The Perfect Ride

Chapter 44

I had a flight out of Phoeniz at 2AM. Jess was leaving for Texas atthe same time. My heart ached as Jess and I sat in the waiting area of the airport. Roz, Cooper, and Ruby had started to Texas. Ellie had been texting me updates. My father had passed out at the rodeo grounds and been rushed to the ER. He'd had a stroke and major bleeding in his brain. Then they discovered a tumor. They had to wait to get the bleeding under control before the operated on the tumor. He still hadn't went into surgery yet.

"Any news?" Jess asks. I shake my head.

"No. Ellie said they're still waiting. She and Scotty went back to the house.

"How long is your flight?" He asks.

"Two hours. I should be there by 4AM. Maybe a little later" I say. "How long is your flight back to Texas?".

"It's two and half hours. I'll be home by 5AM, I guess" He says.

"I wish you were coming with me" I say and nuzzle into him.

"I know. I do too" He says. I look up at him.

"You're not mad that I'm going home are you?" I ask.

"What? Baby, no. Your family needs you" He says. "Texas will be waiting".

"I know" I say. "Look, Ellie texted. She said that...dad is worse. He hasn't woken up, bleeding is still happening".

"I'm sorry" He says.

"She says that mama is freaking out. Wants me and Ellie both there" I say.

"You'll be with them soon" He says.

"I'm scared" I say.

"Baby, he'll be okay. He is a tough man. He was a bull rider. Bull riders are-".

"Tough bastards?" I ask. He chuckled.

"Yes, we are" He agrees.

"You remind me of him. You love me like he loves mama. You'd do anything for your family. You're a tough bastard" I say. He laughed again.

"Hey, it is an honor to love a woman like you" He says. I leaned up to kiss him. Seconds later, my phone buzzed. I sigh.

"Ell says it's worse now" I say. "They just asked mom to-". I burst into tears. He held me in his arms. "I can't lose my daddy. I can't. What will my family do? Mom and Ellie can't do this by themselves. We need my daddy".

"I'm so sorry" He says. I could tell by his voice, he was fighting his own tears.

"Jess, I don't know what I'm going to do if something happens" I say.

"You will get through it. You will hurt, but you'll live your life because he wouldn't want you to shut down. You have a good job, an amazing family and friends, and me. We'll all be here for for and love you no matter what. I will love you through it all" He says.

"I dont deserve you" I say.

"You deserve the world, Sadie Rosen. And, I will give you all I can" He says. He held me close to him while I cried. We stayed for what felt like minutes. Then, my phone rang.

S- hi, ell.

E- mama said to take him off the vent. they're going to do it at 2. they said his lungs are fine, so he may breathe on his own for a while.

S- so, i won't be there?

E- that's why she said 2, she knows that when you leave, and he could still have hours. you gotta get here soon.

S- i know. im trying.

E- sadie, what are we going to do? mama and i can't run the grounds without daddy. i can't teach tricking riding, barrel racing, and bull riding. we need daddy.

S- i know we do, ell. but sometimes we can't have everything we need. sometimes we have to make do with what we have.

E- we'll lose the school.

S- no we won't. i won't let that happen. i can help from texas. we can change some things around. maybe we don't have to do bulld anymore. we'll figure it out.

E- okay. you're right. we'll talk more when you get here.

S- okay. i love you, ell.

E- i love you too.

I hung up the phone and my head fell in my hands. Jess stood up. I looked at him.

"Planes board in ten minutes" He says. I stand up beside him. He pulls me into him. He was crying.

"Baby?".

"Sadie, you need to go to Montana and stay. You don't need to be in Texas. You need to be with your family" He says.

"What? Jess, no. We can make it work" I say.

"No, we couldn't. You can't teach lessons to kids in Montana when you're in Houston. You can't help your family run a business that way" He says.

"If I'm in Montana and you're in Texas, we can't make us work" I say. He hung his head.

"I know" He says through tears. He took my hands in his. "Sadie Rosen, it has been a pleasure and an honor to get to love you. You have a beautiful heart and a kind soul. You love people so hard and so deep, that it makes me love you more. You changed my entire world, and I will never forget you. This relationship has been like.. a perfect ride on bull. A perfect 8 second ride. You start and you're scared, but once once get going, it's great. Then you pass the 8 second mark and it couldn't go any better. Then, even though you've got this far, you know you can't go on, because if you keep it up, you could do more damage than good".

"I'm sorry" I say and hug him tightly.

"Don't be" He says. "You have nothing to apologize for. Especially when you've been the best thing to ever happen to me". I pull away from the hug.

"Flight 315 to Phoenix, now boarding".

"So, this is it?" I ask. "This, Us. It's over?" 

"I hope not" He says. "I hope the universe brings us back together".

"I love you so much, Jess Lockwood. I will always love you".

"I love you too" He says. He leans down to kiss me one last time. I pull away. He held my hand as I walked to the gate. I turn to look back to him, my hand still in his. I didn't want to let go, but I slowly lost the feeling of his fingertips on mine. "For one last time, I love you".

"I love you, too" I say wiping tears. "For one last time, I love you".