I’ll just bet you would have, Laura thought. “Well, thanks for looking out for her then.”
“No problem,” the bartender replied. “She probably just needs to eat something. She mentioned that she hadn’t eaten dinner.”
“Hey, where’s Sky?” Jessica slurred as Kate helped her from the elevator to their hotel suite. “Wait, I know where she is. She’s at the barn.”
“No, she’s not at the barn,” Kate said patiently, moving Jess toward her bedroom.
Jessica clamped a hand over her mouth and groaned.
“Uh-oh. I’ve seen that look before.” Kate quickly dragged her into the bathroom.
After a long session of bowing to the porcelain goddess, Laura and Kate put Jessica to bed. She was out cold seconds later.
“Geez. How can anybody who hasn’t eaten throw up so much?” Kate said, wrinkling her nose as she turned out the light and closed the door to Jessica and Skyler’s bedroom.
Laura frowned. “I wonder what this is all about? Jess normally isn’t much of a drinker.”
“I don’t know. Maybe she took a pain pill for her knee. That could have magnified the affect of a few drinks. Things sure are getting crazy around here,” Kate grumbled.
It was nearly midnight when the Virginia border came in sight and Skyler realized that Jess hadn’t called. She was tired and worried and she really needed to hear her lover’s voice. She felt around in the darkness of the truck cab for her phone. She’d set it in the double cup holder next to the cola she’d picked up at a drive-thru hours earlier. She flipped it open, but it did not light up. It felt sticky. She reached into the cup holder. It was full of cola. Great. Jess had probably been trying to call, but her phone had drowned.
Skyler wasn’t anxious to stop anywhere this late at night since she was alone. Because the big truck had double diesel tanks, she didn’t need to stop for fuel. Jess was probably asleep, anyway, and Skyler didn’t want to disturb her rest; she would need to be fresh for her training tomorrow. I’ll just call her first thing in the morning.
It was two-thirty a.m. when Skyler fell into her bed at the Creek Barn. The last thought that drifted through her mind before she slipped into an exhausted slumber was how empty the bed felt without Jessica next to her.
Chapter Fifteen
“Sky?” Tory’s voice was sleepy. “What are you doing back here? I thought you guys were in Southern Pines.”
“One of the kids here at the center had a personal emergency. Hopefully, I’ll be headed back this afternoon. Tory, are you aware of any injections Jess may be giving Rampage?”
“Injections?”
“One of the barn security guards found a used syringe in the tack room trash can. I did a little looking around and found a bottle of Carbocaine and some syringes in Jess’s dressing trunk. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her. Did she get that from you?”
“Carbocaine,” Tory repeated. “Sky. My brain isn’t awake yet. What time is it?”
“It’s almost six.” Tory was silent for so long Skyler wondered if she’d fallen back to sleep. “Tory?”
“I hope I’m wrong about this… How’s Jess’s knee been doing lately?”
“Well, it’s bruised pretty badly and she’s having to ice it constantly to keep the swelling down. She gets pissed if I make too big a deal about it, so I let it go because it doesn’t seem to bother her too much. It just looks bad.”
“I’m afraid I may be right, then. I’ll bet my bottom dollar that she has been injecting that knee to deaden the pain. That’s why it doesn’t seem to bother her. She’s probably slowly shredding that ACL graft, and it’s going to just rip in two at some point. She’ll tear her whole knee out.”
“Damn it. I knew I should have insisted she see a doctor. All we’ve been thinking about was getting her and Rampage ready for the trials.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Tory said. “Jess is an adult.”
“But I do blame myself. Shit, I’m probably the only one she couldn’t hide the bruising from. Maybe I just didn’t want to see what was happening.”
“Well, I may be to blame, too. I thought there were a few bottles of Carbocaine missing from my truck supplies, but the stuff is so cheap that nobody keeps close tabs on it. I figured I was just mistaken or one of the other vets borrowed some out of my truck. She may have helped herself to a few bottles. She must be injecting that knee two and three times a day to keep walking around on it.”
“God, Tory. She’s going to jump Rampage this afternoon.”
“Call Kate,” Tory said emphatically. “Tell her not to let her near the ring, or on that horse, until you and I can get down there. You don’t need to give her any details, just tell her to wait for one of us.”
“What if we’re wrong? Jess will hate us.”
Tory was silent for a long moment. “Okay. I’m going to shift my appointments to one of my associates. Did you say you were headed back today?”
“I’m hoping to, but I don’t know how soon. It will be noon at the earliest. I may not be able to wrap things up here until tonight. Either way, it will be too late to stop her this afternoon.”
“Okay. I’ll leave this morning. If it takes three hours, I should be there by noon or one o’clock. I’ll make her show me the knee before I accuse her of anything. I’m not a doctor, but I should be able to tell if she’s injecting it with an anesthetic.”
Skyler breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Tory. Thanks for being such a good friend.”
“You owe me.”
“Anything I have is yours…except my girlfriend.” Skyler chuckled.
Tory laughed, too. “See you in Southern Pines tonight.”
Susan Beck was at the door when their truck pulled into the driveway. A thin, pale woman, her face was haggard and her eyes red from crying. More tears streamed down her face when she saw Jamie’s face and arm. She held the door as they filed in and gestured for them to sit in the living room, never meeting their eyes.
Carol, the center’s social worker, made the introductions, then said, “Mrs. Beck, we need to talk about what’s going to happen to Jamie until your husband returns.”
“You must think I’m a monster,” Susan muttered.
“Mrs. Beck, we don’t think you are a monster. We just think you need some help,” Skyler said. “Jamie is important to all of us at the equestrian center. She has been with us every afternoon for more than two years. We feel like she’s part of our family, and we’d like to help if you’ll let us.”
“You aren’t going to take my little girl away from me, are you?”
“Mrs. Beck, considering your bouts of depression that you self-medicate with alcohol, the state doesn’t feel Jamie should be left with you until her father has returned,” Carol said firmly.
Mrs. Beck looked timidly at Jamie. “Are you afraid of your own mother?”
After an encouraging nod from Skyler, Jamie stood up and went over to lay her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I love you, Mom. But you hurt me when you drink. Skyler says you can’t help it because you get so depressed when Dad isn’t here.”
The woman looked at Skyler and choked back a sob.
“Mrs. Beck,” Skyler said softly. “All families have their problems. Jamie has told me how much she loves you and her dad, so Kate Parker has made some arrangements we hope you’ll agree to.”
The woman shifted uneasily in her chair, doubt darkening her face.
“Please, Mom, just listen to Skyler,” Jamie pleaded.
Skyler set out the plan they’d arrived at with Kate’s attorney, George Brumley. “We’ve made arrangements for you to be admitted to a private rehab facility. It’s free of charge, paid for by the center’s discretionary funds. While you’re in the hospital, Jamie can stay at the center.”
Mrs. Beck glanced nervously around the room. “I don’t know what to do without your father here to help me decide.”
“Please, Mom,” Jamie pleaded softly. Tears began to run down her cheeks. “If you don’t, they’re going to put me in some foster home. Please let me stay with Sky and Kate at the farm.”
“Mrs. Beck,” Skyler pressed, “we’ve brought some papers you’ll have to sign to satisfy the state. They give Kate temporary guardianship over Jamie until your husband returns or you are dismissed from the hospital. It’s legally necessary for her to stay at the center.”
The woman frowned and twisted a handkerchief she held in her hands. “A kid’s a big responsibility. Why would you want to be responsible for someone else’s kid?”
“Because the Parker family cared enough to help me out when I was a kid and now it’s time for me to help Jamie. My mother wasn’t worth saving and wouldn’t take their help. But Jamie says you are a good mother. She wants you to get better.”
Desperate sadness showed on Susan’s face as she looked at her battered daughter. “Oh, baby. I can’t believe I hurt you like that. I really can’t remember any of it.” She looked down at her hands again. “I’m so scared.”
Jamie straightened her shoulders, obviously accustomed to playing the adult in her father’s absence. “I know this is what Dad would want you to do.”
Carol also prodded. “Mrs. Beck, you and Jamie are very lucky that Kate Parker is offering this.”
After a long moment, Susan looked up at Jamie, but spoke to the adults. “Give me the papers. I’ll sign.”
“You better get up, missy, and get that hangover under control,” Kate ordered. “We’re expecting a visitor.”
“A visitor?” Jessica carefully sat up and held her aching head in her hands, trying to recall the previous evening. She only remembered having two drinks. Note to self: don’t mix pain pills and alcohol ever again. “Where’s Sky?”
“She had an emergency and had to go back to Cherokee Falls last night. She’ll be back later.”
“What’s the time?” Jessica fixed her gaze blearily on the radio alarm clock next to her bed. “Oh, my God. It’s after twelve. I have to get to the barn. We’re in the jump ring at four and Rampage has been standing in his stall all morning.”
The hangover was making her queasy enough, but the sudden memory of Skyler staring at the syringe in her hand ratcheted her nausea up a notch and she quickly lurched out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. After she’d retched a few times, she collapsed over the counter, groaning in pain. Her knee was agonizing.
“I have to talk to Skyler,” she called, but her room was empty. Kate had gone back into the other bedroom in the suite.
Panting, Jessica leaned against the doorway, beads of perspiration gathering across her forehead. At least she was alone. She went back into the bathroom, locked the door, and pulled a bottle of Carbocaine from her cosmetics bag. She had to inject her knee more often now. Once a day was not enough.
She’d just settled onto the bed and covered her rapidly numbing knee with ice packs when there was a light knock at the door. “It’s open,” she called.
To her astonishment Tory Greyson walked into the room. “Hey, Jess. How’s it going?”
Jessica frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“That knee hurting you that much?” Tory asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Before Jessica realized what Tory was after, the ice bags were pulled aside. “Christ. This looks bad. I may be a vet, but I’m not stupid. It doesn’t take an orthopedic surgeon to see what kind of shape this is in.”
She probed the bruised and swollen knee, but Jessica didn’t flinch. “See? It doesn’t hurt.”
Tory wasn’t buying it. “If you were a horse, I’d have to shoot you.” She stood and went into the bathroom. A short while later, she returned holding up the evidence, a bottle of anesthetic and some syringes. “I don’t guess it would hurt if you were keeping it numb with this.”
Jessica didn’t answer.
Tory tossed the bottles onto the bed. “The barn security guard found one of your syringes in the trash and asked Skyler if she was doping your horse.”
“Oh, God.” Jessica’s stomach churned.
“Yes, that could get her officially banned from the circuit this time, and even Kate couldn’t help her,” Tory said crisply. “So, she started looking around. She found the Carbocaine in your tack trunk and called me to find out if we were treating Rampage for something. She thought you and I might be hiding a condition from her. It took me a bit to figure out what was really going on, but I did. And I told her what I thought.”
Fear welled up in Jessica’s throat and threatened to choke her. This wasn’t how she’d wanted things to go. She wanted to confess, but Tory was a step ahead of her. Everything was spiraling out of her control, just like the moment lightning struck as she and Racer were clearing the water jump. This could not be happening again.
“She knows everything?” Jessica whispered.
“She didn’t want to accuse you falsely. She wanted all the facts. She couldn’t get here before tonight, and she was scared you’d blow that knee out jumping Rampage this afternoon. That’s why I’m here. I came down to stop you.”
“Are you going to tell Mom and Kate?”
“No, you’re going to tell them,” Tory said firmly. “Right before we load you up and take you to see a doctor this afternoon.”
“No!”
“What do you mean, no, Jess? You don’t have a choice. You can’t keep abusing yourself.”
Jessica’s face was red with controlled fury. “I’ve come too far and worked too hard to back out now.” She kept her voice low so Kate and Laura wouldn’t overhear them from the next room. “I’ve been numbing this knee for months. There’s no reason to think it won’t hold out another week until the competition is over.”
“Jess, this is madness,” Tory argued. “Even if you make the team, this knee isn’t going to hold out for you to train for the actual Olympics.”
Jessica grabbed Tory by the collar. Her blue eyes were icy. “If you tell Kate, she’ll pull Rampage from the competition. She can do that because she owns the majority interest in him. And, I swear, Tory, you do anything to stop me from competing and I will never speak to you again. Ever. It’s not illegal for me to anesthetize my knee, so I’m not breaking any rules.”
Tory was dumbfounded by Jessica’s blunt ultimatum. After a moment, she threw her hands up. “Whatever. I tried. I’ll just let you and Sky duke it out when she gets here. In the meantime, I’ll hang close to pick you up when you rip through every ligament in that knee.” She stalked to the door, before turning back for one last word. “You’re making a bad decision here, Jess. I think Skyler is going to be very disappointed in you.”
Jessica lay back on the pillows and sobbed after Tory left the room. Tory had no idea how her words had hit home.
Jessica strode into the barn with grim determination. She stopped at Rampage’s stall door and looked into his dark liquid eyes. She took several deep breaths, clearing her mind of anything but him. He didn’t deserve to feel her pain. He needed to feel her confidence. Deep breaths. Relax. Rampage needs to feel relaxed.
She gave the stallion a soft smile. “Hey, buddy. Ready to do some jumping? I know you are. It’s your favorite thing.” She began a one-sided conversation meant to reassure herself as much as her mount. “We’re going to sail over those jumps like we have wings. You and me, buddy. We’re going to show them a dressage horse that knows how to jump.”
A brooding Tory gave her a leg up, and walked beside them to the jumping arena. Kate and Laura were already sitting in the stands, watching as Sarah put her mare over the jumps. They weren’t happy that she was riding, after hearing that Skyler was concerned, but they didn’t know what was going on.
Jessica warmed Rampage up in a nearby outdoor ring while she waited their turn. She closed her eyes and absorbed the smooth, calming rhythm of the stallion moving through his gaits underneath her. His strength and control radiated through her. She concentrated on losing herself in the feeling. We can do this, buddy. We’re the best. We’re going to fly! She didn’t look at Sarah as they passed each other at the arena entrance. She saw nothing but the jumps ahead and felt nothing but the twelve hundred pounds of muscle under her.
Relaxed and focused, Rampage sailed gracefully over the first jump. He was eager, and Jessica had to work to pace him over the course of seventeen jumps. The wall, the combination, and even the parallel oxer were no contest to the powerful horse. Another crowd began to gather. News of Rampage’s performance on the previous day had spread fast. Sarah, still mounted, watched from the ring entrance.
Despite the anesthesia, pain radiated through Jessica’s leg with each jump. They rounded the end of the arena to approach the tallest and most difficult of the obstacles, the vertical jump. Jessica blocked the pain from her mind and expertly guided Rampage’s approach. Be my hero and let’s jump this one big, buddy!
The stallion responded eagerly to the urging telegraphed through Jessica’s hands. He gathered his body and, like a giant spring, rose upward and neatly tucked his feet to clear it with inches to spare. Jessica smiled as she felt them airborne. She shifted her weight to absorb the impact of their landing, but when she felt Rampage’s front hooves hit the dirt, she also heard the popping of her knee. She pitched over the stallion’s right shoulder and slammed to the ground, knocking the wind from her lungs. Her head was screaming at the pain in her leg, but she couldn’t catch her breath to vocalize her agony.
Rampage came trotting back around, tossing his head and rolling his eyes wildly. He snorted uncertainly as Jessica writhed silently on the ground. Tory, Kate, and Laura, as well as a handful of onlookers, hurried into the arena. But Rampage circled his rider, bucking as they approached. Jessica began to catch her breath and moaned at the pain, clutching at her thigh. Her distress antagonized the stallion. He laid his ears back and shook his head at the people trying to get to his mistress.
“Whoa, Rampage,” Tory crooned to him. “Settle down, boy, we just want to help.” She approached slowly but when she reached for his reins, the stallion lunged at her with teeth bared. Tory barely dodged as he tore a long rip in the sleeve of her shirt. The other well-meaning people who had followed them in the arena retreated…all but Sarah.
“Let me try,” she offered. “He let me close to him yesterday without trying to bite.”
“At this point, I’ll try anything,” Tory said. “If you can’t catch him, I’ll have to dart him with a tranquilizer. I’d rather not have to wait that long to get Jess to the hospital.”
Sarah nodded and moved slowly toward Rampage. The stallion snorted at her approach and laid his ears flat against his neck. “Hey, Rampage. Remember me? You liked me the other day,” she said softly. “I just want to help Jessica. I know you think you’re protecting her, but you need to let us help.”
The stallion’s ears came up and twitched forward at her voice. He looked puzzled and lowered his head to snuffle Jessica’s head. Sarah moved slowly but confidently to his side. Rampage started to pull away when she reached for his bridle, but yielded when he felt her grasp on the reins. She led him some distance away from where Jessica lay moaning, and Tory, Kate and Laura rushed over.
“God.” Tory gingerly felt her leg. “It feels like it’s completely dislocated.”
Somebody had called the paramedics, and Jessica bit off a scream as they splinted her leg and lifted her to the stretcher. “Where’s Rampage?”
“He’s right over there,” Laura pointed.
Jessica tried to rise from the stretcher when she saw who was holding Rampage. The pain was a hot brand, a loud noise in her head, and she felt everything was slipping away from her… Skyler, the trials, Rampage. She wanted to strike out at something or someone. “I don’t want her near my horse. Get him away from her,” she insisted. Does that bitch have to put her hands on everything that belongs to me? She grabbed Tory’s torn sleeve. “Get my horse away from her.”
“I’ll take care of Rampage for you, Jess,” Tory said as she gently pushed Jessica back down to the stretcher. “These guys need to take you to the hospital. Don’t worry about a thing.”
Jessica lay back on the stretcher and closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Tory hesitated while she made a quick decision. “Kate, before you go, I need to tell you why Skyler asked you not to let her ride till I got here.”
Kate’s shoulders slumped as she listened. “I can’t believe none of us picked up on what she was doing.”
“Skyler blames herself,” Tory said.
“No good can come from placing blame now. We all ignored our better judgment.” Kate put her arm around Laura and kissed her cheek. “Come on. Let’s go tell her we love her.”
The lights of the emergency room were bright and Sarah squinted as she stepped in from the darkness of the parking lot. She spied Kate at one end of the emergency room waiting area, gesturing emphatically as she talked on her cell phone. Sarah leaned against the wall and listened to Kate’s side of the conversation.
“Look, if he’s the best orthopedic surgeon in the state, then I need him down here tonight.” Kate gesticulated impatiently. “There’s got to be something I could use to get him here. Does he like golf? Tell him that if he’ll come down here, I’ll give him my four tickets to the Masters golf tournament next month. Not only that, I can make sure he gets to play the course after the tournament as the guest of one of the members. That’s right. Augusta National.”
A huge smile broke across Kate’s face. “Great. Since you guys are at Duke, he’s only about an hour away. We won’t let them do anything until he gets here. Yes, yes. I’ll see if I can cut the red tape for him to use their operating room. What’s his cell phone number?”
Sarah dug into her jacket pocket and handed Kate a felt-tipped pen. She used it to write the number on her own arm. As she ended the call, she turned back to Sarah. “You are here because…?”
“Shut up and give me your phone.”
Kate had never been much good saying no to Sarah. She meekly obliged and listened to another woman who knew how to get what she wanted. Sarah even smiled sweetly as she spoke.
“Margaret? Hi. It’s Sarah Duke.” She exchanged the usual niceties before asking, “Is your handsome husband home? I’ve got sort of an emergency here that I need his help with. Thanks.”
She tapped her foot and covered the phone, telling Kate, “Always go straight to the top.” The smile appeared again. “Robert, how are you? Well, I’ve been better. Actually, I need your help. No, I’m fine, but a friend of mine has been rather seriously injured in a riding accident. Her orthopedic surgeon is on his way here, and he’s probably going to need to do surgery in your hospital. His name…” She raised an eyebrow at Kate.
“Dr. Richard Struthers,” Kate filled in.
“Did you catch that, Edward? So, you’ve heard of him? No offense to your doctors, but my friend’s career may rest on this surgery and her injury has a complicated history. Thanks, I knew you would help. Give the kids a hug for me.”
Kate tucked the phone into her pocket, impressed despite herself. “Thanks.”
“It’s the least I could do,” Sarah said. “I know how much Jessica means to Skyler. I failed her as a lover, but I don’t intend to fail her as a friend.”
Jessica blinked and frowned when her eyes shifted to Sarah standing in the doorway. Damned if this woman wasn’t everywhere she turned. “What are you doing here?” Bitterness soaked her voice. “Come to gloat already?”
Kate had told her that Sarah moved a mountain of red tape so Dr. Struthers could use this hospital’s operating room, and she wanted a few minutes alone with her. Jessica wasn’t impressed. She suspected an agenda.
Sarah sat down in the chair next to the bed. “I won’t take much of your time. I know you are in a lot of pain, Jessica, but I really am just here to help.”
Jessica glared at her. “I saw you kiss Skyler.”
“What you saw wasn’t what you think,” Sarah said. “One of the security staff told me you left in a cab with a friend of his driving.”
Did she have spies everywhere?
“What I saw was that you just can’t stay out of my lover’s life,” Jessica threw at her.
“You listen to me, damn it. I went there to apologize to Skyler for being a spineless idiot and betraying her. What I did hurt both of us very much, but it made me grow up a lot. That kiss was a good-luck peck.”
“You didn’t look that happy when you left.”
“Haven’t you ever felt ashamed?” Sarah asked. “From what I hear you’ve made a few of your own mistakes.”
“Yes, and I don’t need you to remind me,” Jessica said bitterly.
Sarah surprised her by laughing. “I can see why Sky loves you. You’re as stubborn as those horses she loves to win over.”
“Thanks. I think,” Jessica said wearily. She wanted Skyler. Tears prickled and she swallowed a small sob.
“I just wanted you to know something,” Sarah said. “I told Skyler I’m happily married to a wonderful man now and I’m really happy to see that she seems to have found the same thing with you. She deserves to be happy, and apparently you’re the one who does that for her.”
Sarah’s declaration made it impossible to hold on to the anger that was keeping her fears at bay. Jessica blinked and wiped at the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks.
Sarah stood up. “Give Skyler a chance, Jess, and she’ll stand by you through thick and thin. She’s the strongest person and the purest heart I’ve ever known.” She patted Jessica on the arm. “Right now, I need to get home or my husband will be wondering if I’ve run off with a stable hand… or a trainer.”
“Sarah,” Jessica choked out. “Thanks.”
“Miss, visitors must have a pass to come back here.” A nurse hurried after Skyler. “If you will just wait at the admissions desk, we’ll see if your friend is still in the ER and can have a visitor.”
Skyler shook off the woman’s hand, moving quickly from room to room, pulling doors open. “Jess? Jess? Where are you?” she shouted in the hallway.
Kate stepped out of a doorway in front of her, muttering, “Bull in a china shop.”
She jumped back as Skyler burst into the room and rushed to Jessica’s bedside. She looked Jessica over quickly and put her hand to her love’s cheek, desperate with worry. “Jess, are you okay? Did they give you something for pain? What did the doctor say?”
Jessica reached up to gather her close. Clinging to her, she sobbed like her heart was breaking.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize you were doing this to yourself,” Skyler said. “I should have seen it and stopped you.”
Jessica sobbed even harder, and Skyler whispered words of reassurance as she kissed the tears from her face. After a while, Jessica’s tears subsided, and Skyler handed her some tissues to blow her nose.
Jessica’s red-rimmed blue eyes swept up. “I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just didn’t know how to tell you. And the longer I waited to tell you, the more afraid I was that you wouldn’t love me anymore if you knew I wasn’t being honest.”
Skyler held Jessica close and kissed her deeply. “Oh, Jess. I know you weren’t trying to hurt me. I’m not going anywhere. You own me, heart and soul.”
Jessica rested her head on Skyler’s shoulder. “And you own my heart. I’ve been scared to death I might lose you.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” Skyler gently joked. “You’re stuck with me.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Ms. Black… Jessica, I don’t think you understand the full impact of your injury,” Dr. Struthers said. “Although you should be able to walk, or golf, or maybe ride horses at a leisurely pace, you’ll never be able to participate again in sports that require running or jumping… or jumping horses.” In a gentle tone, he finished, “I’m afraid your professional riding career is over.”
Jessica sagged back against the pillows, her eyes fixed on a distant spot somewhere beyond the people standing around her bed.
Skyler watched her pale face for a moment, and then asked, “Jess, are you okay?”
Jessica’s eyes moved to Dr. Struthers. “Why can’t you fix it?”
The surgeon returned to the X-ray he’d just discussed in detail. “Those ligaments were too weak to hold the femur and tibia bones in place, so when you continued to jump horses you pounded the ends of those bones into the lateral and medial meniscus.”
“Cartilage?”
“Yes, the cartilage is the knee’s shock absorbers.” He used his pen to point to certain areas of the X-rays. “Once those were pounded flat, the ends of the bones were left to pound together, slipping and sliding in directions they shouldn’t. At that point, you must have been injecting a great deal of local anesthetic into that knee to dull the pain.”
He paused once more and drew a deep breath to deliver the verdict. “The impact of that final jump has done significant damage to the ends of your femur and tibia. There really is no other viable option here but total knee replacement.”
Jessica closed her eyes a moment, struggling against the haze created in her head by the pain medicine. Finally she asked, “What’s the recovery time?”
“We should do the surgery immediately… tonight. You’ll have to stay in the hospital a few days, and then you’ll go home with a walker or crutches. The total healing time really depends on your dedication to a regular physical therapy routine. Usually it takes three months, but most total knee replacement patients are elderly. Your young age and excellent physical condition should shorten that period.”
“But even though my knee has been replaced, it won’t be as good as new?”
“No,” he said.
“I understand,” Jessica said dully. With a long, sorrowful look at Skyler, she said, “Let’s just get on with it.”
The surgeon nodded. “They’ll come get you in a few minutes to take you to the operating room. I’ll see you upstairs.”
After Dr. Struthers left the room, Skyler moved to sit on the bed, facing Jessica and holding both of her lover’s delicate hands in her own larger ones. They stared at each other for a long moment until Jessica finally spoke. “See what you’ve gotten yourself into? Now you’ve got a crippled girlfriend and a useless rider when you were just about to make your name as a trainer.”
Skyler smiled at her. “What I’ve got is the most beautiful woman in the world in love with me. Crippled? I thank God it was your knee, not your neck you busted. And, maybe now I won’t have to endure long months away from you while you travel the world with the Olympic team. That was your dream, Jess, not mine. I’m very happy working for Kate and with the kids at the center. I’m ecstatically happy when I can crawl into bed at night and wrap my arms around you. I’m in heaven when I can wake up and the first thing I see are those baby blue eyes.”
Jessica stared down at their entwined fingers. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”
“I’m telling you the truth.” Skyler looked into her eyes. “Winning an Olympic medal is all about spending the rest of your life looking back at what you once achieved. Being with you makes me look forward to what’s in our future.”
Jessica gathered the front of Skyler’s shirt in her hand and pulled her down for a soft, lingering kiss. “I love you, Skyler Reese.”
“And I love you. Don’t you ever doubt that again.”
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Skyler said softly, many hours later. “How are you feeling?”
Jessica blinked slowly. “You’re all still here.”
“We’re leaving now,” Laura said, stroking her daughter’s hair.
Skyler had insisted the rest of them return to the hotel so Jamie could sleep in a proper bed instead of a chair in the waiting room, where she’d been ever since Skyler arrived hours earlier. Laura and Kate kissed Jessica good-bye and waited for Jamie to hug Skyler. The girl’s injuries had been the second major shock of their day, but realizing that too much fuss would make her uncomfortable, they’d just smiled and made her feel welcome.
As they left the room, Jessica’s eyes closed for a minute, then opened to focus on Skyler again. Her voice was hoarse, but clear. “Hey good lookin’. You haven’t been chasing any nurses while I was out, have you?”
Skyler grinned, and dropped a soft kiss on Jessica’s lips. “None that I could catch. Guess I better stick to the slow beautiful ones with a bum leg.”
Jessica smiled, but keeping her eyes open was obviously a struggle. “Sleepy,” she confessed.
“Then go to sleep, baby. I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Skyler said, stroking the dark head and delivering another quick kiss as Jessica lost the battle to stay awake.
The weary group breathed a sigh of relief when they walked into the welcoming hotel suite. Kate settled Jamie in Skyler and Jessica’s room, then fixed stiff toddies and delivered them to the balcony where Laura was staring into the darkness.
“Jess is going to be fine,” she said as she handed Laura her drink. “Skyler won’t take her eyes off her all night.”
Laura took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know. Jess is tough, and she has Skyler now. She’ll figure things out and bounce back.”
Kate stood behind Laura and wrapped her arms around her. “Feeling a little pushed aside?”
Laura leaned back against her solid frame. “Well, maybe a little. Our little girl is all grown up. But I was thinking about something else, Kate.”
The love so evident between Skyler and Jessica had made Laura’s heart ache. Watching her daughter cling to Skyler for strength and hearing Skyler’s heartfelt confession of love played over and over in her mind. She remembered a time when she and Kate were bonded like that.
It had been preying on her mind that her excuse for being in North Carolina, to see Jess compete, had come to an end. Only a few days more and she’d be packing her bags to return home. Alone again. Much worse than just being alone, she would be without Kate. She finally admitted to herself that only Kate could fill the empty space in her. Not another lover, not a child…even as much as she loved Jessica. Time was running out to lay her cards on the table.
“I was thinking about how we make stupid decisions when we’re young,” she said. “Jess numbing her knee so she could keep training. And me sending you away all those years ago because of my insecurities.”
Laura’s eyes filled with tears. She laid her head back against Kate’s shoulder and turned her face to look up into her hopeful eyes. “After all this time, I still love you, Kate Parker. This has been the happiest I’ve been since I let you walk out of my life. If I could go back and live those years all over again, I would live them with you instead of without you.”
Kate caressed Laura’s cheek, and bent to softly reacquaint herself with her one true love’s lips. “And what do you want to do with the years ahead of us, baby,” she murmured against Laura’s warm mouth.
Laura turned to face her, offering a smoldering kiss that gave her answer. They were both shaky when they finally parted. Laura could feel Kate’s heart pounding in her chest. Kate took her hand and stepped toward the door to the suite.
“Come to bed with me, Laura,” she coaxed. “It’s been way too long.”
Laura turned shy, staring at her hand in Kate’s. “Kate, I’m not twenty years old anymore. This isn’t the body you remember.”
Kate chuckled softly as she drew Laura again into a warm embrace. “You think I look the same?” Her eyes twinkled as she cocked her head. “You do remember how, don’t you?”
“Why don’t you try me?” Laura’s mischievous look was the one Kate often recalled on lonely evenings. It always melted her. “Let’s see how many of your hot spots I remember.”
The sight of Sarah in Jessica’s hospital room stopped Skyler cold. The two women smiled at her, enjoying her discomfort at having them both in the same room together.
“Hi, Sarah.” Skyler strode over to take Jessica’s hand and give her a light kiss. “Where’s Laura?”
“I sent her back to the hotel to spend some time with Kate,” Jessica replied smugly. “I don’t suppose the Parker heiress filled you in on what’s going on.”
“What’s going on?” When Skyler returned to the hotel a few hours earlier to shower and change her clothes, Kate had been in an unusually good mood. But she hadn’t shared any news. “Is it about Jamie?”
Sarah and Jessica exchanged conspiratorial smiles. Surprisingly, Sarah was the one to speak up. “It seems that the sparks flying off you and Jess have ignited the old flame between Kate and Laura.”
Skyler’s eyebrows shot up. “No kidding. And I thought that old dog didn’t hunt anymore.”
Jessica laughed. “Mom and Kate aren’t that old, you know. Mom is only fifty-two and Kate just turned fifty-six. We’ll be that old before you know it. Look at me. I’m already using a walker.”
Skyler turned amused eyes at her love. “That must be some good pain medicine they put you on. You certainly seem to be in a good mood.”
“Mom says the pain medicine is making me bossy, and you say it’s making me happy. I wish you guys would make up your minds.” Jessica grew solemn. “Truthfully, I don’t think the impact of everything has really hit me yet. It may not, until I see Rampage jumping without me on his back. I’m not sure how I’ll feel then.”
Skyler watched a stream of emotions run across Jessica’s somber face. She sat down on the bed next to her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “That’s not going to happen unless you want it to.”
Jessica picked at a string on the bed sheets. “Sky, Sarah came here today with an offer to buy Rampage.”
“Jess, you want to sell Rampage? I thought you were planning to stand him at stud.”
“After he retires,” Jessica said. “In the meantime it’s not fair to keep him out of the competition just because I’ve been stupid. Even if I waited until the next Olympics, I still wouldn’t be able to jump him. You heard Dr. Struthers. My career is history.”
“My mare is good, but she can’t touch that stallion,” Sarah said. “You were right, Sky. I think he could even have beaten Con Man.”
Jessica cleared her throat, and said hoarsely, “I’m not going to sell Rampage. What I’ve agreed is that Sarah try him during the next week. If they click together, she’ll ride him in the competition rather than her mare.”
“A week?” Skyler argued. “We spent months pairing you two up. You expect her to do that in just a week? You know how particular he is.”
Jessica held up a hand to silence her protests. “I think she can do it. For some reason only Rampage knows, he seems to trust her. After I fell, Sarah was the only person he would let approach him. He was standing over me, biting and kicking, but he let her catch him.”
Skyler frowned as she mulled over what Jessica was saying.
“So,” she continued, “if Sarah decides after a week to ride Rampage, and they win a place on the Olympic team, I’ve agreed to lease him to her until after the Olympics. After that, he will come back to Cherokee Falls to stand at stud. If she wins a medal on him, I’ve agreed to a bonus that will entitle her to three free breedings to Rampage. This is all contingent on Kate’s agreement, too, of course.”
Skyler shifted uneasily, looking for reasons this would not be a good idea. She was having trouble finding any.
“Sky, if Rampage and I make it on the Olympic team, I would want to hire you as a consulting trainer,” Sarah said, sweetening the deal even more. “I mean, I know you don’t want to be away from Cherokee Falls a lot, but you’ve obviously figured out what this horse needs. You could map out a training regimen for the team’s trainer to follow.”
Skyler stared down at Jessica’s hand encased in her own. “It’s not that,” she muttered. “It’s just—”
“What, babe?” Jessica asked. “Just go ahead and spit it out. Sarah and I have been honest with each other. If you don’t want to work with Sarah, then we won’t do this. You and I are partners in everything. It’s not a deal unless we’re both comfortable with it.”
Skyler looked deep into the eyes that seemed to mirror her soul these days. “I’m surprised you would pick Sarah to take your place on Rampage.” She knew how the thought of another rider on her stallion seared Jessica. “You don’t have to do this for me.”
“I’m doing this for all of us, hon. Sarah is as good as any top rider on the circuit, and she’s the only one Rampage apparently has chosen. If she can take him to the Olympics, his stud fees will rocket with his reputation. You know that’s money in our pockets.” Jessica gave Skyler a soft kiss. “I’m also doing this for Rampage. He’s worked damn hard for this competition, and he deserves his moment in the spotlight.”
Skyler thought for a moment about Jessica’s words. Maybe she needed to see Rampage go on to win, so all of their hard work wouldn’t be for nothing. “Well, it looks like you guys have it all figured out. What’s next?”
Jessica’s eyes misted. “Hand me my bag over there on the shelf, please.” After Skyler passed her the bag she retrieved a dog-eared copy of Black Beauty. “He likes you to read to him after his supper, especially when he’s nervous.”
Sarah looked truly touched as she accepted the book. “I’ll be sure and read to him every night.”
“Thanks.” Jessica smiled, tucking away the emotion that threatened to bring more tears. She was tired of being in pain and tired of crying. She wanted to move on to the next jump. “Now, get me out of this hospital. We have a lot of work to do with Sarah and Rampage to get them on the same page for the competition.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rampage nickered at Sarah as she approached.
“You shameless slut,” Jessica teased the big bay. “I’m in the hospital only a few days and you’ve already been courting another woman.”
Sarah offered her hand for the stallion to sniff. She smiled at Jessica. “I noticed that you wear Opium perfume. I put just a little on this morning so maybe it would seem familiar to him.”