Page 184 of Lavender Lake
The next morning, I took the side-by-side and went for a drive. I wasn’t sure where I was going. But I drove to clear my head. After a night of pleasure in Cas’s arms, I still hadn’t said yes to his marriage proposal.
I loved him. I was having a baby with him. But I just wasn’t ready. I needed more time. My life had changed at a breakneck pace. I wanted a moment to catch my breath.
So I let the sun warm my skin and the air blow through the cab of the vehicle.
Before I knew it, I was at the hill. I got out of the side-by-side and walked to the tree where my mother had carved our initials. I leaned my cheek against the dead bark.
I traced her initials with my finger.
I’d never have a moment with her before my wedding. Where it was just the two of us and she imparted words of wisdom, and then cracked a joke to lighten the mood.
She wouldn’t be there to hold Hadley’s baby. Or mine.
She’d never get to meet Declan or Cas.
But a part of me believed she sent them. She gave Hadley a baby and a man who loved her unconditionally. She gave me a man who was strong enough to handle my obstinance. And she’d given me a baby of my own to ground me. To force me to think about someone other than my own free spirt.
I even believed she sent Jane, so Dad could love again. Laugh again.
Muddy was right.
Everything seemed to work out how it was supposed to. Even when you were in a dark tunnel and there wasn’t even a pin light of hope that you were going in the right direction.
Maybe there were no right directions. Maybe all of life was a series of twists and turns and it was how you handled them that mattered.
I needed to show Hadley the tree. I was ready to share it with her.
A flock of birds flew from the treetops up into the sky. I watched them soar away, but the bright sun marred my vision.
My gaze strayed back to the forest. The brush moved. Rabbits, squirrels, and other rodents began dashing across the ground. One by one beneath the thick forest floor they scrambled in the same direction.
My eyes widened and I looked at the sky again and saw the curtain of white and gray floating up into the clouds.
Smoke.
“Oh, fuck,”I gasped.
Rustling leaves and twigs snapped as I hastily backed away from the tree line. A small herd of deer burst from the forest too fast for me to even jump out of the way, but they missed me as they sprinted away from the smoke.
I turned and ran for the side-by-side, but I wasn’t paying attention. My left foot sank into a hole and I fell over. I bracedmyself for the fall with my hands and my wrists took the brunt of the impact.
A scream of pain echoed through the air as my right wrist snapped. Tears blurred my vision as I cradled my hand to my chest. I lifted my foot, gasping again when a tremor of pain shot up my leg. My foot was trapped.
I bit down on my lip.
One. Two. Three.
With all my force, I yanked my foot and freed it from the hole. I limped toward the side-by-side, but stopped when I heard a yelp.
It sounded like a wounded dog, crying in fright. I turned, attempting to locate the source of the noise. I followed the whimper toward the tree line. I brushed aside leaves and branches and found a lone red fox kit lying beneath a bush. One of its back legs was twisted and I could see that it was broken. I looked around, but saw no others of its kind.
“Come on, baby, we can’t stay here.” I reached down to pick it up. It bared its teeth at me and swatted one of its paws in my direction.
“Hey, I won’t hurt you,” I crooned.
Despite my throbbing wrist and bum ankle, I crouched down to get closer to the wounded animal.
“You won’t survive without me. Please, let me help you.”
