Roping Her Christmas Cowboy

“You have a very mild form of peripheral Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a slow growing motor sensory neuropathy. It’s inherited through a gene carried down in the family. Do you know if you’ve ever had it in yours?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Some people don’t even know they have it.”

“If it should happen while I’m throwing the rope during a performance at the National Finals Rodeo in December, everything’s over for that round and, of course, my partner suffers. We don’t get second chances.”

“I understand, but if such an incident occurs, you’ll still have strength in your upper arm.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be enough. Is there a medicine to stop this from happening?”

“Not that has been invented yet.”

“You mean there’s no cure for it?”

“No, but medical science is always working on a cure. I’ve been doing some research and can tell you they’re making strides with a new surgical technique.”

Adrenaline filled Toly’s system. “You mean there is one?”

“It’s been in the experimental stage for quite a while. The results aren’t a hundred percent yet.”

“What kind of results are you talking about?”

“In a few cases, surgery has slowed down the process. In a few others, it has stopped it.”

“What’s entailed?”

“The surgery would replace the damaged nerves in your forearm and hand with a new protein that would stimulate nerve cell growth. If successful, it could revolutionize the problem for those afflicted.”

“So there is some hope.”

“Of course. I’m still doing research on it. The procedure is being done in Paris, France, by a team of neuro and vascular surgeons.”

Paris... “If it were possible for me, how long would I have to stay there?”

“Two to three weeks depending on complications.”

“When the rodeo is over, I’d like to be a candidate.”

“I’m afraid it couldn’t be that soon.”

“But you will call me when you know anything, and make the arrangements for me?”

“I’ll get back to you after I’ve looked into it more. Just remember it’s possible that you’ll never have more than the occasional manifestation in your right arm. Call me if you have any more questions, and good luck!”

“Thank you, Dr. Moore. Once the rodeo is over I’ll be a full-time rancher and need to get better. You have no comprehension of what it would mean to me to fix this problem.”

“If not cured, at least slowed down. We’ll talk again soon.”

Toly left the doctor’s office determined that surgery would help him. Right now he could only hope that he and his partner, Mills, survived the punishing ten days ahead of them.

Anything could go wrong during a rodeo, but the thought of his hand not working for a few minutes had him the most worried. The condition had only manifested itself twice so far. He had to hope against hope it wouldn’t come on during their performance.

To Toly’s relief, Mills hadn’t realized what had happened in practice and he didn’t want him to know. Toly didn’t plan to tell anyone, not even his family. All he had to do was get through Finals and pray another incident during an actual round didn’t cause them to bomb.

Too bad this hadn’t happened six months ago. Perhaps he could have gone in for the experimental surgery and be recovered long before Finals. But there was no chance of that now. After the rodeo he would tell everyone he was going off on a month’s vacation to do some sightseeing for a change.

If the operation wasn’t successful, no one would be the wiser. Life would go on the same. He’d wait until the doctor found another team of surgeons to help him beat the disease.

* * *

“IN CASE YOU’RE a listener just tuning in, this is Jeb Riker from KFBR Sports Radio in Great Falls, Montana. It’s Friday, December 2, here in Great Falls, Montana. We’ve been broadcasting our Christmas show from the Ford dealership here in town since two o’clock this afternoon.

“What a turnout we have had to meet the three rodeo champions from our fair state headed to Las Vegas for this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo championship!

“All you dudes out there, come on in and meet the beautiful Nikki Dobson. She was last year’s Miss Rodeo Montana, and this year’s second-place finalist for the coveted national barrel racing championship. I don’t see a ring on her finger yet, guys.

“Guess what? She isn’t the only eligible celebrity who hails from the Sweet Clover Ranch here in Great Falls. We’ve got her twin brother Mills Dobson in house. He and his partner, Toly Clayton, from the Clayton Cattle Ranch in Stevensville, Montana, are the reigning team roping champions on the circuit headed for Las Vegas. Ladies? Get ready for this announcement. Both are still single!

“Guys and gals? Don’t miss this opportunity to meet these celebrities up close and personal. The next time you see them, they’ll be in Las Vegas where they’re scheduled to win national championships and be entered into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.”

Wouldn’t it be a miracle if that happened. Knowing what he knew now that he’d been to see the doctor, a miracle was what it would take.

Toly looked around the showroom with its lighted Christmas trees, noticing that Nikki had been swarmed by every male in sight. She stood an exquisite five foot nine in her cowboy boots. With her long curly black hair and crystalline gray eyes, she was a sight! Ever since he’d asked Mills to be his team roping partner to compete on this year’s circuit and had met her face-to-face, she’d blown away all the other women he’d ever known.

In his teens he’d had lots of girlfriends, but his dream had always been the rodeo, ruling out any serious involvement with them. Over the years he’d met literally hundreds of women on the circuit. This last year there’d been a dozen or so who’d caught his eye and he’d done some line dancing with them before moving on to the next rodeo on the circuit.

But always in the back of his mind, the vision of Nikki Dobson got in the way. However, there were several reasons why he’d never acted on his attraction to her. For one, he knew from Mills that she’d been in a relationship that hadn’t worked out and was still dealing with her pain.

For another, she was Mills’s sister. Though they’d never talked about it, from the time Toly and Mills had hooked up to be team ropers together, he’d sensed that Mills wouldn’t like it if Toly showed a personal interest in Nikki. Much as he wanted to, Toly knew he needed to be careful not to let anything affect his friendship with Mills while they were in a competition to win.

Mills and Nikki had lost their parents in a car accident three years ago. Toly had never met them, but he admired the twins who’d overcome their grief and had gotten on with their dreams to be rodeo champions.

Until he retired from the rodeo at the end of this month, Toly would continue to keep it friendly with Nikki. Knowing Mills’s feelings, he’d decided not to explore a closer relationship with her...provided she was even interested. He thought she might be. But that was something he had yet to find out while they were all in Las Vegas.

For the next half hour, he kept signing pictures as more fans continued to pour into the dealership. The ladies offered their phone numbers. Toly just kept smiling while they took pictures of the three of them with their phones. Soon they’d be able to call it a night. He wanted to get to bed early. Starting in the morning, they had a thousand-mile drive ahead of them with the horses.

But he never lost track of Nikki who was still being mobbed by guys snapping pictures of her. He imagined she’d had to ward them off since her teens.

“Let’s get out of here,” Mills suddenly muttered.

Toly jerked his head around. He’d been concentrating so hard on Nikki, he hadn’t realized his friend had walked over to him. Since a month ago when the girl Mills had been dating had broken up with him, he’d grown dark and morose. You couldn’t even talk to him.

“We’ll have to say goodbye to Jeb Riker first and thank the manager of the dealership.”

“Yep.”

The two of them walked over to talk to the radio announcer broadcasting from the back of a new truck. Toly thanked Riker for the great promotion and send-off. They were joined by the manager whom they thanked and chatted with for a few minutes.