Rain Shadow Book 3

by Tess Oliver

  “How are you feeling, Richo?” I asked.

  “I’ve been better,” he said, and then paused. “And I’ve definitely been worse.”

  I took hold of his hand and once again caught Gage’s gaze in the mirror. I blushed and looked away.

  “Sorry, Angel, I didn’t mean to stare,” he said. “It’s just that usually Luke has a tendency to embellish things.”

  “When do I embellish?” Luke asked. “Or did you just learn a new word and decide to try it out.”

  “Uh, remember when you fell off your skateboard and got a concussion? You told mom you hit a rock and you flew ten feet in the air. But I was there. You slipped off the board and your head it the edge of the curb.”

  Luke stared at him for a few seconds. “Really? So that skateboard story has earned me the label of bullshit artist? I was eight, and by that time, you’d told mom and dad so many lies, they didn’t believe a word you said.”

  “I never called you a bullshit artist. I used the word embellish, and if you would just let me finish, Mr. Touchy.” Gage looked up at me in the mirror. “As I was saying, this boy never stopped talking about how amazing you were, and I just wanted to say that he wasn’t over exaggerating.”

  I blushed even more and returned my attention to the scenery. We turned off onto a roughly paved road that led toward the mountains.

  “The house is spacious, but it’s pretty rustic,” Gage said.

  Jericho and I smiled at each other, knowing full well what rustic living was like.

  “Is there a bathtub?” I asked.

  Luke looked over the seat at me. “There is.” He winked. “And we need to finish what we started.”

  Jericho slouched down. “Spare us, please.”

  We continued along the road that was now lined with wood and wire fencing. The occasional group of cows dotted the otherwise green landscape. Up ahead a red farmhouse sat nestled amongst some tall trees and several horses grazed in a pasture out front. We pulled up a long gravel driveway and two large black dogs came bounding off the porch. Luke looked back at me with a funny look in his eye.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing. So, what do you think of the place?”

  “I haven’t even stepped out of the truck, and I’m already in love.” I opened the door and stepped out. It was even cooler now, and I realized how nice it was to be out of the heat. It seemed almost every open space was either occupied by green grass, tall trees or grazing animals. I looked over at the horses, and my mouth dropped open. Luke and his brother were silent behind me as I stepped closer to the pasture.

  Jericho’s uneven footsteps crossed the gravel. “Hey, that horse looks like—”

  “Chance!” I screamed, and my feet took off at a run. Chance popped his big head up, and he stared at the crazy person running toward him for a second and then let out a whinny that echoed off the mountainside.

  He trotted to the fence line.

  “It’s not electric,” Gage called to me.

  I slid between the wires, dashed into the pasture and threw my arms around Chance’s neck. “Holy shit, am I glad to see you,” I cried.

  Gage, Luke and Jericho reached the fence. I stroked every inch of Chance’s coat and then I looked over at Luke. “You did this. You did this for me.”

  He smiled.

  I ducked back through the fence and jumped into Luke’s arms. “Just when I thought I couldn’t love you anymore.” We kissed until Gage cleared his throat loudly.

  I looked over at him. “Thank you for letting Chance stay here. I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble.”

  “Not at all. Took the smaller horses a few hours to stop pawing the ground and snorting at him, but once they realized what a kickback guy he was, they went back to their grass. Now it’s like he’s been here for months. He sure is big. I’ve never had a draft horse before.”

  “He’s an easy keeper. And his trot is smooth as silk. I think you’ll like him.”

  We headed toward the house. It looked incredibly welcoming. Living in a place that was not surrounded by cement walls was going to be a new experience for Jericho and me.

  We got to the porch, and I looked back out at the majestic scenery and my horse standing in the center of it all. I took Luke’s hand. “You did it, my hero. You rescued me from my tower.”

  “Yep, now if we can just find some way to get rid of that pesky dragon outside the tower.” He pulled me into his arms.

  “OK,” Gage said, “Jericho and I are going inside. You two have fun.”

  Luke waved him away and then he kissed me long and hard.

  Rain Shadow Book 4

  The jagged bolt of light split the dark sky in two. Swollen black clouds had floated in so quickly, it seemed almost as if they’d just formed spontaneously over Gage’s ranch. I heard Luke stirring in the bedroom. He’d slept later than usual but I’d gotten up with Gage. Luke’s brother left to work and I stayed in the small living room wrapped in a cotton throw and nursing my coffee. It was definitely colder up here.

  The first drops plunked down on the roof like someone drumming a table but another bolt of lightning and clap of thunder brought a deluge that was so heavy rain water came down in sheets off the porch portico.

  “The horses,” I said to myself. I raced into the bedroom. Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed looking groggy. He still suffered from long bouts of insomnia. The nightmare with Dex had permanently screwed up his sleep. There were times when it didn’t seem to affect him much and times when he looked bleary eyed and tired. This seemed to be one of those days. I pulled off my long johns.

  “I was just going to suggest you get naked,” he said.

  I yanked on my jeans.

  “That was not going to be part of my suggestion.”

  “I’ve got to get the horses into the barn.”

  “But it’s pouring.”

  “That’s why I’ve got to get the horses inside. And there’s lightning and thunder too.” I sat on the bed and pulled on my boots. “Chance is a total chicken when it come to thunder. Besides it’s not safe for them out there. Too many trees.”

  Coming September 6, 2014

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