the most important purse in his comeback attempt, but with his nerves still jangled after the encounter with his brother and his father, he was glad to have his old friend with him. A horse he could trust, because he was having one hell of a time focusing.
Ryan had already made his run prior to the big confrontation. Matt had watched from the warm-up pen as his brother had made a perfect catch and tied in record time, wondering briefly if his father had stood up to cheer with the rest of the crowd.
Now he had his answer. No, his father hadn’t been cheering. For some reason he’d called Ryan’s mother, thus pissing Ryan off. Why?
Matt shoved the thought out of his head. Later.
And Liv. What had she wanted? She’d looked so stressed, haunted almost.
Later.
But somehow the hyperfocus he’d always escaped into eluded him. Liv, Ryan, Charles.
When they entered the box Matt felt Beckett’s energy through his legs. Ears forward, ready to go. Beckett was as anxious to do his job as Matt was to do his. A team, as always, which was the reason they were champions and would remain champions. For at least one more year. Maybe more.
Matt exhaled, eyes straight ahead, rope in hand. Beckett practically vibrated beneath him. Matt nodded, the chute clanged open and as soon at the calf hit the advantage point, Beckett charged past the barrier, stretching out with his ears back as he sought his prey. He was on the calf in seconds, but just as Matt released his loop, the calf cut to the left, making a suicidal bound directly in front of the horse. Beckett automatically pulled up, skidding in the mud, and then all Matt was aware of was the odd sensation of the sky being in the wrong place followed by crushing pain as twelve hundred pounds of horse came down on him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LIV PURPOSELY CHOSE not to watch Matt’s run, but she knew as soon as the collective gasp sounded from the stands, followed by silence, that something very, very bad had happened.
She dropped Queso’s reins and ran to the arena fence in time to see Beckett get to his feet and almost go down again as he touched his left front leg to the ground.
But Matt...she couldn’t see Matt. Just the men surrounding the area where he lay and then the arena gate opened and the ambulance came in.
A hand settled on her shoulder but she barely felt it, didn’t even turn to see who it was. It was only when she realized that she was repeating, “Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no,” that she made an effort to get hold of herself.
“He moved.”
Margo. It was Margo who was standing with her, and then a second later, Tim was on the other side. The three stood watching as Matt was strapped to a backboard, then loaded into the ambulance. Once the gate was closed, Tim nudged her and said, “Come on.”
Liv didn’t ask where they were going or why. She simply followed him to the truck where Queso still stood even though he wasn’t tied. Tim unsaddled the horse and loaded him while Liv numbly stored the gear.
“We’re going to the hospital, right?” Liv finally asked Tim. Because if he wasn’t, then she was going to find her own ride there.
“Yes,” Tim said, holding the door open. “Get in.”
Liv got into the truck then, without a word, scooted to the middle when Margo followed her in. Tim shot the older woman a quick look. A silent communication passed between them, and then Tim reached down to start the engine.
Liv noted in a distant way that it seemed strange that after all these years they could communicate without speaking, but maybe that was the way it worked when people were in love.
The man she loved had just been crushed by a falling horse. If she didn’t get that chance to tell him how stupid and blind she’d been, she didn’t know if she’d ever forgive herself.
* * *
IT WASN’T THE first time Matt had broken a bone, or the first time he’d gone to the hospital in an ambulance. But it was the first time he’d known for a fact that his career was over.
Before they’d loaded him into the ambulance, the paramedics had cut away his jeans and he’d gotten a great view of a compound femur fracture. Not pretty. And the fact that he hadn’t been able to feel anything from the fracture on down