by Claire Adams
The sweat was beading at her hairline, and her face was strained and colorless. I was most worried about the glassiness in her eyes. If she fell off the horse, we were in real trouble. I just needed her to stay with me long enough to get back to the ranch. Once I had her off of Buck, she could go limp for all I cared. I’d just carry her where she needed to go.
I started to tell her about some of the dumb shit Eric and I got in trouble doing when we were kids, starting all the way back in kindergarten. I’d met him on the first day of school, and the next week we were in trouble together, serious enough that our mothers had to be called in. We were fast friends after that, though Mama thought Eric was a bad influence.
I could see I was losing Hailey. She was fading fast in the saddle, but we were within view of my house and closing in on the barn. I led us to the corral, jumped down off Lettie, and ran to help Hailey off of Buck. She came falling into my arms in a heap, blinking and moaning at the pain in her hand. I stood her up long enough to put the horses in the corral where they’d be safe, and then scooped her up and ran her to the truck. Thankfully, my keys were jammed in my pocket.
I got her strapped into her seat belt and then ran around the front of the truck to climb into the driver’s side.
“I’m dizzy, Cash,” she said, her small voice wavering. She sounded confused, but not scared. I didn’t like the pale look of her skin or the way her hand was swelling up. I had to get her to the hospital before it was too late. I got the truck started and put my foot to the floor. We wouldn’t run into any other cars until we got to Jackson, but at this time of day, there wouldn’t be any traffic at all. From where we were, just turning onto the main road from the dirt path that led further onto my property and up to the house, we were at least 20 minutes from the hospital. I brought the truck up to 80 and kept it there, praying we wouldn’t run into any obstacles.
“Tell me about that trip you took to Japan, Hailey,” I said, just wanting to keep her from starting to hyperventilate again.
“I was in Kyoto,” she said, sounding dreamy, like she might float right out the window of the truck. “It was so beautiful.” Her voice was trailing off as her eyes closed on their own.
“What was so beautiful, Hailey?” I asked her in a loud voice that made her sit up slightly straighter in her seat. Her hand was ballooning up. Could she lose it? This was all my goddamned fault for chasing her out of the house in the first place over some dumb shit that I’d made up inside my own head. If anything more happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.
“The cherry blossoms. They smelled so sweet, and there were so many of them.” She sounded half-asleep. “I went to a Buddhist temple, with monks. It was beautiful.” She made a face. “I’m so dizzy. I can’t see straight.” She closed her eyes again. This time when I called her name, she didn’t open them. I reached out to shake her by the shoulder, which did absolutely nothing.
“Shit,” I muttered and cranked the speed up to 90.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hailey
The Next Evening
Opening my eyes seemed to take a great effort, like I was at the bottom of a very deep hole and swimming upwards, kicking my feet and fighting to reach the surface again. The light was so bright that I had to close my eyes again immediately and start by opening them just a crack at first. When I could finally stand the assault, I opened my eyes all the way, frowning at the unfamiliar surroundings.
It looked like I was in the hospital.
I was lying in bed, a white blanket pulled up to my chest, with a heart monitor beeping next to me and an IV in my arm, delivering clear fluids. What the hell happened?
I looked around for the button to call the nurse for some answers and saw Cash sitting in the corner, fast asleep. I had to smile at that, even as disoriented and groggy as I felt. And my hand left hand was killing me. It looked a little puffy and red. My fingers were stiff. I drew in a sharp breath when I tried to move them.
“Hailey?” Cash said, and I turned to look at him. Relief bloomed over his face, relaxing the tension hardening his features. His big green eyes took me in. They were so glassy, he looked ready to burst into tears.
“What happened?” I asked. “The last I remember we were riding horses.” My mouth was too dry. I needed something to drink, ideally a gallon of it.
“You were bitten by a rattlesnake,” he said. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it.”
I had some fuzzy memory of a snake, but it was hard to know what had happened, what I’d dreamed, and what I’d written about a place that looked very much like Ogden Ranch.
“You had a big dose of venom. The doctor was worried you’d fall into a coma, even after they gave you the antivenom. He said we’d need to see what happened today to know what to do next. I didn’t think you were going to wake up again.”
“You look terrible,” I said, and laughed, the sound of it grating to my own ears. “I just mean it looks like you were up all night worrying.”
He tried to smile, but his face was worn, the skin under his tired, bloodshot eyes dark from lack of sleep. He stood from the chair and took my right hand. “I’m fine now that you’re awake again. I realized while you were unconscious that I didn’t know the first thing about how to get in touch with your family.”
I gave him a tired smile. “Eric could’ve shown you how to find the contacts on my phone. All my family’s in there.”
“Good to know,” he said, his shaded eyes scanning my face, the worry overtaking his features again.
“How are we doing in here, folks?”
Cash let go of my hand and turned as a doctor strolled in, dressed in a white lab coat, my chart in one hand. He smiled as he set it down on the tray next to the wall.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Young?” He took me by the wrist and started examining my puffy hand. It looked like someone had pumped some air into it.
“Kind of out of it,” I replied,
“You went through quite an ordeal,” he said. “Straighten your fingers for me, please.”
I did, wincing at the tightness in them. “That really hurts.”
“That will subside in a few days. In the meantime, we can give you something for the pain. The fact that you’re awake right now is an excellent sign.” The doctor smiled at me perfunctorily before looking at Cash. “She’ll be just fine, sir. Rest easily.” He glanced my way again. “We’ll keep you here for another day or two for observation, but you should be good to go after that. Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head and then thought of one. “Can I please have some water?”
“I’ll send the nurse in with some.” He scooped up my chart and left the room.
Cash was standing next to my bed but refusing to look me in the eye when I glanced at him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, a little confused by his demeanor. He seemed more upset now than he had when I first woke up. “The doc said I was going to be fine. I should be out of here soon.”
“You almost died because of me, Hailey. I can’t forgive myself for that.”
I frowned, but it felt like my face was moving in slow motion. My thoughts seemed stuck in molasses. “What happened was an accident.”
He shook his stubborn head, his eyes flashing with anger that I knew he was inflicting on himself. “No. I know those trails. I should’ve been paying attention to what was going on around us.” He shook his head again. “Even better, I should’ve never spoken to you the way I did; then you wouldn’t have ridden off in the first place.”
“Don’t blame yourself for this,” I said, my words firm enough to draw his attention away from himself and what he might have done wrong. “It’s natural for people to fight. We love each other.” That brought a smile to my face and his too, though the worry was still apparent in his eyes. “We’re going to do more fighting in the future. It’s even natural for snakes to bite people. I don’t want that to happen again, but I don’t want you to blame yourself for it.”
“I’ve never come that close to death before. I can’t say I saw a white light, but I at least have another interesting chapter for my western story. One of the characters should definitely have a near death experience involving a snakebite.”
“You find the good in everything,” Cash said. “Even me.”
I reached for him with my good hand, though the IV was stuck in the back of it. I squeezed his warm fingers. “It’s not hard to find the good in you. It’s right there on the surface.”
He leaned to kiss me gently on the lips, like I might break if he pressed harder. Up close, his eyes looked very dark. It wasn’t as bright in here as it had seemed when I first woke up. The light was draining from the windows, and I guessed that night was falling.
“In light of this injury, I’d probably better extend my trip until the end of the year,” I said, and he gave me the crooked little half-smile I’d come to love so much. “Maybe even into January or February. Just to give myself enough time to properly recover. What do you think?”
His half-smile transformed into a full one, his emerald eyes sparkling with real pleasure. “I think that’s best. I wouldn’t want to impede your recovery.” He leaned to kiss me again, this time with a little more passion than the first time.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cash
A Week Later, Early October
Hailey had been set up on the living room couch during the day since returning from the hospital, wrapped in blankets, with her computer and notebooks within reach so she could do her work without needing to get up to do much besides shower and go to the bathroom. I stayed worried about her all day, running in and out in between taking care of my chores on the ranch, just checking on her, though she usually told me to get back to work and stop bothering her. She’d written thousands of words while recovering and seemed pleased with the progress, her story going strong despite her nearly losing her life. Her strength was returning to her, too. She’d had a follow-up appointment with a doctor in town who said she hadn’t suffered any permanent damage to her hand and that she was fine to return to her normal activity level as soon as she felt up to it, which meant I wouldn’t be able to keep her from running around outside much longer. She was itching to get in some more activity, she said, though she liked how I’d stopped bothering her about cleaning up after herself, even going so far as to joke with her that I wouldn’t say a word if she left her candy wrappers around the house. I didn’t say I wouldn’t clean them up myself, just that I wouldn’t harass her over them.
She got up to use the restroom, shaking me off when I tried to walk with her. She came back to the couch, wincing a little, and I flew to her side to assist her.
“I’m fine, Cash,” she said, pushing me gently away. She still didn’t use her left hand as much as she normally would, but it was much better. She snuggled back into her nest of blankets, smiling at me.
“I might not be one of the rough-and-tumble country girls you’re used to out here, but I’m a tough-as-nails New Yorker, so don’t you forget it.”
I had a good, long laugh at that. “You are one tough cowgirl, by any standards, East or West.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, but her eyes were shining with how pleased she was. She did a lot of that, smiling without smiling, her big blue eyes announcing whatever she was feeling loud and clear for anyone who was able to read them. I was proud to say that I was one of those people.
“You know, I’ve had a lot of time to think since I haven’t been allowed to go outside and do anything.” She tried giving me a hard look, but her mouth was twitching, and her eyes were still doing that smiley thing.
“I can’t very well trust you running around out there, now can I? Last time, you went and got yourself snakebit.”
She slapped me with the back of her good hand but was giggling too. “I’ve used this opportunity to really assess my life and what I want for myself. Meeting you has really changed me, Cash. Or maybe it’s just revealed the true me, making what I want and need clear to me for the first time ever. I’ve been spending my entire adult life traveling from one place to the next, trying to learn as much as I could so I’d be able to write a realistic story about the people who lived there. But, really, I think I was searching for something. I’ve never felt truly connected to any place I’ve lived, not even Manhattan. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy there, just that I wanted more.” She reached for my hands, and I let her take them, not squeezing her left hand at all to keep from hurting her. “I love you, Cash. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find what we have together, but I realize that this is what I’ve been searching for, why I felt it so necessary to keep traveling to new places, always pushing for something completely different than what I’d seen before.”
I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I felt strongly for her as well, as she knew, but maybe I should tell her exactly what I was feeling since she was opening up to me in a way she hadn’t before. But I didn’t get the chance before she continued, her blue eyes widening so I wanted to fall into them like I would crystal clear, cool water at the end of a long, hot day of work.
“I feel an internal stillness that I didn’t have before. And I think it’s because I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be in life.” A smile spread across her face, casting out some of the seriousness of the last few moments. “I’m as shocked as anyone to see that that place seems to be in rural Wyoming.”
I smiled, not taking the least bit of offense. I loved this state and this ranch. I could never picture myself happy anywhere else. Not because I didn’t know about other places, but because this was just so perfect, I couldn’t imagine another place that could top it.
“I can’t describe what I feel about this little corner of the world,” I said. “I was born and raised here. I ain’t done the traveling you have, but I’ve read about other cities and countries my whole life, so much that it seems like I’ve gone a thousand places without needing to leave my house. I never felt like I needed to go elsewhere. It always felt right to stay here, even when people I knew left town and never returned.” I squeezed the fingers on her right hand as I gave her a shy smile. “Maybe I was here waiting for the girl of my dreams to arrive.”
“Could be,” she said, her smile as bright as the sun that had just set outside. “I’ve fallen hard for you, Cash Ogden. Don’t break my heart.”
I touched her face gently with the tips of my fingers. She was so soft to the touch, but hard as nails underneath. That was what I loved best about her. You couldn’t keep the girl down for a moment.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. But you can’t go breaking mine, neither.”
She smiled, scrunching up her nose, and leaned to kiss me, lightly at first, and then more passionately.
I pulled away before I let myself get too excited. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her—we hadn’t rolled in the hay since before I went to my uncle’s funeral—but I wasn’t about to overexert her now that she was just starting to get back to normal.
“Don’t you think you should take it easy?” I asked.
She lifted her eyebrows, her eyes hot as the feelings stirring between my legs where I was already getting hard from just that little kiss.
“The doctor said I was back to normal,” she reminded me. She’d brought that up every time I told her to take it easy. She all but leaped on me this time, tugging my shirt off one-handed and then taking off her own. My eyes widened. She wasn’t wearing a bra. This time when she kissed me, I didn’t pull back. I let it happen, loving how sweet she tasted and how hard I was getting at the feel of her hot, needy mouth.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Hailey
The Same Night
Getting our shirts off seemed to be the key to unlocking Cash’s animal instincts. And it helped that I wasn’t wearing a bra. It had been too long since we’d been together and I didn’t plan to wait a
nother minute longer.
Neither did Cash. Now that I’d turned him on, I didn’t need to do much more to get him going. He picked me up in his strong arms and carried me to the bedroom, setting me onto the bed, where I tugged off my shorts. He pulled his jeans open and stepped out of them. I wriggled across the bed and turned around, showing my ass to him as I rose up on my elbows. He made an appreciative noise at the sight. I didn’t want a lot of kissing tonight. We had the rest of our lives for that — I honestly believed that — tonight I just wanted him to bury himself as hard and deep into me as he could, going so fast I could hardly breathe. I was soaking wet just thinking about it.
He climbed on top of me, his hard cock probing between my lips and tasting the juicy wetness there, how ready I was for him.
“You really want it tonight, don’t you?” he whispered, his hot breath tickling my neck.
“I want it hard and deep,” I gasped, so excited already just at the thought of him inside me.
He made an erotic sound deep in his throat that caused me to lift my ass and open my legs even further to him. I felt his fingers running over my clit, feeling that wet heat, teasing me by probing inside me only to come right back out again.
“I want you,” I moaned. “Don’t make me wait.”
He ran the head of his cock between my quivering lips this time, stoking the flame inside me, my need for him, the itch just beyond where he was toying with the wetness between my legs that only he could scratch. My entire body was so hungry for him. It felt like it had been forever since he’d been inside me. I was desperate for that connection, to feel our sweat-slick bodies straining against each other.
He thrust inside of me suddenly, and I gasped, the breath expelled from my lungs by the pressure of his cock entering my hungry sex. I swallowed him whole, moaning loudly as his rhythmic thrusts began. I pushed against him, arching my back so my ass lifted. He grunted as he pushed inside me, spreading my legs wider.