Page 4 of Fires Creek
“Woah now, easy honey,” she murmured, her soft hands meeting my face. She gently stroked my cheek and guided me back to reality.
“They said you had no next of kin to call when you were admitted,” she commented, although it was really more of a question.
“Nope. I’m emancipated,” I offered in reply, trying to steady my breath.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I told her about my parents. How they dumped me at school one day when I was 12 and never came back. I was in and out of foster homes from then until my 15th birthday. At that point, the school’s social worker helped me find a lawyer, and file for emancipation.
My parents didn’t even bother attending the hearing, although the judge told me they’d received the summons. Fuck knows where they went or why they left me, but I didn’t need them. I didn’t need anyone. Until now.
I started bull-riding at 14, joined the rodeo circuit and hit the ground running. After my second title belt, I hadmade enough money to buy a house and get my shit together. But despite being emancipated, I was 15 at the time, so I couldn’t do shit. I had rented a house off one of the blokes from the circuit, bought a beat-up Ford the moment I could and never looked back. Sure, I couldn’tlegallydrive, but like that ever stopped me.
Maggie rose from her seat on my bed and placed her hand gently on top of mine. The simple gesture gave me a sense of hope, of comfort. She told me she’d be back in an hour to check on me, encouraging me to get some rest.I wondered what it must be like to have a mother. What would it feel like to be loved?
“Mrs Carter?”
“Yes, Theodore?”
“Thank you. For being so kind.”
“You’re welcome, dear.” She turned on her heels and left me alone with my thoughts.
The sharp beeping of my heart-rate monitor snapped me out of my sleep, and I pried my eyes open. I squinted as the harsh, fluorescent lights assaulted my weary eyes. I looked down to inspect myself. This was the first time since that night I had really taken a moment to assess my surroundings and process what had happened. I had been here for a fucking week and was still in a state of shock.Get over it, Teddy.
Flashbacks of the fall invaded my head as my eyes trailed over my bruised legs and the lacerations coating my skin. I had a gauze wrapped over my left calf; I assumed that was from the fence that almost impaled me as I tumbled from the bull. I took in the plaster cast that adorned my rightwrist. I tried, and failed, to grip the frame of my hospital bed and sit up. Pain shot through my arm, and it felt like a thousand stinging needles embedding into me.Fuck this.I pressed the call button and Maggie appeared within a few minutes, more pills and water in tow.
“Morning, sunshine,” she cooed, taking a seat on the bed beside me and handing me the tray.
“Don’t you ever get a day off, Mrs Carter?” I gave her a bashful smile and cocked my eyebrow at her playfully, then downed the pills with a large gulp of water.
“I go home from time to time,” she laughed. “In fact, my son, Jonas, is only a few years older than you. I have asked him to come in today to keep you company.”
“You didn’t have to do that, Mrs Carter,” I replied, taking another sip of water, feeling like she just ordered me a babysitter. At least the cool rush of liquid instantly eased the pain in my ribs.
“He’s a lovely boy; he helps us around the farm. I thought you may have some things in common. He rides too horses mostly. He said he knew of you from the rodeo circuit,” she announced proudly.
The door to my hospital room creaked open, and a tall, stocky teenager appeared in the door frame. He stood there, looking rough with a sheepish expression plastered on his face, before he shuffled into the room.
“Uh, hey. I’m Jonas,” came his deep, gravelly voice.Deeper than you’d expect from a teenager.
I don’t know what the fuck was happening, but that voice and his smile sent shivers down my spine and straight to my dick.This man was fucking gorgeous.
Jonas stayed with me for most of the day, telling me stories about his time on the farm. His eyes danced when he spoke of the horses, and his lips quivered when he laughed.Although he was only a few years older than me, he looked like a man despite only being 19. His tanned skin was slightly withered, his body toned and muscular from the hours spent working in the sun. Subtle smile lines creeped across his face, almost hidden beneath his beard.
I found myself thinking about him long after he’d left, wondering if he’d come back and visit me again. Although, I hadn’t really asked him to. Maybe I was overthinking things.Shit.
Maggie quietly creeped back into my room holding a thick manilla folder. She took her usual spot next to me on the bed, and with a cheeky smile, she asked, “Theodore James, how would you like to become a Carter?”
Age 19
We’d been home for an hour, and I was still completely shocked that Mum brought Teddy home to live with us. He seemed cool, but I wasn’t used to having another person here. Aside from the farm hands that came in to help during peak season, it was just me, Mum, and Dad. We’d lived in Ashwood Manor my whole life. Dad was the foreman, and someday, I would follow in his footsteps.
I had grown up on the back of a horse, learning to ride as soon as I could walk. Riding was second nature to me. Dad spent my childhood teaching me everything I neededto know and then some. By the age of 12, I was able to fix any machinery just as well as I could tie my damn shoelaces.Not that Ariats had shoelaces…
I knew of Teddy from the rodeo circuit. Where he rode bulls, I rode horses. He was new to the scene, clocking his second win last year at only 15. I was a few years older so we mixed in different crowds, but his reputation was undeniable. A young, upcoming rider with a fearless outlook and an unstoppable spirit. It really was a damn shame his career ended the way it did. He was a bloody good rider. But all it took was one bad fall and you were totally fucked.
