Page 75 of Quiver

“Better than yesterday afternoon,” Kylie said.

“Thank God. How’s the patient?”

“Sore. Getting home on those bumpy mountain roads wasn’t fun, but she got cleaned up a bit and fell asleep.”

“Probably for the best. Bex said you plan to stay with her overnight?”

She nodded. “I was headed out to feed the horses and see if anything needed to be picked up after yesterday.”

“The arena’s clear. Bob and Jenny got the horses taken care of last night, and Bex helped me put all the equipment away.”

“That’s going above and beyond after the day we all had.”

“We didn’t want her to have any excuse to overdo it when she came home.”

“She’s already talking about resuming lessons, but I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“You’ve done so much already. Are you sure it’s not too much for you?”

Kylie waved her off. “I’m not much better than she is about sitting still.”

“Have you eaten anything? Gotten any real sleep?”

She shook her head. “After I feed the horses, I’ll rummage through the cabinets.”

“Why don’t I do that? Or better yet, I’m happy to sit here for a bit if you need to run back to your parents and pick up fresh clothes.”

“I have everything I need here.”

Ava pursed her lips as if forcing herself to choose her next words carefully. “I understand you’re used to taking care of yourself, and Fletcher is, too, but she has a lot of people who care about her. We want to be here for her, and for you if you’ll let us.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure it’s warranted. All Fletcher needs right now is rest.”

“And what about you?”

“I don’t need anything at all,” she answered too quickly to not sound defensive.

“Yesterday was a lot,” Ava said gently. “Have you given yourself any time to process, not just those scary moments, but also the ones that came after?”

“Oh.” She finally got it. Ava was offering her a chance to talk about what Fletcher had said in front of all of them. I never stopped loving you.

What must that have been like for Ava to hear? She tried not to feel too superior at the thought of Fletcher loving her all through the years she’d spent holding Ava, and maybe she didn’t have much emotion left to spare, because the idea didn’t inspire the level of satisfaction it might have a few days ago. Still, neither could she summon much in the way of guilt, and certainly not an ounce of regret. “I’m sure it must’ve been hard on you, too.”

“Parts of it,” Ava admitted. “I felt shock initially, then helplessness while driving. I worried for her, of course, but I was also grateful for your command and the way you spoke to her in the truck. You were able to focus her attention in ways I’ve never been able to.”

She had no intention of arguing, so she merely nodded while the cold began to work its way through Fletcher’s sweatshirt.

“And then after we handed her over to Bex,” Ava continued, “I worried about you.”

“Me?”

“You seem to be bearing a lot since you arrived in town, and I won’t pretend to understand the pressure inherent in what you’re trying to do, but yesterday, when the two of you were clinging to each other, it felt like something might be shifting, and then after they stitched Fletcher up …” Ava’s voice trailed off.

“Look, what she said in the hospital room, I imagine that might’ve been upsetting for you.”

Ava’s expression of concern morphed into a smile. “For me? No.”

Kylie cocked her head to the side. Were they talking about the same thing?