Lost Cowboy

Chapter 7 - Ma

Jessie’s P.O.V

Marianne McBride appeared to be a timid cattle farmer’s wife. But whatever you do, never make her mad. She was five foot two and weighed only 110 pounds, and was meaner than a junkyard dog when pissed. Mom had no problem pulling me around by my ear, even when I was six inches taller than her. She was tough as nails and didn’t take crap from anyone. She was always on me.

Mom expected more of me since I was the oldest. As soon as Frank mentioned he called my mom, I knew I was in trouble. I hadn’t called her in a while, and I realized she was not happy that I hadn’t. I try to avoid talking to her because it always ends with the same argument.

As I stared at the ceiling, a knock sounded at my door. I looked up, and a tiny woman with shoulder-length light brown hair with streaks of gray through it was standing in the doorway. Her mouth pressed into a frown, and her green eyes shimmered with the tears that were welling in them.

“Hi, ma,” I muttered.

“Jessie,” she gasped and started walking into the room.

Her eyes turned to my leg, and she stopped when she saw the rods sticking out.

“I’m OK, ma,” I lied.

Her eyes turned back to me, full of fury.

“OK? You have goddamn rods sticking out of your leg, and you’re OK. I may be your mom, but I’m not stupid,” she hissed at me.

“Glad to see you still have your spunk,” I replied.

In a flash, she slapped my arm, “Stop being a smart ass Jessie for one damn minute.”

I winced when I flinched to avoid my mother’s wrath.

“s**t, I’m sorry, Jessie,” she sobbed as she covered her mouth.

“I’m fine, ma,” I lied, attempting to mask the pain radiating through my chest.

“Quit lying to me, Jessie, so how bad is it?” she asked, fighting the tears back.

I stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid her gaze.

“Well, my leg snapped in half. I got a few cracked ribs and a bruised lung,” I said.

“I realized this might happen, but that doesn’t make it any easier,” she said as a tear fell from her eye.

“Mom, I will be fine. I need another surgery to finish fixing my leg, and I will be back to normal,” I uttered.

“You were never normal, Jessie. Damn it, why didn’t you listen to Willow?” she mumbled.

My hand ran over my face. Mom hasn’t mentioned Willow by name in years. My mom loved her more than me, I believed. The day I let her walk away, my mom’s heart broke. I’m sure she hoped Willow might get me to change my mind and stop me from being a bull rider.

“Please, mom, I don’t want to fight,” I sighed.

“Well, it’s true. If only you stayed with Willow, you might not be in this damn bed,” she countered.

“She’s the one that walked away from me,” I hissed out.

“Because she didn’t want to watch this happen to you,” she said, pointing at my leg.

“Mom, you realize I have a girlfriend now, right?” I asked, trying to deflect her away from mentioning Willow.

“Yeah? Where is she now? I don’t see anyone else here?” she shot back at me.

As I went to reply, I got interrupted.

“I’m here,” Frank interjected.

My mom turned around, and Frank was standing in the doorway.

“Frank, thank you for taking care of my boy,” she said as she walked over and hugged him.

“Hi, Mrs. McBride. I’d be lying if I said it was my pleasure, but you know how big of a pain in the ass he is,” Frank grinned.

I flipped him off when my mom was not looking. He gave me a wink and a grin. Sometimes I hate him.

“Yes, trust me. I realize Jessie doesn’t listen. He’s been the way since he was born,” she laughed.

“Wonderful, both of you gang up on me. I don’t need this s**t,” I growled.

“Jessie, watch your mouth!” my mom yelled at me.

I could see Frank standing behind her, trying to stifle a laugh.

My brows furrowed into a scowl as I pressed my lips together. Damn, I wish I could get the f**k out of this bed. I turned and stared out the window. As I stared out the window, I pondered the statement my mom made. She had a point that Sunny wasn’t here. I haven’t seen or heard from her since before the accident. Frank said she stopped by when I was still out of it.

I figured she might at least call to check how I was. Frank told me she had to leave to make the next event, which I understand. Maybe it’s what I get for only having a casual relationship. Making it easier to move on, I guess. I don’t love anyone anymore, and my calling her my girlfriend was for the image’s sake. Since you know who left me, I haven’t been a fan of getting attached.

I stayed quiet for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn’t in the mood. My mom quit badgering me over getting hurt. It got late, and my mom headed to the cafeteria, leaving Frank and me alone.

“Where’s my phone, Frank?” I asked.

He reached into my bag and handed it to me.

“Can I get a minute alone?” I asked.

He gave me a look that I didn’t care for and exited. I flipped through my contacts and found Sunny’s number. I hit send and waited for her to answer. Three rings later, she finally did.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey, baby,” I answered back.

“Jessie? Oh my god, how are you doing?” she said, surprise sounding in her voice.

“Well, I got trampled by a bull, but other than that, I’m fine,” I joked.

“Not funny, Jessie. You don’t realize how terrible it was to watch,” she whimpered.

“I’m sorry, Sunny, sometimes dangerous things happen. It will be OK, though,” I apologized.

“I realize that, but I don’t know anymore. The sight of you in that bed broke me. I’m sorry I didn’t come back. No way I could have seen you that way again,” she sobbed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said as I rubbed my temples.

“That’s the problem. You didn’t think it was ever going to happen to you. Remember, you said you were invincible,” Sunny scolded him.

“I’m still breathing, so I’m doing good,” I chuckled, regretting it.

She let out a loud sigh.

“Come on, Jessie. You’re lucky to be breathing right now. If any of your ribs punctured your lung or heart, you might be dead right now,” she huffed.

This conversation isn’t going the way I hoped.

“It didn’t. I’m fine and will be ready to ride in no time,” I said.

“How long?” she asked.

I grimaced.

“Three to six months,” I breathed out.

“Are you serious?” she yelled.

“Yeah, I need one more surgery to place plates in my leg to stabilize it. I will be in physical therapy after that,” I told Sunny.

“You’re going to come back?” she quizzed.

“Yes, why shouldn’t I?” I answer, getting annoyed with this line of questioning.

“You think that’s a good idea?” she questioned.

“Do you not want me to return?” I asked.

“I want you to return. But will you be able to ride?” Sunny uttered.

I sat in silence, not knowing how to answer that question. I guess I didn’t consider that. What if I’m not able to do it? What if I busted my leg again? These questions swirled in my head. A knock on her door sounded through the speaker.

“Hey baby, you ready to go?” a familiar voice came over the line.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“No one, I need to go, Jessie. I will talk to you later,” she said and hung up the phone.

“Bye,” I said to no one.

I looked at the phone. I knew that voice. You got to be f*****g kidding me. Not even a week later and Clayton Williams had made his move. The more I speculated, the madder I got. It boiled over when I threw my phone against the wall. Frank ran back in and saw the pieces of my phone scattered everywhere.

“Did you know?” I hissed at him.

“Not exactly, but what do you expect, Jessie? You said it yourself you weren’t dating,” he answered.

My hands ran through my hair as I turned back to the window. I need to leave this f*****g place.