"Adam! You better get out here!" Ford yelled from the front porch.
Adam put down the screwdriver he'd been using to fix the stove with a heavy sigh. He knew that tone of voice – someone was fighting or about to get hurt.
Hannah gently patted his shoulder as he walked past her and followed him out to the dark front yard.
"Dammit," Adam cursed, seeing two of his younger brothers, Brian and Daniel, rolling around in the dirt, throwing punches at each other. "Break it up!" he yelled, moving in. "Break it up!"
Adam motioned to Crane and Evan, who were arriving from the barn to help separate the two fighting. Adam and Evan grabbed onto Brian and pulled him away from Daniel, who was being pulled back by Crane and Ford.
"What's this all about?" Adam yelled, looking back and forth between the two, needing to shove Brian back even more when he tried to lunge at Daniel again.
Both fighters started yelling at once, and this time it was Hannah who stepped between them, shouting at them to calm down. "One at a time!" she ordered. "Daniel, you first!"
"He ruined my gig!" Daniel shouted, lunging forward again, trying to get around Hannah. "Him and his girlfriend started fighting in the middle of my song and shut down the whole bar!"
"The guy was a jerk! He was heckling the band! What was I supposed to do?" Brian retorted.
"Take it outside, you dumbass!" Daniel shouted.
"Oh, like I'm gonna stop right there and say, 'Excuse, me but hold that thought, let's go outside, so we don't disturb the band!'" Brian mocked.
"The club owner told us not to come back because we were bad for business!"
"No one said you had to join the fight, Daniel!" Brian shot back. "I had it under control!"
"Enough!" Adam shouted, holding up his hands.
"Oh, like I'm supposed to let you get the crap beaten out of you? Fine! Next time I'll just keep singing while you get killed!"
"ENOUGH!" Adam repeated, shouting louder. He looked back and forth between the two, not sure how to handle this – they were both right and both wrong, from what little he'd heard.
"Don't worry, Adam, I'm done," Daniel said, glaring once more at Brian. He removed his arm from Crane, who'd still had a light hold on him. Without looking back, he headed for the house, but as he got to the porch, he turned toward the group and shouted, "Not like that bonehead that can't frickin' go to a bar without finding a fight!"
Brian lunged forward, only to be caught up again by Adam and Evan, and shouting, "Yeah, well at least I can actually get a date without needing a guitar in my hand!"
Adam shoved Brian back, blocking his view of Daniel and again, shouted at him, "Will you shut up!" Adam stared at Brian, waiting for him to comply. Brian just raised his hands in resignation, angrily shaking his head, wordlessly telling Adam that he wasn't in the mood for anything else, and backed away from the group, heading toward the barn.
Adam sighed as he put his hands on his hips. His other brothers and Hannah stayed where they were, waiting for him to say or do something else. "Leave 'em be," he finally said. "Give 'em time to cool off."
"Not the first time they've fought; won't be the last, neither," Crane told Hannah, who had a worried look on her face.
"This was the worst, though," Ford said, watching Brian disappear into the darkened barn.
"Will they be okay?" Hannah asked Adam.
"Yeeaah," he drawled. "Give them a day or two and they'll be right back to normal; or at least they won't want to kill each other by then."
Hannah put her arms around Adam's waist. She could tell he was still worried about Brian and Daniel, despite his words. They tightened, though, when Brian rode out of the barn on his horse and headed toward the pastures at full gallop. "Brian!" she called. "Adam? You gonna go after him?" she asked.
Adam just shook his head. "He'll be fine. Probably headed to the cabin. Nothin' he ain't done before."
"Nothin' none of us ain't done before," Crane added with a wry smile.
"I haven't!" Guthrie put in.
"I hope you won't have to, either, Guthrie," Hannah said with a smile, ruffling his hair. She calmed down a bit – if the brothers thought Brian would be okay, and eventually Brian and Daniel would be okay, she'd just have to believe them. They knew their own brothers better than she did, after all. But she couldn't help but worry anyway. "You sure they'll be okay, Adam?" she asked.
Adam put his arm around her. "Yeah, they'll be fine," he told her, but his voice didn't sound too convincing.
7b47b
Brian slowed the horse once he was out of sight of the house, and the lights from the house and yard floodlights no longer helped him or the horse see where they were going. It was a dark, moonless night; he and Daniel had been kicked out of the bar around 9pm, so now it was probably close to 10:30 at night. He wasn't worried, though; he knew the land like the back of his hand, and so did his horse.
He knew that in about forty-five minutes or so he'd be at the cabin. He smiled as he recalled how his father had used to take him up there for a weekend of one-on-one father/son time when he was young; hunting, fishing, hiking… The little one-roomed cabin was built by his great grandfather McFadden, so he'd been told, for times when his great grandmother had kicked him out for a night or two when they'd been fighting. He smiled ruefully at the memory of his father saying this, considering why he was headed there.
He patted his horse's neck, saying, "Yeah, ain't the first time we've made this trip for fighting, is it, girl?" He sighed, adding, "Except this time, it ain't my fault! Dammit, Daniel."
The horse nickered, as if in response. Brian patted her again. "Come on, let's go."
7b47b
Daniel slammed the door to his bedroom and couldn't help but kick the trash can on the floor across the room; followed it and kicked it back. Next to feel his wrath was the jacket hanging on the door hook, the pillows on his bed and the boots near the closet. He only stopped when he realized he was about to pick up Crane's guitar and throw it, too. He sank down onto his bed with a sigh, dropping back to lie on it, staring at the ceiling.
"Dammit, Brian," he seethed, fists balling in the sheets. He pounded his fists into the mattress a few times before covering his face with his hands, sighing.
"So, how did the gig go before the fight?"
Daniel startled at the voice, hands fisting, ready for another fight as he sat up.
"Relax, Daniel; just me," Crane said as he crossed the room and sat on his own bed, facing Daniel. "Here," he said, tossing a small bag of ice wrapped in a washcloth toward his brother.
Daniel caught it with ease and put it over his left eye, which by now had been starting to swell and bruise.
"Was that from the bar or from Brian?" Crane asked.
"Don't wanna talk about it, Crane," he replied, lying back down and turning away from his brother and roommate.
Crane let out a tired sigh, himself. "Well, when you're ready to, let me know," he said and got ready for bed.
7b47b
Brian figured it was around midnight by the time he and his horse made it to the cabin. The darkness caused him to take the ride a lot slower than normal. He may have been mad, but he wasn't that mad that he'd risk his horse getting hurt riding in the dark.
He let out a groan as he dismounted, his left knee letting him know that it didn't appreciate the two fights he'd been in tonight, let alone an hour and a half ride. He leaned down and rubbed it quickly as he bent and straightened it out, stretching the muscles in his leg. When it felt a little better, he took care of the horse, removing the saddle and tack. By memory and feel, he managed to get the saddle into the small lean-to shed and the horse to the small corral next to the cabin and let it loose. He latched the gate and again, by memory and feel, limped his way to the cabin.
Once inside he didn't even bother to light the lantern, but just headed across the small room to the bed. He pulled off the sheet that acted as a dust cover, let it drop to the floor, and collapsed onto the soft mattress.
It wasn't long after taking off his boots that Brian found himself succumbing to sleep.
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Hannah didn't like the fact that there had been an empty space at the breakfast table. Adam had tried to explain the nature of their little family – last night, last week, last month… And she occasionally understood their little fights – how can seven brothers not fight every now and then? It didn't mean she liked it, though. As far as she was concerned, families didn't drive each other away; brothers didn't walk away so carelessly.
Adam, picking up on Hannah's mood, stood from the table and moved to stand behind her. "It'll be fine, Hannah. Just wait. Won't be long," he quietly assured her.
"How can you be so sure, Adam?" she asked, turning around to face him. "I don't think I've ever seen either of them look so mad."
Adam rubbed the back of his neck, a slight grimace coming to his face. Hannah was right; he'd never seen them so mad, either. He sighed. "I can't be sure," he admitted. "But somehow, we'll make it right again."
7b47b
Brian was sore and achy. His knee didn't feel any better and the other bruises he'd acquired in the bar fight and in the fight with Daniel were still making themselves known. He sat up and rubbed his hands down his face, wincing as one touched his swollen left eye and then jaw. He opened and shut his jaw, stretching it a bit and groaned. He was suddenly glad the cabin didn't have a mirror in it. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, letting out a groan as his left knee protested and his foot hit the floor, jarring it. "Shit…" he groaned. If his stomach wasn't growling and his bladder calling for attention, he'd be tempted to roll back over and go back to sleep. Putting his right boot on was easy. Getting the left one on, that took a bit of finagling, as it wasn't easy for Brian to bend the bad knee. "Come on, McFadden, do or die," he grumbled and levered himself up off the bed, shoving his foot down into the boot.
He gingerly put some more weight down on his left leg, tested it, and found it bearable. He took a quick step or two, got a bit of a rhythm, and limped across the cabin to the door.
A few minutes later, his bladder taken care of, his stomach again called for attention. Brian had to make a decision. He had been in such a hurry to get away last night, he hadn't thought of bringing any food. So his decision was to go back to the ranch to eat, or make his way down to the stream and hope to catch a fish. Thoughts of Daniel decided his fate. He went back to the cabin, grabbed a fishing pole and started for the stream.
7b47b
"Hey, Daniel?"
Daniel looked up from where he sat on the porch. "Yeah, Guthrie?"
"Man, you look terrible!" the young boy exclaimed, almost reaching out, wanting to touch the large bruise around Daniel's eye.
Daniel grimaced, not in the mood to deal with his little brother. "Yeah, thanks, Guth. What do you want?"
Guthrie, only a little put off from Daniel's mood, forged ahead, asking, "Are you really that mad at Brian? He was defending you."
"Yeah, Guthrie, I'm really that mad," Daniel shot back, his anger resurfacing. He rose to his feet and pointed at the teen, adding, "he cost me a good gig!" before heading back into the house.
Guthrie just stood, watching Daniel go. He sighed. He didn't know what to do to get his brothers back together. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, Guthrie," Crane said with a smile. "You're either brave or stupid, trying to talk to Daniel so soon," he said. "You should know it takes them two a couple of days to calm down after something like this."
Guthrie dropped down to sit on the porch step Daniel had so recently vacated. "I know, Crane. I just keep hoping they'll change. That they'd see how silly this was. That they remember that they're family!" He threw a small pebble out onto the grass.
Crane had sat down next to his little brother and watched the pebble roll a bit. "They will, Guthrie. Like we said last night, this isn't the first time those two have fought with each other and it probably won't be the last. They've both got tempers, and say stupid stuff, but deep down, they really do love each other; they know they're brothers and that family comes first."
"I sure hope you're right, Crane."
7b47b
Brian had made it about half way to the stream – about fifty feet from the cabin – when his knee gave way, sending him crashing to the ground. "Goddammit!" he yelled, adding pain-filled groans as he rocked back and forth, holding onto his left knee. "Shit!" He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he opened his eyes, sat up and began to assess his injury.
He'd hurt the knee a few times over the years. Between school sports and working the ranch, injuries happened. Unfortunately, his left knee always took the brunt of them. The last time he'd injured it, badly spraining it when he, Crane and Adam had gone searching for Hannah after the plane wreck, the orthopedist had suggested surgery. He'd been putting it off since then, denying it would ever get worse. Now he was regretting that non-decision.
The knee had swollen so much – to the point where his jeans were too tight around it – that he couldn't bend it. "Great," he muttered, flexing his ankle below. He looked around – checking the distance between where he was and the cabin and corral. He knew that heading back to the ranch was his only option now.
Determined, he rolled to his side and got his right foot planted below him. With effort, he pushed upward, arms flailing, hopping a few times to keep his balance and keep the weight off his left leg. He hopped a few times before tentatively putting his left foot down, hoping that it might hold some of his weight. The sharp pain coursed through, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground again. "Shit," he groaned painfully, rolling again to start the process of getting up again. Gently hopping in place, trying to keep upright, looking toward the corral, goal in mind, Brian started off again.
7b47b
"Daniel! Phone!" Hannah called, holding her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. After a few seconds, not hearing any response, she called again, louder, "Daniel! Phone!" Finally, she heard movement upstairs and the sound of boots coming down the stairs.
"Who is it?" Daniel asked her when he arrived in the kitchen.
Hannah just shrugged and handed him the phone.
"This is Daniel," he said into the phone.
"Daniel, this is Bob Coggins."
Daniel sighed to himself, not wanting to get another chewing out from the bar owner. "Yes, sir, Mr. Coggins?" he greeted him, being polite, as he was taught.
He heard a sigh from the man, and was confused.
"Daniel, seems I owe you and your brother an apology," Mr. Coggins went on.
"Excuse me?"
"Sheriff Barnes and I talked to a few people earlier this morning. And I watched the video tape from the bar – I'd forgotten that my wife had installed it last week – and, well," the man paused and Daniel heard something in his voice – regret maybe? – "well, we saw that the guy that started that fight with your brother did it on purpose."
Daniel was very confused now and voiced it. "I don't understand."
"He was Steve Henderson's cousin," Mr. Coggins said.
Daniel rubbed his hand through his hair and down his face. He understood now. Steve Henderson was the lead singer in another band – the one that Daniel's beat out in an audition to get the Friday and Saturday night gigs at the bar.
"The video showed him talking to a bunch of people at the bar who then pointed out Brian," Mr. Coggins continued. "He and Steve apparently knew that if they started a fight with your brother, you'd help out."
"Which I did," Daniel admitted. "Still doesn't excuse us for messing up your place, Mr. Coggins," Daniel continued.
"Makes me understand it, Daniel. He may think he was protecting his family – but you don't sabotage somebody else's to do it," Coggins said. "He was on offense. You and your brother were on defense," he explained further, in simple terms.
"So what now?" Daniel asked.
"I'll see you next Friday," Coggins replied and hung up the phone.
Daniel hung up the handset and sat down at the kitchen table, a smile on his face.
"Well?" Hannah asked. She'd stayed in the kitchen working on lunch while Daniel talked.
"Coggins said the fight wasn't mine or Brian's fault. Said I could come back and play on Friday," Daniel told her.
"That's great!" she replied, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll pack you a couple of lunches."
"Lunches? Huh?"
"For you and Brian," she said. She saw the defiance in his eyes at the mention of Brian's name, and added, "Because you will be riding up to the cabin to tell him the good news, and put all this fighting nonsense behind you!"
"Hannah –"
"No! You just told me that Mr. Coggins told you that the fight wasn't Brian's or your fault. And you got your job back," she continued on past his attempted interruption. "Time to end this thing between you two right now, before it gets any worse!"
"What she said!"
Daniel whipped around at the words, seeing Adam standing at the kitchen door. He knew he'd never hear the end of it now, if Adam got involved at this point. "Fine," he said and headed outside.
7b47b
Brian didn't know how long it took him to finally get to the corral – between hopping and then finally dragging himself up the trail – he was exhausted and his knee hurt even more. Worse, though was that he'd started losing feeling below his knee. Partway up he'd stopped, taken out his pocket knife and slit his pant leg around his knee, hoping it would help. He couldn't get his boot off, though, and that was worse still. He knew that it was even more important that he get back to the ranch now.
Leaning back against the fence post, his legs splayed out in front of him, Brian stopped to rest and catch his breath. He tipped his head back and sighed, not looking forward to what he needed to do next – get his horse. And… get on his horse.
Trying to think of something else for the moment, needing to get his mind off both the pain and numbness in his leg, Brian thought of what got him into this mess to begin with.
"Pain brings clarity," he mused aloud. "Sorry, Daniel," he added.
A whuff of warm breath on his shoulder startled him as his horse made her presence known.
"Just the girl I need to see," Brian said with a smile, petting the horse's nose. He grabbed onto the fence rung and hauled himself to his feet, trying to do it calmly and quietly, so as not to startle the horse. "That's it, girl," he said soothingly, hoping she'd stay nearby.
He looked toward the lean to, where he'd put the saddle last night, and realized that it was not going to be a possibility. With the trouble he had just getting back to the corral from where he'd gotten this morning, and the strength it sapped from him, he knew he'd never be able to stand long enough to put the saddle on, let alone balance himself while he picked it up, hauled it over and lifted it onto the horse. That was also if the horse cooperated and stayed put while he did all this, which it usually did not…
Holding onto the fence, Brian hopped his way toward the corral gate. Once there, he unlatched it and went inside and now following the inside of the fence, headed back to where the horse stood.
"Come on, now, girl, stay right there for me," he whispered, needing the horse to stay right next to the fence.
Once there, he wrapped the fingers of his left hand in her mane, and patted her gently with his right. He gently pulled her closer to the fence, talking soothingly to her the whole time. When he was close enough to the fence, he reached back and managed to climb onto it, sitting on the top rung. Still holding onto the horse's mane, Brian managed to raise his right foot onto the bottom rung. "Okay, now," he warned her, and himself, "here we go." Without wanting to wait any longer, to give himself or the horse a chance to move out of position, Brian pushed off with his right leg and pulled with his left hand, launching himself over the horse's back. He cried out as he did, his left knee jarring badly as it hit the horse's flank, causing the horse to skitter to the side. But Brian held on tight and adjusted his weight to stay on. Once the horse stopped moving again, Brian managed to bring his right leg over the horse's rump and sat up. Letting out a deep sigh, he patted the horse's neck, adding a "Good girl," for good measure.
7b47b
Daniel wasn't in any hurry to get to the cabin. He knew Hannah and Adam were right – Brian did have a right to know what Mr. Coggins said on the phone and to some extent, he did owe him an apology. Brian didn't start the fight. And, while he knew Brian had a personality that made him prone to fighting (Hell, which of the brothers didn't!), he also knew that Brian wouldn't purposely do anything to hurt any of them. It still didn't mean he looked forward to that apology or that confrontation. What if Brian didn't accept it? Daniel's thought's darkened; "Would be just like Brian not to accept an apology when it's given," he muttered.
7b47b
Brian couldn't help but apologize over and over to his horse. Each time he felt like he was slipping off, he tightened his grip on her mane, causing her to stop walking and shake her head in annoyance. A few times after he'd first left the cabin and corral, he'd tried controlling the horse and stay on by instinctively tightening his knees – only to wince and groan in pain as his left knee protested the movement.
Looking at his watch and the terrain around him, Brian sighed. It was taking far too long for him to get where he wanted to be. But he knew he couldn't go any faster – he'd tried earlier, and almost fell off the horse as a result, which led him back to apologizing to his horse again…
Losing track of his surroundings for a second, as he paid more attention to his problems, he was unprepared for the sudden downward steps the horse took, and the next thing he knew, he was sliding downward. "No!" he shouted, uselessly, trying to roll to his right side and protect his injured knee.
Unfortunately, while this worked on protecting his knee, it did nothing to prevent his head from smacking against the hard rock below. His horse gave a quick snort before shaking its head and leaving its unconscious owner behind, continuing its journey home.
7b47b
Daniel reined in when he saw the riderless horse heading his way. Recognizing the mare, any negative thoughts Daniel may have had toward his brother immediately left his head and were replaced with concern for Brian.
He dismounted and moved to halt the oncoming horse, doing so with practiced ease. He patted her neck, wordlessly soothing her, as if she needed to be soothed, and checked her over. Daniel saw that she did not have a saddle, so his first thought was that somehow she'd gotten loose from the corral next to the cabin, and his mind started to ease – that if it was just a matter of the horse getting loose, then Brian was fine. A little careless, but fine.
But his second thought was that when it came to his horse, Brian was never careless. And the little voice in his head was starting to scream at him – something was wrong. Brian needed help.
He quickly grabbed a rope from his saddlebag and looped one end of it around Brian's horse's neck. Taking the other end, he mounted his own horse, then, and picked up his pace, needing to see that Brian was okay.
7b47b
Ten minutes later Daniel caught sight of Brian, lying motionless on the ground. "Brian!" he shouted, urging his horse forward. In seconds, without thinking, he dismounted, ground-tied his horse and was at his brother's side. "Come on, Brian, talk to me," he murmured, reaching out to touch Brian's face and neck, checking his vital signs, inwardly sighing when he found a strong pulse.
"What the hell happened?" Daniel asked, looking at Brian, continuing to think about Brian's saddleless horse as he checked for injuries. He found blood on the right side of Brian's head – and it was quickly obvious to Daniel that Brian must have fallen from his horse here. Why, though, when Brian, heck all of the brothers, were expert riders, having grown up on the ranch, was the question. Looking for other injuries, Daniel noticed the torn jeans and the swelling around Brian's left knee. "Damn," Daniel cursed quietly.
He gently palpated the knee, recalling the last time Brian had hurt this knee, and what the doctor had told his brother, when Brian let out a painful moan. "Brian? Hey, Bri?" he called, moving his hand to cup Brian's cheek, hoping to help him focus on him. "Come on, wakey wakey."
"Dan'l?" Brian managed to get out, slowly opening his eyes. "Shit."
"Yeah, that about sums it up, Brian," Daniel replied. "What happened?"
"Friggin' knee," Brian replied. He moved to sit up, grabbing onto Daniel's arm to do so, when the dizziness hit. His eyes rolled and he let out another groan.
"Easy, easy," Daniel soothed, gently pushing him back down to the ground. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, thinking of what to do. "We gotta get you back to the ranch and then to the hospital, Brian," he said. "You hurt anywhere else besides your knee and your head?"
"No, they're enough," Brian replied tiredly.
"Wait just a minute," Daniel said and stood. He moved his horse closer and turned it around. "Okay, big brother, lets get you up and out of here, huh?" he said, bending down to ready Brian. He bent Brian's right leg, planting the foot. "Let me do all the work and put all the weight on your right leg and me," he said, meeting Brian's fuzzy gaze. "On three, we're gonna stand you up. You ready?"
"Let's just get this over with," Brian replied tiredly.
Daniel moved Brian's hands to his shoulders and then took hold of Brian's vest. He quickly counted to three and pulled up, bringing Brian up with him. Brian let out a painful groan and lost his balance, almost bringing him and Daniel back down to the ground. But Daniel quickly adjusted his stance and grip on his brother, steadying them both and holding most of Brian's weight. Quickly reaching behind him, he brought his horse closer, motioning Brian to hold onto the saddlehorn.
"I'm sorry, Daniel," Brian said, meeting his brother's gaze. "Didn't mean for you to lose your job."
"I know it," Daniel replied. "Now come on, let's get you up here."
Between the two of them, they managed to get Brian up and into the saddle on Daniel's horse. Daniel held onto Brian for a few moments, waiting for him to catch his breath, waiting to make sure his injured brother wasn't going to fall right back down.
"I'm good," Brian told him at last, letting out a few careful breaths.
"You want your foot in the stirrup?"
"No, yes… I don't know, Daniel," Brian murmured in reply. "Let's just get out of here."
Daniel nodded, untied Brian's horse from his and mounted it. He took the reins from his horse, to lead it. "You just hang on, Brian; let us do all the work." Daniel took another quick look back, before urging the horses onward toward home.
Brian, for his part, did just that – hang on. Having at least one of his feet in a stirrup made a world of difference, improving on his earlier bareback ride. Unfortunately, what he knew was a concussion made it worse than before. Now, instead of just his left knee screaming at him, he had a hell of a headache and nauseau added into the mix. Being able to close his eyes and let Daniel and the horses do all the work was exactly what he needed right now, sans a nice big bottle of pain medicine.
Daniel did his best to pick out the easiest trails – to avoid too many upward or downward climbs. He also did his best to control Brian's horse – at each flat stretch she wanted to run. And as much as he would have loved to get back to the ranch as soon as possible, they needed to take it easy. Each time he looked back at Brian, his brother looked worse – the pain was becoming more noticible in his facial expression, yet he barely heard a complaint, other than the occasional grunt or moan when his knee got jostled.
He turned to look back again, to tell Brian that he could see the ranch, and that they'd be home soon. "Almost there, Brian," he started to say, but the look Brian had now, Daniel knew it wasn't good. He stopped the horses, quickly dismounted his and ran back to Brian.
"Brian?" he called – and got no response. Knowing that if he wasted another minute, Brian would fall off the horse, Daniel quickly mounted the horse, behind the saddle, grabbing Brian around his waist, just as he lost consciousness. He struggled to stay up himself, reaching with one hand to hold onto the saddlhorn. "Come on, Brian, wake up; help me out here," he urged.
"Mmm, Dan'l?" Brian responded, whispering. "Don't feel good."
"I know, I know. But we're almost home. So just stay with me here, brother." Daniel maneuvered a little more on the back of the horse, holding onto Brian, keeping him upright with one hand while reaching for the reins with his other. Using his feet and knees he urged the horse homeward, leaving Brian's horse to trail behind on her own.
Holding on tight, he urged a little more speed out of the horse now and said a prayer.
7b47b
Hannah sat down next to Adam and across from Crane at the kitchen table. She looked over at the spreadsheet Crane had made up showing the ranch's income and expenses.
"Not too much in the red this month," she said.
"It's still in the red," Adam replied, giving her a raised eyebrow look. Unfortunately it was a look Hannah knew all too well.
"Yeah, but it's not as bad as last month," she replied, trying to get him to see a bright side.
"It's still in the red," he repeated.
"And we've always managed to find a way to break even – at least as long as I've known you," Hannah said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, rising from the table.
Before she got too far, though, Adam grabbed his wife around the waist and brought her back to his side. "We've only found a way to break even since I've known you," Adam told her, giving her a kiss.
The two started kissing in earnest before they were interupted.
"Uh, you guys want to take that somewhere else?" Crane asked.
They'd forgotten he was even at the table with them. Hannah let out a giggle and was about to apologize when they heard Daniel's yell from outside.
"Adam! Hannah!"
The three rushed outside to find Daniel still holding onto Brian, still on Daniel's horse. Crane and Adam moved to take Brian from Daniel's grip.
"What happened?" Hannah cried.
"Watch his head. And his left knee," Daniel urged, sliding down off the read of the horse, following the brothers to the porch. "Knee must've gone out on him. He'd been riding bareback; must have slipped off. Hit his head pretty hard – think he's got a concussion," he rambled off, exhausted and dropping to sit on the porch steps, out of breath.
Hannah had taken over, her first aid training coming to the fore. "Brian?" she called, gently tapping his shoulder, receiving a low moan in response. She moved his hair out of the way to look at the gash on his head and felt his neck for his pulse. "Come on, Brian, open your eyes for me now," she asked.
"We gotta get him to the hospital," Daniel said from where he was sitting. "He was dry heaving a little while ago. I know that ain't good."
Hannah nodded in agreement. "Crane, go get the truck and put some blankets in the back," she ordered. "Adam, help me get his boot off so we can splint his leg up proper."
Hannah, Adam and Daniel had worked together to get Brian ready for the trip to the hospital. Too far a trip for them to wait for an ambulance, the bed of the pick up truck would have to substitute. Unfortunately, they knew this from past experience – when Ford dislocated his shoulder, when Daniel broke his ankle, when Adam had broken some ribs… a ranch with seven brothers was not one without injuries. They knew that by the time they'd meet up with an ambulance, they'd already be more than halfway to the hospital – the problem with living in the country.
"Crane?" Hannah called as she, Adam and Daniel laid Brian down on the blanket covered truck bed. "I think you better call ahead. I think we should meet up with the ambulance this time," she said.
Crane nodded his head. Daniel and Hannah stayed in the back with Brian while Adam moved to the driver's seat. "I'll pick up the others at the movie and then we'll meet you there," Crane said, taking another look at Brian as Hannah tucked another blanket around him. Before the truck was down the long driveway, Crane was back in the house, phone in hand.
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Daniel was never happier than when he heard the ambulance's siren. The twenty minute ride in the back of the truck, him holding onto Brian as he moved in and out of consciousness was twenty minutes too long for him. While Brian had become more lucid as they went, it also meant he felt the pain more acutely.
Adam, Hannah and Daniel helped the EMTs transfer Brian from the truck bed to the stretcher and into the ambulance. A few minutes later, after the EMTs did their assessment and started treatments for Brian, the ambulance was turned around and headed for the hospital.
Adam and Hannah turned back to the truck to get on their way to follow the ambulance. They stopped when they saw Daniel slide down against the truck, landing hard as he sat on the road, leaning against the truck's driver's door.
"Daniel? You all right?" Adam asked, quickly moving to one knee next to his brother. He put a hand on Daniel's shoulder as he waited for an answer.
"I'll be fine as long as Brian is," Daniel replied tiredly.
Hannah quickly pictured Daniel as he and Brian had rode up to the house. How Daniel must have had to hold onto Brian for so long on the horse. "You must be exhausted," she said, putting her hand to Daniel's cheek. She made eye contact with Adam, making sure he knew that they needed to take care of Daniel, too.
"Brian's in good hands now," Adam assured Daniel. "Let's get going now," he added, standing, holding out his hand for Daniel.
Hannah grabbed Daniel's other hand and she and Adam gently pulled Daniel to his feet. The young man swayed a bit before gaining his balance. When Daniel nodded his head, saying he was fine, the three got into the truck and continued their trek to the hospital.
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A few hours later, Crane having arrived with the youngest boys, the McFadden family sat in the hospital waiting room waiting for more word on Brian. Adam had been allowed in to see him shortly after they arrived, the doctor telling him that they were going to run some tests, take x-rays, etc., to determine the severity of the concussion, first, and then to see just how badly his knee was injured. They had been reassured that at this time, nothing seemed life threatening.
When the doctor came to the waiting room, he again reassured them that Brian was going to be fine. The concussion, though it would make Brian miserable for a week or so, was relatively mild. His knee, however… Brian's orthopedist wouldn't be giving him the option of delaying any surgery this time. The ACL was completely torn now.
"Can we see him?" Daniel asked.
"Sure," the doctor replied. "He's back in treatment room two, right now, and we're arranging for him to be admitted. You can stay with him while they move him."
Daniel quickly looked at Adam, making sure it was all right for him to go back first. Adam nodded his head, saying, "Go."
When Daniel entered the treatment room, Brian was lying with his eyes closed and Daniel thought he was asleep. He sat down in a chair next to the bed. He was surprised when he saw Brian looking at him.
"Hey," Daniel said as he scooched the chair closer to the bed. "How ya feeling?"
"Like crap," Brian groaned.
"I'm sure," Daniel replied. "Doc says you're probably gonna feel that way for a few days yet."
Brian sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I deserve it, too." He opened his eyes, quickly continuing, "I'm sorry, Dan. I didn't mean for you to lose your gig." His eyes closed again, as he tiredly added, "And then you had to come save my ass…"
Daniel stood and moved to Brian's side, waking him up, "Hey. Hey, Brian." When Brian opened his eyes again, Daniel continued, "I didn't lose the gig. It wasn't your fault. Steve Henderson's cousin started in on you on purpose. You hear me, Bri? They started that fight on purpose, Mr. Coggins told me so."
"Steve's cousin?" Brian repeated, questioning.
"Yeah. So I'm the one who's sorry, Brian," Daniel whispered.
"Let me close my eyes and sleep for a bit and we'll call it even, Daniel," Brian murmured.
"You got it," Daniel replied, smiling, sitting back down.
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Three weeks later, Guthrie sat on the front porch steps with Hannah.
"They were right, huh?" Guthrie mused.
"Who were right, Guthrie? And about what?" Hannah asked.
"Everybody," the boy replied with a shrug. "About Brian and Daniel."
Hannah smiled then, knowing what Guthrie was talking about. "Yeah, I guess so."
"I mean, it's almost like they're best friends now, not just brothers," he went on. "I mean, sure they've had arguments, but it's been about little stuff –and it's not like they're throwing punches or anything."
"No, they're definitely not throwing any punches, thank goodness!" Hannah laughed. "I think they would have figured things out eventually, like Adam and Crane said," she said. "I think Brian getting hurt just moved things along quicker. Made them realize that they had a lot to lose by being mad at each other so bad."
Their conversation was interrupted by shouting at the front door.
"I can open the door by myself, you know! I'm not crippled, just on crutches!" Brian yelled.
"I'm just trying to be helpful!" Daniel retorted. "Don't need you falling down and messing up your knee after the doc just got done putting it back together for you!"
Hannah and Guthrie just watched then as Brian and Daniel stopped shouting, looked at each other, as if silently communicating, and then continued out of the house. They watched as Brian let Daniel take his crutches and put them aside. He then put his arm around Daniel's shoulders and the two moved down the stairs together, to the front yard. Daniel gave the crutches back and the two headed together to the barn, laughing and joking, talking about some of the pretty nurses Brian met in the hospital.
Hannah and Guthrie had been so engrossed watching the two that they didn't even noticed that the rest of the brothers had come outside as well.
"Yup, looks like we're back to normal," Adam said.
"One big happy family," Crane added with a smile.