Page 69 of The Cowboy's Country Charm

“Can you ride?” Not sure what she would do if he couldn’t.

“Sure. Though I’m going to need a few minutes to get my sea legs under me. What did I trip over?” He looked around.

“Looks like a tree root.” She pointed to the offending item. “And you likely hit your head on the rest of it when you came down.” She looked at his bare chest to see if there was any blood. He was dirty, but no skin appeared to be broken.

“Great.”

“You passed out. “

“Great.”

“That means you have a concussion. You’ll need to see a doctor.”

“I’m fine. Just fell. Where’s the rifle?”

She looked around and spied it several feet away. “You dropped it.” Thank goodness, or he could have shot himself.

“I’m getting up.”

“Let me help.”

He looked at her through squinting eyes. “I’m fine, Kristy. Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine.”

She stepped back to give him room. He was a stubborn man, but she had to trust that his experience would have told him if he needed her. “You’re not fine. You passed out. I’m taking you to the ER when we get back. They’ll tell you if you’re fine or not.”

He proceeded to push up using his hands, bending his back. It looked awkward, but he stood up by himself.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Like I fell down a rabbit hole.” He rubbed his face, which was covered in dirt. “I’ve got to feed the horses, and then we can get a move on.”

“I’ll take care of the horses and pack up. You sit inside and wait for me.” She’d first have to make that trip to the outhouse.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

He closed his eyes. Did she imagine it, or did he sway a little.

He hung his head. “I’ll wait inside.”

Finally he was listening to her.

He walked to the rifle, picked it up, and moseyed into the cabin. “I’m leaving the door open so I can see you’re all right,” he yelled.

“I’m heading for the outhouse first.”

The breezy morning air had a tinge of coolness to it, but soon the sun would be beating down. If he was able to ride out, they needed to do it as soon as possible, to take advantage of the milder temperature.

***

It felt like a sledgehammer was pounding his head, but nothing felt broken. Everything seemed to work just fine. Falling was one of the things he’d practiced plenty of times, so he knew how to fall. Tripping over a root had surprised him, but his instincts must have taken over, because he remembered curling into a ball.

It could have been worse. A splitting headache was nothing.

He picked up his watch from the small table by the potbellied stove. They needed to get a move on if he was going to get her back in a reasonable time, like he’d promised.

He picked up the rest of yesterday’s clothes from the floor and pulled out the extra set from the saddle bag, dragging some of Kristy’s clothes with it. He stilled for a minute. His head wasn’t keen on motion.

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