Free The Harder They Fall by Doreen Owens Malek Page A

gathering around her as the crowd fell into an expectant hush.
    Chris nodded and the calf burst from its stall onto the floor of the arena. Chris followed at lightning speed and the whole thing was over almost before Helene could comprehend it. She blinked and Chris was standing, the trussed calf at his feet, his arms thrust victoriously into the air. The people in the stands rose in one body and screamed their approval. She dimly heard the announcer caroling “winner and still champion” before the rest was drowned in a roar.
    “Is this why you brought me here?” Helene yelled archly to Maria, who was chuckling wickedly.
    “Aren’t you impressed?” she yelled back.
    Helene grinned and nodded.
    They both watched as Chris walked to the center of the ring and swept his hat off his head, bowing deeply to the crowd.
    “What a ham,” Maria mouthed to Helene and they both laughed.
    Chris’ horse was led over to him and he mounted it easily, trotting slowly around the arena, his hat held aloft, his smile wide enough to be spotted from where Helene sat.
    “What’s this?” she asked.
    “Victory lap,” Maria replied.
    “I’ve never seen him look happier,” Helene said wistfully as the crowd noise abated.
    “That’s why I brought you here,” Maria replied, shooting her a sidelong glance.
    Chris was just heading back to the stall when a sudden series of loud popping noises erupted outside the corral fence, almost at his horse’s feet. The horse reared and plunged and Chris, who had been holding the reins loosely with one hand, flew off the horse’s back and landed at an awkward angle, face down in the dirt.
    There was a piercing scream and then a stunned silence as the clown and several of the wranglers rushed over to the sprawled figure on the ground.
    “What is it?” Helene cried frantically.
    “Some stupid kid with firecrackers,” Maria replied angrily. “He scared the horse.”
    The caller tried to calm the crowd, which was switching gears from delighted approval to growing alarm as Chris didn’t move. Finally there was sporadic clapping as he was carried off, a limp bundle supported by two cowboys, but Helene was close enough to see his lolling head and realize that he was still unconscious.
    “Maria, we have to go down there,” she said.
    “Chris won’t like it,” Maria warned.
    “I don’t care. We have to see that he’s all right.” She was out of her seat and making her way down the aisle before Maria rose. The older woman shrugged and got up, following reluctantly.
    The area around the changing tent was chaotic, but Helene pushed her way through the milling people until she located a man who was wearing a badge labeled Official pinned to his lapel.
    “I have to see Chris Murdock,” she said to him, as Maria stood uneasily at her side.
    “You can’t, miss. He’s with the doctor.”
    “I’m his wife,” Helene announced, as Maria closed her eyes.
    “What?” the man said dumbly.
    “You heard me.”
    “I didn’t know he was married.”
    “Well, I’m telling you he is. Now are you going to let me in there to see him or not?”
    The man took off his fedora and scratched his head.
    “You got any identification?” he said doubtfully.
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Helene said in frustration, fumbling in her purse for her health insurance card, which had been made out in the Murdock name. She thrust it under his nose. “How about this?”
    He took it and examined it suspiciously, like an IRS agent perusing fraudulent tax forms. He shrugged and handed it back to her.
    Helene sat down on an overturned packing crate and folded her arms. “I’m waiting right here until you go inside and check with the doctor. Will you please do that immediately?”
    He looked from one woman to the other and decided that taking on such a formidable duo was not worth it. He made a disagreeable face and left. Helene saw him elbowing his way through the crowd and prayed silently that he was doing what