Rhinestone Cowboy

Layla smiled, “anytime.” She said as Ellie pulled closer to her. “I just want you to be okay. It would be a bit easier for me with the boys if you stayed with us, but I don’t want Ellie to be uncomfortable and out of place either. She’s gone through enough. So I’m leaving the call up to you. The boys would be a little easier to settle in a new place.” She shook her head, “you don’t have to do that. Just get comfortable. I think you’ve exerted yourself enough today.”

-

Lincoln listened to her as he let himself settle down on the bed again, grateful for the permission to not be sitting up. “Whatever is easier for you we can do but I have a feeling I won’t be going home for awhile so we have some time to figure it out.” He said, coughing. Just knowing that his little girl had seen everything was upsetting to him. He would never want her to see something like that but he was glad that she was safe and taken care of with Layla. “How’d you find me?” He asked curiously.

~

She smiled at him, “you kind of did.” Her brows rose and she nodded, “I think so, I was more concerned about you and Ellie than the horse.” She chewed her lip because of how she had found them. The thought of Ellie’s reaction to seeing it but she couldn’t put that at Lincoln’s forefront right now. “I’m pretty sure you’re gonna have to take it easy for a while. I uhh… I don’t really know what you really do though. I mean like come stay with me or the boys and I come stay with you two.”

-

“Ah, that would explain it...” Lincoln said as he looked over to the two of them. “Thank you...for coming for her.” He said as he looked at Ellie who was in Layla’s arms. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna be down for the count for a long while, um...whatever is best for you. I certainly have the room and everything.” He said as he carefully adjusted himself in the bed as best as he could.

~

Layla carefully made her way into the room with Ellie still asleep. She stopped short when saw him and smiled back at him, “hey you.” Hearing his voice was such a relief and brought tears to her eyes. She nudged Ellie gently wanting her to wake up but taking a seat as close to Lincoln as she could. “How you feeling? Hopefully a lot better now, huh?”

-

Lincoln smiled over at the two of them and used the beds controls to try and sit up some, ignoring the slight daggers of pain it sent through his body. “I’m....okay.” He said. “Kinda feel like I got run over by a wild horse....” He said and offered her a smile and looked down at Ellie who was slowly waking up. “How’s the horse? Did Luke manage to calm it down?”

~

Layla sat with Ellie worried and completely lost in what could be happening. She figured Luke had gone home by now, if nothing else she did need him to check on her boys and make sure they weren’t murdering each other. She slightly jumped from the sound of the doctor, Ellie had fallen asleep in her lap. “Okay, that’s perfect and sounds like all good news.” She smiled, “whatever he needs we’re going to be here. I really don’t want her to go home without seeing him and making sure he’s okay first.”

-

The doctor nodded. “It’s very good news. We believe with a lot of recovery and physical therapy, he will make a full recovery. A nurse will come find you as soon as he is settled into a room and ready for visitors. It shouldn’t be too long now.” He said before walking away. True to his word, a nurse came about ten minutes later to tell them that Lincoln was in a room, awake, and asking for them. She brought them back and gestured towards the room. “Stay as long as you would like, however visiting hours are over at ten.” She said before walking away. Lincoln could see shadows outside of his room and he pushed himself up slowly on the bed as much as he could, wincing slightly before he let himself rest back against the mattress. When the door opened, he couldn’t help but smile as wide as he could. “Hey...” He said towards Layla and then turned to see Ellie and tears formed in his eyes at the sight of his little girl.

~

Layla held tight to both Lincoln and Ellie, “if you’re scared we can go, sweetheart.” She asked the little girl even though she didn’t want to go. “It’s okay to be scared, we’re gonna make sure he’s gonna be okay though, I promise.” The sudden change in atmosphere was jarring to even her so she knew it was scary for Ellie as she held her tight and stood back out of the way. She nodded at the nurse, “oh..okay..” She stood there though, soothing Ellie the best she could and biting down on her lip. Hoping and praying that Lincoln would be okay and that this would go right because the last thing this kid needed was to lose him too. 

-

Lincoln pried his eyes open one last time to look back at Layla as they rushed him out of the room. He got one look at them before letting his eyes close again, pain coursing through his whole body. When he woke up again, it was hours later but he was only aware of the tube that had been placed that was sitting uncomfortable in his throat. He reached up with the arm that wasn’t broken to try and get rid of the tube when a nurse came over, stopping him. A doctor came a few minutes later and did a quick assessment before removing the tube, cause Lincoln to cough painfully. The doctor walked back out to the waiting room and found Layla. “Mr. McCoy is out of surgery and we are optimistic about the results. He’s awake right now and breathing on his own, which are all very good signs. We are just running some neurological tests right now but we don’t think he has more than a small grade concussion. You and little Ellie here should be able to see him in a few more minutes.”

Andie walked through the park, earbuds in, as she enjoyed the bright and warm day. Parker was supposed to be meeting her soon, to spend some time together before they met with the other couples. Sometimes those couple gatherings were such nuances simply because of the drama. She rounded the corner of the path when she saw a man struggling to reach his phone. 

As she approached him, Andie began to recognize Lincoln. Her niece took lessons on Luke’s farm and she had visited before, a few times. “Lincoln?” She asked, finally reaching him and bending down to pick up his phone for him. “What happened?” Concerned laced each word as she handed him his phone.

-

Lincoln looked up as he heard a familiar voice from the person who picked up his phone for him. “Hey, Andie. Thanks.” He said as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Oh you know, had an argument with a horse and lost.” He answered and shrugged slightly, wincing at the movement. “Not my proudest moment, honestly. Not good for business either.” He wiped his eyes quickly before looking over towards you. “But enough about me, how are you doing?”

~

Layla held on just as tight as Ellie’s but she never lost that comforting touch, the hand that was running up and down her back gently as they walked in to see Lincoln. Layla gently grasped his hand and gave a comforting smile, “we’re here, we’re not going anywhere, okay? You just focus on you right now, Linc.” She smiled at Ellie and nodded, “we’ll be okay, we just have to make sure you’re okay.” It was really hard to be strong in the moment, but she damn sure tried. Her heart ached more for Ellie than anything because Lincoln was in good hands. She knew how it felt to lose a dad and considering Ellie was so long and all she had was Lincoln, it only made it worse. “You’re gonna be okay.” She had to say it out loud to make herself believe it.

-

Lincoln did his best to look up at Layla and Ellie, relieved that Layla had come and had Ellie. He felt her grab his hand and he tried his best to squeeze her hand, pain coursing through his body. Ellie looked down at her father and grabbed Layla’s shirt in her fist tightly, holding on tightly. Lincoln was about to reach for his little girl when it became harder to breath, eyes squeezing tightly shut as alarms began going off. A nurse ran in and was followed by the doctor. They look him over and looked over towards Layla. “We think the ribs may be putting pressure on his lungs, we need to get him back to surgery now.” They rushed him out and to the operating room.

~

Layla nodded at him and texted the address to him real quick. “I figured that is quicker than anything.” She thought for a minute and nodded, “depending on how long they keep Lincoln that might be helpful. I definitely don’t want to leave him and Ellie alone after all this. I’m open to either of them staying with me or staying with them.” She smiled but it was not a sincere smile. In the situation making Ellie comfortable was the most important thing. 

Layla nodded and waited for him to come back before going in to get Ellie so she could see Lincoln. “Alright kiddo, I don’t know what dad is gonna look like. If you think he is scary and you don’t wanna see him we don’t have to okay? But he is awake right now and he may not be later today because he has to go to surgery.” She gave a generous smile to the little girl and nodded before they followed the doctor to see Lincoln. 

She was a little worried it was going to scare the little girl so if she needed to leave that was fine. They both walked in though, Ellie on her hip as they saw Lincoln laying there. “Hey big guy…” Layla’s voice was a little broken but she tried to steady it for Ellie. “I brought little bit in here, she wanted to see you. We both did.”

Luke nodded, checking his phone when the notification went off that the text came through. “Well, y’all are welcome for however long.” He said. Ellie looked up when Layla was talking and she nodded her head slowly, just wanting to see her daddy. “okay Ms. Layla.” She said softly. She held onto Layla tightly as they went into the room. She looked at the bed to see Lincoln laying there, not moving but his eyes open and she reached out, wanting to lay with him but she was so scared of hurting him any more, that she pulled back and held tightly onto Layla’s shirt. 

Lincoln was in a lot of pain and he wanted to slip back into the comfortable darkness but the door opened and he looked over and was able to finally see Layla and Ellie walking into his line of sight and he could feel the tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to fall. He tried to answer back but between the oxygen mask and the pain that threatened him if he moved any part of his head, he ended up slowly and carefully raising his hand towards the two of them, unable to really move the mask away from his face even if he could talk.

Feeling a tear start to fall from his eyes, Lincoln just let them go. He had never been much of a crier, especially in public but he didn’t care anymore. He needed to let it out. After a few moments, he sniffled, trying to get it together. He went to check his phone and ended up dropping it. “Shit.” He said as he tried his best to reach down and grab it but he couldn’t quite reach the ground to pick it up. 

@andie-morales​

~

Layla smiled back at Luke and nodded, it took her a minute after she had gotten Ellie strapped in to her car seat and it was a mostly quiet ride, “hey Luke can you do me a favor once we figure out what’s going on. My sons, I didn’t get the chance to leave a note or anything. Do you mind just taking them some burgers and explaining what’s going on to them and my neighbor? She’ll watch out for them but they should be okay on their own for one night. My oldest has done it a couple times in the past but I normally leave them notes. I’ll give you some cash to pick them something up.”

She sat in the waiting room with Luke and Ellie trying to keep Ellie occupied and happy as possible when the doctor came in though the little girl’s face went back to worry and she clung to Layla. “Hi, I’m Layla.” She smiled but it wasn’t easy and as she listened the only thing she could think of was Ellie. She was of course worried for Lincoln but how as this going to affect his little girl who had no one else but him. “I guess we need to start with the surgery.” She nodded, not really sure of what she needed to say. She handed Ellie off to Luke though and stepped outside with the doctor and ran her hands through her hair, “Look I just need him to be okay not even for me, for that little girl in there. That’s all she’s got is Lincoln. If you can get it to where she can at least see him today. See that he’s okay that would be all that I could ask.” She nodded, “she saw it all.” Her eyes teared up and she looked back through the glass door at the little girl for a moment. 

“We just need to know he’s okay, especially her. She needs to know he is still gonna be here for her after this. So do whatever you have to do to get him back to her. It’s what he would want and I know it’s what she wants.” 

Luke nodded and looked over towards her. “Of course. Just text me the address and don’t worry about the cash, I got it.” He said and tried to offer her a supportive smile. “If you want they can come out to the ranch and stay however long. I mean, I have no clue how long Lincoln will need you. You can stay too. I mean, Ellie’s stuff is all at the ranch. It’d be no problem.” He said and looked up as the doctor approached. His stomach twisted listening to all the injuries and he couldn’t help but feel guilty over what had happened, swallowing nervously. He took Ellie from Layla and held her against him, rubbing circles on her back. 

The doctor nodded as she said to start the surgery and he followed her when she had asked. “Of course. Surgery will take a long time however. I can see about letting her see him beforehand but I cannot guarantee that he will be awake, but she could at least touch him, hear the heart monitor. He seems stable for now. Let me go back and check on him and then I will be back to let you know.” He said as he turned to walk back into where Lincoln was. Ten minutes passed and he came back out to find Layla. “Mr. McCoy is a fighter and he’s awake right now. If you would both like to come back, I can give you a few moments together before we have to go into surgery.”

~

Layla held Ellie close as she nodded and understood that Lincoln would be okay. She watched them load him up and couldn’t help but be worried. Even if she had seen this many times at the race track it never got easier. Her brows raised though and Luke’s revelation, “Me?” It had only been a few months but Lincoln knew how much Layla cared about him and Ellie. “I’ll do what I need to do, I don’t want Ellie to be without him.” She looked at the ambulance though and then at Luke. “I… I don’t want to leave him alone but I don’t think it’s best if she’s in there.” She bit her lip and nodded, “we’ll ride with you, just so she’s comfortable. Thank you, Luke.” 

Luke nodded and looked over once more at Layla. “I know you will.” He said and unlocked his car. He quickly used the car key he had grabbed out of Lincoln’s house to unlock his car and grab Ellie’s carseat from it, quickly securing it into his car.  He got into his driver’s side seat and as soon as Ellie and Layla were in the car, he took off behind the ambulance, heading towards the er. Once they were there, he parked and went inside behind the EMTs and Lincoln. They took Lincoln to the back and were there for awhile before a doctor came out to see Layla and Luke. “Hi, I’m doctor Stevens. I was with Mr. McCoy. “His right arm is broken, which will need surgery to put back together, as will his left leg which was shattered when we are assuming the horse landed on it. He also has several broken ribs and we are going to decide on if he needs surgery to get them back into their places but so far, somehow his lungs are fine and not punctured. He also has a severe concussion but we won’t know much about that until he wakes up after surgery. We think he will be okay in that regard however. He has opened his eyes, which is a good sign.” 

~

Layla watched him try to help him sit up but that definitely wasn’t happening so she just sat close, her eyes flicking between Lincoln and Ellie. That was until Luke came in and spoke to her. She was scared and she was sure Luke knew that but what was worse was how scared Ellie was. She shook her head, “I don’t know. He can’t get up on his own… but he hasn’t… he hasn’t said anything.” She sighed looking over at the little girl, “she called me. So she knows more than I do but I don’t want her to relive it. She’s living through it enough right now.”

She waved the little girl over to her and held her close, running her hand over her back. “He’s gonna be okay, Kiddo. I promise. I’m sure Mr. Luke and these nice people are going to make sure your daddy is back to business soon.”

Lincoln wanted nothing more than to get up, fake his way through the pain just to make sure Ellie wouldn’t be scared but he knew there was nothing he could do. He knew she had seen everything happen but he was grateful that she had the bravery and knowledge to call Layla. He would have to find some way to repay Layla once he was able to but for know he just let his head fall gently back onto the ground, having no energy to hold it up. He was only vaguely aware that Luke was now there at his side and that the horse was away from the ring. His vison faded in and out as he closed his eyes again as he felt someone new put their hands on him.

Luke frowned at the whole situation, feeling nothing but responsible for what happened. He had hesitated at first about the horse, wondering if it was even safe enough to try to break it and Lincoln had pushed, saying he could do it but Luke should have stuck to his gut feelings. ”I don’t want her to either.” He looked at the child and nodded. “He’s going to be okay Ellie. He’s in good hands. He is going to have the best care, I’ll make sure of it.” He said as the paramedics rushed in with the backboard and kneeled to access Lincoln as the man continued to lay there. Eventually, they lined the back board up to his back nd put a c-coller on him, careful of any possible back or neck injuries as they then carried him out with Luke’s help and got him to the gurney and into the ambulance. 

“Do you two want to ride with him? I’ll follow behind in my car, or you can come with me.” Luke offered as he looked over at Layla. “I hope you are ready to make any decisions, he transferred medical proxy to you but don’t worry about cost, whatever his insurance won’t pay, I will.” He said as he held up a finger, running into Lincoln’s home and to his desk, where he was sure the man’s wallet was. He pulled out his insurance card, ID, and a list of his allergies before running back out, handing the allergy list to the paramedics because he knew there were some meds on the list.

~

Layla wasn’t expecting Ellie’s voice when she answered the phone. She had grown used to the sound of it but not when it came to phone calls. It was more when she was running around her or Lincoln’s house being chased by Jackson or Philip. “Hey sweetheart,” she said with a questioning tone but before she could ask Ellie was rattling off. Her eyes widened when she heard something was wrong with Lincoln. That had been the last thing she expected and she put down the car part she had been examining to step outside the shop. “Stay calm, Ellie okay? I’ll get there as soon as I can okay. I’m on my way now.” She said as she heard the fear in the little girl’s voice and jumped in her truck, headed to the ranch. “Just stay on the phone until I get to you okay, Ellie? You’re gonna be fine and Daddy is too.”

Once she got to where she could see Ellie she hung up and immediately called the ambulance. She carefully stepped into the ring with Lincoln and the horse. He had calmed a lot from the commotion he heard over the phone but she was still terrified to know what he might do to her and Lincoln for still being in the area with them. “Hey, Linc. Hey… it’s Layla. You’re gonna be okay.” She didn’t want to move him and possibly hurt him worse so she just sat beside him. She checked for his pulse and made sure he was still breathing. Her hand moving feel his back moving up and down. “You’re gonna be okay, I promise. The ambulance is on the way. Just stay with me alright?” 

Ellie could only stay in her spot and watch as her father lay in the arena unmoving. She didn’t know what was wrong and that scared her. She turned as she saw a car pull up finally and she watched as Layla went into the arena with her dad. Lincoln still laid there on the ground, groaning slightly as he started to regain consciousness. The world slowly started to become alive once more and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut from the bright lights and the pain that was radiating down his body. He slowly opened his eyes again, though the world was spinning, he still managed to turn his head slightly to see who was speaking. The voice sounded familiar but like it was underwater. He tried his best to sit up slowly however the pain in his chest burst at the movement and his arm wasn’t about to hold him up. 

The sirens could be heard coming towards the ranch, followed closely by Luke’s truck as he saw the emergency vehicles heading out towards his ranch. The paramedics and Luke got there and rushed out, Luke getting to the arena first and frowning as he jumped in and tried to get the horse to calm down before opening the barn door, getting him to run in and closed it so it would be safe for the paramedics to come in. He went over, kneeling next to Layla and Lincoln. “How bad is it?” He said, feeling bad about what was happening to Lincoln. He looked back and waved over the paramedics. 

Ahlai had never been the type to need things from other people.  She’d grown up with obsessively religious parents who raised her to wait on her father and brothers hand and foot while hating herself for the sin of being born female, so when she was 14, she ran away and took care of herself.  For awhile she turned to sex work and then to her real love of surfing. She did the best she could to take care of herself and eventually her husband and children, and she’d never seen this coming.  This life as a seriously injured, divorcee and single mother wasn’t what she wanted, but she was determined to handle it and keep her boys happy and well adjusted. 

She and her boys were doing the best they could, but the longer they lived in this new place, the more she realized she did need help and Layla had been very helpful since they’d arrived, which was likely why she was willing to ask Lincoln for help.  “Thanks so much, if I could move a little easier, I could handle it myself, this brace is killing me.  What I should do is invest in some of those big, reusable bags, maybe they’ll help in avoiding situations like this.  I really appreciate the help…Lincoln, right?” 

Lincoln offered her a smile as he looked up from the ground, rounding up the last of the fallen items and set them in the trunk of her car instead of trying another bag. “Yeah, the problem with those is I have a ton of them and then I forget them anyways so it’s no use to buy them.” He said with a laugh. “Yeah, that’s me. Though some people call me Link...which hasn’t been used in awhile and I’m really awkward, wow.” He said with a laugh as he stood back up, grabbing his own cart to make sure it didn’t roll into the parking lot with his little girl still in there. “And no problem, I’ve been in the same situation myself honestly. It’s not the best. And we’re supposed to help each other out right?”

Remembering how many times that Lincoln had been in the same situation, plus there were plenty of people that helped him out when Ellie was a baby and he was on his own, struggling through diaper changes and balancing a diaper bag. “I have one hundred percent spilled her whole diaper bag myself so it could be worse. There could be formula everywhere and diapers flying through the air and people seeing you chasing them.” He said with a laugh and a shrug.

The ride had started out simple enough, just like any other day. Luke had given Lincoln the task of trying to break one of the new horses who wasn’t happy with being ridden. Things were going fine until Lincoln had tried to jump onto the horse. It had all started to happen so fast and before he knew it, his hand slipped and he was thrown from the horse, landing on his arm, a snap being heard around them. He could feel his head hit the ground hard as the rest of his body followed and before he could manage to push himself up or roll out of the way, the horse jumped and landed on top of him. He could feel bones in his leg breaking and his chest burst with pain. He groaned as he rolled onto his stomach, hoping that Ellie was listening when he told her not to come into the ring. He was about to sit up when the horse kicked a rock that hit him in the head, sending him to the ground, eyes shut as he let the black overtake him.

@laylabeckman​

~

The boys nodded and so did Layla who spoke up, “that could definitely be interesting for these two and me.” She laughed, she shrugged though at his admittance and shook her head, “nah, I doubt she’ll ever feel that way about you. She seems pretty wrapped around your finger… or maybe you’re just that wrapped around hers.” She smiled and nodded, “a date.” A bit of nerves rising in her voice knowing she hadn’t been on a date in years, “I guess it is. What do you say we get these three some food? I’m sure they are wasting away the longer we stand here talking.”

Lincoln offered a smile and nodded. “It should be fun.” He said as he held Ellie on his hip. “I think I’m the one wrapped around her finger for sure. She could ask me to do anything and I probably would do it.” He said with a laugh, shaking his head a bit. “But I would do anything for her so it’s all good.” He said and nodded. “Yeah, any minute now she will tell me that she is so hungry and act like I don’t feed her, so don’t believe a word of it.” He said with a laugh.

They both nodded at him and gave a small smile but were too tired to pull a full blown one. Philip spoke up and shook his head, “no, I know I’ve never been.” He shrugged, “I’m sure it would be cool though and something different. It would be a complete change from our typical weekend.” Layla laughed and rolled her eyes, “it’s getting to where it’s not cool for this guy to go to the race track to help his mom out.” She smiled knowing that wasn’t what her oldest truly meant. “It will definitely be a fun adventure and since we’re in the off season I think I could pull away from the track,” she chuckled.

Lincoln looked at the boys. “Well, you can come by whenever you and your mom would like to look at everything and maybe get on a horse if you want.” He said with a smile and then looked towards Layla. “I dread the day when Ellie doesn’t want anything to do with me. Right now, I think she would follow me anywhere but I know that won’t last.” He shrugged at looked towards the toddler. “Good, it’s a date then.”