Chapter Seventeen
Warren
Going to work after such a disastrous morning feels wrong. There’s no way I’ll be productive, but it beats sitting at home alone. I need to get out of my office today and work up a sweat. Something to keep my mind off her.
I close my laptop and go in search of Bodie. I find him with Ricky and Colton.
Of course.
“Hey! He’s alive.” Bodie cracks up.
“I’m surprised y’all are too.”
“So how’d it go last night?” Colton waggles his brows.
“Not great.” I shift my gaze to Bodie. “I’m gonna work in the pasture today.”
“We were about to unload the hay and straw bales from the trailer.”
“Delivery arrived?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago.”
Oh shit. I’m usually the one who signs off on it .
“Don’t worry, I checked it over,” Bodie says, pulling on his gloves. “If you wanna help, we’re goin’ to the loft now.”
I nod, rushing to my office to grab my gloves, and then meet them outside.
The loft’s above the stables, half for hay, the other half for straw, which means we’re constantly going up and down the stairs until it’s full. We keep a stock of each in a stall for easy accessibility, but someone has to restock it when it gets low.
We recruit a couple other ranch hands and manage to finish within an hour. I’m drenched in sweat, but it felt good to stay busy and do some physical work.
For the rest of the morning, I switch between mucking stalls and checking emails. Bodie knows something’s up, but he doesn’t pressure me to talk about it. Honestly, I’m not sure what to say or if I want to admit I failed.
But I do need to get it off my chest without fear it’ll get back to the rest of my family.
Warren
I signed the papers.
Silas
Already? I thought you had seven days.
Warren
Change of plans.
Silas
I can leave work early if you need someone to drown your sorrows with, or if you prefer another route, I’ll drive us to a strip club.
I snort. No way his fiancée would care for that.
Warren
Thanks, but I think I’d rather drink alone.
Silas
Oh come on. That’s never a good sign. If you’re gonna get stupid drunk, at least let me witness it.
Warren
Thanks for the support, asshat.
Silas
Kidding! But seriously…you can’t drink with your chickens again. That’s next level depression.
Warren
That was one time! Plus, I like my chickens more than most people.
Silas
Maybe we should explore why that is…
Warren
No, thanks, Dr. Matheisen.
Silas
I would make a badass therapist, wouldn’t I?!
I shake my head.
Warren
Actually, I need to restock my firewood pile. So I’ll probably do that instead.
Silas
Is that code for something?
Warren
No, it means I’m low on wood.
Silas
In the middle of May?
Warren
It gets chilly at night up in the mountains.
Which is true…I rarely turn on my furnace since I prefer the ambience of the fireplace.
Silas
Alright, well call me if you chop off your leg and need a ride to the ER or whatever.
Warren
How thoughtful.
Silas
That’s why I’m your best friend!
Chopping wood until I can’t feel my arms sounds like the perfect way to clear my mind.
Before I can leave early for the day, Ricky tells me a horse ran off after its rider hopped off and forgot to tie it up.
Most of our horses are trained well enough to stay put, so something must’ve spooked it.
The guides are also trained to stay with our guests and call for help instead of chasing after them.
“Bodie tackin’ up a horse to go look for it?”
“He’s out with another guest.”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll go.”
I grab Priest and get him ready, then take off on the trail behind the stables. It takes me three hours to find her. Lilith .
Of-freaking-course.
“C’mon, you hellion. ”
She lets me approach without issue, but she’s irritated and timid. That’s when I realize she’s injured. There’s blood coming from a nasty gash on her front left leg.
“What’d you get into?” I ask softly, carefully sliding my hand down but not touching the wound. She punctured it on something sharp.
Most likely one of those posts Bodie was supposed to dig up.
Grabbing my phone, I go to text Bodie to call Dr. Warner since she’ll need to get looked at, but footsteps approach from the other side of the clearing.
A loud whistle, most likely to get Lilith’s attention, and a slew of curse words.
“Oh fuckgoddammitshitfuck.”
“Bodie?” I call out.
Priest whinnies at the sound of branches cracking. I rub along his neck to settle him down, but it’s Lilith who flips out before I can grab her reins. She bucks, something I’ve only seen her do twice, and nails me right in the chest.
I go down before I’m able to stop myself and lose my breath. My head hits something hard, and I groan at the impact.
“Warren!”
Bodie’s voice in the distance grabs my attention, but when I open my mouth, nothing comes out. I’m gasping for air, unable to call out for him.
The pain in my chest starts to intensify and my head pounds at whatever I landed on. I try to focus on my breathing and slowing it down before I have a full-on panic attack.
“Oh shit, dude.” Bodie comes into view, kneeling beside me. “Callin’ for help right now.”
He pulls out his cell, but I’m struggling to keep my eyes open .
How the hell did this happen? I’ve been around horses my whole life and should’ve kept Priest farther away from Lilith once I realized she was injured so we weren’t within kicking distance.
“Stay awake. You’re okay.” He shakes my arm, putting the phone to his ear. “You’re gonna be fine, Warren. You’re in shock and knocked the wind out of yourself.”
I try to shake my head. It feels worse than that.
“Leave me here,” I mumble.
Wouldn’t that be poetic? I’d rather die here alone than face the heartache I’ve been avoiding all day.
“What’re you talkin’ about? I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
He talks to someone, requesting immediate help, but the reality is we’re a few miles from the stables. Even if an ambulance rushed here, it’d take them thirty minutes to arrive and find us.
“Lilith’s hurt,” I barely mumble.
“Lilith? Yeah, she took off when I rushed over. I texted Colton already to come find her. He’ll call Dr. Warner to examine her injury.”
My vision goes blurry and it gets harder to suck in a breath although my heart’s racing.
“Bodie.”
“I’m right here.”
“Tell her I love her,” I force out the words with all the energy I have left.
“Warr—”
Darkness takes over before he can finish shouting my name.
There’s a theory that when it’s your time, your favorite or most cherished memories flash through your mind, but I didn’t realize I’d be able to hear her voice and feel her touch before I go.
Talk about torture.