Cody could hear the phone ringing in the distance, and he started to run that way. He slipped and fell flat on his butt, and that’s when he saw Stevie, lying next to an old scrub oak tree. He crawled over to her and laid a finger on her neck. Her lips were blue, and she had a nasty gash on her forehead, but she had a pulse. As a doctor, he knew he should put a neck brace on her and use a board to move her, but he had neither one and he had to get her to the house. He took time to check her pupils and they were only slightly enlarged. He ran his fingers down the bones in her neck and back. He couldn’t feel anything broken, which were all good signs.
“Hang on, love,” he said, hoping that would make her open her eyes, but it didn’t.
He gently laid her on the bench seat and cradled her head in his lap all the way back to the bunkhouse, where his supplies and doctor bag were. “Wake up, Stevie. Please, wake up,” he begged as he moved her head to the seat so he could get out and open the gate.
When he finally reached the bunkhouse, he called Addy, told her in a few words what had happened, and then carried Stevie inside. He laid her on the sofa, checked her to be sure no bones were broken and that the only blood was coming from the gash on her forehead. Then Addy was there, running her fingers over Stevie’s scalp checking for knots or soft spots.
“Here it is,” Cody said when he had wiped all the blood away. “See this indentation. This could possibly be a concussion. We need to get her to a hospital for tests,” he said as he applied butterfly bandages to hold the wound together.
“Not possible. We’ll have to do the best we can right here,” Addy said. “Her lips are getting color back in them, and she’s breathing normal, so I don’t think she has punctured either of her lungs. We’ll have to wait for her to wake up to make sure she can walk and there’s no damage to her back.”
“I should have gone out there the minute she didn’t pick up when I called,” Cody said.
Addy laid a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for this. Let’s get these wet clothes off her and wrap her up in warm blankets. I’m glad she had gloves on her hands. As cold as it’s been, they probably protected her from frostbite.” She talked as she removed Stevie’s boots, socks, jeans, coat, and everything else, down to her bra and underpants.
Cody brought a stack of blankets from the end of one of the bunk beds and began to cover Stevie with them, when her eyes finally fluttered open. “Where am I?” she muttered.
“You had a wreck,” Addy said.
“No, I didn’t”—she shivered—“I made it to the barn on flat tires, and Cody was there with a fire already going.”
“You are at the bunkhouse on Sunflower Ranch,” Addy explained. “You were checking the cattle when the four-wheeler must have thrown you.”
Her eyes darted around the room. “I’m so cold.”
Cody shook out two more blankets and piled them on top of her. “I’m Dr. Cody Ryan. I’m going to check your eyes.” He leaned in close to her face. “You hit your head on something when you wrecked the four-wheeler.”
Stevie closed her eyes, and then opened them wide. “I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for the damages. How did I get here? The last thing I remember was landing on my back with the wind knocked out of me and then I kind of woke up and saw a donkey.”
“I hope it’s just a concussion,” Addy whispered, “and not a brain bleed. Did you notice if she had hit a rock?”
“I remember flying through the air, and hitting the low limb of a tree,” Stevie said. “Then the fall must’ve knocked the wind out of me. I couldn’t breathe and everything went black.” Stevie sat up and pulled the top blanket up to her chin when she realized that she was only wearing her underwear. “How did I get from the pasture to here?”
“Now, she’s coming around,” Addy smiled.
“I think I hit a pothole,” she said with a frown. “There were coyotes, and I thought they were coming to eat me.”
“Your memory is coming back,” Addy said. “Do you feel dizzy or nauseated? Your pupils are slightly dilated, so I believe you have a concussion. Hopefully, only a mild one, but all the signs point to one.”
“I’m not nauseated. I do feel a little dizzy,” Stevie admitted. She reached up and laid a hand on her forehead. “My head hurts. Are these stitches I’m feeling?”
“No, that’s just strips holding the wound together. It’s not deep, but head wounds bleed a lot. The donkey out there in the pasture kept the coyotes away from you,” Cody explained. “Can you see me? Is anything fuzzy?”
“I’m fine,” Stevie said. “My brain got a little scrambled. The wind got knocked out of me, and I was so cold. I’m warming up, so I’m good.”
“I’m going to call the folks and let them know she’s going to be all right.” Addy slipped her phone out of her pocket. “Then I’m going back to the house. If you need me in the night, just holler.”
“Thanks, Addy,” Cody said. “I’ve got it under control now.”
Stevie frowned and then flinched. “Wake me every hour. Tell you if I’m nauseated. This isn’t my first concussion. I know the drill.”
“You gave us a scare, love,” Cody said.
“I told you not to call me that,” Stevie scolded.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Cody said with a wink at Addy, “but I wouldn’t turn down some of that chili Jesse told me you were making.”
“Or some of that chocolate pie Mia told me about this morning.” Stevie stretched back out on the sofa. “It feels so good to be warm. Do you think chocolate pie will cure a concussion?”
“Of course it will,” Addy chuckled as she left.
“Why didn’t you call some of us?” Cody tucked the blankets back around Stevie’s shoulders.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “It was all surreal, and then it was cold and dark.”
“When did you have a concussion before?” Cody asked as he stood up. “Talk to me while I make you something hot to drink. Do you want tea, coffee, or…”
“Hot chocolate please.” Stevie shivered so hard that the blankets shifted. “I’ve had two concussions. One when I was in college during spring break. The one and only time I tried to use a skateboard, and tequila was involved. The second was about five years ago when a nasty-tempered cow kicked me. I never passed out on either of those times, but I did have a headache for a couple of days. If the four-wheeler is wrecked, how did I get from there to here?” She sat up and then stood to her feet and wrapped a blanket around her like a sarong.
“You need to stay on the sofa,” Cody told her.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she said, “and then I’m going to put on flannel pajamas and some socks.”
“Are you dizzy?” Cody rushed across the room to support her with an arm around her shoulders.
“Just a little, but I’ll be fine.” She leaned against him.
“You have to be truthful with me, Stevie,” Cody told her.
“The room took a couple of spins when I first stood up, but it’s all better now.” She shrugged off his arm and stepped inside the bathroom. “I can do this without you.”