Protected by the HERO (17 page)

The doors of the ambulance closed and we left for the hospital.

*****

Dayton

It took forever for the damn ambulance to get to the hospital. Ronnie was beyond out of it from the drugs the paramedics gave her and she kept mumbling that it was
her
fault she almost got killed. I shouldn’t have brought her to the damn rodeo in the first place. It was my fault she was even there. She was at the bottom of the stands and it would have taken her forever to get out by the proper exits before the fire spread. She did the only thing any scared person would do and I watched it all happen. Ronnie couldn’t hear me yelling for her when she jumped the partition. She would have had enough time to make it to the north exit. Instead of yelling at her I should have just ran for her and took her to where I knew it was safe.

She had broken bones as well as a light injury from being gored, but it could have been worse. I pressed her hand to my mouth and she mumbled about it not being my fault once more.

The ambulance finally arrived at the freaking hospital and the paramedics rushed her into the emergency room. I couldn’t follow them after a certain point and all I could do was pace in the hall after telling one of the nurses her name.

It seemed like forever that they were in the ER, behind one of the curtains working on her. Many anxious people from the rodeo stood and paced in the waiting room.

“Dayton, Dayton!” I heard my brother’s voice and turned to see him rushing up with my parents. “We heard about the fire and the stampede, are you all good?”

My ma was doing her own assessment of me, checking my arms and legs and feeling my ribs for any breaks.

“Yeah I’m good, but Ronnie…she ain’t good man, she got trampled,” I gestured helplessly towards the door separating the waiting room and the room that held Ronnie.

“Shit man, how the hell did that happen?”

Ben and my parents were all concerned for Ronnie. They had each had a chance to meet her while she was on the ranch for my interview, and earlier in the day at the rodeo, and they really liked her. I explained what happened woodenly and then continued to pace.

“Dayton, don’t work yourself up too much. Ronnie will need you to be steady for her when they let you see her,” said my pop. He tried to get me to have a seat and I settled for standing. It took forever and all the other people waiting to see their loved ones seemed to all be called back before a doctor came out calling Ronnie’s name. I was in front of the doctor quicker than my family could stand from their seats.

“Are you all family to Ronnie Stanton?” the doctor asked skeptically. Almost in tandem my brother and parents said I was her husband. The doctor looked skeptical still, but he let it slide thankfully. “Well she’s doing okay. She’s in pain, I’ll give you that and she has a broken radius that we were able to set. She also has a fractured tibia, down by her ankle, and it’s bruised higher up along her shin. The wound in her back was thankfully not too deep. We stopped the bleeding and patched that up.” We all nodded along as the doctor spoke. I just wanted to see Ronnie and make sure she was okay.

“Don’t worry though, all of her injuries she’ll definitely recover from. We’re getting ready to admit her to the orthopedic wing, there you can see her in about ten minutes,” I nodded and the doctor went back into the emergency room. I followed silently behind him and snuck in to see Ronnie. The nurses were just snapping a gown on her as I stepped behind the curtain.

“I’m sorry sir, but you can’t be in here right now,” one of the nurses said sternly. Ronnie looked up and her eyes brightened when she saw me.

“I won’t be any trouble, I just have to see her,” I pleaded with the nurse, who glanced at Ronnie before sighing and turning her back to pretend I wasn’t there. I went over to Ronnie and held on to her hand tightly.

“Ronnie…I’m so sorry, I should’ve—”

Ronnie gave me a stern look which stopped my apology.

“Don’t, it wasn’t your fault. If anything I put
you
in danger. You could have gotten hurt or worse trying to get me out of the way of those bulls,” Ronnie sounded groggy, but otherwise aware and kept my mouth shut instead of arguing with her.

“I’m just sorry you got hurt,” I said, remorse heavy on my voice. Ronnie simply grinned, perplexing me. I glanced at the nurse who shrugged and pointed to the IV bag hanging that must have definitely had pain meds in there.

“I’ll be fine I promise. I could have suffered a lot worse if it wasn’t for you acting so quickly Dayton…” Ronnie’s expression sobered a bit and she looked at me with surprising clarity. “I love you,” I knew she was technically under the influence of medication, but her admission made my heart soar all the same. I beamed at her and she giggled.

“I love you too Ronnie,” I said simply before I kissed her softly on the lips.

I stayed with Ronnie while the nurses brought her up to the orthopedic floor and settled her in. She was going to need a couple casts the next morning and then she would be free to go that afternoon. They simply had braces and stints on her for the time being.

The nurses left the room, and we were alone.

“Dayton I know I have pain medication, but I was serious, I do love you…”

“I love you too Ronnie, and I’ll say it a thousand times over once you’re off the pain medication.”

Ronnie giggled and then soon dozed off.

*****

Ronnie

I had never been sickly growing up. I only caught the flu once and never had any allergies. I certainly never had any broken bones. I think having a broken bone, a fracture and a horn wound was to make up for all of that somehow. Being in the hospital was definitely not fun and the pain of my arm not being one unbroken length as it should have been was excruciating. Whenever the pain would get to be too much for me the nurses would give me pain medication and that just made me horribly groggy.

I knew my parents were there and Dayton hardly ever left my side, his family came to visit me a few times too which was sweet of them. But Dayton went above and beyond; he made sure I didn’t have to do any unnecessary movements and catered to me as if I were way more injured than I actually was. Which earned him points with my normally stoic father who thought no man was good enough for me. By the time I was discharged from the hospital my dad and Dayton were even talking about football. Who knew Dayton was a Dolphins fan as well? 

A few days after the incident I was back home and being spoiled by my parents as well as Dayton and his family when they came over to visit. Dayton was there with me every day though. I was actually surprised he hit it off with my parents so well. I knew my mother would love him, but my dad didn’t try to scare him away, which was rare. When I was in the hospital I was on a lot of pain medication and I vaguely remember ‘I love you’ being thrown around. I just wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was Dayton and me saying it.

Dayton kept looking at me as if he had a secret and was waiting for me to remember what it was; I just wasn’t sure if that was it. I mean I did love Dayton, already, he was everything I was pretty sure I would ever want, plus he got along well with my dad so that was an added bonus.

It was just after dinner and my parents had gone home for the night. They only lived one county over and it was an hour drive to my place. Dayton just came back upstairs after cleaning up the kitchen and he was holding a cup full of ice cream.

“You’re spoiling me Dayton,” I said, grinning, reaching for the cup and spoon. Dayton chuckled at me and got into bed.

“I want to spoil you. I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting to spoil you…even in the afterlife!”

I laughed and Dayton grinned while he reached for the television remote to put on a movie.

“You plan on being with me through until the
afterlife
?” I asked him, only half jokingly. Dayton looked at me and nodded, his expression serious then.

“I love you and I want to be with you for as long as I exist,” his words touched my heart and I was speechless for a moment as tears clogged my throat.

“So that was real? You actually said you loved me in the hospital?” I asked, my voice thick with unshed tears. I kind of hated that I was being such a girl in that moment. One would think we were about to say ‘I do.’

“Of course it was real, I also said that I’d say it a thousand times over once you were off the pain meds,” Dayton smiled at me and I leaned over to kiss him softly on the lips. I kissed him twice more before pulling away.

“I love you too Dayton Fields,” I said and his smile widened to full on breathtaking. I couldn’t believe this man was all mine.

*****

A few months later, I was successfully head over heels for Dayton as well as moved in with him on the Ranch. I had finally healed up and back to normal mostly, though my shin still hurt a bit whenever I ran. It was my birthday and my parents as well as Dayton’s family and our friends were at the house celebrating. It was dusk and the seemingly endless fields were beautiful under the darkening sky.

Dayton tugged me in the direction of the field out front. “Come on, let’s go make your birthday wish on the first star,” he said.

We walked out a ways from the house, to our sort of special spot, where that cow had interrupted us, and Dayton and I found the first star in the darkening sky. I closed my eyes and made a wish while Dayton held onto my hand. I felt a large nose nudge my back and I knew another cow must have wandered far from the rest of the herd. I opened my eyes and looked down at it, she had a note attached to her tail. I snagged it before she continued on her way. I glanced up at Dayton questioningly and he shrugged, seemingly just as clueless as I was. I opened the note and in Dayton’s handwriting was the question, ‘Will you marry me?’

My heart leapt in my chest and tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

Dayton reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful silver engagement ring. There was an impressive diamond on it. The breath fled from my body then. I was surprised, even though I shouldn’t have been. I hadn’t been expecting him to actually ask me right on the spot like that. Though I
did
know he had seemed to be hiding something for the past few days.

“Ronnie Stanton, you are all I’m ever going to want in this life and however many ever more come after that. I love you and I want to marry you so…will you marry me?”

My eyes did fill with tears then; his gaze was sincere and he spoke without any hesitation. I knew I’d be happy with Dayton as long as I was with him, and there was no one else I could see myself being with for the rest of my life.

“Baby please say something, you’re killing me with all those tears,” Dayton said and I remembered I hadn’t actually said yes yet. I giggled and then nodded before the words fell unhindered from my lips.

“Yes, of course I’ll marry you Dayton,” Dayton’s breathtaking smile was back and he put the ring on my finger. He kissed me and then held me in a gentle embrace, then laughed, overjoyed. Dayton kissed away my happy tears and then picked me up and spun me around before kissing me again. I couldn’t help but think about how much I loved him.

THE END

Bonus Story 4 of 20

“Order up!”

Kara picked up the burger and fries off the bench in front of her and lazily brought it to the customer. Three years she had worked at this dead-end waitressing job, and it was torture. By the end of her shift she collected what little tips she had earned throughout the 10 hours and started home, in the dark, towards her tiny Chicago flat.

It was mid-October already, so the weather had turned cold and a brisk wind bit at her exposed flesh. She pulled her thin, black cardigan tighter over her waitressing uniform and continued on the long walk ahead. As she strolled through the city she lost herself in her thoughts. She imagined living in the beautiful penthouse apartments she passed every day. She wished for an adventure to take hold of her and bring back some of the enjoyment of life her meaningless job had taken from her.

Half an hour passed and she finally turned down the alley only two streets from her destination. Caught up in her own world she didn’t notice the shadowy figures approaching her, and all of a sudden she was surrounded by three frightening strangers.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She had been lucky enough to avoid the drug-riddled men who lived throughout this end of town, until this point. All three wore tattered, dirty clothes, their hair was unkempt and they smelled horrific. Kara found herself completely unprepared for the situation that was about to unfold.

“Where are you heading, sweetheart?” asked the man directly to her right. She opened her mouth to respond but her fear had gotten the better of her and she found herself speechless. The men began to come closer grabbing at her. She tried to dodge their advances but suddenly the glint of silver caught her eye as one of the men pulled out a small knife. All hope she had of escaping vanished. Before she knew it they had both her arms restrained and she felt overwhelmed and helpless.

The man facing her laughed menacingly, but her gaze was drawn to a bright light behind. As the blinding light neared the men softened their grip enough for her to break free, but in the confusion she ran straight into the arms of one of the strangers. This time he grabbed her around the neck, choking her. As she struggled for breath she couldn’t believe what she saw. It appeared to be a...
dragon
.

A dragon towered above the men. Surely this was her imagination. But an inferno that engulfed two of her attackers quickly confirmed her vision. They screamed and ran, completely alight, down the alleyway in the direction from which they came. The orange-red flames trailed behind them as they sped away. Kara could not believe her eyes.

The last man, who still had Kara by the throat, threw her forcefully to the ground and sped off in the other direction. Kara hit her head on the pavement. She lifted herself up put a hand to her head, where it had hit the ground. Forgetting about the mythical creature standing right before her, she brought her hand back down. It was covered in blood. She was hurt badly. She looked up and remembered. The scaly, purple beast made its way towards her as she blacked out, falling back down onto the cool concrete below.

*****

When she awoke she immediately realized this was not her bed, nor her room or anywhere that she had ever been before. It took her a moment, but feeling the bandages atop her head she remembered the events that had unfolded. Had she really seen a dragon?

Regardless, she was relieved she had not been mugged, or worse. But who, or what, had saved her? This still remained a mystery. It could not have been a dragon. She pulled down the soft, woolen sheets of the bed and lowered her feet to the dirt floor; the room she found herself in was quite old and very simple. The walls were covered in peeling, floral wallpaper while the cracked wooden door was situated only feet from the end of the single bed. She saw that her clothes from the day before folded over the bed head. Whoever had brought her here had also given her a change of clothes; an old fashioned cotton night gown, one befitting her grandmother.

One of her many questions was answered seconds later when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

“Come in,” she called cautiously, and a tall, handsome man peeked his head around through the door frame,

“How are you feeling?” he questioned.

Confused, Kara replied to whom could only be her rescuer, “I feel a little faint, but other than that I’m fine.”

“May I ask who you are? And what happened?” she blurted, eager to find out more about this handsome stranger before her.

“My name is Blaine, I was heading home and saw those men attacking you. I couldn’t just walk by, I had to do something...” he trailed off.

“I really can’t thank you enough, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there,” she gushed. He took a few steps toward her and sat down on the bed,

“I couldn’t let those horrible guys hurt such a beautiful young woman,” he said, smiling. She put her hands to her face, attempting to hide her blushing cheeks, embarrassed by his unexpected compliment.

“Thank you again,” she muttered. “But where am I?”

He looked a little uneasy and thought for a minute before wording his reply.

“Since you passed out before I got to you I couldn’t take you home, so I thought the safest thing to do was bring you back here. This is where I live with my... family.”

“Your family?” she inquired,

“Yes,” he replied. His abruptness alerted her that she should not push the subject any further, at least not yet. She didn’t know what it was but something about him drew her to him. She couldn’t explain it but it was as if their meeting did not occur by chance at all; as if it was destiny.

“You can’t stay here long, but I can take you back into the city with me tonight,” he said. His voice shook Kara from entering the impending daydream state she found her slipping into, while staring into his mesmerizing hazel eyes. She was a little disappointed that their encounter would be cut so short, but she suddenly realized she would need to be back for work the following day. If she showed up even a minute late again she would surely be fired. Begrudgingly she accepted the offer and just hours later they left the room and began their journey back to Chicago.

It seemed strange to her that they had to hurry off in the dead of night,

“Please, try to be quiet as we leave. I really don’t want to wake anyone,” Blaine said. Why was he so afraid of someone seeing them? She had not seen a single person other than him all day, was she even allowed to be here?

She was suddenly ushered through a door into what appeared to be a garage. Inside was one lonely, rusted Corvette, it looked to be about 40 years old and the years had not been kind to it. Like a true gentleman, Blaine strode ahead, clearing a path to the car before opening the door for her to climb in.

Kara stepped gingerly into the passenger seat and once positioned the door clicked shut to her left. As they both strapped in, the car struggled to start, but after several turns of the key they were motoring down the dirt road that led away from Blaine’s home. She peered back over her shoulder to take her first look at the place from the outside.

It was derelict, with vines covering almost every entrance to the building. The house was not huge, but appeared to have at least two stories, made up of crumbling red brick walls and half-tiled roof. It had not been the most luxurious of accommodation, though Kara could not have anticipated the dilapidated state of the exterior. Quickly she turned back and focused on the road ahead.

She slept for the majority of the journey, but she was awoken by the car coming to an abrupt halt outside her apartment block. Still slightly drowsy, Kara began her goodbyes.

“Thank you for everything,” she started. But would they see each other again? She longed to ask. Blaine came around to her side of the door and, taking her hand in his, helped her from the car to the asphalt below. They made their way over to the sidewalk, outside the door to the lobby of her building. Blaine still had hold of her hand as they stood for a moment, each waiting for the other to break the lengthening silence. Finally he spoke,

“I guess this is goodbye,” he said. She couldn’t help but sense the sadness in his voice. Quickly his tone changed to one that was a little more upbeat and cheerful as he continued,

“It was lovely to meet you Kara, I really enjoyed your company today. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to talk to anyone outside the family, and I couldn’t have asked for someone more beautiful than you,” he gushed.

She was touched again by his kind words, it had been so long since any man had given her this kind of attention, and she was flattered. She had to find out if they would again meet.

“Will I see you again?” she asked, unable to hold it in any longer. She had to find out if their paths would cross once more.

“Perhaps,” he smiled.

And with that he hastily jumped back into the car and was gone.

*****

Each night for the next few months Kara experienced the same recurring dream, and it began in the alley where she had been rescued from attack that fateful night. In the dream, every time she found herself walking alone, but instead of the men emerging from the shadows ahead she found herself face to face with the dragon she thought she had seen. Close up she could see the individual purple scales that shone crimson as they moved into the moonlight. Its eyes were earthy and danced between shades of green and brown. She couldn’t help feeling that, looking at the creature close up, it seemed familiar somehow. The nostrils of the beast flared as it breathed deeply, taking in her scent, analyzing her almost. She stared back, unmoving, with the dragon’s face just inches from her own. Without any fear, she reached forward and caressed the creature before her. Its scales were surprisingly warm to the touch, and as smooth as silk. It moved further forward until their faces were touching. She closed her eyes for a moment as she lost herself in the claws of a dragon.

But just as quickly as their meeting had begun, the dragon pushed her back and began to run in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” she called. Its tail lashed around, trailing behind like a snake, slithering through the alley. The dragon beckoned for her to join it as its gigantic wings spread wide, catching the wind beneath them. Looking back towards her, the dragon lifted from the pavement and took off across the Chicago skyline.

Kara continued to run along behind, arms reaching for him, wanting so badly for this majestic being to whisk her away; wherever it was going she wanted to go too. Slowly the dragon grew smaller and smaller until it was lost in the night sky. She was left alone again in the dank alley, wondering what could have been. Just as she felt that all was lost, a weight suddenly pushed down from around her neck. Upon looking down she saw one of the most exquisite pieces of jewelry she could have imagined. Attached to a delicate golden chain a pendant shimmered, with a purple gem the size of a golf ball. As she lost herself in the gem’s haunting beauty, she saw that it too shone with a crimson glow in the moonlight, mimicking the scales of the dragon.

At this point in the dream she always awoke; startled she peered down at her chest to find it bare, the necklace she had dreamt was just that, a dream. She shook herself awake and began getting ready for the day, pulling one of her waitressing uniforms out of her wardrobe. She pulled the blue, knee length dress over her head and tied her mustard yellow apron around her waist.

For the entire walk to work her head seemed to be filled with thoughts of dragons and her mysterious dream. It was on this particular morning, caught up in her own world, she walked straight into a familiar young man. She was pushed to the ground by the force of his shoulder and as she looked up she recognized him as Blaine.

“I’m so sorry, Kara,” he apologized, extending a friendly hand to help her from the ground where she sat, stunned at his sudden appearance. She had been sure after that fateful day that they would not meet again, yet here he was, holding her hand firmly to pull her up from the pavement.

“How have you been?” she asked. Generic pleasantries were all she could muster in her current state of minor shock.

“Fine,” he replied. He looked down toward her unflattering outfit beneath the huge winter coat she wore. “Are you heading to work?”

“Yes actually. It has been so long since I saw you. What brings you back to Chicago?” Hopefully he would be in town long enough to for them to get together one night.

“Just...business. What are you up to after your shift? Could I possibly buy you a drink?”

Kara quickly thought over the offer in her head before answering.

“I’d love to,” she said.

“Here.” He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and ball point pen, scribbling hastily an address across it. “This is the bar I’ll be at tonight; I can’t wait to see you there. It will nice to be able to catch up, especially after I rescued you and all.” He laughed at his apparent sarcasm.

“I will definitely be there,” she said as she grabbed the paper from his hand.

“I’ll see you tonight then.” He winked at her and with that he continued down the street.

Now at least during her 10 hour shift ahead she had something to look forward to. But what had been the chances of running into to Blaine again? Pretty slim, surely, in a city the size Chicago. She continued on her way to work, happily counting down the minutes until she could see him again.