Page 55 of Stolen Dreams

I slip on a pair of jeans I washed and folded last night before putting on a sports bra and then a Mustang Creek T-shirt.I’m slipping on my boots when I hear footsteps coming toward the front door.“What the fuck are you doing?”Emmett asks, standing there in just a pair of boxers.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I admit, “so I’m going to go ride Juliet.”I stand, tucking my cell phone in my back pocket.

“You shouldn’t be out there alone,” he warns.

“Charlie called last night and said the people he spoke to said Derek had just left town.”I smile at him, trying to calm my heart rate down.

“He said he wasn’t in town now, but he has been in and out.”Of course he would remember it word for word.

“Well, he’s not now, so it’s safe for me to take a ride.I’m not going to go far, just the path we did last night.”

“You have your phone on you, right?”he asks, and I take it out of my back pocket.“And you are still sharing your location with me?”I nod.Last night, I shared it with both him and Charlie and they also put a tracker on my truck.

“I’ll see you at work,” I tell him, and he comes close to me, grabbing my hip, pulling me to him.His lips softly brush mine.“Tell Lucy to have a nice day,” I say before I walk out the door and head to the barn.

The sun is just coming up by the time I’m walking out with Juliet by my side.I stick one foot in the stirrup before I mount her.“Let’s go, girlie.”I nudge her side with my boot, and she gallops toward the wooded area.Now that I’m not with Lucy, I start to pick up speed.I tuck myself down a bit to make her go even faster.The wind blows in my face as the trees fly by, my mind clear of everything that has been going on, exactly what I need this morning.I’m not even paying attention to anything, and when Juliet suddenly halts, I don’t have a chance to grab her reins in my hand tightly before I am thrown off the horse.Landing on my side, I let out a “oof” when my head hits the damp ground.

A high-pitched squeal comes out of Juliet, and I roll to the side to avoid her stepping on me when she walks back.“Juliet,” I call her name as I get on my hands and knees and feel the burn coming from my right arm.I ignore it before standing on my feet and walking over to her.Dusting off the dirt from my jeans, I see the cakes of mud that are all over the front of them.“Juliet.”I hold out my hand for her to come to me.With her head down and unsure, she walks over to me and sniffs my hand.“Let’s get back home, yeah?”

Mounting her again, I lean forward and rub her neck.“Slow and easy, yeah?”I assure her as she walks forward, looking down at the ground, stopping for a second before her neck comes up and she walks forward.It takes double the time to get back to the barn, and when I’m in the fenced arena, I let a little sigh out.I look at my arm, finally seeing the friction burn on the side of the arm I fell on.

Bobby is there in the barn when I get there and walk in.He looks over smiling, and then his smile is gone when he sees me.“What happened to you?”He rushes over to me.

“Something spooked her.”I look at Juliet.“I wasn’t paying attention, and she threw me off.”

“You need to get that cleaned up.”He motions with his chin to my arm.“I’ll take her and get her situated.”

“Thanks,” I say, handing him her reins before walking away, trying to limp through the pain in my side.Walking into the barn and heading straight to the bathroom, I turn on the water in the sink.

I open the mirrored medicine cabinet and grab the first-aid kit, shutting it and seeing the side of my face also has some dirt on it.I’m about to wet my hands when the door flies open.“What the fuck happened?”Emmett stands there with fury all over his face.Behind him is Lucy with a more scared look.

“Nothing.”I try to play it off.“I think there was a rabbit, and we all know she hates rabbits.”

He grabs the first-aid kit from me.“Did you fall?”Lucy asks softly.

“I wasn’t paying attention”—I try not to scare her—“and I moved to the right, and she moved to the left, and I tumbled.”I smile at her.“But I’m all good.”

“You don’t look all good,” she observes, and I can’t help but snort.

Emmett wets some gauze with water before he cleans my arm, and I try not to wince.He then disinfects the scratches before he places some ointment on them and then looks up at me, and I can see the anger from his look.“That should be good,” he says, his teeth clenched.“Can you do your face?I have to get Lucy to school, and then I’ll come back and get you.”

“You don’t have to,” I say, and he ignores me and looks down at Lucy.

“Let’s go,” he urges her.

“Have a good day,” I say, and she smiles shyly at me before following her father out.

I clean my face and walk back into the house, changing my pants before I walk out, and he’s arriving.He rounds the truck, and his glare is right at me.“No more fucking rides in the morning.”He looks like his body is about to blow up like the Hulk.“You want to ride, you do it in the fucking fenced arena when people are working.”

“I’m fine,” I assure him.“I’ve fallen before.”

“I said what I said,” he hisses.“Now get your ass in the truck.”

I fold my arms over my chest when he doesn’t wait for me to answer.Instead, he storms to the truck and gets in.I can see Bobby looking over, and not willing to give them more to talk about, I stomp over to the truck and get in.We don’t say anything to each other as we make the two-minute drive.

I get out of the truck before he turns it off, and Charlie waits for me.“How mad is he?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.”I walk right past him.“It was an accident.”

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