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I smiled up at him as he led me upstairs. “Alright.” I murmured.
He helped me into bed and pulled the covers over me, kissing me gently on the forehead he whispered. “Close your eyes sweetheart. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.” I smiled up at him gratefully, struggling to keep my eyes open. Within minutes I was flat out.
I spent most of the afternoon sleeping, being woken once by Savannah to check that I was okay, I quickly fell back to sleep eventually waking late afternoon. My body seemed to ache even more than it had this morning, I guess I would feel achy and sore as the bruising came out. I reached for my phone which was by the side of my bed and sent a text to Mason.
Me: Hi baby, I’m awake. What are you up to? Xxx
I used the bathroom while I was waiting to see if Mason replied, I had no idea if he was working, so I wasn’t expecting an immediate response. Looking in the mirror as I washed my hands I grimaced at my reflection, my hair was plastered to my head, and the bruise on my face was turning a dark shade of purple. I couldn’t do much about my face, but I was desperate to get my hair washed. I wondered if Savannah was free to help me wash it while avoiding my stitches. I hadn’t heard my phone chime with an incoming text, so I headed downstairs to look for Savannah.
I found the house empty when I got downstairs. Thankfully I wasn’t feeling nearly as dizzy as I was this morning and I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as I passed the kitchen. I made my way outside noticing a police car parked next to Savannah’s car, my stomach churned with nerves, and I walked quickly down the porch steps, my eyes searching for everyone, where were they all?
“Libby.” I heard Mason call. I turned towards the barn to see him walking towards me. “I’ve been trying to call you sweetheart, I got your message. Are you okay?”
“Sorry, I’ve left my phone inside. Why are the police here?” He reached me taking my hand in his.
“Lib, Claire, and Ryan have called the police. We looked at Cookie’s saddle while you were asleep, it’s definitely been tampered with. The cinch had been cut through with a knife, just like Savannah thought. They are speaking with any staff or guests that might have seen anyone hanging around.”
My heart was racing, and I couldn’t catch my breath, even though I knew at the hospital that there was a possibility that Amber had cut the cinch, now that the police were involved and they were here on the ranch it suddenly felt more real. Mason must have seen that I was panicking. Standing directly in front of me he took my hand and rested it over his heart.
“Deep breaths Libby.” He told me calmly. “Feel my heartbeat, count with me, one two three four, one two three four.” Repeating the words, he’d spoken to me last week. Looking into my eyes, he managed to pull me from the brink of a panic attack and I felt my heartbeat begin to settle and my breathing even out.
After a few minutes, I whispered. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay baby?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, just seeing the police here makes it real. I know we talked about Amber messing with the saddle, I guess I just hoped we were wrong.” He nodded and pulled me into his chest, his familiar scent enveloping me. “How could Amber have known which horse I would be riding, and saddle I would use?” I asked, desperate for it not to be true.
I heard Mason sigh, “I guess she’s been watching you sweetheart, she must have seen you out on Cookie when she was at the ranch the other day. If she had enough time in the tack room she could have found Cookie’s saddle and cut the cinch.” I shuddered in his arms, hating that she had been watching me.
“What have the police said?” I asked him.
“Not much at this stage, they are talking to as many people as they can. They have suggested that unless we can prove Amber was involved there isn’t much they can do.” He paused and pulled me back slightly so that he could see my face. “They want to speak to you too Lib. It doesn’t have to be today, if you’re not feeling up to it I can tell them to come back tomorrow?” He looked down at me his face full of concern.
“No, I’ll speak to them, I want to get it over with.” I smiled up at him, trying to reassure him that I was okay, although I’m sure after witnessing my near panic attack he knew that I wasn’t. “Where are they, I’ll speak to them now.”
Mason led me into the barn, and I spent the next half an hour going over what had happened with Amber, from her verbal attack at the rodeo to her showing up at Mason’s cabin. It turned out that no one had seen Amber or anyone else hanging around the ranch yesterday morning, while the police agreed that the cinch had almost definitely been messed with, without proof there wasn’t much that they could do. They did offer to go and speak to Amber about what had happened, and ask her to stay away from us. The best that we could hope for was that the visit from the police would be enough to keep her away from us. Maybe she would finally get the message.
The police left about an hour later, we all went back to the house with Mason insisting that I pack a bag and go back to his. I felt a bit apprehensive telling Aunt Claire and Uncle Ryan, thinking that they would want me to stay with them. I knew that they felt responsible for me while I was here. I needn’t have worried, though, Aunt Claire was happy for me to go. As I hugged her goodbye, she whispered in my ear, telling me how happy she was for me that Mason and I had found each other. I hugged her tightly, kissing her on the cheek. I said goodbye to everyone else, promising Savannah that I’d call her tomorrow and we’d arrange to do something.
Mason picked my bag up and held my hand with his free one, we slowly walked over to his cabin, and he insisted that I go and lie down while he made us some food. I tried to protest but when he caught me yawning five minutes later he ushered me upstairs, I had to admit that I was exhausted again after dealing with the police. I just hoped that this would be the end of our problems with Amber. Something in my gut, however, told me that it wouldn’t be.
