Chapter Thirty-One
Balta dozed, sitting in the hard metal and leatherette chair next to Raul. He liked being close to Raul while they waited, close enough to smell the hint of citrus left over from his cologne. They both needed a shower, but even worse, they needed to see Joa, who had been out of surgery for an hour.
Cowboys slept all over—in chairs and on the floor, a few talking quietly, Coke and Nate playing cards obsessively.
“Mr. Silva?” The sound of his name made him jolt awake, eyes flying open.
“Sim. That’s me.”
He stood, heading over to see the nurse, Raul trailing right behind.
“He’s awake now, and he’s asking for you. He can have two visitors at a time, and I know you’re listed as next of kin for now.”
“Sim. Come, Raul. Let’s see him. It went well?”
“It looks good, sir. Very good.”
“Thank God.” Raul smiled for the first time in hours, and Balta could see him putting on his happy face for Joa.
Good man.
Their lover was dark and tiny in the sea of white, leg up, wrapped in masses of bandages and hanks of metal. Joa blinked over, eyes rolling as they tried to focus on him.
“Joa.” He let his voice sharpen Joa’s field of vision. “You had a good ride.”
“Til the end. The end, it was bad.”
“Nao,” Raul said. “That was after the buzzer.”
Balta chuckled at the old joke, which they all used from time to time, no matter where they came from.
“Is it bad, my leg? Can I ride next weekend?”
He and Raul glanced at one another. “Oh,doce. It’s broken. You’ll be out at least a month.” That was a terrible lie, but better than telling Joa this was a season-ending injury, which it was.
He wasn’t convinced it wasn’t career-ending right this second.
Raul moved to stand next to Joa’s bed, touching his arm. “Do you hurt? Do you need anything?”
“I don’t feel anything. My throat hurts.”
Raul stepped out, and Balta heard him murmuring to the nurse.
Joa stared at him, eyes bruised and tired. “Tell me the truth, Baltazar.”
“It’s bad,Namorado. They put a metal rod in your leg.”
“Oh. Can I go home soon? I don’t want to stay here.”
“Doc wants you to go to Dallas for two, three weeks. Then you can go back to the ranch. We’ve already gotten yourmaia long stay hotel.”
“Weeks?” The sweet dark eyes seemed so confused and the monitors began to speed, the beeping and booping tumbling over themselves.
“Shh. Shh.” He stroked Joa’s arm. “It will be fine,doce.”
He grabbed a chair, tugged it over, and sat. “You must breathe, hmm? You have broken bones before.”
“Not like this.”
