Page 4 of The Cowboy’s Secret Lover

“I work all over the country, covering for nurses on leave. My Aunt Milly had surgery, so I’m staying for a few weeks while she recovers. Does anything else hurt?” she asked, changing the subject.

“That depends,” he said. “Did you see my score?”

“Score?”

“Yeah, the score for my ride. Or did I not stay on the bull for the full eight seconds?”

“To be honest,” said Faith. “I wasn’t interested in your score or ride, so I have no idea.”

Kurt cursed under his breath.

“And if I’m being honest,” she continued, not caring that he hadn’t asked for her opinion at all. “You have bigger problems than a score.”

“How would you know?”

“You were thrown from the back of two-ton bull and knocked unconscious. It doesn’t take a medical degree for me to figure out that you have a head injury, which is a serious problem.”

“I’ve had head injuries before, I’ll be fine. Besides, any ride that I can walk away from was a success.”

“You didn’t walk out of that paddock, Kurt. You were carried out on a stretcher.”

He smiled. The dimple in his cheek, that one that she remembered so well, appeared. Despite all her years in school and her professionalism, Faith’s body betrayed her. Her face grew warm and she could tell that a blush crept into her cheeks.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked.

The grin remained. “You called me Kurt.”

Kurt layon a hospital bed in the Emergency Room. A curtain surrounded his bed, giving the impression of privacy. The ambulance had dropped him off more than an hour and a half prior. He had yet to be moved. It was a good sign. Over the years he’d been in more hospitals than he could recall and had learned that serious injuries were assigned a room upon arrival.

A muted TV was affixed to the wall. The channel was set to the Western Sport’s Network. Broadcaster, Grayson Edwards, looked at the camera and spoke. An inset screen replayed Kurt’s 7.8 seconds on the back of Doctor Danger. Since the volume had been turned down, Kurt couldn’t tell what the other man said. Yet, he didn’t need to hear anything to know what they were talking about.

The two-time national champion, Kurt Crawford, had fallen off the back of the bull.

Kurt was sure that Grayson, along with everyone else at the WSN were sending him their prayers. At the same time, Grayson had certainly promised any updates as they were received. Blah, blah, blah.

The picture on the screen changed to show the arena’s floor as rookie bull-riding sensation, Vance Sosa, approached the pen and his bull—Goliath. Vance had an understated swagger in his walk and his smile. It would get him far in professional bull riding.

The young Brazilian balanced on the bull’s back. The gate swung open and Kurt sucked in a quick breath. The bull bucked and turned with more ferocity than a demon. The timer counted down the seconds. 8. 7. 6. 5. Vance’s free arm came down hard on the bull’s neck, disqualifying the ride.

Kurt exhaled. He and the rookie had matching scores—Zero.

“Daddy?” A voice came from the other side of the curtain. “You awake?”

Kurt pushed himself up in his bed. “Come on in, Erin,” he said.

Peeking around the curtain, Erin caught a glimpse of Kurt. Her smile faded. “Daddy, you look awful.”

“I don’t feel too bad,” he said, even though it was a lie. His head pounded with each beat of his heart and his knee was stiff and swollen.

“You have a black eye. A busted lip. Your hand is cut.”

“Well,” said Kurt with a smile. “You should have seen the other guy.”

Erin leaned her hip onto the side of his bed. “The other guy was a bull. You shouldn’t do this. We don’t need the money that badly.”

Kurt knew what she meant. Erin had been born with a special heart—a leaking valve and irregular heartbeat. Both issues had caused permanent damage and now Erin needed surgery.

Since the problem was a birth defect, insurance considered it a preexisting condition and refused to pay for the procedure. Kurt was left with a single option—to come out of retirement and return to bull riding. If he could win the national championship once, he would also take home the million-dollar prize. It was enough to pay for the surgery—along with a stack of bills—and finally get Kurt out of debt.