by Lynn Galli
“Hmm, that would be annoying,” she mimicked my lighthearted tone.
“Ever had anything like that happen to you?”
“Can’t say that I have.” She studied me with an amused expression. “I must admit I was a little surprised to meet him.”
Surprised? Was the idea of me in a relationship so surprising even to an acquaintance? “Why?” Raven took time to choose her words carefully. She looked back at the dogs who’d made fast friends with the horses, snoozing at their hooves. “I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I heard something about a dark supply room a few weeks back.”
I coughed in surprise. Kelly hadn’t seemed like she wanted to tell her boss about that. “Oh really, you heard about my abduction, did you?”
“Sure did, and by the way you reacted so nonchalantly, I wouldn’t have guessed that you had a boyfriend.”
“Oh?” Now, I was really curious.
“Not that I like blanket statements,” she chanced a look at me before continuing, “but most straight women don’t handle being kissed by another woman with such a ‘no biggie’ attitude.”
“She told you a lot,” I said with cautious amusement.
“Did Ms. Supply Room Kissy Face spill that she thought I was someone named Raven?”
She sat up straight, eyes widening again. “Actually, Ray was the one who told me about it.” She tilted her head toward me with a piercing look. “Is that why you brought up the no fraternization policy? You thought I was having an affair with my assistant?”
“How many Ravens do you know? And what’s the likelihood that two of them work in the same company?”
“You honestly thought I would be that stupid?” Her tone sounded incredulous. Not disbelief that I might have thought that, more like astonishment at the idea of entering into a relationship with her subordinate. Like it was the most absurd notion she’d ever heard.
“Stupid is a little harsh, and I didn’t want to believe it.” I tried not to sound defensive. “You can’t help who you fall in love with, right?”
“No, I guess you can’t,” she agreed so easily I thought she’d moved past my misperception about her. Her mouth slid into a wicked grin as she kidded, “Might explain you and Chase.”
I was so shocked by her instant camaraderie that I blurted, “I wasn’t in love with Chase.”
“Really?” Her shock didn’t contain itself to her tone of voice. Wide eyes, raised brow, and intent lean accompanied her surprised retort. “He’s talking about marriage and you’re not even in love with him? Either he’s clueless or you’re a damn good actor.”
“Now, that’s a personal question,” I kidded to cover my embarrassment at admitting something so private.
She smiled at my attempt to move off the subject.
“You’re right. We should start back anyway.”
“Sure, and it’s a nice way to dodge any personal questions aimed at you.” I stood to help her gather up the blanket and start packing up the saddle bags.
She laughed and slid a smirk my way. “Ask away.”
“Ahh, umm…” Her easy response was so unexpected I couldn’t formulate a more original question. “No one special in your life that I can tease you about?” A spark flashed in her eyes when she turned toward me.
It made me abandon the task of fastening the saddlebag. She stepped closer to finish the job for me. “Not in a while.” The statement, issued at a lower than normal register, kicked my heartbeat into a higher gear. Could I really be thrilled that she wasn’t dating anyone? Thrilled may be too strong a word, but I was definitely gladdened by her response. Maybe I realized that, since we were both single, days like this could be repeated more often than if she was in a relationship. Yeah, that sounded right.
Chapter 10
The descent down the backside of the hill helped refocus my attention away from rare feelings of close friendship to our beautiful surroundings. When we reached the foot of the slope, we rode along the creek for a while, slipping back into silence. Raccoons, squirrels, more deer, and a beaver dam kept my mind occupied so I wouldn’t have to contemplate the confusing emotions tangling up my thoughts.
Just before the trail turned inward away from the creek, Raven halted Fate and stepped down from her saddle.
“They usually take a drink here.”
“All right.” I dismounted beside her and led Calamity over to the creek.
We watched the dogs splash through the brook as the horses leaned their long necks to taste the water. Raven stretched toward the sun, providing a glimpse of her flat stomach beneath the now hiked up tank top. I found the sight riveting and confounding all at once.
“Is all this land yours?” I turned back toward the horses because I couldn’t handle the thoughts my brain was entertaining.
“I’ve got ten acres. We’re on my neighbor’s land right now. He’s got another ten acres and the one over there,” she pointed to the left, “has five. We all ride horses and agreed to allow each other access to the natural trail that runs up the hill on my property, down the hill on his property and across this creek over to the other neighbor’s. None of the overlapping trail runs near our houses, so it’s nice and private. Although, I have bumped into them both on the trail before.”
“Guess we were lucky to have it to ourselves today.” I silently thanked both neighbors for staying off their horses for the day.
Calamity declared her thirst quenched with a quiet whinny. I moved her back from the creek and stepped one foot into the stirrup. A movement caught my eye, and I saw the snake as it shot toward us from the tall grass. My leg was mid swing over the saddle when Calamity reared at the advancing snake, and I found myself falling back to the ground. The fall seemed to take forever. I had plenty of time to hope I didn’t land on my dogs and to realize this was going to hurt. What made the fall interminable was the panic that Raven might be bucked off as well. I managed to slip my foot out of the stirrup to try to break my fall. A stab of pain shot through my foot into my ankle when my weight joined in, and I hit the ground with a thud. My head felt like it dribbled several times against the ground as the air rushed from my lungs.
I’d heard the start of Raven’s shout when my foot touched down, but my head bounce dimmed all other sound. Having my wind knocked out stunned me enough that I didn’t immediately register any other pain. Raven’s face loomed over me, her eyes frightened and her lips moving, but I couldn’t make out the words. When I felt her fingers press against my forehead, my hearing started to become clearer. “…kay? Oh God! Joslyn?” She gently touched the planes of my face. “Don’t move. Please, God, please be okay.”
“Snake,” I rasped when my wind came back. “Look out.”
“Shh, Jos, honey, it’s okay. It took off when Calamity reared.” Her face showed only a hint of relief that I’d responded to her.
“Is she okay? Fate and the dogs?”
An anxious breath leapt from her mouth as she dropped her forehead to where it touched my shoulder. “They’re fine. I can’t believe you get bucked and you’re worried about the horses and dogs.” When she swung her head back up, her eyes looked shiny like she was fighting tears.
“Are you okay?” Why would she be crying? And did she call me “honey” before? Maybe I really was hurt.
She blinked several times. “You’re the one that’s flat on your back. Are you hurt?”
Panic assuaged, I took stock of my faculties. My head hurt, my back ached, my butt was sore, and my ankle felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing it with a hot poker.
“Ugh.”
She let go of a nervous laugh. “Ugh? I take it that’s a yes. Please tell me you can move your hands and feet?”
“My neck’s fine.” I eliminated the fear of paralysis.
“Everything else, not so much.” I kept my tone light and moved to get up.
She reached out to pin me to the ground. “Jos, wait! You could have broken something.” Her hands moved down to check my ribcage, tenderly probing
along my torso.
“Ribs are good. Nothing’s broken, but I think I twisted my ankle. I’ll know when I try to put weight on it.”
“But you hit your head.”
“Are you saying I’m loopy?” I kidded, making another move to sit up. This time her hands slid around my back and easily pulled me up. The throbbing that was in my ankle spread quickly to my head. “Whoa!”
“Oh God, you’ve probably got a concussion. I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have brought us all the way out here.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her and my dizziness. “Raven, stop. I’m fine. Now, if you’ll just stop wavering, I can stand up.”
“You’re joking. You’re hurt, you’ve been thrown from a horse, and you’re joking?” The concern in her eyes turned to disbelief.
“You’re not the only twisted one.” I sucked in several breaths through my nose and out my mouth to regain some equilibrium. When I could twist my head back and forth without any dizziness, I told her, “Okay, up and at ’em.” Raven stood and reached down to help me up. The strength of her arms made me think she probably could have picked me up and set me on my feet without any help from me. I let her haul me up and stood clasping her forearms as I attempted to step down on my hurt ankle. Ow!
Yep, sprained for sure.
“Jos!” she shrieked when I winced and pulled back the weight from that foot. Her arms came around to steady me and hold some of my weight. I felt the dizziness return. If I’d been able to think clearly, I might have realized that some of the dizziness wasn’t only from the pounding in my head.
“Ankle’s twisted, too.” I reported, laughing at my own joke. Now, I was getting downright silly.
Warm breath swept across the base of my throat as she bent to examine my ankle. My head fell back on its own, the dizziness making me feel weightless. “You’re not okay. I’m so sorry. Calamity is usually so gentle. I’ve never seen her rear up before.”
“It wasn’t her fault. Snakes wig me out, too.” Raven’s relief came in the form of breathy laughter, but two tears escaped her eyes. Without thinking, I reached up and brushed the tears from her face, saddened that she felt responsibility for a freak accident. She watched my fingers leave her face before her eyes snapped back to mine. The emotion in them was so raw it stole my breath. She stepped back, moving her hands from my waist to my arms to keep me steady.
“Here’s what we’ll do.” Her voice cracked when she spoke until she cleared her throat. “As soon as you feel up to it, we’ll get you into the saddle, and I’ll ride with you. Calamity and the dogs can follow us.”
“I’m sure I can ride, Raven.” I knew it sounded like I was trying to convince myself, but only because I was.
Her brown eyes, so like fine whiskey, stared sternly at me. “Humor me, Joslyn.”
The process of loading me into the saddle convinced me that I wouldn’t be able to keep my balance right away. I was glad when she eased onto Fate behind me. Her arms shot forward on either side of me, keeping me poised in the saddle as she grabbed the reins and got our convoy moving.
Fate’s first step brought my back against Raven. I tried to move forward, but that spinning thing happened again.
All I could do was close my eyes and let her act as my backrest. She didn’t seem to mind, her sinewy body strong in her seat, arms resting against mine. Every so often I had to close my eyes to block out a falling sensation and fight to refocus my vision. Clearly, I was a little worse off than I thought. After a long trek, my ankle swelled painfully which kept me from succumbing to the drowsiness I felt.
“Hey, stay with me,” Raven ordered softly into my ear.
I’d slumped against her left arm and rocked back into my seat after she spoke. “Good, we’re almost there.” On cue, Fate broke through the last of the evergreen trees and her house came into view. My dogs tore ahead, racing each other to the truck. When we made it to the barn, Raven dropped Calamity’s lead and slid off Fate. She walked around to help me dismount the wrong side of the horse because it would be easier with my injured ankle.
“Perfect.” She kept a steadying hand on me. “Let me tie the horses up, and we’ll get you inside.”
“We’ve got to get the saddles off and rub them down,” the obsessive compulsive in me spoke up.
“I’ll do that once I get you settled with an ice pack on my couch.” She held up her free hand to stop any reply.
“You’re hobbled, Jos. Don’t argue ‘cause you won’t win.” I laughed and felt her arm slip around my waist as we limped toward her place. Once we reached the door, I snapped my fingers and the dogs dropped into a squat.
“They can come inside,” Raven said.
“They’re fine on your porch.” We moved through the door awkwardly, but soon, she had me sitting on her leather couch in a sprawling living room.
“Don’t move.” She dashed up the two steps into the kitchen and banged around her freezer for an ice pack and a towel.
Pulling a pillow off the easy chair next to the couch, she set it beside her thigh when she returned. She gingerly grasped my calf to bring my leg up. I tried to stop the motion, not wanting to put my boot on her couch, but one stern look from her told me I wouldn’t win that argument either.
“Oh good, they’re ropers.” She noticed the laces on my boots. Perching my boot on her thigh, she began untying the laces. With more tenderness than was necessary, she pulled off my boot and sock so we could look at my ankle for the first time. “That’s an attractive shade of blue you have going there, Jos.”
“Goes with my eyes.”
Hers snapped up to study mine intently. “For a second there, you made me doubt my observation skills.” Mine were technically hazel but rather than shifting between blues and greens like most hazels, they moved from grey to amber depending on what I wore. With my red shirt, I guessed they were more amber today than grey.
“How’s it look, doc?”
“Like we should get you to a hospital for an x-ray.”
“No way. I’ve sprained these ankles enough to know that nothing’s broken. Some ice, some rest, I’ll be good to go.”
She tested my resolve with a long agonizing stare. “Fine, for now.” She moved her knees and put the pillow directly under my ankle before draping a towel and ice pack over it.
“You’re taking some Ibuprofen for those aches and going to rest here until I’m sure you don’t have a concussion. I’ll go get the horses put away.”
When she returned with a glass of water and two tablets, I downed both, feeling much better now that I wasn’t moving. “Thanks, Raven. I appreciate your help.” Three fingertips brushed against my temple and onto my cheek before she spoke. “You’re welcome, Joslyn. Thank you for being concerned about the horse that bucked you off. You’re an amazing person.”
Before I could respond, she stood quickly and darted out of the room. I heard the screen door slam shut and measured the thumping in my head against the curious pounding of my heart.
Chapter 11
“That’s my girl!” Trinity declared after watching the Storm’s power forward, in her classic spin and shoot move, hit the winning jumper to bring the team to six and one for the season.
“She’s my girl,” Stuart, my usual Storm buddy, asserted forcefully. He and Trinity operated under the delusion that each could win the affection of the famous and highly skilled forward. In fact, Stuart referred to her as his girlfriend, much to the dismay of Trinity and, well, the object of his affection if she ever found out.
“Don’t start, Stu. I will fight you for her.” Trinity, who stood an inch taller than me at five-five, rose off the couch to threaten the towering figure of my buddy. Stuart had a center’s body, tall and muscular, yet his teddy bear attitude made him raise his hands in defeat.
Kayla and I watched with wide smiles from our seats.
They got into this argument during every televised away game. I hosted the away game broadcasts because Trinity and Kayla didn’t have a tel
evision and Stuart’s place was a pit. For today’s game, I’d suffered the teasing from my friends as I hobbled to the door to greet them. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they continued to razz me for not making my usual game snacks. After they’d pretend fed me grapes and fanned me as I reclined on the sofa with my foot elevated, they’d concentrated on the game.
The phone rang, interrupting Trinity and Stuart’s face off for their favorite player’s honor. Stuart trotted over and scooped up the receiver. “J’s Leather Kitty Strip-o-grams, you’ve got a quip, we’ve got a whip.”
“Stu!” I shouted, horrified by his greeting. Trinity and Kayla howled with laughter, drowning out most of what he was saying.
“She’s here, playing the victim with Oscar potential. Hold on.” Stuart sneered playfully at me as he handed over the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Joslyn, it’s Raven.” My heart sped up and heat spread to my face at the embarrassment I felt over my accident yesterday. The replay of the events had wandered uninvited through my mind all day. I felt stupid enough for falling off the horse, but downright idiotic for needing Raven to keep me steady on the ride back. Oh, and mortified by my willingness to let her care for me. To top off the humiliating day, she’d had to drive me home because I couldn’t work the truck’s clutch with my injured ankle.
“Jos?” Worry came through the line.
“Yes, hi. How are you?”
A mirthful huff sounded over the line. “I was calling to find out the same from you. How’s your ankle?”
“Better, thanks, and thanks again for all your help yesterday.”
“You’re welcome. I was just on my way out with my niece, and I thought we’d bring your truck back to you?” The truck. With all those other embarrassing thoughts, I’d forgotten that we’d needed to use it because of my dogs, and she’d taken it back to her place after dropping us off.
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’ve got some friends over; we could come pick it up.”