Happy Accidents
an excerpt

Natalie drove the familiar road to her house, barely paying attention to the winding strip of pavement. It had begun to rain heavily, and was starting to get dark. She found herself thinking of the show that day, already dreading the next one. She had two weeks to get ready before they flew to England to begin riding in the National Series. She sighed, focusing on the road just in time to see they were heading into a sharp turn.
“Damnit!” she muttered, turning the wheel hard. There was a terrible noise as the horse trailer wheels were caught in the gravel on the side of the road. The weight of the shifting trailer dragged the truck backwards. Natalie could hear Apollo start to whinny frantically, but didn’t have much time to react. The truck and trailer were rolling down a steep embankment, and her head hit the steering wheel. Natalie’s eyes closed; the last thing she heard was her horse screaming.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan sat in the waiting room of the hospital. They had been called by the police, and told only that Natalie had been in an accident.
“Why won’t they tell us anything?” Mrs. Ryan said suddenly.
“They’ll talk to us as soon as they know something,” her husband replied. Someone cleared their throat and they glanced up. A state trooper was standing in the doorway.
“Are you Mr. and Mrs. Ryan?”
“Yes. Natalie Ryan is our daughter. What happened?” Mr. Ryan demanded.
“We found her truck… she had slid off the road on Boon’s Pass, and rolled down the embankment.”
“Oh my God! Is she ok?” Mrs. Ryan asked, standing up.
“Ma’am, I’m uncertain of her status right now. I came to ask you what you’d like done with the horse she had in the trailer.”
“Is he alright?” Mr. Ryan asked.
“He’s pretty banged up… lost a lot of blood. The vet can’t be sure of his full condition, but it doesn’t look good.” Mr. and Mrs. Ryan exchanged a glance.
“Natalie has had Apollo since he was two… since she was twelve. Tell the vet to do whatever he can to fix him up,” Mrs. Ryan said. The officer gave a curt nod and turned to leave.
“Jesus,” Mr. Ryan muttered, putting his arm around his wife.

Several hours later, a doctor stepped into the waiting room and looked at the haggard couple sitting there.
“Mr. and Mrs. Ryan?” he asked. They looked up, standing when he saw the doctor.
“How’s our daughter?” Mrs. Ryan asked.
“She’s out of surgery. We’ve stopped the internal bleeding and removed her spleen. We have stabilized both her knee and ankle, but she will need more surgery to correct the damage there.”
“Damage?” Mr. Ryan repeated.
“Yes. Her left leg is broken in three places and her knee was crushed. Eventually she will need complete reconstructive surgery, but we have to wait until she’s stable.” Mrs. Ryan had begun to cry softly.
“Is she awake?” Mr. Ryan asked.
“She should be coming out of recovery any minute. I want to warn you that she looks pretty rough. Her face is badly bruised and cut up… in fact she’s pretty banged up all over.”
“Take us to her,” Mrs. Ryan said. The man nodded and they followed him down the hallway.

Natalie heard voices, hushed voices that were clearly arguing.
“What will she do now David? She has nothing but this!” her mother’s voice said.
“She’ll recover… got to physical therapy. She’ll be back up in no time,” her father answered.
“Maybe you can wait until I’m conscious before you start planning my life for me again,” Natalie said, opening her eyes. Her parents were standing by the window, but hurried to her bedside.
“Honey are you ok?” her mother asked. Natalie swallowed hard, grimacing at the pain in her throat.
“My throat hurts,” she muttered.
“You had surgery… they had a tube in your throat.”
“Surgery? What’s wrong with me?” she demanded.
“Do you remember anything?” Mr. Ryan asked. Natalie shook her head.
“No. Did I fall off at the show?”
“Of course not. You got into an accident on the way home,” he replied. Natalie felt her breath catch in her throat as memories came flood back… sliding off the road, the truck rolling, and Apollo’s high-pitched and frantic whinny.
“Oh God,” she whispered. She looked at her parents with wide, blue eyes. “Is Apollo ok?”
“We’re not sure yet Natalie. The vet said that he needed a lot of work… and we told him to do whatever he could,” her father answered. Natalie let her eyes close briefly, and she swallowed again.
“What else do I need to know?” she asked. Her parents exchanged a glance.
“Your knee was badly hurt in the accident, but we have every reason to believe you’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll be back in the saddle in no time,” Mr. Ryan assured her. She nodded, but thought ‘Please God let it be too screwed up to work anymore.’