Page 17 of Wire
“Jesus Christ, don’t sneak up on a girl,” I warn him, clutching my chest.
“Sorry, darlin’,” he says, chuckling.
We head outside and meet my brothers. They are filling the bed of the truck with supplies for the fencing.
“We’ll be fixing the fence in the west pasture,” Carter says.
Weston is carrying more stakes out of the barn and loading them into the truck.
“Tyler is working on your bike, man. He’s a genius with engines,” Weston tells Wire.
“Thanks, I appreciate it and the hospitality,” Wire replies with a nod.
“That’s all, Calamity. She’s the one looking after you. We’ll catch you later.” With a wave, they load up and head off.
“Come on, Wire. We have a full day ahead of us.
Heading into the stables, I hand Wire a brush. “Think you can manage to brush a horse down?”
He nods and takes the brush from me. I move to the stall that houses Nutmeg and place the halter over her head and lead her into the main area.
“Wire meet Nutmeg. Nutmeg meet Wire. Now he’s injured, so be nice to him and let him brush you,” I tell Nutmeg as she rubs her head against me.
“Don’t look so nervous. She is an absolute sweetheart,” I try to reassure him.
He slowly steps forward and gently strokes her. She lets out a little huff and nudges him with her head. He looks a little more relaxed now and at ease with her. He starts to brush her, so I place my hand over his and show him how to do it properly.
“Like this,” I instruct him. He pays attention and copies exactly what I’m doing.
Leaving him to groom Nutmeg, I set about grooming the others before putting them in the pasture to graze and run a little. Once they are all out, I start the joyous job of mucking out the stalls. Wire helps me by spreading the new hay in each stall for me.
Throughout the day, he helps me with small chores that don’t require him to be on his injured leg too much.
By mid-afternoon, I notice him limping a little.
“Are you okay?” I check.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, but you can see the pain on his face.
“Okay, you’re in pain. Come with me,” I order him.
Heading into the house, I get him to drop his jeans and lay on the couch. Grabbing the first aid kit, I check his road rash. It’s not too bad, as he was going at a slow speed at the time, but it must still be painful. I set about cleaning it to make sure he doesn’t get an infection and re-dressing it.
I can’t help but run my fingers along the soft skin of his thigh and watch goose bumps appear where I’ve stroked. I’m itching to run my fingers a little higher. But I can see how red his thigh is. He must have been in pain for a while and just said nothing. Silly man! Why do men do that?
“No more chores for you. I want you to rest and take it easy for the rest of the day,” I order him.
“Good idea.” His voice sounds weird, and when I go to look up, I can see just how much my stroking his thigh affected him.
“I’m going to finish the chores and then start on dinner. Just relax.” I place my hand on his shoulder and squeeze. I don’t seem to be able to stop myself from touching him. He places his hand over the top of mine and pats it.
“Thank you for looking after me. I want you to know it means something to me.”
His words have me getting a little choked up. No one has ever thanked me before. It means so much that he said that to me. So much it makes my heart feel a little full.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back soon.” With that, I leave quickly before I cry on him. Wire looks like the type of man who would freak out if a woman cried on him over something so little as a thank you. To me, it meant the world.
With a little spring in my step, I get on with finishing the chores.
