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Tripping Over Christmas

By Jenna Hendricks

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Marty Winters looked outside and could do nothing but watch as the trees danced while the wind howled its displeasure. Only the day before the trees looked so inviting with their snowcapped branches. The news reporter said this storm was supposed to be monstrous, but he didn’t realize it was going to cause so much damage in the middle of nowhere.
He should have.
Branches that had once been peaceful with snow clinging to them now lay strown about the white landscape providing a stark contrast now that the snow had been wrenched free of them.
The sound of a tree cracking caused him to tighten up and wince. Watching the scene play out, his mind took him back to the sandstorms in the pit. When he had joined the Air Force, he had no idea that he’d end up in the hottest and most desolate place on Earth. And be out there for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. So when he was given the chance to head out to a ranch in Montana that promised snow, he jumped at the chance.
Well, not literally, but close enough. The injury to his leg still hurt at times so he generally took it easy. But when Mother Nature tore the tree out and threw it on the roof of the barn, Marty didn’t even think, he just ran.
As he ran to the barn, he prayed that those inside would be alright. He’d seen enough death and destruction to last five lifetimes. This was supposed to be a safe place, a place to rest and recover.
When he passed the other newbie, he almost grinned. Since arriving he’d noticed that she never let go of her cane. But now? Now, she was running as best she could without it. Good for her, he thought.
With his injury, he’d needed to use a walker, then a cane, while he was adjusting to his new way of walking. Now, he was good to go. Running wasn’t something he enjoyed doing anymore since the pounding put too much pressure on his bad leg, but his pain was nothing compared to what he expected to see inside of the barn.
He yanked the door to the side the moment he reached the barn. “Anyone hurt?” Marty looked around and saw a tiny herd of cows all looking as though they were bulls in Pamplona and about to chase anyone around, red cape, or not. Thankfully, none of them had horns. He moved to the side and didn’t notice that Marnie Gallagher had entered and headed straight toward trouble.
He'd always had a good sense of danger, and when his senses pricked, he listened. So the moment the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, he moved. Without even thinking about it, he stepped right in the path of a one-ton pressure cooker.
Marty may not have been one of those Regency period gentlemen who would do anything to protect a lady, but his dad had drilled into him from a young age to always protect women. Not because they were the fairer sex, but because women were the ones who held the future of humanity in their bodies. No matter how many surgeries a man had, he couldn’t get pregnant and give birth to babies. Only women could do that. And for that miracle alone, they deserved to be protected and cherished.
When the hit came, he was prepared for it. He tightened his body and wrapped his arms around the woman in front of him. Thankfully, he’d been able to throw her, and him, to the side and they landed in a pile of hay.
“Oomph.” Pain instantly shot down his leg and up through his back and chest. Marty wasn’t sure, but thought he heard a cracking sound coming either from him, or below him. He prayed he didn’t hurt Marnie, the girl he threw to the ground. The woman who cushioned his own fall.
The ringing in his ears was so loud, he didn’t think he’d ever hear again. Then, a soft sound made its way through before a louder, gruffer voice hit his ears.
“Marty? Marty!” The woman screamed his name so loud, his entire body felt as though it had gone through the wringer and come out broken.
When soft hands felt along his back, he winced. “Ow, that hurts.” Marty wasn’t afraid to open his eyes, he just couldn’t at that moment. But he knew Marnie was running her hands down his back. Most likely she was trying to ascertain if he’d been gored by the hornless cow.
He wasn’t gored, but he sure was smashed.
Not wanting anyone to push him, or touch his back anymore, he rolled off of Marnie and regretted it the instant the lightning bolt shot through his chest and torso. He hissed through his teeth and flashed back just for a moment to when he was in Iraq and felt the shrapnel from the bomb tear his leg apart.
“What happened?” Marnie’s eyes darted around them both as she lay on the ground taking in deep breaths.
“Bertha was charging for you, but I knew you were too focused on the other cow in front of you. So I ran interference. Only, Bertha didn’t like it so she hit me from behind.” Marty took a few deep breaths and then sat up, wincing as he did so.
“Here, let me help you get up.” Marnie stood and offered her hands to help him.
“Thanks, do you see anyone else in here?” Marty asked once he had dusted off the hay from his clothes.
Marnie wobbled on her feet and put her arms out to stabilize herself. “Whoa.”
“Where’s your cane?” Jerod asked when he walked over. “And what happened to you two?”
In unison, Marnie and Marty both said, “Bertha.”
“Ah, yeah. You gotta watch out for that one. She’s fine until the storms hit.” Jerod looked over to the cow in question and shook his head. “Shame on you. Attacking the newbies like that. You know better.”
Bertha mooed and began chewing the hay she had pilfered. The rest of the cows were right next to her eating away.
“Well, I guess we don’t need to worry about feeding the cows tonight.” Marty started to laugh, then stopped and leaned over. His eyes closed and lines crossed all over his otherwise smooth face. “Ow. I think Bertha might have done some damage.”
“Come on, let’s get back inside. The rest of the guys can get the animals away from the part of the barn that’s damaged.” Jerod put a hand out to help Marty, then he looked at Marnie and quirked a brow. He said nothing, just looked at her as though he knew something was different.
Marty leaned on Jerod’s outstretched arm and hobbled back to the house, hissing the entire way back inside.
The moment he entered the house, all of the women surrounded him and he wished he would have lost consciousness. Having one woman fuss over him wasn’t something he really enjoyed, but having four? It was torture.
Megan shooed everyone away except for Jerod. “Help me get him into my office.”
Marty almost sighed the moment the door shut and all of the sounds of worry and concern over him diminished.
“Here, sit down.” Jerod ordered, then helped him into the overstuffed chair.
The next few hours went by in a blur, especially after Megan gave him something for the pain. When he had gone through the in-processing meeting, he had been told that no one was allowed to use pain meds since injured veterans were more prone to addiction. He never thought that Megan might have something in a safe for emergency use.
He’d never abused the drugs they gave him in the hospital. In fact, he’d hated them. They made him sick. So the moment he was able to stop, he did. He would still take some ibuprofen or Tylenol when the pain was too much, but other than that he stayed clear of narcotics. He’d seen firsthand what can happen when someone gets addicted to meds. It wasn’t pretty.
“Marty? Can you hear me?” A soft, feminine voice was close to his ear.
“Mmm?” His mind knew he needed to say more, but his lips just refused to move.
“Are you in any pain?” She asked.
“Mmm, mope.” Marty’s hand moved to his mouth, even to his drug addled brain something didn’t sound right. He sounded like he did after he’d had a cavity filled one time. He felt his lips, but they weren’t numb, or swollen. He tried to move his head, but found it hurt when he did so.
“Don’t move. You’re going to be fine. The doctor thinks you might have a couple of cracked ribs, but nothing seems to be broken, thankfully. I gave you something to help you sleep all night. You’ll need lots of bed rest for the next few days.” Megan patted his hand. “Weather permitting, a doctor will come and evaluate you in person tomorrow. Probably bring a mobile xray machine with him.”
“M’kay.” Marty smacked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and moved his lips a little bit more than before. But he still felt as though something was holding his lips together so he couldn’t talk. It didn’t matter anyway, blissful sleep called to him and he heeded the call.

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