Page 2 of All Night with the Cowboy
Mia nodded. She was his ally in this whole thing—Mia was a professional show jump rider, and although not as dangerous as what he did, it was still a high-risksport. Not to mention the fact that he’d stood her ground with her when their entire family had protested about her continuing to ride while she was pregnant with Sophia and now again with her second pregnancy. She owed him a debt big time.
“You let me know if you need anything, or if all of this,” she said, waving her hand around, “gets to be too much.”
She left him then and went back to Sam, and Tanner grit his teeth and tried to get comfortable. He’d been hurt before, but damn, this was something else. Perhaps he should have heeded his doctor’s advice and stayed a few days longer.
“So how’d you convince the docs to let you out of the hospital so soon?” Cody asked as he sipped his beer.
“Bribed a pretty nurse,” Tanner replied with a wink.
“I should have guessed.” Cody laughed and Tanner joined in, pleased he’d decided to come home. It was Thanksgiving and the last thing he wanted was to sit alone in a hospital bed, wishing he was at home with the rest of his family.
“Any thoughts about rehab yet?” Cody asked. “And please don’t tell me you’re hoping to get on a bull again. Surely you’ve got all that out of your system? It’s been ten years of risks, Tan, it’s time to give it up and grow up a little. Get a real job.”
Tanner took a big pull of beer. “We’re not all cut out to be pen pushers,” Tanner replied, knowing how badly that would grate his brother.
“You know what? Screw you,” Cody muttered. “At least I’m not trying to kill myself every time I go to work.”
Tanner wasn’t so sure about that. He’d feel like he was trying to kill himself if he went to work in anoffice each day, but he decided to keep his mouth shut instead of retaliating.
For the next half hour, Tanner managed to ignore Cody and watch the game, and before he knew it, his sisters were calling them in for dinner and everyone rose. Tanner hauled himself up as best he could, accepting Cody’s hand when he steadied him and held out one of the crutches to him.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“You know I do actually give a damn about you, right?” Cody asked. “It’s the only reason I keep at you about doing something different with your life.”
“Yeah, I know.” Tanner moved into the adjoining room where the big dining table was set. “It just ain’t gonna happen.” A huge turkey was in the middle and smaller dishes surrounded it—Tanner’s mouth was watering just looking at the feast. His brother needed to learn when to shut his mouth, and right now would be as good a time as any.
“But when is enough going to be enough, Tan? What do you have left to prove?” Cody asked. “I think you owe it to us.”
“Just leave it,” Tanner ground out, not wanting to ruin a damn fine meal because his brother wouldn’t get off his back.
“You know,” Mia said, obviously having heard the conversation and trying to deflect the argument. “The best thing you can do is to heal your body properly. If you do decide to go back to riding, and that’s something only you can decide, you’re less likely to injure yourself if your body’s in top form. Maybe you can promise us all that you won’t go back until you’re in top shape again?”
“See, words of wisdom over here,” Tanner said with a laugh, eternally grateful for Mia. “I need to heal, then find a top physical therapist. I’ll be back on a beast in no time, but I will give you all my word that I’ll wait until I’m good and ready before I go back. Maybe I’ll stick with broncs awhile before returning to bulls.” It wasn’t a question ofif—in his mind it was only a matter ofwhen.
Mia gave him a look and he stared back at her, but then she smiled and leaned over to take his plate. He ignored the raised eyebrows from his father and didn’t bother looking at his other siblings.
“Everything?” she asked, gesturing toward the dishes of food.
He nodded. “The works.” He’d been fantasizing about this meal all week as a way to survive the disgustingly bland hospital food. Angelina passed him another beer and he took it gratefully, although it would have to be his last. He didn’t want to mix the pain meds he was on with too much alcohol.
Everyone started talking and Tanner reached forward to take the plate from Mia, sucking in a sharp breath when he engaged his stomach muscles without realizing. The bull had gouged straight through his flesh, into his ribs and tearing through his side, and the pain there was still hard to manage.
“Thanks,” he said, trying not to hiss with pain as he set the huge plate of food down.
“You know,” Mia said, leaning toward him a little as she filled her own plate. “I think you need to go away somewhere for a few weeks. You can go somewhere relaxing, take a physical therapist with you, and just focus on healing. I think a long rest away from here would do you good for your recovery.”
He grunted. “Why is it that you and I are the only people in this family who speak the same language sometimes?”
She laughed. “Seriously, Tanner, can you trust me to organize it for you? I’ve been talking to some PT’s and investigating options for you. I really want to help.”
“Damn, girl, sounds like you’ve been busy while I’ve been lying around in a hospital bed.”
There went that look again. Mia never sucked in her bottom lip, yet she’d done it twice now and he had no idea why. He raised an eyebrow and stared at her, long and hard. “Mia?”
“I need you to be open-minded,” she said. “But I’ve tentatively booked accommodations for you, and the jet is available. You can leave the second week of December and come back in the New Year.”
Tan took a sip of his beer. “What’s the catch?” He couldn’t exactly see what was so bad about taking a vacation.
