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Was that why he didn’t want to leave? He had invested so much into making sure she’d be okay that leaving felt like he was abandoning her?
He shook off the feeling.
This was Sarah. The infuriating, secretive woman who had a tendency to get under his skin when she wasn’t in the throes of something hilarious.
Footsteps charged toward him from behind. Dax slowed and turned to find Brielle coming toward him. “What do—”
She flung her arms around his neck, colliding with him much like she had a couple years ago when they’d been dating. He held out his hands, reminding himself that she’d made her decision. This hug wasn’t a rekindling one.
No. The way she was trembling, this was a hug that was meant to comfort her. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for only a moment before he stepped back. He had to be careful. It would be far too easy to easy for her to get the wrong idea.
He peered at her in the darkness. “What’s the matter?”
Her voice hitched and she looked at the ground. “I upset her. I’m the reason she got hurt.”
Dax shook his head, lifting her chin with his knuckle. “You grew up on this ranch. How many people get thrown from horses every single day?”
She hiccupped. “I let her go—she was inexperienced. You can’t tell me that if I had stayed with her, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“No.”
Her features faltered.
“But that doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up over it. Sarah’s a fighter. She’s home safe, and she’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” He nearly turned to head toward his cabin when something held him to his spot. “You can’t leave her tonight, Bri.”
Brielle’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
He tilted his head. “It’s Friday. I know you, Bri. It’s like you have this addiction to sneaking out.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that to her.”
He took in a deep breath, staring at the house and then bringing his attention back to her. “I understand that need better than you might think. You like the escape, the rush. And after a day like today, I don’t want you thinking it will be okay if you step out for even thirty minutes.”
Her face flushed and she took an angry step back. “Who do you think I am? Has it seriously been so long that you can’t remember? If I said I’ll watch her, I will.” Her pained voice shot through him like a bolt of lightning. As much as he would have liked to take control and tell her to leave now if she planned on doing it at all, he refrained. It would have been easier to slip into Sarah’s room and keep an eye on her in secret.
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This is your chance to make it up to her. Make sure she doesn’t throw up in her sleep and that she doesn’t get any of those symptoms the doctor mentioned. I’ll swing by early in the morning and see how she’s doing.” He turned and took a few steps when her voice stopped him.
“Dax?”
Without turning to face her, he muttered, “What?”
“Do you—are you—never mind. Forget it.”
When he turned to ask her what in the world was that about, he found that she was already halfway to the door. He watched her enter the house, shut the door, and turn off the porch lights. His gaze swept up to the window he knew belonged to Brielle. The soft yellow color of the light glowed behind a set of nearly sheer drapes.
Shadows passed in front of the window, but nothing he could make out. He shook his head and ran a hand through his still damp hair. His whole body was cold, and nothing would feel better than standing beneath a scalding shower to take the edge off.
He’d check back with Sarah in the morning. It was a good thing it was the weekend. Zeke would be crazy to expect her to do any work tomorrow, but just in case, he’d go collect the eggs in the morning before he headed for the house.
11
Sarah
Sarah could feel a difference in the air. The way people acted around her bordered on strange. As she sat at the kitchen table for breakfast, everyone acted like any sudden movement they made would cause her to shatter like a porcelain doll tumbling to the ground.
If this was the new normal, it was going to get old real quick. Brielle avoided meeting her gaze for more than a few moments at a time. It didn’t matter how often she’d insisted she forgave Brielle; her friend wasn’t accepting it.
The way they treated her was almost worse than it had been before. She’d rather be pulling her weight instead of being waited on. So the second they left her alone, she’d be heading out to the coop to get the eggs she was assigned to get daily.
