Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
MIA
“You did so good during your lesson today, T,” I tell Tella as we walk to my car parked beside the barn. I open the back door for Tella and she climbs in, plopping onto her booster seat.
“Can we ride together sometime?” she asks as she pulls the seatbelt across her body. I let her do it herself and double check it after she gets it buckled. “Maybe you can ride one of Miss Magnolia’s horses or something.”
“I would love that,” I tell her, smiling brightly as I linger by the back door. “I can ask her. Or maybe we could go to my friends farm where Hank is and ride there. He has a few horses that would be quiet enough for you to ride.”
“Can we do it soon?”
A laugh bubbles in my throat. “Yes, of course. I’ll ask Noah when we get home and I’ll ask Miss Magnolia when we come for your next lesson.”
“Yay!” Tella claps her hands together with exuberance. “Thank you, Mia! We’re going to have so much fun.”
“You know it, babe.” I smile and wink at her before shutting the door. I quickly walk around the back of my car, heading to the front where I climb in behind the steering wheel. I press the engine button and glance back at Tella once more.
Tella’s humming in the back seat, looking out the window as I pull my car from the parking spot. “Maybe my daddy will ride with us too.”
“Has he ever ridden before?” I ask her as we make our way down the drive, heading in the direction of the road. We’re only about fifteen minutes from their house, so it’s a relatively short trip.
“No,” Tella says with a sigh. “Well, he never did with me.”
I look back at her in the rearview mirror just before I pull out onto the road. “We will have to see if we can change that.”
“Maybe he’s afraid.”
Focusing on the road, I grip the steering wheel and nod in response.
“He might be, but you know what? Fear isn’t always real.
Sometimes it’s just a thing our brains make up.
Fear can be good at times because it keeps us safe, but sometimes it can stop us from doing things that might be scary.
Sometimes it can get in the way of living our lives. ”
“Are you scared of anything?”
I laugh softly at the irony of this conversation. “Of course I’m scared of things,” I tell her, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. “I’m afraid of eating at some restaurants because I’m afraid I might get sick and then it will hurt my body.”
“Because of the gruben, right?”
I laugh a little harder. “The gluten, yes,” I say, correcting the word. “I have a lot of different things I’m scared of, but that’s normal. I think what is most important is to not let the scaries keep you from doing fun things in life.”
“I don’t like the scaries, but my daddy usually helps me feel better when I get scared.”
A smile tugs on my lips. “You have a really good daddy.”
“He’s the best.” Tella smiles while staring back out the window again. Caleb is such a good dad to her. Truly, I don’t think she could ask for a better father. Even though he has a demanding career, you would never know with the way Tella talks about him and the bond the two of them share.
I’m in awe of Caleb’s quiet strength. In his devotion to his daughter and giving her the best life possible. I’m completely captivated by him—the man who has made a home for himself in my heart.
Falling for Caleb was never part of my plan, but I already know it’s too late. He occupies my thoughts and I constantly find myself looking forward to being around him, even if it’s just in passing before a game or a practice.
I’m addicted to him. To his smell, his touch, his taste, and just his presence.
I gave my heart to him without even trying and all I can do now is hope he doesn’t give it back.
We pull onto the familiar busy street that leads us deeper into Aston and closer to Caleb’s house. He lives on the outskirts of town, but because of where the horse stable is located, we have to cross through one of the busier sections of the small city.
I personally don’t like driving during these hours. It seems like everyone tends to be in a rush, most likely trying to get home from work. I’m very patient and not an aggressive driver, so I just take my time and let traffic dictate how quickly I’ll be getting home.
Safety is always my first concern, especially while I’m driving with Tella in the car.
“Can you turn up the music?” Tella asks me from the backseat as we sit at a red light. I glance at her through the rearview mirror, my lips lifting as I see her swaying back and forth, quietly singing the song to herself.
“Absolutely!” I smile, reaching forward to increase the volume. The popular pop song plays louder through the speakers and it isn’t long before I start singing along with Tella.
The light turns green and I step on the gas, moving my car along with the traffic as we start to head down the road again. I bob my head along, listening to Tella singing over the music and laughter spills from my lips as she breaks out into the solo part of the song.
The upcoming light is red, so I press the brake pedal in anticipation of having to stop at the light. But it turns green again before we’re fully stopped, and I let us coast into the intersection.
Movement to my left catches my eyes and the air leaves my lungs in a rush as I whip my head to the side. A silver car breezes through the red light and it’s heading directly toward my side of the car.
I react as quickly as I can, stomping down on the brake pedal. The car jerks and the sound of my tires squealing slices through the air. “Oh no, hold on, Tella!” I yell out to her as my fingers grip the wheel so tight that my knuckles turn white.
The car coming directly at me sees me at the last second. The driver swerves in an effort to avoid hitting me. But he doesn’t.
The entire vehicle lurches. Tella yells out but the sound of her voice is drowned out by the sounds of crunching metal. My body jerks violently, my head bouncing against the side window just as the airbags deploy. The force of the blow to my head immediately silences everything.
There’s a harsh ringing sound in my ears and I blink twice, my eyes rolling back in my head as everything goes black.
“Mia!”
Her voice is what pulls me back from the darkness.
I’m not sure how long I was out, but with immense effort, I lift my head.
It throbs and there’s still a faint ringing in my ears.
Something warm trails down the side of my face and I lift my hand to it, smearing the stickiness beneath my fingertips.
“Mia! My seatbelt is stuck.”
“Hold on, T. I’ll get you out.” I look down at my hand, my face scrunching when I see its blood. Hastily wiping it on my pants, I fight with my own seatbelt, getting it undone as I push past the airbags and climb into the back seat with Tella. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Her chin quivers and she shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Okay, good.” I let out a deep breath, my head swimming. I blink rapidly in an attempt to refocus my vision. “Let’s get you out.” I push down against the seat belt buckle and it takes some wiggling and a lot of force to get it undone, but it eventually pops open.
A knock on the window grabs my attention. As I turn to look, my vision immediately goes blurry. It looks like a man on the other side of the door. He tries to open it, but the door is locked.
“Come on, babe,” I murmur, scooping Tella into my arms as I scoot closer to the door. My fingers fumble with the lock, my heart an erratic mess as I finally pop it open. The man pulls the door all the way open and I stumble out, clutching Tella against my chest.
“Whoa, are you okay?” the man asks, reaching for the two of us. “Shit, you’re bleeding.” He shakes his head, raking his hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see that the light was red.”
I wave my hand at him dismissively, barely able to register a single word that he’s saying.
My head throbs in protest and the dizziness is consuming me.
Abandoning my car, I turn to walk over to the side of the road, but my legs refuse to cooperate.
Traffic is stopped and other people are getting out of their cars just as emergency services begin to surround the area.
A paramedic walks up to the two of us. I lower Tella to the ground and collapse onto my hands and knees.
My head hurts and I feel sick as the darkness floods the corners of my vision.
“Please, get her off the road,” I say to the paramedic.
I lift my head to look at her. She’s crouched down in front of Tella.
Tella looks at me, eyes filled with fear. I can feel myself about to pass out again. “It’s okay, babe,” I tell her, rolling onto my side just as the darkness pulls me back under.