Unbridled

by Fox Brison

  I lifted her but from the scream that tore out of Dani’s mouth like a bat out of hell, it was clear getting her onto Jolie would be a bigger challenge than climbing to the summit of Mount Everest. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it,” Dani admitted in a rasping gasp.

  “There’s no thinking about it, Dani, the house is too far and I can’t carry you.”

  She opened her mouth to speak again but instead she threw up and we slumped to the ground, me supporting her as she rested between my legs. I cradled her head in my lap.

  “I guess I lose the bet,” she said weakly.

  I almost laughed at that, but I kissed her briefly on her neck, a lover’s touch that conveyed an emotion deeper than attraction. There was care in my lips. “How about double or nothing? If you make it to the fence we’ll call it evens.” I helped Dani to the fence and sat her upright against one of the posts and then checked my phone. Again.

  And again no signal.

  I paced back and forth, holding it high in the sky before climbing onto the top bar further down. “Yes!” I yelled triumphantly. “Jack, Jack can you hear me… yes… the training ground… arm and leg… concussion maybe… see you soon.” I knelt beside Dani and smoothed over her frown. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have challenged you last night. You’re right you know best. Please, forgive me, please be alright.” I kissed her again. “Please I won’t leave you if you don’t leave me… deal?”

  Chapter 41

  Dani

  I forced myself to stay awake until I heard the familiar growl of a diesel engine. “Get her straight in the truck,” I could hear what was going on, but it was faint, and opening my eyes was definitely a bad idea as I felt bile rise and another wave of dizziness wash over me.

  “Oh Dani, Dani, my precious child,” my Mom crooned and I felt her touch, but it was like I was trapped inside my mind. Where was Haley? She must have left me. She promised she wouldn’t but they all leave in the end.

  “Aunt Nora, pack Dani a bag and you and Jen meet us at the hospital,” Jack was using his firm voice. He rarely used it, but I felt Mom’s hand move away from my knee.

  Before everything went black.

  When I regained consciousness I was in the back of the ranch truck moving steadily over uneven ground, my head pillowed on something soft, something familiar… something comforting.

  Haley.

  “Thank God,” she said again, and sweeping my bangs from my eyes, kissed my forehead. She held my hand and I felt a tremble in it that was unexpected.

  “We’re nearly at the hospital, you’re doing great, baby, everything is going to be okay, you’re going to be fine.” A tear fell on my lip and I licked it. I squeezed her hand to show her I’d heard her and understood. It was all I could do. Next thing I knew I was on a gurney in a brightly lit room.

  “Where am I? Haley?”

  “I’m right here, Dani, you’re in the hospital. Jack’s parking the truck and your Mom is following with Jen.” I tried to think, but my head felt like a rock and my brain wasn’t working too well.

  “Does she have any allergies?” The nurse asked Haley.

  “I don’t, I’m not…” she replied hesitantly. “The thing is-”

  “Pain… meds…” I ground out through gritted teeth. My back arched as another sharp stab ricocheted through my body.

  “We’ll get you something for that right away, Ms Robbins.” The nurse patted my shoulder.

  “No… just… pain meds…” I reiterated.

  “Right let’s get her to x-ray,” the nurse then put a needle in my arm. This time when I closed my eyes I heard no voices, no sounds.

  I was alone.

  ***

  “Hey, sweetie, you’re awake,” Haley whispered.

  I smiled goofily. “Is this Heaven? Am I an angel?”

  “No, you’re in hospital, remember?” she said reassuringly. “You’ve broken your arm.”

  “Really?” I couldn’t feel any pain. In fact, it felt like I was floating. “You’re so pretty.” I giggled and touched her face. There was something I needed to tell her, but I couldn’t remember what. “My arm feels heavy. Is it made of wood? Am I Pinocchio now? Listen.” I tapped my arm. “Come in,” I said looking at the door.

  “Oh for goodness sakes,” Haley laughed, “I think this is my fault. I didn’t know you had an allergy to opiates.”

  “I feel happy but also sad,” I whispered and a tear dropped down my cheek. I was sick of silver linings that were as tarnished as if they’d been underwater for centuries. “I don’t like silver linings, Haley, I like rainbows.”

  “Me too, Dani,” she kissed my hand, “me too.”

  It suddenly came to me what I wanted to say. “You’re so beautiful please don’t leave me. You’re the one.” I drifted back to sleep, dreaming of Jiminy Cricket and English roses.

  Yes, that’s right, I was as high as a kite and wasn’t coming back down from the clouds anytime soon.

  ***

  Two days later I was back at the ranch with everyone running around making a fuss. I refused to stay in hospital any longer and signed myself out against medical advice. Against medical advice? The last thing we needed was medical bills on top of everything else. Besides, I could lie in my bed staring at the ceiling and think ‘what the fuck do we do now?’ at home as well as I could in the hospital.

  I stared at my reflection. Christ I looked like I’d been in the ring with Rhonda Rousey. The left side of my face was bruised and my cheek was grazed. My arm was in traction, my right hip, although not broken, was incredibly sore. Maybe because of the humongous bruise covering it from my waist to just above my knee.

  I wasn’t Cinderella’s ugly sister, I was Frankenstein’s.

  Mom wanted me to stay at the main house, but after an hour of her flapping around I decided being back at the cabin would be better for both our sanities. Plus the cabin was on one level and I didn’t have as far to go if I wanted to use the bathroom.

  It would also give me and Haley a chance to talk, which was probably the biggest reason of all.

  “Haley, if this one gives you any trouble you come and get me and I’ll take over watching her for a while.”

  “Jack, you wouldn’t last two minutes, I’d eat you for breakfast,” I said snorting in derision. And to be fair I’d rather be eating Haley for breakfast, dinner and supper, but I didn’t say that out loud of course. I may have been bashed and bruised, but incredibly my libido was in full working order. “Now git and let me have some peace.” Jack left with a laugh and a wave.

  “You’re not going to give me any trouble are you. sweetheart,” Haley said defiantly daring me to argue with her. The raised single eyebrow and arms crossed in front of her chest was so damned hot I could barely think. I nodded like one of those silly dogs folks have in their cars. “Good. First thing, I’m taking you straight to bed.” I did a double eyebrow raise and she laughed. “To rest. Really, Dani? In your state?”

  Okay so she had a point.

  I was fit for nothing but sleep. And when we slept together? It was like two halves of a whole merging back into one.

  “How’s Jolie?” I asked as we snuggled down.

  “He’s fine. The cinch didn’t snap it came loose.”

  “I checked that darn thing twice,” I said but frowned. Did I? I’d saddled a million horses in my time. Was this a case of cowgirl complacency? “At least it happened now and not at the actual competition.” I waited for Haley to blow up, but she did no such thing, she merely sighed.

  “Dani, are we going to talk about what you said at the hospital?”

  “What I said?” I asked confused. “Sorry, Hales, I was so hopped up on drugs I might have said I would eat a bear with its hair on.”

  “Yeah, right. Oh. No worries.” She sounded upset, or disappointed, but hid it well with one of her laughs guaranteed to make my heart go pitter patter. “You actually thought you were Pinocchio.” But I knew that wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. />
  I just wished I could remember what it was. I had a feeling it was important.

  Chapter 42

  Haley

  Dani was sound asleep and I headed back to the main house where Nora had a plate made up for me in the kitchen. I was going to get majorly fit with all the walking to and fro I was doing. “Here, darlin’, you get some of that chilli into you. How’s the patient?”

  “Asleep.” Dani had moaned several times before dropping off and as she was clearly unable to take anything stronger than ibuprofen, she was going to be in for a bumpy ride. Not that she was going to be getting on a horse any time soon. “She’s insisting she rides in the rodeo.”

  There was stunned silence.

  “Will she be able?” Jen asked. Like me she may not have known much about barrel racing, but she knew enough to recognise it was a gruelling sport.

  “No she can’t,” Jack said, but he stared at his aunt. Then they all turned and looked at me.

  “I’ll talk to her,” I said and was practically blown outside by their heartfelt sighs of relief.

  ***

  “Hey, did you sleep alright?” I whispered and helped Dani sit up.

  “Not bad. Haley, could you get Jack for me?”

  “Jack?”

  “Yeah, I need to talk to him.” The fine sheen of sweat reappeared indicating the ibuprofen I’d given her had already worn off. “He needs to exercise Jolie for the next couple of days.”

  “I’ll tell him. You go back to sleep.” Thankfully she didn’t argue, because I’d come to a decision and had several phone calls to make. “Can I speak to Dawn Prentiss, please,” I kept my tone even. It was easier than I thought it would be because I was no longer angry with Dawn. I only hoped she’d forgiven me for making her an unsuspecting star of YouTube, otherwise this phone call might be a complete waste of time.

  “May I ask who’s calling?” The voice on the other end of the phone didn’t belong to Linda, Dawn’s assistant, it was male. I wondered why. For a second. Then I suddenly realised I didn’t give a rat’s arse about her life anymore.

  “Haley Jones.”

  “One moment please, I’ll see if she’s free to take your call.”

  I listened to Mozart for a few seconds before, “Haley, this is a surprise.”

  “How are you, Dawn?”

  “Fine. You?”

  “Good thanks.” This was possibly the most excruciatingly awkward and stilted conversation I’d ever had. There was silence. “So, Dawn. When we last talked we discussed restitution on the house.” I kept my tone business like.

  “Yes. I had it valued and it’s increased in price.” I had obviously caught her on the hop and she was wary. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you before I put it on the market.”

  “Do you want to sell?” I asked softly. I knew how much she loved the place, and had never felt vindictive enough to force her into getting rid of it.

  “I… Haley?” I heard hope and rushed to crush it. I felt bad but it was what it was. She had her second chance and she blew it.

  Big time.

  “It’s not what you think, Dawn, I need to raise some capital. If you don’t want to sell you could simply pay off my share.” There was a moment of silence and I wondered if we’d been disconnected. I snorted deprecatingly. That was the story of our relationship.

  When she finally spoke, she was regretful. “I can’t raise that sort of money, Hales, I wish I could. The house has gone up by twelve percent since we bought it, so we’d be talking about forty five thousand pounds.”

  That was some quick mental maths. She must have thought this through already. Good. It would make the negotiations easier. “I only want what I paid in, thirty eight thousand.”

  “I…” she hesitated. She wasn’t expecting that offer and I knew the exact reason why. If the roles were reversed she’d have taken me for every penny. “Do you have a number where I can reach you? I need to look at some figures before I can give you a definitive answer.”

  What she meant was she needed to ask Daddy for a loan. “Sure, you have my mobile number.”

  “Do you have the same one? Because I tried calling it and there was no answer.”

  Yeah, because I was ignoring you. “It’s the same one.”

  “Are you still at your Mum’s?” I heard the creak of her chair and imagined her leaning back in it readying herself for a chat.

  “No, I’m actually in the States.” I knew this would be a surprise to her. In the five years we were together, I refused to go anywhere that was longer than three hour flight away.

  “Jen managed to get you on a plane?” she asked with an incredulous chuckle.

  “Several glasses of champagne and business class got me on a plane,” I joked, “Jen merely gave me the ticket.” This was weird. This was how it used to be before it all went wrong. Light. Fun.

  “Haley, I’m genuinely sorry about everything,” Dawn said softly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

  “Me neither, Dawn.” I heard Dani moving in the bedroom. “Look, I’d better go. Can you let me know as soon as possible?”

  “Of course. Is Monday okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “Same time?”

  “Perfect.” We said our goodbyes and I sighed with relief because hopefully by Monday the ranch would be saved, Dani wouldn’t kill herself and I would no longer be tied to Dawn.

  Silver linings.

  Chapter 43

  Dani

  “She’s determined, I’ll give her that much,” Mom said to Jack and Jen as if I wasn’t there. Yeah I was determined. Couldn’t any of them see I had no choice?

  “Yes I am,” I repeated.

  “Excuse me,” Haley stood when her cell rang and headed out onto the porch. Jen’s eyes followed her with a frown.

  “What’s up?” I asked Jen, but her mind was definitely elsewhere, or rather, was concentrated on Haley through the window. The tune was familiar… “Wait, does Haley have Guns and Roses, Back off Bitch, as her ringtone?”

  “Yes…” Jen didn’t say anything else. I thought it an odd choice because it didn’t suit Haley at all, or at least not the Haley I knew.

  “Dani, barrel racing with a broken arm is completely stupid. There I said it.” Mom was like a dog with a bone. I was being torn between my conversation with my Mom and the laughing I heard through the kitchen window. Jen had no such qualms. She stood and went to the back door to eavesdrop, then crossed her arms and scowled.

  “Mom, enough,” I said. “I’m entering and that’s-”

  “You don’t have to,” Haley said when she came back inside. She sounded happy rather than worried.

  Why did every other member of this family have their head in the sand? Or had one of them won the state lottery and simply forgot to tell me? “Haley, we need another thirty thousand dollars to pay off this loan”

  “I have it,” she said simply. “Or I will have it by next week.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Does it matter?” Haley replied softly.

  “Yes because I told you already I will not take one red cent from that cheating whore,” I said coldly.

  “You’re an arse, Dani. Are you really so blind? Don’t you get it?” There were tears in Haley’s eyes as she turned away and left the house.

  “She’s right, you really are an ass,” Mom said.

  “I-”

  “Haley was owed that money and more besides,” Mom said angrily. “She’d been treated like shit on a shovel and was done with that woman. She wanted to make a clean break of it and this way everyone wins, including her. And you’re not the only one she did it for.”

  “No? I was the one about to risk my neck,” I answered scathingly. “I don’t see anyone else here that she wanted to save!” And that was the biggest issue. Haley was broken, a little, and I helped fix her. I didn’t want her to think I couldn’t provide for her, protect her.

  “And Jen’s her twin sister, dumbass.”

  Suddenly
I felt stupid and selfish. Mom was right. Again. Haley had me bang to rights. Pride did come before a fall – me falling on my knees and begging her for forgiveness.

  ***

  On the way back to the cabin I tried to find ways to justify my reaction, but I couldn’t. Jealousy was the cause of my despicable behaviour, that and a feeling of failure. When Jack dropped me off, I stood outside for a full ten minutes before I nervously went in. “I owe you an apology,” I said as soon as I set foot in the door.

  “No, you don’t,” Haley answered. “You owe me nothing, Dani.”

  “Except thirty thousand dollars. I want Jen to write up a proper loan agreement,” I said. I didn’t want her money, but the majority had spoken, or rather my Mom had spoken and her word was generally law around here. Anyway, I wasn’t about to become an ornery dictator like my Grandpa.

  “Agreed,” she said but there was a definite coldness to her tone.

  “Haley, are you having second thoughts about us?” I truly hoped not or this next week was going to be torture.

  “Second thoughts about a holiday fling? Of course not.” But her protestation didn’t ring true. And that phrase. Holiday fling. Is that what she thought of us after all we’d been through? No. She couldn’t, she couldn’t fake how she looked at me when she woke up, how she touched me when she’d walk by, in every shy smile she gave me and in every moan and gasp that escaped her pouty lips as we made love.

  None of that was faked; if it was she was in the wrong business.

  “Is that all this is?” I pushed. “Is that all I mean to you, a vacation romance? Will you go back to Brighton with fond memories to keep you warm and then maybe rekindle the flame next time you visit Jen and Jack?” I sounded quarrelsome because that’s how I felt, the emotions from the argument in the kitchen still lingering – like the smell from a month old trout. However, I knew that attitude would get us nowhere so I softened my tone. “Talk to me. We’ve been skirting around this issue and that’s partly on me because I couldn’t tell you how I felt until the ranch was sorted. So, Haley, here it is.” I took a deep breath. “I’m in love with you. I reckon I have been since we first met.”