Can love be found

Chapter Eighteen

We got up the next morning and headed downstairs to meet with the others for breakfast. We then headed to the arena. Jacob had a meeting with the rest of the riders to find out who he was riding and when. He returned after about an hour. He told us he would be riding Duke on Friday. He said that this would be an easy ride, since he had ridden him before. Saturday was going to be a lot tougher. He would be riding Goliath. He said he was the meanest and toughest bull out there. Several other guys were really hurt by him and he expressed his concerns.

"Babe, I have faith in you. You will do great and come back to me."

"Thanks doll. I still am nervous about it though. I really don't have a choice if I want to be in this thing.

"You'll do great dude." Brad adds.

"You'll be great!" Crystal says with a smile.

The next couple days we hung out at the park, and watched Jacob ride Friday. He did great and was in first place for the weekend so far. We decided to head back to the hotel and rest since he was nervous about Saturday. We made love that night and fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning we get up and head out. We met the others and headed out to the park. We sat and watched the other riders until it was time for Jacob to get ready.

"I love you! You'll do awesome!"

"I love you too, be back soon!" He says as he heads over to get ready.

"Kick ass and take names!" Crystal calls out as he walks away.

He heads off to put on his gear and heads over to the gates where Goliath is. He is making a ruckus and jumping around. Jacob slowly climbs over the fence and onto the bull. He cinches his hand down and the gate opens. Goliath runs out twisting and jumping and swinging around. Jacob holds on as best as he can. He is eventually thrown off. For a second or two he is stuck in the rigging and Goliath jumps on him as he falls to the ground. They try to distract him but he is really thrashing on him. He is jumping and kicking at him. They finally distract him and send him back through the gates. Jacob lays still in the ring and Jessica runs to him.

"Jacob, please be okay."

Crystal runs after her and grabs her, hugging her friend. The ambulance comes in and they load him up and race off.

"Jessica, come on we got to go. Crystal, help her. We gotta move." Brad says trying to get the girls moving. They get in the truck and speed off to the hospital. He parks the truck and they run into the emergency room. They ask where Jacob is and tell the nurse that Jessica is his fiancee. They tell them that he is in surgery and take them to the family waiting room.

"Brad, he has to be okay. I can't do this without him." She says as she sits in the chair with her head in her hands and cries.

"He'll be okay, Jess. That man is a fighter."

It was a couple hours and the doctor finally came in.

"Ms. White?" Dr. Stevens asks.

"Yes, that is me."

"I want to tell you that Jacob is in recovery. He has several broken ribs, a punctured lung. His arm was broken in several places and a lot of internal bruising."

"Oh, thank god. Can we go see him?"

"Yes, but he is resting right now. Let me show you the way. He will have to be here for several days."

The doctor leads us down to his room. I open the door and there he is asleep with wires and tubes everywhere. I start crying and Brad has to catch me before I fall.

"He's okay, Jess, just go to him."

I go and pull the chair over to the bed and grab his hand.

"Baby, I am so sorry. I love you."

I lay my head down beside him and hold his hand. Brad and Crystal sit down on the bench on the other side. It's so hard to see him like this, so broken. I just wish he would wake up and say something to me. Brad and Crystal tell me they are hungry and head out to get something to eat and say they will bring something back. They are soon back and bring me some food. I eat a few bites and just push the rest around. They stayed for a little while and I tell them I was going to stay. I crawl into bed and curl up with him. The nurse comes in later to check on him.

"Is it okay that I'm in bed with him?"

"It's fine, hun. Just be fateful of his iv's and monitoring wires. All his vitals are doing great. You rest and I will be back to check on him in a few hours."

"Thank you."