Page 65 of Quiver

Fletcher shrugged. “I won’t rule it out, but I won’t hold my breath, either.”

“A sensible, middle-of-the-road approach. I guess you’re not trying to surprise me, then?”

Fletcher swung into the saddle and looked down at her for a second before shrugging. “You’re the one always trying to up the ante.”

“You used to like that about me.”

“And you used to like me staying steady.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not a terrible quality, but what about all those people in there waiting to see a little flash and sizzle? Are you going to shoot the qabaq for them?”

Fletcher arched an eyebrow. “For them or for you?”

“Can’t it be both?”

“Come on out and we’ll see.” Fletcher nudged Gabrielle into a trot, and Kylie followed, pausing in the doorway to watch her take a lap. Everyone else did the same, and she held them all captive as she shifted Gabrielle into a canter, scooping up her own bow from the end of a table loaded with them. Head still and hands calm, she dropped the reins and pulled an arrow from her quiver, then nocked it. Picking up speed, she signaled for quiet, and Kylie took her cue.

“No one applaud,” she called to the others. “Gabrielle doesn’t like it.”

When Fletcher came around again, she aligned herself right down the middle of the arena and pointed her arrow upward. Gabrielle loped gently toward dead center as Fletcher drew the bow, waiting until she passed underneath, but before she reached her target, a clatter sounded behind them as one of the other bows fell from the table and rattled onto the plastic barrels.

Gabrielle’s stride faltered, and she tossed her head to the side, trying to see where the noise came from. Without the reins, Fletcher had no way to pull her up, so she shouted, “Whoa.”

The horse heeded the warning and pulled up short, but reared up in the process. Fletcher reacted quickly, snagging the reins while tilting herself forward in line with her mount. She clutched to her tightly, her seat never faltering as she molded herself to Gabrielle’s neck while the horse kicked her front legs at the air.

The move was pure grace and composure, but at that raised angle, all the arrows began to spill from Fletcher’s thigh quiver, and the sensation of them sliding along her flanks must’ve further spooked Gabrielle, because she kicked her back legs violently to the side, dislodging Fletcher from the saddle. The horror unfolded almost in slow motion to Kylie, who couldn’t even manage to gasp as Fletcher’s boot snagged in the stirrup only long enough for the last arrow to slip along her leg, before her weight pulled her loose and she hit the ground with a guttural thump.

There was a flurry of hoofs and shouts, triggering fight-or-flight instincts in several of the bystanders. Bob jumped for Gabrielle while several children scattered, but Kylie’s instinct sent her surging to the only person who’d ever mattered.

Diving to the dirt, she shielded Fletcher’s body with her own long enough for the immediate threat to die down. Then easing back, she rolled her over and searched her eyes, her face, her head. “Did she kick you?”

Dirt streaked Fletcher’s rapidly paling complexion as she tried to speak through gritted teeth. “Not the horse … the arrow.”

Kylie shook her head as she tried to make sense of the sparse declaration, but as Fletcher stared down, hands clutched off-center of her abdomen, Kylie followed her gaze to the arrow embedded in her side.

The world spun. Her vision blurred and began to go black as her head grew light, like it might lift off her body and float away. She would’ve welcomed it in the moment, and she might’ve surrendered to the appeal of blacking out entirely if not for the only word with the power to pull her off any ledge.

“Kye.” Fletcher’s voice was strained, but it was still enough.

Her vision snapped back into focus and the blood returned to her brain in a rush as she met her gaze intensely. Her own tone registered the resolve galvanizing inside her veins. “I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

Chapter Fifteen

Fletcher allowed her head to drop back to the dirt as Kylie began to bark orders. “Bob, get Gabrielle back to her stall. Jenny, get the kids into the courtyard. Ava, call 911.”

“We’re too far out.” Ava knelt beside her. “I can get her to the hospital faster in the truck if we can move her.”

“I don’t know if we have a choice … the arrow.” Kylie’s voice wavered slightly, and Fletcher understood the feeling.

“Don’t pull it out,” she said through clenched teeth. “The head will function as pressure.”

“Okay.” For once, Kylie didn’t argue. “Can you stand without making it worse?”

Her head swam at the idea, but she gripped the shaft, and bent her knees. “I have to use my abs as little as possible.”

“Ava, get the truck and bring it all the way in.”

Ava hopped up and ran, throwing open the sliding door with surprising strength.