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After a moment, he went to her office. The room was neat, but empty. He looked out of the window at the horse barn. There was no sign of them anywhere. The kitchen looked as if they’d just up and left. The coffeemaker was off, but it had a timer that would turn it off after an hour, so they could have been gone that long or longer. The remnants of breakfast, however, still lay on the table. Discarded eggs and toast had dried on the plate. Coffee in the cups was cold. Even Ari’s bowl of cereal was soggy and abandoned.
“What happened?” he muttered, fear invading his heart.
Then he heard car doors and people talking loudly. Quickly, he headed for the front door. Ari was the first to see him.
“Dad,” he called. “Kelly’s hurt.”
Jace was down the steps before his son had finished speaking. He ran to Mira and Drew’s truck. Kelly was in the backseat. Mira was driving. Jace yanked the door open and looked at her.
“She’s all right,” Ari said, standing next to him. “We went to the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” Kelly told them.
“She’s not fine,” Mira warned, also standing next to him. “She fell off the horse and it kicked her.”
Jace’s eyes opened wide. “They’re very gentle horses,” he said. “I would never bring unsettled horses here unless we were ready for them.”
“Let’s just get her inside,” Mira said. “We’ll explain there.”
Jace reached for Kelly, lifting the pale redhead into his arms. He carried her into the house and upstairs to her room, Mira and Ari on his heels.
“How did this happen?” Jace asked, after Kelly was in bed and Mira had pulled the covers over her.
“Later,” she whispered.
“Kelly?” Ari stood beside her and spoke in a low voice. “Are you gonna be okay?”
Kelly gave him a weak smile. “Yes,” she said. “I’ll be good as new in the morning.” She was drowsy, her eyelids closing heavily.
“The doctor gave her pain medication. She’ll be asleep in a moment,” Mira told him.
Ari slipped his hand in Jace’s and looked up at him. “Is she really okay?”
Jace lifted the child into his arms. “She’ll be fine.”
“Let’s let her sleep,” Mira said.
Jace backed out of the room. Mira followed, closing the door.
“Is her leg sprained?” Jace asked. It had been thickly bandaged.
Mira nodded.
“But she’s always so active. And there’s a lot going on.” Jace should have been here. While he was off looking for a way to get the Kendall back, she was falling off a horse, one that he had brought to the farm. He felt responsible.
Ari loved Kelly. He’d taken to her almost from the first. Jace realized his son wasn’t just having medical issues. Those had cures or controls, whereas missing a mother was something entirely different.
He wasn’t sure he knew what to do about it. His feelings for Kelly were definitely there, but if he pursued the lawsuit for Ari’s sake as much as his own, he’d cause her pain. Worse.
She’d never forgive him.
* * *
KELLY MOANED AS she woke up. Her head ached and any movement made it worse. She opened her eyes. Jace smiled at her. He was sitting on the side of the bed. She was glad to see him. Even with the headache, she felt a little better knowing he was there and that he’d been close by.
“How long have you been sitting there?” she asked.
“Not long,” he said. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been kicked by a horse.”
He smiled. “You can joke, so you must be feeling better.”
“Where’s Ari?”
“In the kitchen with Mira.”
“She’s still here?”
“She wouldn’t leave until she knew you were all right.”
“How’s Ari?” she asked.
Jace frowned. “Why Ari? Was he hurt by the horse?”
“No,” she tried to shake her head, but the pain was too much.
“I have a headache,” Kelly said.
“You’ll feel better after you eat something.”
“I am hungry,” she said.
“Good, that’s a positive sign.”
“Is this your own diagnosis, doctor?” She tried to joke, but Jace looked really concerned. Kelly wondered if Mira had told him what happened.
“It is.”
“Don’t worry. The doctor said I’d be fine in a few days.”
“Mira said you fell off one of the horses.”
“Clumsy of me.” She smiled, even though the effort caused pain.
“I’ll go and get you something to eat,” Jace offered. He got up, allowing Kelly to move her legs toward the side of the bed.
“I’m sure I can eat in the kitchen.” She started to sit up. Pain gripped her. She fought through it and put her feet on the floor.
Jace eased her back into the bed. “No need. How often do you get breakfast in bed? Take advantage of it.”
Kelly was glad to lay back down. She didn’t want to move for decades or at least until her headache was relieved. Her leg felt tight, but better than her head. She wanted to see it, see if there was a bruise or any broken skin. After the horse kicked her, she’d grabbed for her leg. The severe pain had caused tears to flow from her eyes. Mira came running and after one look, she was on the phone, calling for help.
The doctors told her she was very lucky. Kelly knew it. She’d seen accidents with horses before and she was usually very careful. But when she saw Ari running toward her, his innocent body unaware of the danger, she miscalculated and tried to get down when she was in the process of getting in the saddle. Her foot caught and she scared the mare. It naturally balked and kicked out, clipping her on the ankle.
Ari had cried on the way to the hospital and his face was still damp when they’d wheeled her into the waiting room and pronounced her well enough to go home. He’d dried his eyes only when she hugged him and assured him she was all right.
Kelly pushed the covers back. She rolled onto her side and with effort sat up. She was still wearing her clothes, although one pant leg had been cut for the doctors. Carefully, she pushed the torn pant leg aside.
“Oh,” she gasped, seeing the black-and-blue marks on an ankle the size of a grapefruit.
“What are you doing?” Jace came in. Quickly, he set her tray on a table and rushed to her, lifting her back in the bed.
“According to Mira, the doctor said you need to stay immobile for at least twenty-four hours or until the swelling goes down.”
Kelly fell back against the pillows, feeling completely defeated.
“Can I see Ari?” she asked.
“Sure, he’s clamoring to see if you’re all right.”
Kelly smiled with effort. Jace retrieved her tray. He sat it in front of her and handed her two pain pills.
Taking the glass of orange juice from the tray, she swallowed the medication and drank the entire contents of the glass.
“I know what Mira said, but I think you’d better tell me what happened.” Jace sat in the chair next to the bed.
She told him the whole story as well as she could remember it. “You didn’t say anything to Ari?” she asked, concerned for the boy.
“No,” he said.
“It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know he could spook the horse. I should have...”
Jace leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. Kelly’s eyes opened wide.
“I understand,” he said. “But he needs to know how to properly work around animals.”
“Kelly, Kelly,” Ari shouted as he ran down the hall. Kelly heard him coming. Jace moved away from her and as the little ball of energy came into the room and headed directly for the bed, Jace caught him before he launched himself onto the spread and upset Kelly and her breakfast tray.
“Good morning.” Kelly smiled at him, hoping the pain didn’t show on her face.
“You slept a really long time,” he said. He looked at his dad. “Dad said we needed to be quiet. I was quiet.”
“I didn’t hear you at all,” she told him.
“Is your leg better?”
“It’s swollen, but that will go down soon.”
“Can you walk? Dad carried you up here.”
She remembered. Even in the haze of medication, Jace holding her had been familiar. Kelly thought about the night of the open house. She remembered being in her office, putting the receipts in the safe and looking at her computer. The next thing she knew it was morning and she was fully dressed, in her bed, with the spread over her. She had no recollection of how she got there, but some dreamlike memory felt the strong arms that carried her.
“Ari, we need to let Kelly rest now,” Jace said.
“She rested all night.” Ari’s logic tickled her. “Didn’t you, Kelly?”
“You’re right, Ari. I did rest all night, but the medicine makes me sleepy.”
“Okay. When it’s lunchtime, are you going to eat in bed?”
“I have to keep my foot up, so I might have to stay here,” Kelly explained.
“Can I eat in bed with you?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
“Wow!” he said. “What about tomorrow? Will we eat in bed then, too?”
“Tomorrow I might be able to eat at the table if your dad will help me get there.”
Ari turned around sharply to look at Jace. “You will, won’t you, Dad?”
