Desperation showed in the mare’s eyes as she suddenly left the fence, crossed the ring, and launched herself in the air.
Luz could see she wouldn’t clear the fence, though, and watched helplessly as the mare and fence crashed to the ground.
Hermie lifted the whip again, but Aaron lunged forward, catching Hermie’s wrist and twisting it, then smashing his fist into the man’s nose. Hermie howled in pain and collapsed on the ground, blood streaming down over his lips and chin, and Aaron grabbed the whip and the chainsaw.
The mare thrashed around, drawing their attention. “Let’s get out,” Aaron suggested, and then said, “Do I hear sirens?”
The sheriff’s car turned into the drive just as they scrambled out through the opening in the fence the mare had made. Luz’s heart sank a little as she saw Ann’s truck right behind.
Behind them, the mare moaned, and Luz watched as she managed somehow to gain her footing, a piece of the fence sticking out from one shoulder. The sorrel took a tentative step, then stopped, clearly too hurt to move any longer.
Luz wanted to walk over to comfort her, but her legs turned liquid and she sagged to the ground, shaking. Immediately Aaron was on his knees by her side, an arm around one shoulder, his other hand brushing grit from her face, cupping her chin, and turning her head gently.
“Are you all right? Did he only hit you once?” The concern in his voice soothed and steadied her. Briefly, she reached out and ran her own hand over his cheek.
“I’m fine,” she murmured. “Thanks, Aaron.”
“Do we need an ambulance?” the sheriff pressed, leaning over them. “Told ’em to stay at the wreck just in case—”
“Luz needs—she’s bleeding,” Aaron told the officers as he clambered up and helped her to her feet. “That psycho hit her—”
“I’m fine.” Luz looked at her shoulder. Blood stained the strap of her tank top, but it was already drying; she couldn’t have been hurt badly.
“So what happened?”
Luz ignored the sheriff. “Help her, Ann,” she begged. “Please.”
“You and I need to have a little talk about stupidity,” the vet muttered, already walking towards the mare, talking gently.
In the ring, Hermie Clark staggered to his feet, retching, and then wiped his mouth with his forearm.
“These here are trespassers, Sheriff!” he shouted, limping toward the fence, the eyes still too bright, hate twisting his face. “They got no business here! They busted my fence! You gotta arrest them! They’re trespassin’!”
“Shut up, Clark!” The sheriff glanced at Luz’s shoulder as another car pulled up and the deputy hurried over.
“Book him. Animal cruelty. Read him his rights.”
“Nothing’s really going to happen, is it?” Luz demanded. “This would have been his third—”
“We’ll look into it,” the sheriff said, “but usually things like this don’t draw much time.”
He walked over to where Ann was still examining the mare, standing back a little when the horse threw her head up nervously.
“Don’t guess she much likes men right now,” he observed. “Don’t know what the hell drives people to torture critters—it’s like those poor dogs that have been showing up.”
“Did you find another one?” Luz asked, thinking that if he had, then she wasn’t being targeted after all.
The sheriff pushed his hat back and shifted his weight a little.
“No, ma’am—just the ones you and the doc called us about. But it’s just a crime. Doc, how is she?”
“Not good. She’d been starved—look at her. Guess he fed her just enough so that she could try to get away from him.” Her lips tightened, and anger burned in her cheeks.
“Ann, calm down.” Luz edged close, talking to the mare, working up to her head. She hadn’t been wearing a halter, and the vet had fashioned one out of the lead she always carried with her. Careful not to slip the loop off the horse’s nose, Luz placed a hand on the mare’s head and stroked her gently.
“I’m perfectly calm,” Ann spat. “Why did you tell Teri not to let me know? What kind of stupid idiot comes rushing out alone—” She stopped. “God, getting pregnant turned me into Ram,” she muttered. “I’m acting just like he did!”
“Because he loves you, and what Luz did is crazy!” Aaron retorted, and the mare rolled her eyes.
Two heads snapped in his direction. “Sssssht!”
“Sorry,” he apologized, and moved back a couple of steps.
“Doc, what’s gonna happen? Legally she’s still his, at least ’til we can get some charges filed and such.”
Ann looked at Luz. “She probably should be put down,” she said gently. “She’s malnourished, she’s all cut up—I don’t know if she’ll ever get over being afraid.”
“Try?”
“Luz—”
“We can put her in one of the stalls.” Luz ran a hand down the neck, coated with gritty residue from the sweat and the fall. “Look, I know it’s hard on you, but I’ll feed and watch her.”
“If she’s not better in a couple of days, she shouldn’t suffer anymore, Luz.”
“I absolutely agree.”
“You did pretty well for a city boy, Aaron,” Ann said, smiling a little. “Think you can do one more thing?”
“Such as?”
She pursed her lips, still debating, before asking, “Can you pull a trailer?”
He snorted. “Took a camping trailer across the Rockies. I think so.”
Luz raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that.”
He grinned wryly. “You don’t know a lot. Every time we plan on talking, something crazy interrupts us.”
Luz laughed, but she knew it was true. Chloe, Ross, Esme—and now a madman.
“I’ll drive Luz into the doctor,” Aaron went on. “Where’s this trailer you need?”
“You’re hurt?” Ann glared at Luz.
“Not really. He hit me with the whip, but only once. And I’m not bleeding anymore.”
“Damn. I need you here, but you should see a doctor, Luz. Let me see—maybe you need stitches.”
Luz shook her head, stepping away from the mare. “No! I am not taking off my clothes here in the middle of nowhere so a veterinarian can use a horse needle to sew me up!”
The sheriff looked uncomfortable. He mumbled that he’d talk to them later and headed back to the safety of his car.
“Luz, are you coming or not?”
“Aaron, I’ll pop into Dr. Villa’s office when I finish.”
“Look, if you don’t mind, Aaron, just go get my horse trailer—it’s parked behind the office. Take my truck.” She fished keys out and handed them to him.
“Be right back.”
“Good. The sooner the better.” She held her cell phone up. “Unlike you, however, I’ll tell Teri you’re coming.”
He waved dismissively and jogged off.
“You know, Luz—”
“Not now, Ann,” Luz interrupted curtly. “I don’t want to hear anything about Aaron Estes!”
“You’re going to tell me you aren’t glad he showed up?”
“No.” Luz wouldn’t go that far. “I’m grateful he showed up. He helped save the horse’s life—and who knows, if I’d fallen or something…” She took a deep breath. “I’m glad Aaron came,” she repeated. “But right now all I want is to close my eyes and pretend today never happened.”
Ann shrugged. “Fine with me.” She bent over her bag, extracting a needle and a vial of Ketamine. “Just don’t fall asleep before the meds kick in. Hold her!”
Luz tightened her grip, but the horse and she just stood head to head, too weary and heartsick to move.
• • •
By the time Aaron returned, the mare had been patched up. She stood quietly, still groggy, but seemingly unalarmed when Aaron walked up, remembering only at the last minute to slow his steps and speak softly.
“How are you, Luz?” he asked, ignoring Ann and t
he mare altogether.
“Ann’s the one you should worry about.” Luz sighed. She indicated a neatly stitched gash on the horse’s leg. “She bent over that for hours.”
“We haven’t been here for hours,” Ann retorted. She stretched and rubbed her belly absently. “I’m fine, and Aaron asked about you. Let’s see if we can load—” She stopped, suddenly alarmed. “Chloe—”
Luz flinched. Why hadn’t she remembered Chloe? She didn’t have a watch. She couldn’t tell how long they’d been here, either—everything seemed blurry.
“I called Mrs. Carter and Ms. Baker. They agreed that Ms. Baker could take her home. Chloe knew she was staying with Mrs. Baker tonight anyway, so she shouldn’t worry.” He smiled slightly. “They’re making triple chocolate brownies, whatever those are.”
Just the thought of his daughter chased all the weariness, the worry, from Aaron’s face. Love gleamed from the green eyes, and even the faintness of the smile didn’t disguise how Chloe was always with him.
The way Lily had once dominated her every thought, been her sunshine…
Luz stumbled a little. The bright sunshine disappeared, and she heard someone call her name from far off, a faint sound of alarm. Then nothing at all was left.
• • •
She came to as Aaron was buckling her into the SUV, and struggled momentarily against the restraint, disoriented. “What—Aaron, the mare, Clark—”
“The sheriff arrested him, remember? Calm down!” He peered at her closely, and then laid a hand gently against her cheek.
“You fainted, I guess. Shocked the hell out of Ann and me. Are you okay now?
She nodded, but didn’t answer, realizing suddenly that her mouth was dry and her shoulder hurt.
He shut the door carefully and hurried around to climb in, turning on the air conditioner.
She slumped against the seat, letting her head loll against the cushiony upholstery.
“What did Ann say?”
“That’s she glad this isn’t a scene from a novela, because anytime a woman faints in a novela she’s pregnant. Or dying,” he said dryly.
“Well, one of the two isn’t true in my case,” she mumbled, then realized what she’d said and jerked upright.
He shot a reassuring smile her way, but looked worried. “We’re going straight to Dr. Villa’s office,” he said. “Ann was worried about shock.”
“And the mare?”
“She said she’d settle her in and make sure everything was okay. She said she might call Ross Thurmond to watch over things until you got home.” His voice turned grim. “I told her not to bother, that I’d stay there tonight to help you.”
They pulled into the clinic’s parking lot, and Aaron checked his watch again. “We need to hurry. The doctor might want tests or something and then we’ll have to go into San Antonio.”
We were supposed to be there two hours from now, anyway. Can’t I catch a break?
They walked into the empty doctor’s office, and the receptionist stuck her head out the window. “Go right back,” she told Luz. “Dr. Villa and Betty are waiting.”
“You all knew I was coming?”
The receptionist arched her eyebrows, and then winked at Aaron. “This—”
“—is Rose Creek,” they all finished together.
Behind her, she heard the receptionist ask Aaron if he was sure he didn’t need help, and giggling at something he said. She hoped Aaron rushing to her rescue hadn’t made him even more interesting to everyone—the receptionist had a husband and three kids!
“You look awful,” Betty told her, holding a chart. “And you haven’t come in for…”
“Two years,” Luz answered curtly. “Because I was fine. I am fine!”
Betty pushed open an examining room. “Fine people don’t faint,” she scolded. “We heard what happened—that psychopath should be locked up before he hurts people. Well, worse than he hurt you.”
Luz gave up. She followed the nurse’s orders and changed into the gown Betty left, wobbling a little on the chair, realizing she felt drained. Across the room, she stared at a painting of an old cabin with a horse tied outside it.
Dr. Villa came in quickly, a petite woman with graying hair. Luz thought of the battle Dr. Villa had waged caring for her parents as their health slipped away and had to fight back tears. Again.
“The shoulder’s not too bad,” the doctor assured her in quick order, then dabbed it with a liquid. “Might sting,” she cautioned, seconds too late. “Doesn’t hurt that bad, though,” Dr. Villa complained as Luz hissed and jerked away violently. “I have two-year-olds come in who don’t behave like such babies!”
“It’s been a bad day,” Luz protested in her own defense. She hesitated, but decided to ask. “Doctor should I feel so—so nervous? So afraid that something else worse is going to happen?”
“Well, you saw that first horse Hermie Clark butchered. You knew he would have killed the other one, too, right? And you put yourself in a ridiculous situation trying to save it.” Dr. Villa’s frown showed her displeasure. “No animal is worth killing yourself over, young lady!”
Luz snorted, thinking of the doctor’s popular toy poodle. “Not even your silly little Tabú?”
“I would not jump into a corral to save my dog if I thought I’d be hurt, no.” She softened her tone, though. “Luz, you don’t look like you’ve been sleeping well, and your blood pressure went way up with everything that happened. I’m giving you a mild sedative.”
“No! I will not take—”
“You will. Look, I know the whole story about that little girl, Luz. The one they accused you of drugging. Your mom would talk about how unfair they were treating you over in Atlanta. Remember we had to deal with your insomnia and anxiety when you first moved back here. You’ve taken this same prescription. It’s one pill, for one night, and I want you to take it.”
“I have animals to feed. An injured horse…I can’t.”
The doctor handed her a prescription form. “You need to pick this up before the pharmacy closes. I’ll walk you out.”
“Doctor, that picture on your wall…where did it come from? Who painted it?”
Dr. Villa looked startled by the question, and stopped to peer at Luz again. When she apparently felt satisfied that Luz wasn’t delusional, she answered. “Ross Thurmond. Not my cup of tea—the other rooms have fields of wildflowers—but he gave it to me.” The stern features relaxed into a small smile. “He told me my dog and I were his best friends.”
The information seemed enormously important, but her head pounded dully, and her legs still trembled under her, so Luz just filed it away to think about some other time.
Aaron stood up as they came out, and Luz looked at the window.
“I gave the co-pay,” he said. “The receptionist needed to close the register.”
“She needs to get to the pharmacy and home,” Dr. Villa said, her tone authoritative. “She’s not driving, right?”
“No, I am.”
“Off with you,” the doctor ordered. “I’ll lock the door as you leave.”
Aaron took her arm. Luz wanted to draw away; she didn’t want him treating her like a girlfriend. Or a wife.
The thought brought her up short, but he gently slipped his arm around her shoulders and urged her through the door.
Behind her, the bolt clicked softly.
“My truck—”
“Was picked up already.” He helped her back into the SUV. “The deputy offered and got someone to follow him home. Just lean back and rest, Luz. You’re pale.”
She didn’t want to risk falling asleep, but holding her head up took too much effort. She made herself comfortable.
She woke up when Aaron stopped by the front porch and reached over to shake her gently. “We’re home.”
She didn’t open her eyes to look for a few precious seconds. She just sat there, eyelids pressed closed, letting the word reverberate in her heart. Home?
“Do you need h
elp getting out?” he prodded, but now he was on her side, holding the door open.
His words evaporated with their reality—they were just two messed-up people who couldn’t even manage a dinner date. Sighing, she slipped from the vehicle and followed him in.
• • •
She hadn’t really noticed Aaron’s disheveled state before, but the fogginess that had descended over her for much of the afternoon seemed to be clearing. He had blood on his shirt and one pants leg, a cut on his hand, and a bruise on one cheek.
He’d gotten them all rushing to her rescue.
She frowned. She hadn’t asked him to. But he’d been a lot more willing and a lot less judgmental than she might have expected.
He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“You’re all bloody. And dirty.”
“Not my usual look, I admit.” He glanced down at his shirt. “Not my blood, though.”
“I’m glad. I just wish it hadn’t happened at all.”
“Yeah.” He shoved his hand at his hair and stretched. “Seems we had a dinner date, but—”
Luz shook her head. “I couldn’t. I need to shower and change. And wash my clothes.” She looked down at her shirt, spotted with blood, too. Most of the blood on the shirt was hers—or the mare’s. A momentary flash of the previous horse, mortally wounded, made her suck in a deep breath. “I’m not up to dinner. If you’re hungry—”
“Not hungry, but I need to clean up too.” He sighed. “Guess I’ll head home.”
Home? Luz didn’t want him to leave. If he left, he would pick Chloe up and go to their home. Selfishly, she wasn’t ready to let go of him yet, even after the ordeal they’d gone through. Or was it because of it?
“You could shower here—nobody’d have to see you getting home like that.”
“Usually don’t see anyone—the neighbors make themselves scarce.”
“True.” Luz grinned wryly. “But you heard news of what happened already got out. I have a feeling folks might drop by to see you with all kinds of excuses.”
“Gotta love small towns,” he returned with more amusement than annoyance, she thought. “So…I can shower here. But what would I wear?”
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