"Do you want to watch another movie, or just sit here and talk?" Slade asked Lacey that night; he ran a finger up and down her arm as he smiled down at her. They were sitting in his bed with their backs against the headboard watching a movie. The only television that Slade had in his loft apartment was the one in the bedroom. His reason for that, as he told Lacey, was because he likes to watch the news and weather before going to bed, and that's easiest to do while in bed so he could watch it until he falls asleep.

     Looking at the clock, Lacey saw that it was after 11pm. As tired as she was, she wasn't ready to go to bed yet. "I'm good with just talkin', if that's okay. Although, to be honest..." Lacey had tried holding it back, but couldn't help herself as a yawn escaped her lips. "I'm pretty wiped out."

     With a chuckle, Slade pulled Lacey closer to him, placing a kiss on top of her head. "What would you like to talk about?" He asked Lacey, looking at her all curled up on his chest, using one of her hands as a pillow.

     "I don't care, as long as I get to spend time with you." Lacey smiled up at her boyfriend.

      "Okay, well, when did you start riding horses?" Slade asked his first question.

     Taking in a deep breath, Lacey said, "I started riding horses before I could walk-my parents used to take me on long rides till I would fall asleep, and I entered my first rodeo when I was only seven. Everyone said that I was a natural, and almost immediately I started winning almost every event that I entered." Lacey's voice got a little sad as she thought about her rodeo days and how she had come to realize that she really did miss it. "I was the one person that everyone wanted to beat." After she said this, She grabbed Slade's hand that was resting on his stomach and intertwined their fingers.

      Tracing a line up and down her spine, Slade asked something that he knew the answer to, but still asked. "Why'd you stop?" His voice came out quieter than he expected. He knew it wasn't helping Lacey to hold it in; she needed to talk about her accident.

      Slade could feel Lacey shift slightly, her jaw clenching against his chest. Seeing her upset made him wonder if it was the wrong time to ask the question, but they had never talked about her accident. Everything he knew he had heard from other people; now, he wanted to hear it from the source herself.

      "I had a barrel racing accident." Lacey let out a breath, running a finger over Slade's scar on his forearm. He might never know how much she didn't like talking about her accident, but feeling his scars reminded her that he understood more than she gave him credit for. Just like herself, Slade had scars that went deeper than skin.

      Nodding, Slade noticed Lacey's hesitancy to continue the story. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to, Lace, I understand."

      Pulling back from Slade, Lacey pushed herself up more so she was sitting more upright, able to see Slade better. Slade's arm remained tight around her, giving her comfort, and Lacey grabbed his hand again, not wanting him to be far from her. "No, it's fine. It would probably do me good to talk about it." Taking a deep breath, Lacey pressed on, "I had just graduated high school, and I was running in a championship rodeo that summer. If I had won, I would have moved on to Nationals, and I was the last person to run. Everything about my run was clean and perfect. I had the quickest time of anyone that night. I was about to win by a good margin, but..." Lacey swallowed and shut her eyes tight, pushing away the feeling she got whenever she thought about her accident. Feeling a hand slide around her waist, followed with a kiss on top of her head, Lacey opened her eyes, having the strength to continue. "I looked over my shoulder to see my time and when I looked back, just before I left the arena, I felt Smokey jolt between my legs. We don't know how it happened, but we think he either lost his footing or saw something that spooked him, and he tried to stop, but couldn't. His legs gave out under him, and I went down with him." Taking a deep breath, Lacey could almost feel her back hurt at the memory. "When I got thrown, my body landed at a 90 degree angle, and Smokey fell on top of me, snapping my back instantly. I don't remember the rest because I was knocked unconscious. That was 4 months ago, and the rest is history." Lacey finished the story just as she felt Slade pull her tighter against him, knowing she needed to be held.

      "I didn't know that Smokey was the horse you were riding when it happened." All Slade had heard about Smokey was that he is Lacey's horse, and he had broken his cannon bone a few months ago, but it was just a hairline, and with surgery and therapy, Smokey was back to normal physically. Emotionally, he was a mess, as evidence of when he kicked Slade a few weeks ago.

      Lacey nodded. "Yeah, he was. He was the best horse anyone could ever have. He never spooked at anything, and he absolutely adored the kids at the rodeos. After a run, I would always untack him and we would go by the bleachers and all of the little kids would come over and pet him and I would set sof of them on his back, and he would stand still as a rock and hold his head up high, like he was the proudest horse in the world. Smokey was, by far, the best horse I had ever rode. When we first got him, he was supposed to be a roping horse, but one day, we turned him out in the arena that had some barrels set up, and when I came out from cleaning the barn, I saw Smokey trotting around two of the barrels. He never really took a likin' to roping, but the second I took him around the cloverleaf, you could tell that's all he ever wanted to do. I couldn't even bring the roping dummy into the arena; he would just stand there with his butt towards the dummy and refuse to let me rope." Lacey let out a chuckle at the memory. "I was the only one he would fully listen to. If someone else tried to catch him in the pasture, he would play tag, and just trot around, eventually walking into the barn himself after givin' someone else a hard time. He was the best horse ever." Sadness washed over Lacey as she thought about how much he has changed. "But then, after our accident, he changed. I told my parents to put him down, but they refuse to. They think he will just miraculously be healed emotionally and that him and I will ride off into the sunset together or something. I don't see how that's possible, though, when he refuses to let anyone get close to him, let alone run barrels anymore. Plus, it's not like I have a good chance of riding again." Lacey said in a sad voice, looking down at her immobile legs.

     Again, Slade traced Lacey's spine, feeling a scar under her shirt, knowing that she must have had surgery after the accident. Desperately, Slade wanted to know what happened following the accident; Lacey didn't mention surgery or anything, but he didn't want to push her too hard. "Do you want that again?" He asked, looking down at Lacey.

     "Want what?" Lacey cocked an eyebrow, looking up at Slade's caring blue eyes.

      "To ride Smokey again. Well, not necessarily Smokey, but just gettin' back in the saddle. Do you miss it? Do you wish you could ride again?"

      Lacey let out a breath, nodding her head. "I think so. I just don't see how it's possible. I can hardly pull myself into a truck. I don't see how I can pull myself onto a horse yet. But, I will admit," Reaching up, Lacey rested her hand on Slade's jawline, feeling his short beard. "Ever since you convinced me to go back out into the barn, it reminded me of how much I miss horses."

     "Are you still scared of them?" Slade asked, taking Lacey's hand off his face, placing a kiss on it before weaving his fingers in between hers, playing with the tips of her fingers.

     "I don't know if scared is the right word...I think I am more fearful that I could hurt them, or that if I get back on, something else will happen to me. I now see the danger, and I know if I fall or get thrown, I won't be able to get out of the arena, and something even worse could happen to me." Lacey vocalized her concerns that she had kept in since her accident. "When Trevor called me a couple weeks ago, telling me that there was a spot open for me at that therapy ranch and he had set up a tour and everything, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to be back out there with horses again, but then I saw you workin' with Smokey and I saw how much he has changed, and I just couldn't do it. I can't risk hurting another horse, or gettin' hurt myself again." Looking at Slade to see his expression, she saw that he was genuinely listening to her. Realizing how easy it was to talk to him, Lacey added, "So, I called Trevor the day before the tour was supposed to happen and I cancelled. I just couldn't do it, but now I think I'm ready. I really do want to be around horses again, and I have you to thank for that." She smiled, despite being exhausted. Lacey was worried that if she stopped talking, she would fall asleep on Slade's chest.

     "I meant to ask you what ever happened with that. And Lace, you don't need to thank me for anythin'. I wanted to spend time with you, but I also knew that you wanted to spend time with me, but since I was workin' so much, the only way we would get to spend time together is if I brought you out to the barn to help me." In a dramatic voice, Slade added, "Plus I knew you wouldn't be able to resist my charm for too long." There was a smile. "And before you say I'm wrong, just remember that before supper I said I wanted to cuddle with you later, and look where we are now. You're cuddlin' with me. I must be more charmingly persuasive than I thought."

     Rolling her eyes, Lacey slugged her boyfriend's chest. "You're goofy is what you are." Lacey laid her head against Slade's chest. "Thank you for being there for me through all of this
And thank you for being so understanding, too." She said into Slade's shirt.

     Slade's hand rubbed Lacey's back as he answered, "Of course, darlin'. Thank you," He bent down, placing a kiss on her temple. "For puttin' up with me." Seeing how tired Lacey was, Slade knew that he should probably take her back to the house, but she looked way too peaceful, and comfortable to move her. "If you want, we can try to make plans to tour the ranch later this week, or next week, if you wanted."

     "Sure, hon. Mhm." Lacey mumbled, her breathing slowing as she snuggled closer to Slade. His warmth, steady breathing, and slow heartbeat was enough to make Lacey fall asleep, despite the fact that she knew she had to go back to the house. She promised herself that she would only close her eyes for a couple minutes before she had to go back to the house, but she was so comfortable that, the second she closed her eyes, she knew she wouldn't open them again until morning.

     Careful to not wake his sleeping beauty, Slade carefully slipped his body out from under Lacey after waiting about a half hour after she fell asleep. Standing beside his bed, he knew that there was no way he was going to wake her up to take her back to the house.

     With a smile at his beautiful girlfriend, Slade bent down and placed a soft kiss on her temple, reminding her that she is beautiful before quietly slipping out of his bedroom. Putting on his boots, that were outside of his loft door, Slade made his way into the house.

     Walking inside, Slade saw Willie in the living room, laying on the couch and watching television. "Hey, man, where's your parents?" Slade asked him.

     "Dad's sleepin', but mom is in the kitchen getting Ryder's lunch packed for tomorrow. He's goin' to some camp for a few days before school starts." Willie explained to Slade.

     "Thanks, man." Slade made his way into the kitchen. "Evenin', ma'am." He greeted Lacey's mom.

      "Evening, Slade. Everything okay?" A tired Luella asked, looking behind Slade to see if Lacey was in tow. With wet hair, and in her pajamas, Slade figured that she was just about to go to bed, so he was glad that he caught her when he did.

     "Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that Lacey fell asleep in my loft. We were watchin' a movie and talkin' and she fell asleep. Would you mind if I sleep on y'all's couch tonight?" Slade asked, helping Luella put away the ingredients that she had used to make Ryder's sandwich.

      "What's wrong with the couch in your loft?" Luella smiled slightly, making her look less tired.

      "Nothing, ma'am, I just didn't want to give y'all the wrong idea with Lacey and I both sleepin' in my loft." Chivalrous Slade said.

     "That's very sweet of you to say, Slade, but we trust you. Besides, Lacey will need help coming down those stairs tomorrow morning, so it's probably best if you stay in your loft tonight." Luella replied. Walking forward, she wrapped her arms around Slade. "Oh, we are just so glad that you and Lacey are together. You are so good for her, Slade." Pulling back, she rested her hands on Slade's shoulders. "And Zane and I both mean that. You got our Lacey Anne to get back out in the barn, doing what she loves, and for that we will be eternally grateful for you and for what you have done. Lacey never would have listened to us telling her she needs to get back out and be around the livestock again. Zane and I were just talkin' the other day how much you have helped Lacey since you started working here. It's remarkable to see how she had changed for the better." A truly thankful smile took over Luella's face.

      "Thank you, ma'am, I appreciate that. It's an honor for me to be there for Lacey." Slade replied with a smile. What Luella may never know, however, was that Lacey was the one helping him, and that she had changed him, all for the better. He would never be the same again, which he was perfectly fine with, and he had Lacey to thank for that.