Page 12 of A Triple C Ranch Christmas Wedding
“I’ll do it,” Red said right away, interrupting everyone else who would have spoken. “I’ll take care of them for you, Buck. Don’t worry, you trained me good. I know what to do.”
His face relaxed with worry taken care of. He seemed to realize he wasn’t capable of going out into the snow to the barn to feed ten horses.
“Helicopter is on its way,” Cecelia called out. “ETA thirty minutes.”
George entered the room from the kitchen, and said, “What’s going on? Who needs a helicopter?” Then he saw Buck sitting on the couch and went over to him.
“Buck needs a doctor,” Leah said.
George nodded and took hold of Buck’s left hand, clasping it between his hands. “You’re going to be fine, old friend. Now, we’ll take care of those horses, so you go on to the hospital and get checked out.”
Buck seemed to accept that was what needed to happen and gave a tired nod. His eyes had grown sleepy.
“Don’t let him fall asleep,” Timbers said, “And nothing to eat or drink. They’ll be here soon. I need to go out and mark the landing area.”
“How can I help?” George asked him. “What will you mark it with?”
“Flares,” Timbers said.
“I’ve got a couple flares in my truck,” George said.
“So do I,” Timbers said.
“Just enough to make a square,” George said. “Will that do?”
“It will,” Timbers said.
The men went outside to set the flares up, while the others stayed inside to watch over Buck.
The helicopter landed, and the EMT’s ran inside to Buck. Soon, they had Buck stabilized on a stretcher and were preparing to take him out to the chopper.
Buck looked for Red just before they took him outside. Making eye contact with her, he said, “One bat hay. They pull it. Out on floor. Won’t eat. Step everything. You muck.”
“One bat of hay every day,” Red translated, knowing he meant a bat of hay, which was a smaller section of a bale of hay. She was glad Buck had taught her how to take care of the horses and that she understood him now. “I understand. Or they’ll pull the hay out and won’t eat it. Then the hay gets all over the floor and makes a mess, so we would have to muck out the stalls a bunch more.” She nodded.
“Buck, stop worrying,” George said. “We’ve got this. You go on now, get up in that whirly bird.”
Buck nodded once, closed his eyes as if he were tired, and they carried him out to the helicopter.
They all watched as he was airlifted away, except Cecelia, who was listening intently to everything, as she sat by the phones.
* * *
Lucy calledthe Triple C Ranch just before she fixed a light dinner of tomato soup, to see if the tree had been delivered. Surely it had been, by now, but no one had called her.
She’d thought someone was supposed to call her, but maybe she’d remembered that wrong or they had forgotten.
As long as they had not forgotten to get the tree. She picked up the phone to call, and check on it, and waited for it to ring.
Cecelia, their receptionist, answered. “Three C’s Ranch,” she said. “How can I help you?”
“Cecelia, this is Lucy Wood.”
“Oh, hello, Lucy.”
“I’m calling to check on the tree that was supposed to be delivered today. I haven’t heard anything and wanted to make sure it got there.”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “Sorry about that, Lucy. Yes, the tree has been delivered and is set up already.”
