Probably two ribs. He's stable. Paulus went for the doctor. Warren came around to where he could see Milo's face, and something moved across his expression that was too private to describe the particular way a father looks at a hurt child when he can't fix it fast enough. He crouched beside Tessa.
"Hey, buddy," he said. "Hey, Dad. You trying to fly? " "The board was loose," Milo said with a dignity that was almost heartbreaking. "I checked it before I stepped on it. It didn't feel loose. " "We'll fix the board," Warren said.
"I know. " Tessa had found a spare length of clean cloth and was fashioning a temporary sling. Her hands were steady. They were always steady in emergencies. It was the aftermath that got to her. Later, when she could finally stop moving, and the feeling came back.
She focused on the angle of support, the pressure points, the tension, Milo watched her hands work. "Does it hurt more when you breathe deep? " she asked. "Yes, then breathe shallow for now. Short breaths. It'll feel better than trying to push through. " "How do you know? " because I cracked two ribs when I was 21 and fell off a loading dock.
She said, "Nobody told me that trick and I spent 3 days breathing like a fish out of water when I didn't have to. " He looked at her. "You fell off a loading dock. " "It was icy. I was carrying a crate. I was not paying sufficient attention. " "Did you cry? " "Absolutely," she said. "You can too.
You know, it's a broken arm. There's no rule against it. " He didn't cry, but his mouth did something a small twitch. The ghost of something. And he didn't look away from her the way he usually did. Calder arrived at the barn about 3 minutes after Warren, which meant someone had gone to get him from the north fence line, which was a 20-minute walk at normal speed.
He'd run at least part of it. He took in the scene Milo against the post. Tessa's improvised sling. Warren crouched beside them, and he didn't say anything for a moment. His breathing was still high from running.
Then he said, "Is the sling right? " "It's holding his weight correctly," Tessa said. Hollis went for the doctor. Calder looked at the sling, looked at the angle, looked at Milo's face. He crouched on Milo's other side. "Hey kid, I checked the board," Milo said again.