Love You to Death

by Melissa March

  “I’ll wait about an hour then raise the alarm,” Maggie said, shoving a bag of snacks into the saddle bag. “See ya then, partner.” She gave Sampson a pat on his hind quarter. He snorted indignantly. I dug my heels in, like Maggie showed me.

  I had to make myself breathe in and out as the horse sauntered off toward the wooded trail. According to the plan, I was supposed to be taking a leisurely ride and suddenly become lost so that Maggie could grab Cort and the two of them could spend hours looking for me, just the two of them, then I’d call her and tell her I was okay. But hopefully by that time she and Cort would be miles away and end up camping out.

  The Northern Star was 126 acres large with an equal mix of open space and wooded area. Without knowing where I was headed I could very easily get lost. But my good friend Maggie assured me I wouldn’t get lost as long as I stuck to the trail.

  Maggie and I developed a speedy alliance since our night of combat. She learned I wasn’t after her identity. I learned she wasn’t as selfish and spoiled as she pretended.

  Mid-September in Kentucky was pretty much the same as back home. The waning summer days were pleasantly warm, giving way to colder temperatures at night. After the sun went down the night wind was chilly enough for us to break out heavy sweaters. I was wearing a thick cream colored cable knit and a pair of jeans.

  Sampson ambled along the trail. He seemed to be enjoying the walk as much as I was. I figured I’d stay out here about two hours, an hour out and an hour back. I’d be back in time for dinner. Aurora was making her own version of Burgoo.

  My thoughts quickly turned to Gideon. He and JD left this morning to look at a sick colt for a neighbor. I missed him, which was silly. If he’d stayed home I wouldn’t be with him anyway. He’d be holed up in the hospital or making rounds with JD. He’d be back in time for dinner which is why I was in a hurry to get back.

  We were still going for our Sunday drives. Every now and then he’d tell me I was ready to take my test and offer to take me. Then I’d feign lapses of forgetfulness, making my three-point turns into six or run off the road a few times so he’d recant the suggestion.

  There was no way I could get my license. I couldn’t tell him that though. I think he knew I was holding something back. I liked to think he wanted to be alone with me and that’s why he kept up the pretense of teaching me. He was giving off all the signals of being interested, but he never made a move. Part of me was glad. The other half, though, the half that wasn’t afraid of what I was feeling wanted him to grab me by the shoulders and kiss me senseless.

  Sampson stopped. I snapped out of my daze to look around. I didn’t see or hear anything.

  “What’s wrong, boy?”

  He perked his ears and started prancing. I smoothed a hand down his velvety neck, trying to placate him. He whinnied. Suddenly, a fox darted out from behind a tree, startling Sampson. He reared up and took off.

  “Whoa!” I screamed, clamping onto the reins. I was literally holding on for dear life. Sampson galloped off the trail and into the woods.

  I bent forward, trying to get as low as I could so my head wouldn’t get knocked off by a low branch. I was gritting my teeth to prevent screaming and scaring Sampson more than he already was. Maggie had taught me how to stop the horse, but I was so scared I forgot what it was. Saying “whoa” wasn’t working.

  Where was the off button?

  * * * *

  Sampson finally slowed down to a stop. He was breathing heavy and snorting. I was cramped from squishing my body into a pocket sized version of myself. I swear I could hear the squeak of a rusty hinge as I sat up straight.

  “Oh man, Sampson. Where are we?” I groaned, looking around. We were standing on the edge of the woods with nothing, but the rolling hills of pasture, as far as the eye could see. I slid from Sampson’s back, contemplating my situation. I had no cell phone, no camping gear, and absolutely no friggin’ idea where, on the farm, I was.

  First rule of thumb when lost is to stay put. But the sun had already disappeared, taking the last of the daylight with it. The temperature was dropping steadily. When a forceful breeze blew by, the heavy sweater wasn’t enough to keep me warm. I rubbed my arms briskly.

  Taking the reins, I led Sampson to the cover of the trees, tying him to a branch. I started pacing. Someone would come for me. All I had to do was stay here and remain calm. And warm. On queue my stomach growled. I remembered the bag of snacks Maggie packed and dug them out. Beef jerky and trail mix. I inhaled the trail mix first, it had chocolate.

  Somewhere in the dark an owl hooted. The thought of my being alone out here in the woods with other living creatures freaked me out. Visions of sharp teethed little flesh-eating varmints played in my head. I parked myself cross legged under the tree where Sampson was tied. He bent his head to nuzzle my cheek.

  “I know, big boy, you’re hungry too.” I patted his nose. “Sorry, Mags didn’t pack you anything. We’re going to have to hope really hard that someone will find us...and sooner rather than later because I’m cold and hungry.” Sampson snorted his agreement, making me smile.

  * * * *

  According to the watch Maggie loaned me it was 9:00. I’d been gone for over three hours. I was curled up in the fetal position trying to keep my body heat from escaping. As I lay there, huddled on the freezing cold ground, I wondered if our plan had worked so my suffering would not be in vain. Where were Maggie and Cort right now? Huddled inside a nice warm tent, snuggled together in a lovers embrace?

  Probably.

  While I froze my tush off in no man’s land, they were getting busy. My fingers were losing feeling so I gave them a quick shake. The things I get myself into.

  “I’m an idiot,” I said to Sampson.

  I was getting sleepy. I checked the time again, a little after ten. Just as the first wave of unconsciousness crept over me I thought I heard my name. It was faint, echoing.

  Dreaming, I thought, huddling tighter into myself.

  Then I heard the unmistakable drone of a vehicle. The best I could manage was to half-open my eyes, and even that was a struggle.

  Dark figures leapt from horses, headlights wiggled in and out.

  “Oh man...” I heard Cort say.

  “Cherry!” Maggie cried out.

  “Hey,” I managed, despite my dry scratchy throat. I was spittin’ dust, as Gideon would say. “It worked.” I coughed, looking up at her. She cast a worried glance over her shoulder then reached out to take a blanket from Cort and cover me with it.

  “It worked alright.” She sighed disgustedly.

  “What? You mean it didn’t?”

  “Let’s talk about it later, okay?” She cupped the back of my head, lifting a thermos cup to my parched lips. Warm broth trickled down my throat. It was heavenly.

  “What time is it?

  “A little after midnight.” She cringed when she said it.

  “All this was for nothing?” I whimpered. “I’m such an idiot.”

  “You said it.” Gideon emerged from the night like a ghost. He threw me a look so hot I could almost feel the flames. His angry stride quickly brought him to my side.

  He knelt down next to me and opened his doctor’s bag. Reaching for me, he took my hands from under my arms where I’d tucked them for warmth.

  “You’re an ice cube,” he snapped.

  “This isn’t exactly Palm Beach,” I tried to joke. The chattering of my teeth cut off any attempt at laughter. He took something out of the doctor’s bag. There was a brief rustle of plastic before he shoved something into my hands. Heat flooded through my fingers.

  “Next time you two think up a scheme, try to know what you’re doin’,” he snapped again. This was a new side of Gideon. Tiny sparks of joy exploded in my chest. I shuddered with excitement at the thought of dear, sweet, Gideon all beside himself over a lost little old me. I couldn’t hold back the satisfied grin spreading over my face.

  “You think this is funny?” he nearly shouted, sitting me upri
ght.

  I shook my head, trying to turn my smile into a frown. Nope, wasn’t happening. Gideon’s face was shadowed, but I could make out the fierce scowl puckering his mouth.

  Cort busied himself with Sampson. He unsaddled the horse and covered him with two thick woolen blankets before leading him away. Maggie carried the saddle, following him.

  “Do you know what could’ve happened to you out here? It’s supposed to get down to forty degrees tonight. You could’ve gotten hypothermia or been attacked by an animal. You do know there are wolves and bears out here, right?” He grabbed my arms and gently hauled me to my feet. He wrapped the blanket so tight around me I felt like a burrito.

  Then he lifted me off the ground. I relaxed, happy to be safe and warm in the arms of Gideon. Even if he was mad at me.

  “We’ll take Sampson,” Cort said. “Meet ya back at the house.” He and Maggie climbed onto their horses. Maggie tossed an unidentifiable look over her shoulder as she rode away.

  Gideon managed to open the truck door while still holding me. A rush of hot air gusted over my face. I almost purred. He settled me in the front seat and shut the door. My eyes were heavy and drooping when he opened the driver’s door and climbed in.

  “Oh no you don’t, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, expelling a ragged breath, “I wanna hear what the heck you were thinking. You had no business on that horse or riding out here alone at sun down.”

  “It wasn’t supposed to be this long,” I mumbled. “Sampson got spooked. He just took off, and I was too busy hanging on for dear life to see where he was going.”

  “That’s you’re excuse? The horse took off on you? The horse you shouldn’t have been on in the first place?”

  “Yeah, the dead one you’re beating,” I quipped.

  “Stop it, just stop it!” he yelled, hitting the steering wheel with his fist.

  Instinct kicked in. I came to life, jumping out of my slump. Without thinking I yanked the handle, swinging the door open. I didn’t wait to see if he’d follow. I took off running, pumping my half-frozen legs for all they were worth, which wasn’t much.

  I ran back into the woods, into the cover of the trees, their branches reaching out and scraping my face and snagging the arms of my sweater like talons. But I wasn’t fast enough. Gideon’s fingers caught the fabric at my shoulders. He held tight, slowing down until I did too.

  I fought like a wild animal. Kicking, screaming while trying to squirm out of his grip. I didn’t realize I was crying until I heard Gideon’s soft voice.

  “Shhh...It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m not gonna hurt you. Shhh...” He kept repeating the words as he gathered me into his arms. I collapsed, sobbing against his chest. He rocked me back and forth, comforting me as a father would a child.

  Clarity came back to me, slowly. This was Gideon. Dear, sweet, perfect Gideon was holding me. He was carefully smoothing his large manly hand over my hair, just as gently as he did when he soothed a skittish horse.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, bending his head, mouth to my ear. “Talk to me, Cherry. Tell me what happened.”

  I wanted to. I wanted to tell him all about my mom and dad. I wanted to tell him how Cass almost killed me, body and soul. I opened my mouth, licking my lips. I tasted the saltiness of the tears. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t find the words. They were trapped inside of me, and I didn’t know how to free them.

  Gideon’s chest rose and fell sharply. Then he steered me back to the truck. When we were once again settled in the cab he shifted the truck out of park, backing up to turn around. Then he stopped.

  “Look at me,” he said.

  My head rested on the seat. I rolled to the left to look at him. His eyes glistened in the light glowing from the dashboard. He raised his hand to my face, cupping my cold cheek in his hot palm. “I might get angry. I might yell. But I would never—do you hear me—I would never touch you in anger. I’m not him. You know that, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. Now, promise me you’ll never pull such a ridiculous stunt like this again.”

  I nodded again.

  “Say it.”

  “I promise.”

  A slightly concealed smile played over his lips. He shook his head, muttering something about hare brained and thick headed.

  * * * *

  I expected all the adults to be waiting for us with full, blown-out parental lectures, but they weren’t. Gideon, Cort, and Maggie were the only ones who knew I’d been missing. Everyone else was in bed.

  Maggie came to my room, getting me into a warm bath before helping me into bed. “If we couldn’t find you then we’d have told mom and dad,” she’d explained, tucking me in.

  “How did you find me?” I asked, burrowing under the covers.

  “Cort. He’s a great tracker. It’s easier in the day time, but we had spotting lights and two-way radios. Gideon was fit to be tied. You should’ve seen him. Well, maybe it’s good you didn’t.” She smirked.

  “He lectured me the whole way home.”

  “Yeah, I got it from both of them. Gideon said he never heard of such stupid antics from two silly girls. Said he oughta bend us both over his knee, that’s a direct quote,” she scoffed.

  “As if—” I yawned and promptly fell asleep.

  * * * *

  I woke up stiff but happy to be in my own bed and not lost in the woods. I was anxious to see Maggie and hear what happened on her end last night. I quickly got dressed and went looking for her. I found her in the stable, brushing Lola.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  She stopped and popped her head up over the backside of Lola.

  “It’s about time.” She smiled at me. “Grab some brushes.”

  Normally I wouldn’t get anywhere near Lola, but the diva liked to be brushed so I knew I was safe.

  “So tell me! What happened?” I asked, sweeping the brush over Lola’s side.

  “Oh Cherry, you should’ve been there,” she said all girly and breathy. “Well not literally...you know what I mean...”

  “Yeah, yeah, get on with it.”

  “At first he was tryin’ to get out of helping me, sayin’ he thought you just went off to be alone. I told him he was a selfish jerk and what would he do if you were hurt or worse. Then he was sorry and said he’d help me look for you. After we rode around for a while, I asked him if he had a date for the Gala. He said no. I was so happy to hear that.” She giggled. “Then he asked me if I was takin’ Jesse. I told him I might if someone else didn’t ask me first. You should’ve seen his face! He was spittin’ mad! He started lecturing me on my choices in men. He went on and on, which made me mad. So, I just went for it. I told him he was blind as a bat when it came to love because I’d been in love with him for years and he never noticed.” She stopped brushing to look at me.

  “You didn’t?!” I stopped brushing too. We stared at each other over Lola’s rump. “What’d he say?”

  “He said I was the wiliest woman he knew, and he wouldn’t have me using my wicked ways on him so I’d better straighten up. Then he kissed me. He kissed me!” Maggie danced away from the horse, spinning with her arms out, brushes in hand.

  “Oh Mags, that’s great! It worked!” I went to her and we jumped up and down like the silly girls we were.

  “Well...that was about the time Gideon called him, lookin’ for you. I didn’t think anything was wrong. Ya know? I figured you got busy and forgot to call or something. I’m sorry, Cherry.”

  “It isn’t your fault. Don’t worry about it. Just tell me what happened next.”

  She rolled her eyes and walked back to Lola and started brushing again.

  “All hell broke loose. Gideon was beside himself. He couldn’t find you anywhere. Sampson was missin’. He put two and two together and called Cort. I was so scared somethin’ bad happened to you. I spilled my guts.”

  “Is Cort still angry? Should I talk to him?” I asked. I didn’t want all that hard work and planning to go to waste.
r />   “Nah, he’s over it. I used my feminine charm on him.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “What about Gideon?”

  “I don’t know. He’s been closed up in the hospital all mornin’.”

  I nodded, trying to think of an excuse to go to the hospital to see him.

  “Oh. My. God!” Maggie exclaimed, startling Lola. She pranced for a few seconds then calmed as Maggie shushed her. Then Maggie walked around the horse and grabbed me by the arm. Her eyes were bugging and her mouth formed a tiny ‘o’. “You like him,” she said.

  “Huh? Like who?” I pretended to be oblivious.

  “Don’t get all mysterious on me. Gideon. You like him!” She smiled mischievously, looking like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

  I blushed. I hated how easily my body responded to embarrassment. Maggie tossed her head back and laughed gleefully.

  “This is great! We’re a matched set.” She hooted. Lola snorted her annoyance.

  “Shhh! Be quiet,” I warned her, glancing around furtively.

  “No one is in here but us and the horses,” she said. “Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

  “Tell you what?”

  “C’mon. I told you,” she half whined.

  “There isn’t anything to tell,” I said. A look of hurt played over her features. I caved. “Okay, so I like him. Nothing will ever happen though.” I sighed.

  “Why not? Is it his age? He’s only twenty-four. That’s not so old. I mean, heck, my mama’s eight years younger than my daddy.”

  I shook my head.

  “Then what?” she prodded.

  “I don’t think he likes me the same way,” I lied. The problem was I was married. I couldn’t tell her that though.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Gideon is the strong silent type. The way he was all worked up last night was a dead giveaway that he cares a lot about you.”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Well, I happen to know he doesn’t have a date for the Gala,” she sang.

  “Really?” My heart danced a little jig.

  “Yep. You should ask him.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Sure you can. It’s easy.” She pulled Lola’s head down and said, “Gideon, will you go to the Gala with me?” Then she moved Lola’s head up and down. “See, it’s easy.”