“Hey, I’m an injured man, remember?”
They gave their order to the smiling young woman behind the counter and waited while she prepared it. Neal took his malt and sipped the smooth chocolate ice cream slowly. He watched with an indulgent smile while his mother savored her treat.
Setting his drink down, he stared at the metal tumbler for a moment and then scraped the thin coat of frost on the outside of it with his thumbnail. “You and Robyn seem to have remained pretty close.”
“Her mother and I are dear friends—you know that. We go way back. Did you know I was dating Frank before Martha stole him away from me?”
He looked at her in surprise. “And you’re still friends?”
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Because you met Dad?”
She nodded. “I went out with your father to try to make Frank jealous. I’d like to believe I would have discovered what a wonderful man your father was anyway, but somehow I don’t think that’s true. I think I would have settled for Frank, and I would have never known what real love was. Thankfully, Martha and I both ended up with the right man.”
She eyed him intently for a long moment. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Shoot.”
“Why did you and Robyn break up?”
Neal stabbed his straw up and down in the thick malt. “She hated my riding bulls. We fought about it all the time. We were on the circuit in North Dakota when she got the call from her mother.”
“When Frank suffered a stroke?”
“Yeah. Robyn flew home and she never came back.”
“Did you try to contact her?”
“She was a big girl. She made up her own mind. I wasn’t going to beg her to come back.”
“Neal, you know that I love you. The Bryant men have very few faults, but their pride is one of them.”
Anger stirred in him. “What should I have done? Dragged her back by the hair?”
“You should have come to see her and demanded to know what was wrong.”
He couldn’t help the sarcasm that slipped out. “She sure didn’t miss me much. I heard she got married a couple months later. Did she leave him, too?”
“No, Colin Morgan died six months after the wedding.”
That bit of news stunned him. He shook his head slowly. “I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“If I remember correctly, you told me point-blank that you never wanted to talk about her again. So I didn’t.”
Foolish pride could do that to a man. “That must have been rough for her.”
“It was so sad, but, thankfully, they had a beautiful little boy named Chance. I know that having Chance has helped her deal with her grief. Children give us hope.”
Robyn had a kid? He didn’t know that, either. Apparently, there was a lot about Robyn O’Connor Morgan he didn’t know.
His mother toyed with her spoon a moment before she said, “Robyn’s single now, and her mother says she’s not seeing anyone. Maybe you two could patch things up.”
He shook his head. “Not much chance of that. Besides, I’ll be leaving soon.”
“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise.
“I’ll be leaving as soon as the doctor gives me the okay. Another four weeks at most. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do if I’m going to make it into the National Finals.”
“You’re going back to riding bulls? I don’t believe it.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at him.
“Mom, what did you think I was going to do?”
“I don’t know, but I never considered you’d be foolish enough to risk your life again. I’ve spent every day since I got that phone call giving thanks to God that you’re alive. I’m sorry you lost an eye. I’m sorry that your face is scarred, but it could have been so much worse. I thought this would be the end of your bull riding.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t quit like this.”
She stood and wiped away her tears. “I can’t bear it if you go back! I’ve already buried a husband—I don’t want to bury one of my children, too.” She turned away, then hurried out the door.
Neal stared after her, feeling ashamed and confused. Why didn’t anyone understand? He was a bull rider, for heaven’s sake. It was who he was as much as what he did. He’d been among the best of the best. If he couldn’t ride, then there wasn’t anything left for him. His gaze was drawn to the stranger in the mirror wearing his clothes.
Hell, who did he think he was kidding? The thought of trying to ride again turned his insides to jelly. He was afraid, plain and simple. And that fact scared him worse than anything. He’d never been afraid in his whole life.
He needed to ride again, needed to prove he was still the same man he’d always been and not the coward who cringed like a child in the darkness. Life like this wasn’t worth living.
CHAPTER FOUR
ROBYN SAW ELLIE Bryant was crying as she hurried out of the drugstore, and her annoyance at Neal grew by leaps and bounds. Apparently, nothing she’d said had gotten through his thick head. He followed his mother out of the store a few moments later, and they drove away.
The truck door opened and Robyn’s mother stuck her head in. “All done. What shall we do next?” Her mother’s chipper voice rang hollow.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
“I can’t believe what a relief it is to have finally done this.”
“I’m glad.” She would try to be supportive for her mother’s sake.
“I need to run into the drugstore for a minute. Then I’ll be ready to go.”
“I’ve got the whole day off, so take your time. Tell you what, let’s have lunch at the Hayward House, my treat.”
“Sounds great.”
Her mother entered the store, and Robyn turned up the radio to listen to her favorite country song and hum along. A few minutes later, her cell phone rang. Frowning, she pulled her phone from her purse. She’d taken Chance to a sitter today, something she didn’t normally do. She hated leaving him with anyone but her mother. She’d given the sitter this number.
Her feeling of alarm vanished as soon as she saw the caller ID. She recognized the voice on the other end. It was the hospital operator.
“I’m glad I got you, Robyn. Dr. Cain needs you to come in right away.”
On her day off? What could be so important? “What’s going on?”
“It’s Mildred Eldrich, one of our deaf patients. She’s had a stroke. We need your help to communicate with her.”
Robyn saw her mother walk out of the drugstore. “All right, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She snapped the phone closed as her mother climbed into the truck.
“Who was that?” Martha asked.
“The hospital. Something has come up and they need me.”
Martha scowled. “Can’t they get along without you for one day? I declare, that place will suck the life out of you if you let it.”
“They need someone who can sign for a deaf patient.”
“Oh, well, that’s different. If it’s not too much trouble, can we run