“Four!” Torchy shouted. “Five! Alright, that's time!” He clapped and shouted as the others cheered her on. “She did it! Hell yeah! You see that, Forsythe? That’s Memphis Limmerick’s daughter right there!” The boy whistled and celebrated as Lucille remained seated on Reaper. Wimberly barked and yipped from outside the barn, wagging her tail as she watched Lucille.
Yes. Yes, she is.
I watched her try to pull the tail of the rope to release her hand, but she didn’t push off as she should’ve. And her face said it all.
Something’s wrong.
“Fuck,” she groaned while being bucked around. “Fuck. Fuck!”
I ripped my jacket off and rolled my sleeves, rushing towards her. “Release the rope!” I shouted, reaching for the rope myself.
“I can’t!”
My eyes noticed her hand stuck in the rope, thanks to the oversized gloves she was wearing. “Cooper! She’s hung up! I need y’all to distract Reaper so I can rip her free!”
The men all rushed to Lucille’s aid. Dallas and Torchy tried to help distract the bull as I focused on freeing her hand. Wimberly whined and paced around the corral, sticking close to Cooper while he kept an eye on us all.
I had jumped onto Reaper’s side, leaning against Lucille’s leg. My shoulder and right side of my back ached as I pulled myself closer, tugging on the rope. It loosened a little, but continued to give me a hard time. “Mother—hold on, Lucille!” I used all my strength, ignoring the pain I felt, and pulled the rope as hard as I could. It jolted free. I felt the immediate slackbefore grabbing her hand. “Now! Push off! Push off, Lucille!” Her eyes met mine, and she nodded. The look in her eyes told me she was scared. “You can do this,” I whispered, letting go. “Push off.” I hopped back, and Lucille did as I said, pushing off towards Reaper’s hips. Unfortunately, just as she was clear, the bull turned directions and kicked her straight in the thigh, sending her body tumbling down to the ground. She hit the earth hard, losing her hat as she rolled a bit before settling.
“Lucille!” I ignored my sore shoulder and rushed after her, followed by Cooper. We both sprinted to help her while the others handled Reaper.
Please be okay. Please be okay!
My body hit the dirt and slid down next to her, examining her closely. She groaned, gripping her right leg tight. “Fuck.” She winced, her entire face flushed. “God damn it!” My eyes caught the large scar that stretched along her right thigh through her sheer, lacy pants. Seeing it made my entire body tense up at the graphic memory, and my shoulder ached even more. I looked up at her pain-stricken face and felt nothing but regret and even a bit of self-hatred.
I shouldn’t have let you get on that damn bull.
Cooper carefully kneeled down next to her, examining her limbs for injury. “Talk to me, Lucille. Tell me what hurts.” I could hear the worry in his old voice. I knew he was scared, having just witnessed Boone in a similar accident not too long ago. “Talk to me, kiddo.”
She breathed heavily, trying to keep her composure and hide her pain. “M-my leg. He kicked my leg.”
Cooper’s eyes shot to me, and we both knew how serious her injury could be. “I understand,” he whispered. “Let’s get you up and we can take a look at it. Come on now.”
He reached to move her, but she wouldn’t let him. “No. I’ll be fine…just—just give me a minute.” Her sharp breaths told me the injury was worse than she let on.
“Lucille, Reaper got you pretty good. Your thigh is already weak…I think it’s best if we—” My patience ran thin, and before he could even finish his sentence, I reached down and picked Lucille up, straining my shoulder more in the process. “Careful, Forsythe. Your shoulder.”
I adjusted my hold on her body, careful as to not hit her thigh, and ignored her protests. “I’m fine,” I snapped. “I’m not the one who needs help right now.”
Lucille groaned and tried to break free from my grasp, shouting at me with each step I took. “Put me down! I don’t need your help. I don’t need anyone’s help!”
More venom. Just as I expected.
I carried her into the barn while everyone else stayed outside and handled the bull. “I said put me down! Put me down!” She kicked her good leg, nearly falling from my arms as I tried to carefully set her atop an old metal barrel. “Fuck!” Those honey-swirled eyes glared at me, burning against her reddened face.
“You just got your ass handed to you by a bull. And not just any bull, your brother’s bull. I hate to break it to you, Lucille, but you’re anything but fine. Now, quit fighting me and let me see.”
She grimaced up at me. “See what?”
“Your leg.”
Her grip along the barrel tightened enough that her knuckles whitened. “No. I told you I’m fine.”
So that’s how it’s going to be now, is it? Fine.
Before she could even blink, my hands snatched her leg, propping it over my shoulder. Her body leaned back and she gasped as I gripped the hem of her pant leg and ripped the lacy material, exposing her leg.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she shouted.
