Page 57 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
“Deal.” Kelli marched off as if she were a twelve-foot-tall Amazon and not a five-foot-nothing, denim-clad whirlwind.
Finn worked his crutches wildly to keep up as they raced across the playground soccer field to Josiah’s truck.
“You want to try to call her?” Josiah suggested once Finn had hauled his ass up into the high truck seat.
“Great idea.”
Karen answered on the second ring. “Finn?”
“Josiah and I are on our way,” he told her. “Where are you?”
“Almost at the west boundary. It’ll take me another twenty minutes because I can’t move too fast.”
Tears coated her voice, which was enough to make all his protective instincts flare. “You okay?”
“I’m not hurt. It’s just been a hell of a day.”
“Hang in there,chérie. Take trail route one, and Josiah and I will meet you as soon as we can.”
But by the time they’d covered the distance to the ranch, Karen was nearly at the barn. Josiah swung down and grabbed his kit, moving rapidly to where Karen was getting ready to dismount.
It took Finn too much time to get out of the truck and over to the barn, and by then Josiah had the foal on the ground and was working it over. He snapped orders at Karen, hands moving rapidly as he did something with the creature’s neck.
Nothing to do but watch and wait.
When the little foal finally did that instinctive jolt, legs moving as if compelled to try and rise, Finn took a deep breath.
“Okay. Now it’s okay.” Karen staggered to her feet, wiping her hands on her jeans, her face ashen.
Finn opened his arms. “Come here.”
She shook her head. “I’m a mess—”
“Karen.” He waited until she looked at him. “Come. Here.”
Her stepping into his arms was a type of surrender. He didn’t care that she was coated with mud and smelled as if she’d helped deliver a foal. Her cheek pressed against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tight, squeezing as if he was the only reason she was able to stay vertical.
He just held her. He didn’t stroke her hair or pat her back or any of those things. Partly because he was trying his damnedest to keep his balance, but mostly because this wasn’t about reassuring her. It was about being there for her.
Whatever she’d faced, she’d done it with her usual strength. And whatever it was she needed from him right now, he would give it.
Just outside the small circle of two, Josiah shifted back as the foal struggled upright and took its first shaky steps. A miracle, like so many miracles that came before and would come again.
But the real miracle was having Karen in his arms.
13
Karen:I miss you
Finn:I would give anything to be with you.
~Unsent messages, fall, after Whiskey Creek ranch~
Karen was a mess, not just on the outside. She was tired, and dirty, and had a headache from hell. But the most frustrating part was not being able to dissect the tangled emotions inside enough to be able to push them off.
Finn was there, and that part was wonderful.
Once Karen had recovered enough to be able to stand on her own, Josiah gave her an approving nod. “Looks as if this little tyke should be okay. A bit of work in terms of feeding him, but if you want, I can take him over to Sonora’s animal shelter. They’re bottle-feeding some calves right now, so adding him shouldn’t be a big deal.”
