who’s setting us up.” Both cowboys looked around nervously for a second, eyeing the other drovers and the vacationers with suspicion.
“No,” Joseph finally argued. “there’s no way any of these guys could be out to get us. I mean, come on, really, I’ve known all these guys my whole life! And these new people, don’t get me wrong but I’m not sure they’d know how to cut a propane line! Or what propane is for!”
“I want to believe you and say you’re completely right, but I just have this nagging feeling that something else is going on. I wish I could shake it, I really do. It’s ruining this whole drive for me. I can’t even enjoy this part of the job, all I can think about is getting back home in one piece and making sure Amanda’s okay.” Dwayne looked around with a mixture of apprehension and sadness, watching the faces of each character within his sight.
“It’s gonna be fine, you’ll see,” the younger cowboy promised, before giving his reins a flick and nudging his horse back toward his position. “If it gets to be too much, just tell Dad how you feel. I’m sure the last thing he’d do is make you stay on up here if you really thought your wife was in danger. You know he thinks of all of you like family.”
Dwayne nodded morosely and spit out the toothpick he’d been nervously chewing on since breakfast, barely mustering up the energy to wave his hand to Joseph as he left. He realized he was spending as much time watching his co-workers as he was watching his cows, so much that he wondered if he’d actually lost half the herd when he wasn’t paying attention.
Little did he know, he’d get his wish to return to the ranch sooner rather than later. Within the hour, an older calf took off at a dead run away from the herd, heading out into a scraggly patch of dirt and scrub. With a loud, excited yell, Joseph took off after it, kicking his horse lightly to make it give chase, his hat flying off and catching to hang down his back by its leather chord.
The vacationers all turned to watch Joseph rope this calf and bring it back to the group, appreciative of seeing some real cowboy action instead of just staged rope tricks for their amusement. He veered to the animal’s right side to come at it from an angle, chasing it when it suddenly changed direction in its confusion.
As they watched in awe, his horse took off after the surprisingly fast calf, dirt from the two animals’ hooves kicking up in clouds as they ran and maneuvered. Finally, the calf turned back in the direction of the herd and sped up, eager to put his brief adventure behind him. Joseph’s horse stayed close enough on the calf’s heels to keep the smaller animal headed in the right direction but suddenly, his horse stopped short, sending Joseph flying over its head and crashing to the rocky ground with a sickening thud.
“Doug!” Dwayne yelled into his radio mic before kicking his own horse into action. He reached Joseph just as the other man’s voice answered on the radio. “Joseph’s been thrown, get the other hands to even out the line while I see how bad off he is.”
Dwayne hopped out of his saddle and came over to kneel by Joseph’s head, relieved that at least the boy’s eyes were open. Joseph had a hand clutching his shoulder, his face a mask of pain. He moaned loudly as he moved from side to side, wincing and grimacing as waves of pain radiated through his chest.
“Okay, now. Hold still. Let’s see how bad it is. Looks like maybe you have…oh, shit, that’s gross. Dude, your collarbone is sticking up through your skin! Don’t touch it!” Dwayne commanded, pulling Joseph’s arm away from the spot where he wanted to clutch the pain. “It’s open, you’re going to get dirt in it. Look at me, no, open your eyes and let me see your pupils.”
Joseph finally did as he was told, letting his unfocused eyes come to rest somewhere near Dwayne’s face and grinning foolishly. “Betcha think this is Crazy Mack’s fault, too, huh?”
Dwayne laughed at his own fears from earlier. “Well, it’s not entirely impossible. He could have released a snake in front of your horse or something. He could have planted a microchip in your horse’s ear that makes an awful sound and spooks it. He could have…”
“…and I could have been riding the dumbest horse we own. He probably saw his own shadow and decided to let that other horse go in front of him.” Joseph closed his eyes as the pain burned through his shoulder.
Word had gotten back to Bernard in the RV and his desperate voice called through the radio for an update. Dwayne spoke into his microphone and let him know they needed to halt the drive until medical help came, then switched his attention to giving orders to the ranch hands. “Luckily, we’re on pavement today, so call an ambulance and we’ll wait here. Go ahead and tell the others to put out some feed for the herd and get the water tanker up here to water them.”
He looked up in time to see an older woman walking toward him gingerly, picking her way through the scrub and stickers to get there. Sandra, one of the vacationers, approached and smiled. “Hi! I’m a retired nurse, can I do anything?”
“Be my guest, ma’am. It’s pretty obvious his collarbone’s broken, but it’s his head I’m worried about. He’s got the trademark Carson hard head, but this might have been too much for even his skull to take,” Dwayne said lightly, trying to keep from upsetting the older woman.
“Oh, it’s not his collarbone I’m worried about,” Sandra said lightly, opening Joseph’s shirt with her wrinkled, knobby fingers. “It’s this right here.” She pointed to an angry red patch on his side where a nasty bruise was already forming. “You might have yourself some broken ribs, young man.”
Sandra leaned her ear down directly to Joseph’s chest and listened. “Sorry for getting in your personal space here a bit, but I didn’t bring a stethoscope! Just bear with me.” She listened for a time, trying not to smoosh Joseph any more than absolutely necessary. “It’s just as I thought. I hear a really ‘wet’ sound in there, it’s possible one of his ribs has punctured his lung.”
“Oh my God!” Dwayne shouted, crouching back down next to Joseph protectively. “What do we do?”
“Well, we’re already doing it. We wait for the ambulance,” she said with a kind smile. “We’ll just need to let them know that when they arrive.”
After what seemed like well over an hour, an ambulance finally pulled around the bend in the highway and slowed down as it rolled to the edge of the shoulder. It slowly bounced along the rough dirt until it came to a stop nearby, sending even more dust up in the air. The paramedics jumped out and got to work, assessing Joseph’s injuries and taking his information.
Finally, they thought they could move him, and proceeded to pack Joseph up on a gurney and put him in the back of the vehicle. The crew drove away slowly until they hit the pavement, Bernard promising to intercept them and follow them to the hospital when he called through the radio.
“Dwayne, I need you to take charge of the drive. You know the route, and you can radio me if there are any questions, anything at all. Understood?” Bernard squeaked through the radio. Dwayne closed his eyes and thought for a moment, taking deep breaths.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t just call it off, sir? We can find a local farm to let the cattle graze until we can get some trucks in here. With you, Casey, Carey, and now Joseph off the drive, there’s no one from Carson Hill except the two younger twins. Wouldn’t you feel better waiting until someone else can join us?”
It was quiet for a moment, so long that Dwayne thought maybe Bernard had cut off his radio, ready to fly after the ambulance carrying his son. Finally, his voice came through the speaker. “Just keep moving, keep a slow pace. I’ll try to contact
