“I can’t help wondering what might’ve happened if I’d stayed closer to home. I feel like I ran away from everything Sage Valley represented. Riding in this rodeo is me facing it head on.”
“Taking the proverbial bull by the horns?” asked Finn.
“Ha! I guess so.”
“If you’re determined to do this, I’ll support you. And… I’m coming to watch.”
It was times like these Jess really missed having her roommate to talk to. Why did Laurel have to be on a mission trip this summer in a remote area of Zimbabwe, of all places? Why couldn’t she have picked a place with cell and internet service?
Lexi’s advice to share her true feelings plagued Jess, repeating itself like a tolling bell in her mind. But Jess didn’t trust her fleeting emotions. She preferred to keep a safe distance until she knew this was something more than infatuation. No use ruining a perfectly good friendship.
With no one else she wanted to spill her guts to, Jessica attempted to handle the issue on her own. She rehearsed an untold number of possible scenarios in her mind. Late into the night she held imaginary conversations with Cord. By the time she arrived at breakfast Monday morning, she felt ready to face him and maintain her composure in front of her grandparents. Of course, the real discussion couldn’t take place until they found a place to speak in private, but she’d even practiced those dialogues so she could speak her mind without letting her emotions clog her brain.
She waited for Cord to appear, chewing her biscuit slowly so her plate wouldn’t be empty when he arrived. But nothing could’ve prepared her for the moment when Cord stepped foot through the kitchen door. Her guts rolled like the ocean as she took in his injuries.
“Cord!” Nanna gasped, a fist raised to her open mouth. “What happened to you?”
He sank slowly into a chair at the table, as if his pockets were stuffed with raw eggs. His dark-framed glasses did nothing to hide a black and purple eye. A swollen lip accompanied the scratches on his face. His bandaged right hand protruded from a sling. Altogether, he looked like he’d had a fight with an eighteen-wheeler.
“You should see the other guy.” His chuckle turned into a wince, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Ow. It hurts to laugh.”
“You were in a fight?” Jessica tried to slow her racing heart, pressing a hand on her chest.
He shook his head, flinching again. “No, that was a joke.”
Her grandfather peered over the top of his paper. “Did you get in a wreck?”
“I might as well confess, since I can’t hide it.” Cord’s sigh was long and heavy. “I was practicing for the rodeo.”
“O
h my gosh,” Jess exclaimed. “Did you break anything?”
“Dislocated my right shoulder. Sprained some fingers. Other than that, it’s mostly bruises. I might’ve broken a few ribs,” he said, as if his injuries were no big deal. “Nothing that’ll keep me from riding in the ranch rodeo.”
“Is that why you’re wearing glasses today?” asked Nanna.
“Yeah. This eye can’t handle a contact right now.”
“You know, Cord… maybe you shouldn’t compete in the ranch rodeo.”
Nanna took the words right out of Jessica’s mouth. But Cord’s hurt expression made her glad she hadn’t expressed the sentiment.
“Bull riding is a rough sport,” he said, jutting out his chin. “Injuries are part of the game.”
“He’s right,” said Bucky, once again buried behind his newspaper. “That’s bull riding for you.”
Unbidden images rushed into Jessica’s head. Cord, bucked into the air and falling to the ground in a heap. A wildly bucking bull landing with both hooves on Cord’s back, snapping his spine.
Gruesome! What’s wrong with me?
Though she’d always loved to watch bull riding in the past, her imagination was going haywire. The possibility of Cord getting trampled by a thrashing bull had her stomach threatening to expel her freshly eaten biscuit. Suddenly, she needed some air.
“I’ve got to go,” she mumbled, leaping to her feet, her chair legs scraping the tile floor.
“You didn’t finish eating,” said Nanna.
“I’m full, Nanna,” she said, scrambling to open the door. “Thanks for breakfast.”