Chapter Thirty-Nine
Mrs Casablancas pokes her head out of her front door as River carries me all the way up the stairs and to my flat. ‘Oh no! What’s happened here then?’
‘Frossssty Topsss,’ I say, my words slurring a little round the edges, Mrs Casablancas looking like two Mrs Casablancases. ‘I fell off a tiny horse called Frossssty Topsss.’
‘Gertie here has a broken ankle,’ River explains.
‘Oh dear!’ Mrs Casablancas gasps as Squish darts out to greet us. He immediately starts whining desperately at the sight of River.
‘Quit it,’ River commands in a low voice. Squish immediately quietens down and sits neatly, waiting for further instruction from his hero.
‘Would you look at that!’ Mrs Casablancas remarks, glancing down at Squish in surprise. ‘He won’t do that for me.’
She casts a slightly hurt look at Squish and a sudden rush of affection floods through me.
‘Mrs Casablancas, you are so, so nice,’ I say, the words feeling thick on my tongue.
‘I just wanted to tell you that. It’s so important that you know it.
Why do we never say these things out loud, eh?
Why are we all so afraid? It’s so stupid.
You are really, really incredibly lovely, Mrs Casablancas, and I like you very much. And what you did to River’s hat—’
‘We should get inside,’ River cuts in as Mrs Casablancas takes the key dangling from his finger and unlocks our door for us. ‘Morphine,’ he adds by way of explanation.
‘Oh, I do love morphine!’ Mrs Casablancas says, looking wistful for a moment. ‘The only silver lining of having a broken bone. Okay. Well. Will you let me know if you need anything?’
‘We will,’ River says. ‘Thank you, Mrs Casablancas.’
As we close the door behind us, River carries me over to the sofa, lays me down, pulls up my footstool and props my foot – now encased in an ugly yellow cast – on top of it.
‘Why is it yellow?’ I muse.
‘You asked them to give you yellow,’ River tells me. ‘You said it was the exact same colour of a corn on the cob and why should only kids get to have all the fun colours, remember?’
‘That’s a good point I made,’ I say, mashing my mouth together.
He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. ‘How are you doing, Owl?’
‘I’m seeing slight trails of colour and light and also feeling like everything is beautiful. I hope Frosty Tops isn’t mad at me.’
‘I’m sure it’s happened to her plenty of times.’
‘I’m all sweaty. Was I sick?’
‘You very much were.’
‘I need to clean my teeth.’
‘Agreed. Shall I run you a bath? Light a candle? I can wrap up your cast in saran wrap?’
‘Cling film.’
‘That too.’
Once River has bound my yellow cast up in cling film, he lowers me into the warm water, my leg dangling over the edge. When he uses the shower head to run the water over my hair and shoulders, I sigh with bliss. Water has never felt this magical before.
‘This is very sexy,’ I say eventually.
‘I’m not meaning it to be sexy,’ River protests, a grin lifting the corners of his mouth. ‘But you’re right. It is. Are we a couple of weirdos?’
‘All evidence points to yes.’
His fingers dig into my scalp, massaging away the dull headache I’ve had for the past hour.
Then, ever so slowly, as if he has all the time in the world, River washes me gently, careful to avoid moving my ankle, constantly asking if I’m all right, if there’s anything I need.
The clock ticks. The candlelight flickers, and I find my eyes drifting closed.
‘Were you scared earlier?’ I ask, eyes still shut. ‘When I fell? You looked scared.’
‘Are you kidding? I was fucking terrified,’ River says, rinsing the conditioner out of my hair. ‘The thought of you hurting was … I wanted you to feel what I feel when I ride, but I pushed it too far. Got overexcited. I’ve never done that. It’s not who I am at all. I’m sorry.’
‘I’m totally fine!’ I wave his apology away. ‘You don’t need to fret! I feel quite nice actually.’
‘This is a sure sign that I ought to just stick to what I know. Teaching is clearly not for me.’
I open my eyes and shake my head. ‘No! Don’t give up! You are an excellent teacher, River. You could still do it. Now that Cassidy has taken over the—’
I close my mouth immediately.
Idiot. Drugged-up idiot!
I grimace, hoping somehow that River missed it. But of course he doesn’t. The man doesn’t miss a damn thing.
‘Sorry? Cassidy has what?’ He tilts his head to the side.
‘Nothing. Hey, have you seen the film My Fair Lady? Shall we watch it together? It’s about this girl called Eliza—’
‘Gertie. What were you going to say? Cassidy has taken over what?’
I huff and bury my face in my hands. ‘She’s, uh, Cassidy is working on the ranch while you’re gone.’
River shakes his head immediately. ‘What? Nah, I doubt it. That sounds like one of your hazier details. The boys wouldn’t allow it. They know my father’s feelings about Cassidy working on Oakley Ranch.’
‘Jack and Diego and String Bean and even Matty are all helping her. She’s managing just fine.’
‘Wait … you’ve never talked about the ranch hands before.’
‘I only just met them. Well, a few days ago when Cassidy showed up at the ranch. I don’t think this is a hazy detail. I think it’s real.’
‘You’ve known about this for days?’ River’s jaw tightens.
I sit up quickly, causing a little bit of water to splash over the side of the tub.
‘It’s not a big deal. Can you get me out now?’
Wrapping me in a thick towel, River carries me over to the bed, carefully putting a pillow behind my head and one underneath my foot.
He starts to pace around the tiny room, hat almost pitching the ceiling. ‘So, you’re saying the boys are on board with her?’
I nod, but that makes my head start to thud again. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. ‘She’s got it all in hand, so you don’t need to worry so much. She’s protecting the ranch, she’s got a plan for the land auction, she—’
‘What?’ River’s face pales. ‘What about the auction?’
His voice is sharp. This is too much conversation. My ankle hurts. My head hurts. Everything no longer feels beautiful.
‘She’s going to bid on it in your absence,’ I say quietly.
‘She can’t do that!’
He’s freaking out, exactly like I knew he would.
River shakes his head, eyes wide. ‘Ethan Calhoun’s uncle is Buddy McGinty. He’s a crook dressed in an expensive suit. With that man in her ear, Cassidy could be forced to sell any land she buys to the developers.’
‘She would never!’ I protest, sinking my head down into the pillows. ‘She loves that place.’
River swipes his hat off, running both hands through his hair.
‘I can’t risk believing that, based on whatever hazy insight you might somehow have into her nature.
This is my fucking life, Gertie. My literal, actual real life.
I’ve given everything to Oakley Ranch. You should have told me as soon as you knew. Fuck.’
‘What good would it have done, me telling you? It’s not like you can do anything from here. I didn’t want you to worry. Ugh, my mouth is all dry.’
‘You should have told me and let me decide whether I ought to worry. This was my problem to fix. I can’t have gone through all of this –’ he gestures at me – ‘for Bedlam to go down the pan because Cassidy thinks she’s got any business working Oakley Ranch.’
I prickle on her behalf. ‘You underestimate her.’
River glares at me then, eyes blazing with hurt at my keeping this from him. ‘Perhaps. And it seems I overestimated you.’
And with that he grabs the keys from the hook by the door and storms out of the flat, slamming the door behind him so hard that the whole room shakes.
Fuck.