Hope Navarre - A Ranch for His Family

“You’re going back to riding bulls? I don’t believe it.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at him.

“Mom, what did you think I was going to do?”

“I don’t know, but I never considered you’d be foolish enough to risk your life again. I’ve spent every day since I got that phone call giving thanks to God that you’re alive. I’m sorry you lost an eye. I’m sorry that your face is scarred, but it could have been so much worse. I thought this would be the end of your bull riding.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t quit like this.”

She stood and wiped away her tears. “I can’t bear it if you go back! I’ve already buried a husband—I don’t want to bury one of my children, too.” She turned away, then hurried out the door.

Neal stared after her, feeling ashamed and confused. Why didn’t anyone understand? He was a bull rider, for heaven’s sake. It was who he was as much as what he did. He’d been among the best of the best. If he couldn’t ride, then there wasn’t anything left for him. His gaze was drawn to the stranger in the mirror wearing his clothes.

Hell, who did he think he was kidding? The thought of trying to ride again turned his insides to jelly. He was afraid, plain and simple. And that fact scared him worse than anything. He’d never been afraid in his whole life.

He needed to ride again, needed to prove he was still the same man he’d always been and not the coward who cringed like a child in the darkness. Life like this wasn’t worth living.

CHAPTER FOUR

ROBYN SAW ELLIE Bryant was crying as she hurried out of the drugstore, and her annoyance at Neal grew by leaps and bounds. Apparently, nothing she’d said had gotten through his thick head. He followed his mother out of the store a few moments later, and they drove away.

The truck door opened and Robyn’s mother stuck her head in. “All done. What shall we do next?” Her mother’s chipper voice rang hollow.

“Are you okay, Mom?”

“I can’t believe what a relief it is to have finally done this.”

“I’m glad.” She would try to be supportive for her mother’s sake.

“I need to run into the drugstore for a minute. Then I’ll be ready to go.”

“I’ve got the whole day off, so take your time. Tell you what, let’s have lunch at the Hayward House, my treat.”

“Sounds great.”

Her mother entered the store, and Robyn turned up the radio to listen to her favorite country song and hum along. A few minutes later, her cell phone rang. Frowning, she pulled her phone from her purse. She’d taken Chance to a sitter today, something she didn’t normally do. She hated leaving him with anyone but her mother. She’d given the sitter this number.

Her feeling of alarm vanished as soon as she saw the caller ID. She recognized the voice on the other end. It was the hospital operator.

“I’m glad I got you, Robyn. Dr. Cain needs you to come in right away.”

On her day off? What could be so important? “What’s going on?”

“It’s Mildred Eldrich, one of our deaf patients. She’s had a stroke. We need your help to communicate with her.”

Robyn saw her mother walk out of the drugstore. “All right, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She snapped the phone closed as her mother climbed into the truck.

“Who was that?” Martha asked.

“The hospital. Something has come up and they need me.”

Martha scowled. “Can’t they get along without you for one day? I declare, that place will suck the life out of you if you let it.”

“They need someone who can sign for a deaf patient.”

“Oh, well, that’s different. If it’s not too much trouble, can we run by the Bryant ranch on our way home?”

She shot her mother a suspicious look. “Why?”

“The pharmacist said Ellie came in to get a prescription refilled, but then she left without it. It’s for her high blood pressure. He’s afraid she’ll run out. I told him we could drop it off on our way home. I left a message on her machine so she doesn’t turn around and drive back in.”

Robyn had seen Ellie in tears as she’d left the store. It wasn’t surprising that she’d forgotten her medicine. Having Neal Bryant for a son would be more than enough to raise any sane woman’s blood pressure.

“Sure. We can drop it off after lunch.”

“Well, if you’re going to the hospital, I’m going shopping. The dress store is having a sale. Give me a call when you’re done at the hospital and I’ll meet you at the restaurant.” She opened the truck door and hopped out.

“See you then.”

A few minutes later, Robyn entered the Hill County Hospital through the front doors. After checking to find which room Mrs. Eldrich was in, Robyn made her way down the hall, pushed open the door of 106 and entered quietly.

Dr. Cain sat beside the bed of the small, elderly woman and wrote on a pad with a blue marker. He held the message up for her to read, but she pushed it away with her left hand and moaned softly. He bowed his head a moment, and then he reached out and laid his hand gently over hers. “That’s okay, Mrs. Eldrich, we can try again later.”

Robyn said, “Hello. What can I do to help?”

He glanced up and smiled as she moved to stand beside him. “Am I glad to see you.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“Mrs. Eldrich has suffered a stroke that has paralyzed her right side. She won’t answer any of my questions and I can’t tell why. The nurse from the care home says she hasn’t had any trouble reading lips or writing until this morning.”

“Has she tried writing with her left hand?”

“She’s tried, but I can’t make out any of it.”

Robyn sat on the bed and touched the woman’s shoulder.

Mrs. Eldrich opened her eyes, but she seemed to have trouble focusing. Robyn began to sign, but the woman closed her eyes and tossed restlessly in the bed. Her left hand twisted the covers into a tight wad and then slowly she began shaping letters.

“What is she saying?” he asked.

“She says, ‘See half.’”

“See half of what?”

Robyn glanced at his perplexed face. “I think she means she can only see half of everything.”

Comprehension dawned on his face. “Hemiopia. No wonder she can’t read lips or my writing. She has vision only in the left half of each eye. Why didn’t I think of that? Ask her if she’s in pain. Man, I’m glad you showed up.”

They spent the next hour assessing Mrs. Eldrich. Robyn spelled the questions slowly on the woman’s hand, letting her feel each letter, and waited as she spelled her answers slowly with her left hand in return. Finally, Dr. Cain called a halt.

“Tell her to rest now. I’ll have the nurse bring her something to help her sleep.”

Together, they left the room. Out in the hall, he paused. “Thanks for coming in. I don’t know how I would have managed without you.”

“No problem. I was already in town. I have an idea how the rest of the staff can communicate with Mrs. Eldrich.”

“How?”

“We could use a raised alphabet board. We have one for the children to play with in the lobby. Mrs. Eldrich could feel the letters to spell words for the staff, and the staff could guide her hand to each letter to spell a reply. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it might work.”

He smiled and started down the hall. “That sounds like a great idea. You amaze me. Did they teach you to be this creative in nursing school?”

She fell into step beside him. “Sure. Don’t doctors have to take Make Do with What You’ve Got 101?”

He shook his head. “I don’t remember it. I may have cut class that day.”

She grinned. “You must have missed it when you were in Basic Bad Handwriting.”