. The bull didn’t buck left or right, just straight up over and over again, like a wailing see-saw attached to a live wire. Cavanaugh held on, seemed like for more than mercy. It looked like the bull was going to give Cavanaugh a run for the money. Three seconds. Four seconds. Carmen couldn’t breath. She thought about Tad laying back at the house and how she needed to go see him tomorrow. The use of his arms was making Jessica’s job easier for him. Suddenly, the crowd was hollering and brought Carmen right back into the moment.
“Come on cowboy. Look out he’s trying to twist a buckin’ bull and here’s the man that might be able to do it right there. Cavanaugh. That is something we haven’t seen from that bull. Oh folks!”
Suddenly, the crowd got deadly quiet with a few gasps piercing through.
“That cowboy just made himself a nightmare. That bull wasn’t going to bring Peter Pan or Tinkerbelle to Cavanaugh. Someone get him a better night’s sleep. Give that Georgia man some good Georgian love.”
Cavanaugh thought he’d had a great straight ten days after earning about $16,500 for a few finishes at riding competitions. With the total score possible for a bull ride being 100 points, and having finished 3-for-3 with a combined score of 250.25 at a 400 point event a couple of days ago, Cavanaugh had been facing a great winning streak.
Just like with Tad, Carmen ran out first to respond. Cavanaugh didn’t fall as badly as Tad did. This looked less serious. Except, every fall deserved full attention and luckily this time the bull didn’t lock on Cavanaugh, although Carmen did. She ran out with a few other medics to assess his injuries. Cavanaugh could feel everything, but the pressure on his chest made him wonder whether he’d broken his ribs. Working in the dirt, the emergency professionals didn’t let him wonder too long.
Cavanaugh said, “It doesn’t feel broken.”
Carmen assessed, “It’s probably bruised ribs. You’re lip needs a little TLC.”
They pulled out a yellow plastic stretcher and carried Cavanaugh off the arena to the mobile sports medicine center that was set up during every outdoor rodeo. The emergency physicians alongside Carmen determined he had bruised ribs.
“Without you I’d be in a bind, Carmen. I’m not going to whine about it but sneezing is going to feel like being stabbed. None of this is fun,” he confessed.
“We’re always staying busy in here,” she fought off blushing.
“Goes with the territory. If I’m not sore, well, I haven’t gotten on enough bulls. Now, listen to me, I’ve sustained enough pain today. You want to go out and have dinner with me tonight when you’re free,” Cavanaugh asked.
Carmen looked at Cavanaugh for a moment like she was on brand new territory. She hadn’t gone out on a date with a cowboy in a long time, and Cavanaugh held her spellbound. It was going to take everything she had to even finish the day.
She smiled at him considering his offer. “Sure thing, I’d love dinner with you.”
Cavanaugh decided to take her to The Bourbon Street Grille. They always had some live music and an exciting lively atmosphere. They sat down at one of the tables looking out over the balcony. Cavanaugh didn’t get shy all that much. In fact, one of the things that he really loved about hanging out with a doctor was that there couldn’t be anything in the world that would make her squeamish. Plus, she knew what it took to get any of these cowboys riled up and laughing. They ordered some food and a few cocktails.
“I can already feel the healing happening Carmen. I think just being around the good feeling of the doctor on the day of an injury makes up for getting all banged up,” he flirted.
She joked back, “Every healing has a story just like every scar. You should start feeling like the word ‘Om’ is going to slip out of your mouth any second and you’ll find your pointing finger and thumb start wanting to make the okay sign.”
Cavanaugh laughed, “Here I thought you were going to tell me you were going to ask the bartender to switch to a healing service on the television and start evangelizing. You will be healed! Your ribs cling together and are no longer the breaking kind!”
She got serious, “I was. I will anoint you but you must first believe.” She laughed. Cavanaugh had an amazing smirk that just dazzled her. If he could smirk that way all the time, it would heal her. “It’s about oneness. It’s about being a conduit for the flow of healing energy.”
Cavanaugh flowed, “The pain meds really help too.”
Carmen changed the subject and said “Living fearlessly, abundantly, and wearing a dusty hat. Now that’s charming. Who needs a hat that doesn’t show some wear and tear,” she casually considered.
Cavanaugh swanked proudly, “Dubbed the greatest hat wearer in four rodeos.”
She matched his bravado with some flattery, “You’ve got to drive some girls wild and some city slickers running for the hills.”
“Now, you’re going to give me a big head,” Cavanaugh sat like he was taken aback.
“Then you’re hat won’t fit anymore,” she faked worry.
Cavanaugh suspected, “I know some people in the hat business.”
She continued, “Tell me, I always wondered how you manage to never lose your hat?”
The food arrived. They played with their food, eating occasionally.
Cavanaugh answered, “It’s molded to my head. Although right when I need to, I tip it to a fine lady such as yourself. I noticed your beautiful snake skin boots while you were helping carry the stretcher.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve even made a YouTube video showing them off. I’ve got one of my scuffed snakeskin boots and then my muddy ones. You’ve only seen my muddy ones in the arena.” she shared.
Cavanaugh asked, “Breaking them in, well were they vintage or did you buy them?”
“I had them custom made. A shop in this square…. can’t recall the name. However, I went on Yelp and rip them a new one for being closed when I came to pick up the boots,” she said. She pulled them from out beneath her to show them off a bit. “However, they fit me like a glove.”
Cavanaugh pleaded, “Who wants a glove on their feet darling?”
She justified, “obviously I do.”
“Not your first rodeo? I figured that’s what I’d get dispersing unsolicited advice to you,” Cavanaugh sighed.
She retorted, “Don’t squat with your spurs on.”
“That’s an arm jerker!”
“Listen Carmen, I like your style.” Cavanaugh complimented her.
They sat facing each other with their hands often so close to touching but enjoying the feeling of the space between them. She percolated, “What am I getting myself into.”
Cavanaugh insisted, “Keep it. I want you to watch me ride tomorrow.”
She resisted, “I don’t know.”
Cavanaugh asked, “Gate’s closing?”
She said, “Yeah. I don’t want to see another ride.” They ate quietly. Cavanaugh tried to change the subject. He didn’t intend to shut her down, but the wall she built must have been twenty feet high and he’d have an easier time wrestling a steer at the moment than getting as close as they were a few minutes ago. Memories of her brother flooded her mind. She couldn’t let it break her down to tears. She also couldn’t lie to him and say she would be ready to watch him on the bull again the next day. She was falling for him and he know it, but wasn’t going to say a thing about it, because he thought it might take some time.
He hadn’t ever stopped to think what the doctors on the rodeo circuit went through day in and day out. More often than not, the cowboys were too busy getting themselves ready to get up on a bull. He wasn’t really that ready to scare her off right now. He figured there was a lot of time to get to know what made her tick. She definitely knew what made bull riders mad. He decided he needed to take it slow and easy and see if some of the wounds he felt wouldn’t find the ones she felt.
She needed to feel happy not just get caught up in his pursuit of happiness. Cavanaugh wondered if bein
g a sports medical doctor made her happy. While they ate quietly, he remembered the number of times he’d seen the team of medics and how they tried to keep everyone’s spirits up. No one pays attention to the doctors until they are needed.
Through all of this, the doctors kept them healthy for the next ride. They knew the knee tears, cracked pelvises, broken backs and all kinds of injuries weren’t something that the doctors could look away from.
Cavanaugh concluded, “The way you guys care for us, well, I just have to say you’re an angel. Thanks for the doctor release.”
That warmed her heart a bit. Carmen looked up. She didn’t want to share her reasons for not coming. If she constructed a lame excuse, she could imagine that it wouldn’t come across as true and he’d wonder why she was pulling back from him. He might even walk away right after lunch and reduce his interaction with her to ‘being nice’ when she visited Tad. She observed that he wasn’t going to dig anymore. He could deal with a no.
Carmen commented, “It’s hard to get your bearings after a big fall. You’ll ride the three bulls tomorrow and not get sore after the first one.”
“I know bulls don’t play by the rules. I just hope it doesn’t ride away from my hand,” Cavanaugh considered.
Carmen anticipated, “You’re right-handed right? You’re really in tune with your body. You’ve lasted on the circuit for years. You’ll tough it out.”
He said, “You know I noticed how absolutely beautiful you are, and I bet you’ll even look more beautiful wearing my hat.”
He slugged his beer.
Carmen said, “Lucky for you, you’re my ride.”
Cavanaugh hummed with understanding of the feeling they were exploring together. Still, he wasn’t sure if she would get more restless tomorrow and start giving him the cold shoulder. There were lots of choices in her dating pool, and he wasn’t exactly sure if she was just exploring the feeling between them.
Cavanaugh laughed, “And it’s a much smoother ride for a pretty lady such as yourself.”
Carmen inferred, “Than in the arena. Well, I should hope so.” She laughed. He got her to laugh. That felt great.
“I’ve got a good draw,” Cavanaugh shared.
Carmen asked, “You mean tomorrow?”
Cavanaugh smiled, “Yeah, I mean tomorrow.”
Her head started to spin a little the minute she put on his cowboy hat. She felt, like the rodeo saying went, a little down in the well, except the feeling she was getting from Cavanaugh wasn’t bull.
Carmen hoped that a kiss would come on a second date. Right now, she just wanted tomorrow to be done and to go help Tad. She looked down bashfully. He was looking forward to getting on a bull, except, the only way she wanted to see him was when they could get dirty.
He drove her home. Cavanaugh said, “I don’t want to have to be in intensive care for you to drop by next time.”
She didn’t reply.
Chapter Six
Carmen stood beside Tad while she propped him in the bed. He was showing his arm and leg movement.
Carmen said, “Many times a fracture at the T-12 through L-1 only means you’ll spend 11 to 18 months away from bulls Tad.”
Tad said dejectedly, but he was also torn, since he liked to see the positive side, “I’ll put this behind me. It’s cool. Like I’ve been rebuilt like some sort of robot.”
“Learning to walk again and all the demanding physiotherapy is about as hard as riding those bulls Tad. But, you’ve looked fear in the eyes and didn’t blink,” Carmen reinforced.
Tad worried, “Lying down for weeks isn’t going to help how it feels when I stand up.”
“You’re legs are not going to cooperate for a while, but we’ll get you to where you can walk again. It’s like bull riding 90% mental 10% physical. You get your head right and you’ll start walking. Then, you can start riding again,” Carmen asserted.
Carmen got Tad to sit sideways on the bed and brought a walker over to him.
Carmen reassured, “If it hurts too much we’ll have you sit back down. Our goal is just for you to get walk around the bed and sit back down.”
Tad stood up pressing his weight down on the walker. He grunted and then looked to see if Carmen heard it. Tad pushed the walker slowly around the bed. He felt intense pain.
Carmen said excitedly, “You’re doing great.”
Tad grimaced. He couldn’t stand this. He got around to the other side of the bed and sat down with his hands on the walker. He wouldn’t let go.
Tad announced, “This’ll get easier by tomorrow.”
“You walk around the bed on the walker tonight and a few times tomorrow and you’ll start building those muscles up again,” Carmen suggested.
Tad gushed, “I’m not a rookie at walking.”
“Buck up and you’ll be bucking in no time,” Carmen encouraged him.
Tad couldn’t help but smile, he walked around the bed.
Sally walked in and wanted to have a word in private with Carmen. “Tad sweetie, I’m going to go fix you something in the kitchen, alright?” Carmen wanted to tell her that Tad walked around the bed, but the look on Sally’s face didn’t invite much conversation. She looked like she wanted to scold someone.
They walked into the hallway out of Tad’s earshot and down to the kitchen. Carmen thought about breaking the silence, then reconsidered since Carmen didn’t want to set her off in the wrong direction.
Instead, when they got to the kitchen, Carmen asked carefully, “Is everything alright Sally? I know these are some hard times and Tad just hit a new milestone.”
Sally whipped around and looked at Carmen and said, “I know that Cavanaugh took you out last night on a date.”
Carmen blushed and felt slightly humiliated. She didn’t really know how to respond. Sally was so proud of both of her sons. She knew that Sally would do anything for them. They were blessed to have her as their mother. While Tad’s recovery played significantly in Sally’s daily life, Carmen’s wasn’t really sure about how close Cavanaugh and Sally were and what boundary she just crossed. Carmen could tell that she had crossed a large she wished that she would have been warned, to avoid this confrontation.
Carmen exposed, “We had a nice dinner and talked about the rodeos we’ve been to.”
Sally smiled. She studied Carmen for a minute. Cavanaugh had a bad track record with the girls and this date struck a nerve. Sally didn’t know what to say, then realized she was thinking too hard. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but first she needed to ask Carmen a few questions.
She’d had a few women to women talks with other women that Cavanaugh brought around. This was a little different though. Sally figured she needed to speak up and she still hadn’t found the right words exactly.
“So, did he invite you?”
“Yes, actually, he did. He invited me when he saw me at the rodeo. He’d taken a minor fall. Maybe you could blame it on that!” She laughed. The questioning was setting her on edge, but it was to be expected. Carmen’s own mother put her dates through the ringer, and often without her full knowledge until after the fact. She felt sometimes that it was over the top, but who wouldn’t expect that from a doting parent.
Cavanaugh often found some pretty wild cowgirls at the rodeo. They didn’t last that long and Sally had a pretty good handle on telling which ones really captured his heart and which ones he found suited him as eye candy. Dating Carmen really seemed the most complicated of all the recent ones, given all of the attention she was giving Cavanaugh’s younger brother and that she was intimately involved already with the family’s well being.
“Have you ever dated bull riders? I once thought about it a long time ago, but then I met Greg and he loved attending, but he didn’t have a fire in him like our boys do. Greg always helped get sponsors for the rodeo in the area.”
“I don’t particularly make it a habit to date actually, Sally, to be perfectly honest. I work so hard, and I’m on the rodeo c
ircuit so often, that I know dating a gypsy isn’t the kind of life a lot of men want. Although, I’ve thought about it.”
Carmen’s insides were churning. Although, she didn’t really feel that great last night about Cavanaugh asking her to come see him compete today, she suddenly wished she had taken him up on the invitation. There aren’t that many reasons to run and hide from someone’s mother, but she definitely felt the urge to fly out of there
“I can imagine. It must be difficult for a doctor to find a decent date, given how few men want to be checked out in that way all of the time.” Sally laughed. “They like to consider themselves whole and only show their wounds when necessary, well at least of the rodeo kind. I’ve found that they aren’t cultivated to get that much sympathy at the rodeo. You would be surprised however how much love and sympathy they get at home. I never let my boys feel like I was going to baby them, but they certainly didn’t have to linger too long before I’d make sure they got whatever they needed to soothe their restless spirits. They don’t sit long.”
“I bet raising them must have taught you a thing or two about how to handle your own worries and nerves. Lots of parents don’t feel all that comfortable and might have to apply some numbing cream to avoid feeling everything their sons put them through.”
“Well, there have been some heartbreaking moments when I thought I wish I didn’t feel any of the side effects of playing a supportive mom to my boys. Still, I’d never want to insulate them from their nature. They wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. Now, as far as women, well, I’ve got more fear about that with Cavanaugh than you might think.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s turned a few heads.”
“What I mean Carmen, doctor, is that Cavanaugh deserves a good woman in his life after the last one,” Sally blurted.
Carmen decided to wait; because she had a feeling that Sally was used to letting thoughts like this linger in the air when it came to matters near and dear to her heart.
Carmen’s heart rate increased. She felt like she was in front of a panel of judges who were deciding her fate and were wary of asking her to chime in at any time, for fear that she might actually influence her own luck.
Sally continued, “Now I know I can’t protect Cavanaugh’s heart. He just needs a good woman.”
Carmen wasn’t sure if Sally meant that she reminded her of the last one that wasn’t so good, which explained why she had to sit Carmen down, or whether she was hopeful that Carmen knew how to be a good woman for Cavanaugh. Too many possibilities stirred in Carmen’s mind and Sally didn’t attempt to explain.