Page 108 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Fine. I’ll go, but can we just stay for the awards?” Lucas asked as cheers rang out for the last bull rider.

As Lucas turned to watch the show, Juliette looked at Seeley, and said, “What do you think? You said the medics cleared him?”

“They did. They said if he gets a headache or feels nauseous, dizzy, or has trouble breathing or chest pain, we should take him in. But he was out, Jule, and it took a bit for him to come around. We can let him stay for the awards, but I’d feel better if we get him checked out right after. I’ll ask Cowboy to take Warrior back to your place.”

The crowd exploded with excitement, and Lucas shouted, “I won! Mom! Doc! I won!” He threw his arms around Juliette and Seeley. “Congratulations, baby!” Juliette said as Seeley said, “You did it, buddy! King of the rodeo!”

With the entire arena cheering him on, the Whiskeys louder than all the rest, Lucas made a beeline for Layla.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

DOC HADN’T BEEN able to shake the uneasy feeling he’d had since seeing Lucas lying lifeless on the ground. Lucas had tried to tough it out, proudly accepting his awards and congratulatory embraces, but then he’d told them his head hurt, and they’d come directly to the emergency room. It was nearly eight o’clock, and Lucas was sitting on the exam table, his long legs dangling off the side, his arms crossed and his fingers drumming while they waited for the doctor to come in. The triage nurse had taken his vitals and put a cervical collar on him, which made him look even younger and more vulnerable than he was.

“How’s your head, buddy?” Doc asked.

Lucas shrugged. “Still hurts. Can I take this thing off? My neck doesn’t hurt.”

“No, honey. They said not to,” Juliette said.

“Let me see how much longer it’s going to be.” Doc got up and opened the curtain.

Mandy, the nurse he’d dated, was walking by and stopped when she saw him. “Doc? Hi. What’re you doing here? You okay?”

Shit. “Hi, yeah. My son fell off a bull.” Son came out without any thought, and he realized his mistake. He prayed Mandy wouldn’t make a scene.

“Your son?” she whispered. “Are you married?”

“No. My girlfriend, Juliette, and I just reconnected after sixteen years. I didn’t know about him.” He didn’t know what the right thing to do in this moment was, but he knew Juliette could hear him talking to a woman, and he didn’t want her to worry. He stepped aside, allowing Juliette to see who he was talking to, and prayed this wouldn’t go south. “Juliette, this is Mandy. We went out a while back. Mandy, this is Juliette and our son, Lucas.”

“Oh,” Juliette said a little awkwardly. “Hi.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Mandy looked between Doc and Juliette, and a small smile appeared. “You’re a lucky lady. Doc’s a great guy. I wondered why his heart was never up for grabs, but now I understand. I’m glad you’ve reconnected. I hope you’re not hurt too badly, Lucas.”

“Thanks,” Lucas said.

Relief swept through Doc. “Thanks, Mandy.”

She nodded. “Take care.”

As she walked away, Doc pulled the curtain closed instead of going to look for the doctor and took Juliette’s hand, addressing her and Lucas. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Juliette said. “We know you had a life before we got here, and she was nice about it.”

“Yeah, who cares?” Lucas said.

The curtains parted before Doc could say anything more, and in walked Dr. Chen, a tall thin woman in her early fifties with straight black hair and wire-framed glasses whom Doc knew from the many years they’d been working with the hospital for their fundraisers. “Doc,” she said with surprise. “I wasn’t expecting to see you in here.”

“Hi, Dr. Chen. This is my girlfriend, Juliette Chambers, and our son, Lucas.”

Surprise flickered in her eyes for only a second before she caught it and schooled her expression. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you both, although better circumstances would have been nice.” She smiled at Lucas. “Lucas, Nurse Jacob told me you are a heck of a bull rider, but a bull got the better of you on your dismount, and you landed on your back. Is that right?”

“Yeah, but I won the competition,” he said proudly.

“Congratulations. Did you hit your head when you fell?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. I hit the ground, and the next thing I knew, Doc and another guy were looking down at me asking if I could hear them.”

“He landed on his back,” Doc said.