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For the first time in a long time, she let herself dream of the possibility of a future with a man. Luke had said he’d felt something for her the first day he’d met her. She felt the same way.
A spark of electricity had shot through her the minute she first saw him. Granted—that might have had something to do with the fact that he looked exactly as she pictured Duke. But then it was more than that. It was his easy smile and the way he treated the animals and his dog. And her.
Luke was the whole package, and she’d been falling harder for him every day she’d spent with him. She wasn’t ready to give that up. Like Luke, she wanted to see where this thing led. She wanted to stay for another week. Or even two. Or twenty.
“He thinks we have something,” she told the horse, throwing her arms around Scarlett’s neck.
A faint niggling feeling crept into her happy thoughts—was Luke really falling forher,or was he falling for the person she was pretending to be?
And what about her? Was this all what she was really feeling, too? Or was she so embroiled in playing this character that she was experiencing what Sassy would be feeling instead of her own genuine emotions?
At times, she’d started to wonder if the two parts of her were mixing into one. She’d started to really feel more courageous and had been so proud of herself for stepping up and trying new things. But how much of that was her, and how much was the bravery she pretended to have when she was channeling her fictional character? And would this newfound courage disappear as soon as she drove away from Dusty Acres…and Luke?
Just the thought of driving away from this place, and this man, she’d grown to care so much about, was what scared her the most now. She felt like shewasfinding herself, discovering her own brand of spunkiness, but trying to figure out her feelings for Luke and finding the courage to stay was going to take all she and Sassy had combined.
She took a deep breath as she pushed back her shoulders. Actually, she didn’t need Sassy to help her with that part. Shewantedto stay, to give this thing with Luke a chance. She had the chance now to prove she was brave on her own, to face things boldly and with courage.
Things like riding this dang horse.
“You don’t seem so scary,” she told Scarlett as she ran her hand down her velvety cheek. “Why am I so afraid to ride you?”
The horse lowered her head and nuzzled it into Kaylee’s side. She let out a laugh. It was exactly the kind of thing Gladys or Cooper would do.
She stared into Scarlett’s gorgeous deep brown eyes. Isn’t that what Luke had told her to do? To imagine the horse as a giant dog. Or as just a bigger version of Marigold, the mini horse. Kaylee wasn’t afraid of either of them.
I can do this.
She carefully opened the gate door and stepped into the stall with Scarlett. “Hey girl. How would you feel about going for a little ride?” The horse stood still, as if patiently waiting for her to get into the saddle. She tentatively reached for the saddle horn then lifted her leg and slid her boot into the stirrup.
Wasn’t this with this whole trip was about? Pushing her boundaries and getting that authentic experience?
One step at a time.
She pulled herself up and swung her leg around the back of the horse. Scarlett calmly chewed a piece of hay while she got her foot into the other stirrup and settled herself in the saddle. “Easy,” she said, just as much to herself as she did to the horse. Lifting the reins, she nudged the horse with the heel of her boot. “Let’s just take it nice and slow.”
The horse padded out of the stall and into the center lane of the barn. Kaylee had planned to try to go a few laps around the corral but realized too late that she hadn’t opened the corral gate. And apparently Scarlett had other plans anyway, since she turned and plodded out the wide front barn door.
As they crossed the driveway, Kaylee hoped the horse was planning a nice slow leisurely walk around the pond and not heading toward the steep rocky path up the side of the mountain.
She was thankful they’d taken the dogs for a walk after lunch and that they were both sacked out in the house. Two less things for her to worry about.
Trust the horse.
She could hear Luke’s voice in her head, and she liked that it was louder than Sassy’s. Her fictional character would have her spurring the horse on, but she chose to listen to Luke’s calm, steady reassurance that she was doing fine taking it slow. She couldn’t wait for him to drive up and see her sitting proudly in the saddle.
The horse stopped at the edge of the driveway and jerked Kaylee forward as she lowered her head to nibble at a patch of grass. Scrambling to stay in the saddle, she pulled the horse’s head back up. “Come on, girl. Work with me. You can eat later.”
She turned her head at the sound of an engine. Surely Luke couldn’t be back already. But it wasn’t Luke’s truck pulling into the driveway. It was a much older pickup, the faded blue paint spotted with patches of burnt orange rust.
Kaylee recognized the gentle giant squeezed in behind the wheel. But before she had time to wonder what he was doing at the ranch, the old truck backfired, letting out a loud pop.
The engine backfiring sounded like gunfire, and Kaylee screamed as the horse reared up and took off in a gallop across the pasture.
She leaned forward to clutch the horse’s neck as its hooves beat thunderously against the hard ground. “Stop!” she shouted, but the horse ignored her and continued to race at the same breakneck speed.
Faye had compared the feeling of galloping across the pasture to freedom and flying, but all Kaylee felt was terror and fear.
“Whoa,” she screamed as the saddle started to slide to the side. She suddenly couldn’t remember if she’d tightened the cinch. But it was too late to worry about now. The horse started up the rocky path of the mountain side, then lost her footing and spooked again. Her eyes were wild as she lifted her front legs off the ground and pawed at the air, pitching Kaylee off her back.
She slammed into a branch as she fell, and pain sliced through her shoulder before she hit the ground with a hard thud and the breath rushed from her lungs. She barely had time to register the small, jagged rocks biting into her skin before another sharp jolt of pain split through her temple as her head slammed into a rock.
Then everything went black.
