“I’d better escort you in.” He softly traced her cheek. “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.”
Chapter 11
JoJo peeled off the shoulder-length vinyl gloves and gave the cow a pat on the rump. The problem pregnancy had resulted in healthy twin Charolais calves, and the mom should recover nicely.
Kyle Hanson shoved his hands in his back pockets and watched the calves nurse for a few moments, then turned to her. “You done for the day?”
“So far as I know.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. Six-thirty, and no messages. Hot diggity. “I’m getting off early.”
“Gettin’ off early on a Friday night. Not too bad. Want to go to the dance?”
He’d been asking her out for ages. With his boyish smile, blond hair, and smattering of freckles, not many girls would turn him down, but she didn’t hesitate to shake her head.
“I’ve been up since four-thirty. All I’ve got in mind is a long bath and a good book. With any luck, I’ll be asleep by eight.”
He flashed her his famous smile. “Someday you’re going to say yes.”
She laughed and dug in her jeans pocket for her keys. “Sure. As soon as I can afford to hire a couple of helpers and an accountant and work normal hours.”
He walked her to her pickup. “You know what they say about all work.”
“Yes.” She climbed in and put the key in the ignition. “All work and no sleep will make JoJo unemployed.”
She cranked up and tossed a wave out the window as she followed the truck ruts back to the gate. At the blacktop, she turned left and headed home. Fortunately, Kyle’s family ranch wasn’t too far from her own little farmhouse.
She stopped at the mailbox before turning into her drive. Tyke and Balsa dashed off the front porch and barked their greetings, bouncing at her truck door. She squeezed out of the pickup and succumbed to the sloppy kisses of her two mutts — one a poodle/beagle/jack-russell-looking thing with floppy ears and a curly beagle-colored coat, and the other some kind of mountain breed mixed with a touch of spaniel and colored like a German shepherd. Loyal, loveable companions who guarded her and her home. She roughhoused with them for a few minutes, then walked around to the back porch and grabbed some carrots from a bin.
Bray and Susie were waiting for her at the pasture gate. The moment Bray saw her, he hee-hawed and bobbed his head. Susie nudged his neck as if telling him to settle down, and he nipped at her. The two donkeys were inseparable, but all bets were off when it came to carrots.
“You two are crazy, you know that?” She handed them each a treat, then scratched their ears and necks.
A small airplane flew overhead, its wings glinting in the evening sun. She shaded her eyes and watched until it flew out of sight, a tiny speck on the peaches-and-cream horizon. She’d been home for three weeks, but still the sight of a plane made her wistful even as it pumped her adrenaline.
Her flight home had been far different from the one to San Antonio. Excitement rather than fear had tightened her nerves, but melancholy had laden her heart. She’d probably never get to fly again. Never see Mitch again.
That pained her far more than a week-long relationship should have. She missed him. The more she thought about him — and she thought of him often — the more she realized what a treasure he was. Who else would have taken so much time to try to ease her mind about flying? To explore her fears with her? To take her fishing?
Skydiving had been great, invigorating. And she’d kept her promise about doing it. Keeping her word still felt important to her, but the girls had been right. She should’ve let herself dive into a relationship with Mitch. Should’ve waited to see what would happen. Anything was better than this emptiness she felt without him.
But it was too late now. She’d shut down any chance for love before it could start. What choice did she have? Her lifestyle, the distance between them, didn’t allow for any kind of relationship to develop. Best to sever ties before they became too tight. She’d done the right thing.
She gave Bray’s muzzle a final rub, then turned toward the animal hospital, such as it was. So much equipment was needed before it could be a true clinic, but she had the basics. At least enough to house a couple of colicky horses. She stepped into the coolness of the horse barn—her hospital—and cooed at Adrian, a seven-year-old quarter horse with milk-chocolate eyes that seemed a bit brighter today. Just as she reached for the stall gate, the dogs darted away in a barking frenzy. She followed them out. Someone must’ve pulled into the drive. Heaven help her if her mutts clambered all over a client like they did her.
But instead of rushing to the driveway, the dogs charged toward a figure in the pasture.
She caught her breath and gaped at him.
Mitch released his harness from the chute and strolled over to her. “You’re a hard lady to find.”
It took her a moment to kick her brain into gear. Then finally, “How did you find me?”
She’d never given him so much as her phone number, much less directions to her home.
“It took some sleuthing. Chad gave me a peek at your sign-up info, then I had to find your address on the internet maps and then check the flight charts.” He dumped the chute and stepped closer to her. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I was in Brazil for a couple of weeks, then Chad couldn’t get off to fly me out here. I could’ve taken the Cub, but then I wouldn’t have had this dramatic moment of falling from the sky to see you.”
She couldn’t wrap her mind around what was happening. Mitch stood in her pasture, still in his jumpsuit, grinning like a kid with a secret — and she’d just been thinking of him.
He tilted his head. “Say something.”
“I—” she paused, trying to formulate a coherent sentence. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“Yeah, about that. You’re overruled. I can’t handle the idea of never seeing you again.” He closed the distance between them and slipped his arms around her waist. “Look, I travel a lot. My job takes me all over the world, but my home base can be anywhere God puts me. Even here in Hereford, if you want me.”
Her heart leapt. “Yes, I do. I want you. I want to be able to see you on a regular basis.” She caressed the stubbled cheek of the man God had brought into her life. “There’s a farmhouse for rent up the road. We don’t get delivery out here, but come see me anytime. I make a killer pizza.”
“Sounds like a deal. I know I’ll love my neighbor.” He studied her eyes, her lips, making her breath catch and her heart pound. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”
He pulled her closer, held her tighter — then something jabbed her ribs.
She stepped back. “What is that?”
“Oh, I forgot.” He pulled a side zipper and extracted a rectangular box from his jump suit. “Thought you might like this.”
The plain brown box was about a foot long and six inches high. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
She slid a nail through the tape and opened the top. Inside, nestled in Styrofoam, a Mexican ceramic colt glanced up at her — blue head, olive green ears, rust-colored mane, red legs, and vivid blue flowers on his sides.
“I thought he’d like a home in Hereford.”
“And what about you?” She searched his eyes. “Will you be happy here?”
He returned to his place in her arms. “That depends on you. Ready to jump?”
She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and murmured, “Hitch me to your harness. I’m ready.”
The End
Love Comes on a Dare
Skydiving to Love was originally part of an interlocking four-novella collection, known as The Bucket List Dare. Each of the friends mentioned have their own stories to tell …
The four best friends — each facing their thirtieth birthday — challenge each other to revisit the bucket list they made in college and tackle one daring item before they turn thirty. Living in different parts of the country, they choose thei
r adventure and work toward making it happen … with wonderful, unexpected results.
Her Impossible Dream, by Angela Breidenbach: Arabel Milligan, recently unemployed and with a new genealogical certification to her name, takes off for Scotland to discover the answer to a mysterious missing branch in her ancestral tree.
Save the Groom, by Jessica Ferguson: Annie Flowers, a wedding photographer whose reputation is her pride and her job is her life, crashes the most extravagant wedding in the country.
What Lies Ahead, by Pamela S. Meyers: Kat Brownlee, an army veteran and amputee, has always dreamed of climbing the most challenging mountain she could find. Now that her life and body have been drastically altered — does she dare?
Skydiving to Love, by Linda W. Yezak: JoJo Merritt is a country veterinarian who has never jumped out of anything higher than a hayloft much less an airplane. How did that get on her bucket list?
These young professionals went out in search of adventure, but they also found love.
Each novella will release in 2018.
About the Author
Linda W. Yezak lives with her amazing husband and pudgy cat PB in a forest in east Texas, a God-kissed place of tall tales and shameless exaggeration. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, cooking, or cross-stitching baby blankets for each of her new grandkids. Her favorite activities are fishing, attending sporting events, and hanging out with friends and family.
More than anything, Linda loves to write. Her first novel, Give the Lady a Ride, won the 2011 Grace Award for Romance and was a finalist for American Christian Fiction Writer’s Carol Award. Its sequel, The Final Ride won the Texas Association of Authors’ Best in Fiction Award for Christian Fiction. Her first short story, “Slider,” received an honorable mention in Saturday Evening Post’s 2015 “Great American Fiction Contest.”
Special Thanks
To Katie Weiland and Cathilyn Dyck, whose eagle eyes catch a multitude of errors.
To Lynnette Bonner, who works magic and creates amazing book covers.
To Jessica Ferguson, who provided the idea of these daredevil women and their bucket lists.
And to my Heavenly Father for bringing all these wonderful people into my life.
Books by Linda W. Yezak
The Circle Bar Ranch Series:
Give the Lady a Ride
The Final Ride
Coming soon: Ride to the Altar
Stand-Alone Fiction
The Cat Lady’s Secret
The Simulacrum
(with Brad Seggie)
Nonfiction:
Writing in Obedience
(with Terry Burns)
Special note from the author
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