Keeping Grace

The doctor telling me that Hannah was gone.

Her horse had crushed her during the fall and they couldn’t save her.

I couldn’t swallow past the lump in my throat. There was no way I could lose another woman I loved to an accident.

I looked over at Ty and saw that his jaw was clenched, and the veins bulged in his neck as he stared at Grace. He gently lifted Grace’s hand to kiss her fingertips and palm.

“Come back to us, beautiful,” he whispered to her.

Time seemed to stand still.

I didn’t know how long it was before Matt arrived. Since the nearest hospital was an hour away, the Kingstons had the stable hands learn first aid and emergency response so they could start immediate action for emergencies on the ranch. It had come in handy on more than one occasion.

Matt, one of the stable hands, jumped out of a truck and rushed over to us with a neck brace in his hand.

I gently squeezed Grace’s hand. She looked so fragile. Her eyes fluttered a little but didn’t open. “Come on, peaches. Open those beautiful eyes for me.”

“Alright guys, back up. I need to get through to her. Ty, unbuckle her helmet but don’t take it off yet. We’ll coordinate and take it off at the same time as I slip the collar under her neck,” Matt ordered, crouching next to Blake.

Ty did as he was told as I stood by feeling helpless.

They counted off and exchanged the helmet for the collar.

Grace’s eyes popped open, and she gasped, clutching at the collar. Relief flooded through me at seeing her awake, but we didn’t know the extent of her injuries yet.

“Grace, it’s okay. Relax. We have you.” Blake tried to calm Grace, but she continued to squirm.

“Grace,” Ty barked out. She froze and looked at him. “Stay still.”

Tears rushed to her eyes. “Where’s Storm?”

“Liam has him. You need to worry about yourself first.” I spoke before anyone else could. I needed her to know I was there for her. And she didn’t need to know that Storm might be injured. Our priority was making sure Grace was okay.

“Are you hurt? Is there any pain?” Matt asked as he did his initial once over.

“My wrist hurts like a bitch and so does my head. Nothing else hurts more than a normal fall feels. I can already tell I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

“Can you move your feet?”

Grace wiggled her feet. “Yes.”

“Do you want to try and sit up?” Matt asked, offering her his hand. She grabbed it, and he gently helped her to sit.

“Can we take this off?” she asked, reaching for the neck collar.

“I would advise against it. We still need to take you to the ER to get checked out, though. Do you want to try to walk, or do you want us to carry you?”

“What? I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine,” she said and then winced when she put pressure on her injured wrist.

“You need to at least get that checked out,” Matt said and took one arm while Ty took the other, and they lifted her to her feet.

“Yes, Grace. You need to get a full checkup.” Thomas approached the group. “Matt, the helicopter is waiting for you. Check in with me regularly and take Blake with you.” He dished out orders for everyone, including our cattle crew.

“On it, boss,” I said, “Just let me get Grace in the van.” I picked Grace up and cradled her in my arms.

“Scott, put me down.”

“Stop moving, Grace. If I don’t get to go with you, then let me do this.” I carried Grace out of the arena and to the waiting truck. When she was finally buckled in, I carefully kissed her before moving aside to give Ty a chance to kiss her goodbye. Only when we were satisfied that Grace was secure did we allow Blake to get in beside her. Once Blake’s door was shut, Matt drove the truck toward the helicopter field to transport them to the nearest hospital.

Once the helicopter took off in the distance, I let out a long breath. As much as I really wanted to be with her, I was glad Blake was taking care of her. Ty and I stayed busy with installing the shoot until the vet arrived. If I couldn’t be there for Grace, at least I could be there for Storm.