Chapter 11: Dallas

I knew Autumn’s mother would’ve never been able to take care of her in the condition she was in. From what the doctor had told us, Autumn would have issues getting up to walk and cleaning herself for a while, which meant she wouldn’t be able to do things like cook, shower, and clean. Her mom was inundated with responsibilities around her ranch and was still the prime caretaker of Barber, and it killed me to think about Autumn not being taken care of in the way she needed to be.

When we all received this information, it had been just before Autumn woke up, and right after I had returned from my run to momentarily clear my head. I had desperately needed that run in my alternate form. When I had reverted back to my human shape, everything seemed to be in better perspective. It was then that I had grown convinced that Autumn would be all right, because I would make sure that she was. I had been prepared to go into that hospital and fight every doctor that crossed my path, if necessary, to make sure they did everything within their power to make sure that Autumn came out of her coma, alive and well. It had also occurred to me that in the aftermath, I wouldn’t have it any other way than for Autumn to be in my care.

When I suggested this much to Mrs. August though, she had thrown a fit, accusing me of calling her a terrible mother. I’d had to hold her close and tell her that I meant absolutely nothing of that nature, and never would. I then proceeded to explain to her the sheer amount of time it would take to care for Autumn in her current state, even if she was just sleeping a great deal because of the pain medication. She would have doctor’s appointments to get back and forth to and would need help bathing as well as getting dressed on a daily basis for quite some time. Mrs. August was tough, but she was also older and preoccupied lugging Barber around whenever he needed help, which was already more exertion than she could take some days; that was no secret to anyone in the community.

I told her I’d be there to help her and that I’d give her a key to my home, letting her know that she could come by anytime she wanted to visit and check up on Autumn. I promised I would keep my phone on me at all times so that she could call whenever she wanted. It had been quite the fight with her, but when Barber eventually intervened, he was ultimately able to talk some sense into her. So finally, she relented and agreed to let me take Autumn home to care for her.

I stayed by Autumn’s bedside and lived in the few clothes I kept slung in the back of my truck. When she was sleeping, I went up to the local laundromat to wash my clothes, and when I needed a shower, I used the little one attached to Autumn’s hospital room. She was still groggy from the antivenom and the pain medication most of the time, so she slept more than she was awake. But that didn’t bother me because it gave me a lot of time to think on some things.

I made some phone calls and moved back riding lessons for the next two weeks. I figured if I could get Autumn up and going on her own halfway through the month, then I could at least resume giving lessons to the boys who had aspirations of riding in the rodeo one day.

I also made a call to Bradley and told him I’d pay him money if he would come over and take care of my animals so that I could focus on Autumn, and he agreed to switch off with his dad. When I tried to get him to agree on a price, he refused to be paid. That didn’t surprise me though, selfless man like him. So instead, I told him I’d offer him free work in return. If he was gonna come take care of my animals free of charge, then I’d offer him the same courtesy. I told him he could take me up on that offer anytime he like and it could be a way for him and his father to take a vacation. Far as I knew, they’d never taken one. Not since his mama died anyway, proclaiming that it wasn’t a family vacation without the entire family.

But sometimes you just needed a break from work.

I told him how Autumn was doing and he promised to later stop by for a visit. I urged him to seriously consider my offer, even if he and his dad just sat around the house and did absolutely nothing.

“That’s not a vacation. That just being lazy,” he had said, laughing before hanging up the phone.

Now it was just a matter of fixing up things in the house before Autumn got there. I had a spare bedroom across the hall from mine, but it was upstairs. I had a room downstairs that I could clear out, but that required furniture to be moved and I wasn’t sure I could pull that off in the limited amount of time I had. So since Autumn was still sound asleep, I went off in search of the doctor.

“Ash! Hey… hey, Ash!”

She turned around with a small smile on her lips, and I caught myself before I approached her.

“I mean, doctor. Hey, doctor.”

“What can I do for you, Bullhead?”

“I have some questions on how to make Autumn safe and comfortable, you know, given her condition.”

“All right. Shoot.”

“Stairs. Yay or nay?”

“If she’s got help, no problem. But she might get dizzy looking down them with the concussion she’s got, so a general ‘nay’ unless someone’ll help her down every single time for a while.”

“All right. What about diet? Anything I should stay away from with her swelling and stuff?”

“Anything that prompts inflammation will be bad, but if you just stick to a healthy diet that isn’t rich in breads and you’ll be good. Lots of water, no soda, and absolutely no caffeine.”

“She’s not gonna like that,” I mused.

“No one ever does,” Ash said with a smirk. “Who’s care is she being released into?”

“Mine.”

Ash pursed her lips. “Bet her momma didn’t like that.”

“Not at first, but I gave her a key to the house so she can come by whenever she wants.”

“That’s good.” Ash smiled. “You’re a good man, Dallas.”

“Thanks.”.

“Just know your limits,” she warned.

“What’s that mean?”

“Dallas, this is Autumn. There isn’t a person around here, new or old, that doesn’t know y’all’s story. What she did rocked this little Oklahoma town, and there are just as many people worried about you as they are about her.”

“I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn't be reminded of that every once in a while.”

The silence that hung between us was tense. I didn’t stop to think about how this would look. A boy whose college love abandoned him the morning after graduation suddenly comes back into town, half kills herself, and then that same boy takes her in to rehabilitate her as he sees fit.

“I’ll be careful,” I assured.

“Good.” She smirked again. “Oh! Another thing to keep in mind—no cars. People with concussions get motion sickness very quickly. So once you get her home, no more gettin’ in that truck of yours.”

“What about grocery shopping and stuff?” I asked.

“Don’t leave her alone. Which means you’ll need to do that while she’s still here.”

“Thanks for lettin’ me know,” I said. “Uh…when are we looking at discharging her?”

“Well, I’m gonna check back in on her tonight before I go home, but if all looks good and her brain swelling has continued to dissipate, we should be able to send her home tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Thanks, Ash, I mean, doc.”

She winked. “Anytime, Bullhead.”

I trotted back to Autumn’s room and saw her father sitting by her bedside. He was drawing circles on the back of her hand while she slept, and when he slowly rose his eyes up and connected them with mine, I gave him a slight nod and left. I knew he’d stay with her until I got back, and that meant I could get some stuff in my kitchen before tomorrow. I reached in and grabbed my wallet off the corner table and told Barber I was going grocery shopping before he shewed me off and down the hallway. I’m sure he wanted to spend some time alone with his daughter, and if I played my cards right, I could even set up her bedroom before I came back.

I made my way to my truck and headed to the grocery store and stocked up on all sorts of things. I figured the easier it was to eat, the more inclined she would be to eat it, so I picked up ingredients for many different kinds of soups. Knowing Autumn loved my cabbage stew, I picked up a couple heads to get marinating in a pot before I headed back to the hospital. I also picked up some apples and peanut butter, thinking they’d make a good snack for her when she wanted them. Remembering she was a glutton for homemade macaroni and cheese, I piled the ingredients into my cart, planning to make it a staple in her diet. If I ever made too much, it would be easy to spoon out and reheat, which would give her some of her independence back; I had a feeling it was going to be hard for Autumn to let me take care of her around the clock, being all independent like she was. So I was determined to give her as much as she could do on her own as I possibly could.

I grabbed vegetables for stir fry and tried to remember the meats I had in my deep freezer. And after grabbing some stuff to make pancakes and bacon for breakfast, I headed on up to the check-out line. I’d only been in the store for 45 minutes, and if I got this stuff home and put up, I could rearrange her room a bit before she arrived tomorrow.

I got back to my house and checked my phone to make sure no one from the hospital had called. Then I hauled the groceries in and got everything put away, and before I did anything else, I washed down both heads of cabbage and placed them in a pot of water. I salted and peppered them before throwing in more seasonings and covering the pot, letting it sit on the counter. Autumn loved the broth from this soup more than anything and I wanted to make sure she had plenty of it.

I bounded upstairs, busted through the door to the spare bedroom, and immediately got to work. I stripped the bed sheets and put new linens on it, dusted down the furniture and the fan, cleaned the attached bathroom and placed fresh towels out, and made sure the good toilet paper was on a roll. Then I ran the vacuum quickly over the carpet and made sure the lamp by her bed had a working bulb. When I felt like everything was done, I gave myself a moment to take a breath and wipe the sweat from my brow.

Then I heard the hum of my phone vibrating downstairs. Quickly, I rushed down

and skidded to the kitchen, seeing Autumn’s number flashing across the screen. A rush of panic clenched my throat shut. “Autumn, are you all right?”

“It’s just me, Dallas.”

“Hey there, Mrs. August. Everything all right? I’ve got food in the house for Autumn, and her room is all made up.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Are y’all all right?” I asked again.

“Autumn’s just askin’ for ya. Figured I’d call and see where you were.”

Autumn. My Autumn. My wonderful, soft, spunky, sassy, sensitive Autumn was asking for me, wondering where the fuck I was,while all I was doing was sweating in the middle of my damn kitchen.

I’d taken too fucking long.

“I’m getting into my car right now. Tell her I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know. And oh… Dallas?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem. I promise,” I lulled.