Cooper had been called away to a last minute emergency surgery. They'd been playing twister when he got the call, and now Charlotte and Mason were sitting on the sofa in silence. At first, they'd tried to play, just the two of them, but the whole 'try to play while still spinning the spinner' hadn't really worked for them, so they'd given up and packed the game away. The only problem was, it was still Saturday morning, and Cooper wasn't likely to be home before dinner. "Get up." Charlotte instructed, standing up herself. Mason groaned and rolled over on the sofa. "Come on, we're going out. Get your coat on." Mason stood up and frowned curiously. "Will I like it?" He asked. Charlotte smiled and poked out her tongue. "We'll find out. When we get there."
She let him sit in the passenger seat. As long as he didn't tell Cooper, she told him. Cooper was awfully protective over Mason when it came to things like not sitting in the passenger seat till he was 14. The car journey was nice. It was a hot day out, so they drove with the windows down and the stereo blaring. When they pulled up at their destination, Masons jaw dropped and he shook his head. "No way." He whispered, clutching Charlottes arm as she begun to get out of the car. "Come on. It'll be fine. You'll love it. I promise."
Charlotte took the bag that she had packed from the boot of her car, then took Masons hand. He'd barely stepped out of the car and kind of looked sick. For a second, Charlotte hesitated, but then reassured herself. He'd at least enjoy hi self a little bit.
Mason held onto Charlottes hand tightly. He'd never seen horses this close up before, let alone ride one. Bu he followed her anyway. As she left him to change into riding gear, then handed him some of his own, he tried to calm himself down. He wished his dad hadn't gone to work. He loved hanging out with Charlotte, but the idea of getting on a horse and riding it, terrified him.
Charlotte had a knack with horses. She chose two for the both of them to ride. A white mare for Mason and an Arabian for herself. "Here, let me help you on." She offered, lifting him up on to the horses back. He looked down at her, obviously scared, still holding onto her. "I don't like it." He whimpered. She shook her head and smiled. "It's okay. You're alright. I'll ride alongside you. All you have to do is sit there and hold on." She managed to get his grip shifted onto the reins, then mounted her own horse. She led her horse around so she was standing next to Mason, who looked a little less freaked out.
"Okay, so we'll take them for a little walk to start with?" Charlotte asked, as she begun a slow trot with them. Mason giggled. "This is fun!" He called out, look excitedly at her. She raised her eyebrows. "What did I tell you?"
After taking a slow pace for over half an hour, Charlotte had finally let go of Mason's horse and he was riding around on his own. She was itching to do some jumps, but really didn't want to leave Mason alone when he was still a beginner.
"So are you really good at riding?" Mason asked, and the way he said it, she could tell he was up to something. "Yes." She answered slowly, unsure of his plan. "At least, I've been riding since I was old enough to walk." Mason grinned and pointed to the jump course. "Can you do that?" He asked excitedly. Charlotte smiled back and nodded. "I might be a little rusty, but yeah, I used to jump." Masons eyes grew wide in awe. What didn't this woman do? "Can you show me please?" He asked, desperate for her to prove to him that she could still do some of the formidable looking jumps. She nodded, then guided her horse, whom she had nicknamed Coop in her head. Coop because this horse was literally so eager to please her. He also had a little bit of spunk. She quickened her pace on the horse, making sure Mason was still okay and stable on his own horse. He held on hand up and gave her the thumbs up. "Good luck!" He called out smiling. She smiled back at him. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. The last time she actually did some jumping was last time she went home to Alabama alone, and she hadn't done that since marrying Cooper. So yeah, she was a little rusty. Okay, so make that very rusty. But she'd been riding since she could walk. This kind of stuff never really left you, right?
It was too late now. She'd given her horse the signal to start the jumps and they were off. They did ten perfect jumps, the horse hardly stopping to touch the ground underneath them. Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. This felt...great. Maybe she should go back to Monroeville for a holiday sooner than they planned to. Mason would love it, and she'd be able to introduce her family to him. She turned and waved at Mason, who had now started to move his own horse closer to the jumps. "Hey buddy, what are you doing?" She asked him, as his face turned from a smile into one of determination. "Mason, no." She cried out as she realised what was about to happen. Father-like-son, Mason was going to try and beat Charlotte. Apart from Charlotte had been riding for around thirty years and this was Masons first day.
It was as if time slowed down, Mason's horse taking the jump, Mason's hands coming free from the reigns and his body falling from the horse. Charlotte sat there, unable to move, fear freezing her. Then reality kicked in, Mason started to cry, his horse galloped away and Charlotte threw herself off her horse and ran to Mason's side. He was clutching his left arm and crying desperately. "Don't move Mason, lie still." She ordered him. Looking up, she noticed several stable hands running towards her, a look of concern on their faces. "Call an ambulance. I'm a doctor, I've got this." She yelled out, making them all turn and run back inside to contact the local hospital. Her hospital. Where Cooper was. It looked like they'd all end up there today anyway. Mason was still crying and trying to roll around, shifting under the pain. Charlotte held his head and neck still and hushed him. "Shhh Mason, it's okay. I'm here. The ambulance will be here soon buddy."
Charlotte opened the ambulance doors, a look of business on her face. "Page Dr Freedman," She ordered, to the nearest member of . "But Dr King, he's in surgery. We have another paediatrician on call."
"I'm the boss of this dam hospital. No other Paediatrician is touching my son. Page my husband. Now." She barked back at the intern who had questioned her. Pushing Mason on the gurney, she entered the hospital. It was then that she realised she was still wearing her riding gear. Full gear. Not just, comfy pants and a sweater. She had jophers and a lycra like top, boots and, she realised, her helmet was still on. Great. Now her staff would really think she was the clichéd southern gal.
She wheeled Mason into a private patient room, and then administered an IV and fluids into Mason. Giving him a needle full of morphine, his tears stopped, and soon he was just lying down, staring at her sadly.
Cooper burst through the doors ten minutes later, his operating mask and gown still on. He ran to Mason's bedside and pulled his mask down. "What happened?" He demanded, looking up and Charlotte, who had apparently been crying, thanks to her tell-tale tear stained cheeks. "We...He... fell off a horse." She told Cooper.
