She tried to raise it, but pain seared up her arm and caused her stomach to churn. That was why her left arm hurt like hell. The few short seconds she’d stumbled and fallen to the ground were a blur, but the image of the bull’s massive hoof coming down on her left arm was as bright and clear as a high-def photograph. When she’d released and landed, her feet had caught in the soft rutted dirt and she’d tumbled onto her back. She’d managed to stay on Red River for eight seconds. Her mind shot back to what she could remember. It was the third time since she’d started riding bulls. The room was white, smelled of antiseptic. LACEY WOKE TO HELLFIRE in her arm and pounding in her head. Jared nodded and grabbed the end of the gurney, wheeling Lacey down the hall to the x-ray department as a noisy group of people entered the ER. The longer her lower arm goes without blood, the less chance her hand will function properly. Parley did a quick evaluation and nodded. He glanced down at Lacey, resisting the urge to sweep the blonde hair, dulled by dirt, off her forehead. And a cat-scan might be in order if she doesn’t wake up during the x-rays. The patient needs x-rays to see how much damage was done to the left arm. A bomb hadn’t mangled this arm it was a two-thousand-pound bull. He’d seen arms like this while a medivac in Iraq.

She was unconscious, but he didn’t see any bruising or abrasions on her head. He shoved the memories to the back of his mind and went to work, doing what he’d been trained to do-discover the trauma and help the doctors make the best decision for the patient. Yes, joy and tenacity were the words that best described Lacey. But her tenacity and smile had her popping up in his mind many times over the years as he watched men complain and beg out of things Lacey would have tackled with joy. She’d been a pain, trying to one-up them in everything, even though she was five years younger and a girl. The last time he’d seen his best friend’s cousin, Lacey had been tagging along after them at the carnival their senior year in high school. He walked closer, caught a whiff only those who associated with cattle tolerated, and peered at her face. The woman was dressed like someone who would be at a rodeo. Bull rider from the Copper Springs Rodeo. A disheveled blonde woman in tight jeans and a bloody, ripped, long-sleeved western shirt lay unconscious on the gurney.

Jared MacIntyre pushed back the curtain in the ER to tend the bull rider paramedics just brought in.

Improper Pinkerton by Paty Jager