The Summer I Fell (The Six Series)

by Loveday, Sonya

  I flew off the tailgate before Ace could stop me. My fist shot out and slammed into Samantha’s eye. She staggered backwards, tripping over her own feet. I hauled her up by her shirt, as the guys circled around me. They weren’t letting anyone past them. They knew I’d finally had enough of Samantha’s hateful comments and had even asked me when I’d planned to kick her ass.

  When I’d straightened her back up, she slapped my hand away. “How dare you?”

  “How dare I? You just can’t keep your mouth shut, and I’m done listening to your bullshit.” I shoved her, and she stumbled back a step.

  Her lip curled, and I knew whatever she was about to say would seal her fate with me. I’d had enough of her snide comments and her bullying ways. I would put an end to it once and for all.

  “You are, aren’t you? You’re sleeping with all of them!” Her shrill voice carried over the quiet night, and I hissed between my teeth when I realized that even the damn radio had been shut off.

  The guys had promised that if it ever came to setting Samantha in her place, they’d let me do what needed to be done. By the looks of it, they were having a hard time keeping that promise. Eli had a hold of Josh’s arm, and Aiden had his arm out in front of Jared. Mark and Ace kept shooting glances at each other. I waited until they looked at me and shook my head. I was over Samantha dragging my name through the mud because none of them were interested in her.

  She shot forward and I dodged her hand, but her intent wasn’t to punch me. No, she went for the low-ball move and grabbed my ponytail. I swore under my breath, brought my arm up between us, and pulled my head back with everything I had. When there was enough room between us, I shoved her away. Excited chatter rolled around us. Her friends cheered her on, telling her to ‘take care of that whore,’ and other hate-filled comments that insinuated my reputation was no better than a hooker’s.

  Samantha laughed and tossed her hands out to the side. “Look at you. I don’t know what I was thinking. Who the hell would sleep with you?” She picked up her hands and swept them in the air from my feet to my chest. “You have nothing there for them to hold on to, and you sure as hell don’t look like you could keep up with them.” The girls around the circle laughed, as she pointed out all of my flaws to the entire senior class. It hit me wrong, and I let a telltale wince slip across my face.

  “Oh, look, she realizes it, too!”

  I didn’t mean to, but I looked up at Ace. My eyes darted away, but I saw the anger that shimmered there. He was as pissed as I was.

  She cocked her hip out and ran her hand down her side to accentuate her voluptuous shape. “Men want something they can hold on to and well, sweetie, you just don’t fall into that category, do you?”

  I could feel the darkness creeping up on me as anger turned to rage. It consumed me until there was only tunnel vision between her and me. She snickered and pointed past me. “Ah, there she is.”

  I swung my gaze over to where Paige pushed past Aiden and walked into the circle. Her eyes were wide, and she darted a glance between Samantha and me. A look of complete disbelief was etched across her face.

  “Come on, Riley. She’s not worth it.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me back a step. I tugged myself free of her grasp and looked over to Aiden. He stepped up and pulled Paige back, putting her behind him. I could hear the angry tone in their voices as he whispered a warning that she didn’t like.

  “Aw, your girlfriend tried to keep you from getting your ass beat. Isn’t that cute?” The cooing tone to her voice destroyed the last bit of self-control I had, and I lunged for her. I didn’t care if her daddy was the sheriff—that bitch was gonna get it. I’d had enough.

  SAMANTHA DIDN’T SEE IT COMING. She was too busy playing it up to all the onlookers, and it worked in my favor. My fist connected with her jaw, and her head snapped back from the force of the blow. When she staggered backward a few steps, I unclenched my hand and shook my fingers. Her damn jaw had to have been made out of granite because my fist hurt as if I’d punched a damn rock instead of her face.

  I let her get her bearings. I didn’t want the fight to be over before it started. There was so much more I wanted to take out on her that two punches would never cover it. Her hand went up to her jaw, and she touched it carefully. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t see you doing much about it.”

  Around us, everyone laugh. I wondered if it made her feel just a taste of the hell she’d put me through over the last few years.

  She hissed through her teeth. “My daddy…”

  “Isn’t here,” I cut her off. “And even if he were, I’d still whip your ass.”

  “You bitch!”

  “Yes, we’ve established that already, so are you gonna take a swing or what? ’Cause honestly, I have better things to do tonight.”

  “Don’t you mean people?” she hissed.

  “Yeah, well, that too, if I’m lucky.” I smirked, which enraged her. Let her think whatever she wanted. I knew the truth. The Six and I had always been friends. Nothing more.

  Aiden shouted loud enough for everyone to hear him. “Hot damn boys, this could be our lucky night. Do you think she’ll pick me?”

  I turned my head and shot him a deadly glare. Samantha took advantage of it. Before Aiden could warn me, Samantha’s fist connected with my eye. Her punch hadn’t hurt with the little effort she’d put behind it. It was the monstrosity of a ring she wore that really did the damage. The skin under my eye burned, and I knew without even seeing it that she’d ripped a gouge in my skin.

  When Samantha stepped back, crying out as she shook her hand, I made my move. I didn’t even think about it. I tackled her to the ground and followed through with a punch to her face, not even sure where it landed. I lifted my fist again, but an iron grip caught my wrist and held tight.

  I blinked to focus with my good eye and saw Ace leaning in close. “That’s enough, Riley. You made your point.”

  His voice brought me back from the edge of the murderous rage I’d slipped into. He dipped his head in her direction, and I looked at her. My hand was wound tight in her hair, and I’d lifted her upper body off the ground to deliver another blow. I let my body sag, and I felt her shudder underneath me. I’d climbed right on top of her to deliver the next blow and hadn’t even realized it. When Ace felt me relax, he let go of my wrist and put his hand out to help me up.

  “Let her go, Riley. I think she’s learned her lesson.”

  I wasn’t ready to let her go. I had one more thing to say to her, so I leaned in and dropped my voice low enough for only her to hear me. “You’re right. I’ve had them all and let me tell you, they’re so good. Too bad you’ll never know.” I jerked my hand out of her hair and let Ace help me up.

  I tilted a little to the side, and he wrapped his arm around me to steady me before he’d let me walk.

  A blow to my back took my breath away. I heard Ace cuss as he tried to keep me from face planting into the ground. Even with his help, I fell to my knees. Stars bloomed behind my eyelids, as I struggled to get air into my lungs.

  I could hear the other guys shouting, and then Jared hollered over the top of them all. “Get that fuckin’ bitch outta here before I forget she’s a girl!”

  I gasped into the ground, not able to move. Ace hovered over me, talking to me, but nothing made sense. I could feel myself slipping off into the spot where you go when you’ve been subjected to too much pain and your body shuts down. I swear my mind played tricks on me. The tone in his voice was unsteady. He was scared, and I think he called me baby. My eyes closed, and I let the darkness swallow me. Some graduation day it had turned out to be.

  “SHIT, MAN. WHAT ARE WE supposed to do?” The fear in Josh’s voice made my senses come alert.

  “I don’t know, but I’m not taking her back to her dad like that.” Ace’s tone was dead set.

  “What if she’s got internal bleeding or some shit?” Jared asked. His voice moved al
ong with him, and I could tell he was pacing the floor.

  “I doubt she has internal bleeding. More than likely, the air got knocked out of her. Besides, it’s her face that should bother you the most.” Paige was there, and she was being the voice of reason. “Boys, just give me a second to look at her without you hovering.”

  I could hear the tension in her voice, but they listened to her because I heard several sets of feet trekking across the floor, and then a door shut.

  Where am I?

  Paige’s hand came down to rest on my shoulder. “They’re gone now. You can open your eyes.”

  I sighed, and then winced from the pain it caused in my back. “What the hell happened?”

  “You finally took on Samantha.”

  I cracked my eyes open, as Paige squatted down so I could see her. Her hands gripped the edge of the well-worn table that I laid face down on. A sense of relief washed through me. They’d brought me to the cabin.

  “The guys made everyone go home, then loaded you up in Ace’s truck, and brought you here. They didn’t dare take you anywhere else.”

  I groaned. “A hospital would have been nice.”

  She gave me a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah right. I can see you coming to in a hospital. You would’ve decked all of us for that.”

  I tried to push myself up but couldn’t.

  “Just lay still for a minute. I haven’t had a chance to look at the damage she did to your back with the log she threw at you.”

  “She threw a log at me?”

  “Yep.” I felt her lift my shirt up, and then a low hiss slipped past her lips. “This needs to come off, so I can clean up whatever sliced across your back.”

  I groaned, knowing I had to not only roll over onto my side, but also force myself upright.

  “I got ya, Riles.” Paige’s hands gripped my shoulder and hip, rolling me onto my side. I stiffened out like a plank, and she smirked at me. “Curl your legs toward the edge of the table and keep yourself locked like this. I’ll do the rest.”

  I clamped my lips together and went completely rigid. Once I pulled my legs up like she wanted, Paige had me sitting upright in one quick move.

  “You can loosen up and breathe now,” she said, lifting my shirt up my back and over my head. I raised my arms out in front of me, and she peeled it away. Razor-sharp pain exploded across my back with every movement. As soon as I was free, she tossed it behind her. The door creaked open as Ace walked in.

  “Ace! Get out!” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, gasping when my skin pulled taut.

  “Not gonna happen, Riles. Here, Paige, I brought you the first aid kit.”

  “Thanks, Ace. I got it from here.” Paige walked around me to block his view.

  I heard him move around her. The next thing I knew, his fingers touched my shoulder gently. “I swear to God, she’s so lucky she’s a girl.”

  I knew he was angry, but I hadn’t realized just how much until that spewed out of his mouth. Samantha should thank her lucky stars she was born a girl, ’cause if she were a boy, the Six would have taken her out.

  The latches to the first aid kit popped open, and Paige pulled out the items she needed. The room was chilly. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fight the shiver that raced up and down my entire body from it. The fact that the AC vent blew down directly on top of me didn’t help.

  “Paige, can you give me my shirt?” I asked as my teeth chattered together.

  “Nu–uh. It’s covered in dirt and blood. Just sit tight. I’ll get you a blanket when this is cleaned up and bandaged.” Paige’s hands were as cold as the air blowing down on me, and I shuddered again with a groan.

  I heard the slide of fabric and looked over about the same time Ace handed me his shirt.

  I greedily accepted it, pulling it close, thankful for the warmth of his skin, which lingered in the material. I looked up at him and caught a flicker of something I’d never seen in his eyes before. It disappeared so fast that it left me wondering if I’d mistaken what I saw. He continued to stare are me, so I gave him a tight-lipped smile of thanks and ducked my head. His scent flooded my nose, and I inhaled the faint hint of cologne as I buried my face in his shirt.

  “Hand me another antiseptic wipe, Ace,” Paige said.

  I heard him move back and whistle through his teeth. “I don’t know whose ass I wanna kick first. Jared’s or Samantha’s.”

  The cold chill of the antiseptic wipe slid across my back, and a high-pitched whine slipped past my lips.

  “Sorry, Riles. I’m trying to be gentle,” Paige said as she lightened her touch.

  “It’s not that. It’s frickin’ cold.” To prove it, my skin broke out in goose bumps that raced along my entire body.

  “Hold her hair out of the way, Ace.”

  He did as she asked, but stopped her before she could continue cleaning my back. I felt my hair slip free, as Ace’s fingers run through the length of my hair, collecting it all together and pulling the hair-tie around to wrap it up into a sloppy ponytail.

  “You’re pretty good at that.” I could hear the humor in Paige’s voice.

  “Yeah, well, don’t tell the guys,” Ace joked back with her.

  He’d done it a few times before when we’d worked together on house calls. The last time had been about a week ago when my hands were covered in blood from rescuing a calf that had gotten itself tangled up in a saggy piece of barbwire fence. We’d been driving down a dirt road that cut between Jared’s place and the Willis’ when I noticed it. I’d thrown the truck in park, and Ace had followed along beside me to the spooked calf. Not one word was spoken as we worked together to free it. Ace’s hands were cleaner than mine were, so he dialed Old Man Willis and Dr. Anderson, our local veterinarian, and we’d spoken to them on speakerphone.

  Ace had managed to stay out of the blood when he pulled the fence away from the wounded calf, and I did what I always do. I dove in without a thought to the mess I’d make of myself. I struggled to keep the calf down without hurting it even further. By the time Dr. Anderson made it there, my hair had partially slipped out of the ever-present ponytail I’d kept it up in. I blew the strands out of my face, mostly out of habit. There were just some things I didn’t want in my hair. Blood and cow shit were two of them.

  Ace had waited until Dr. Anderson had sedated the calf, and we helped him load it up in the back of his truck. Old Man Willis showed up a few seconds later, and we filled him in on what happened. I tossed my keys to Ace and went to bail into Dr. Anderson’s truck, but the vet’s hand caught the door. He’d tipped his hat back on his forehead and squinted against the harsh afternoon sun. “Isn’t today your day off?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “No buts, Riley. I swear, you work harder than I do most days. Go, I’ll be fine.” There was a worn look to Dr. Anderson. A kind one, but tired. He worked around the clock in our town. It didn’t matter what time it was. If you called him, he’d be there. He settled his hat back over his shaggy, brown hair and reached out to pat me on the shoulder.

  I answered him, as he turned away to walk around the front of his truck. “I don’t mind.”

  “Yeah, but I do. You have plenty of time later to wear yourself out with this job. Right now, you need to enjoy this last bit of freedom and take the day off.” He climbed in his truck and fired the engine.

  Old Man Willis’ truck kicked up a cloud of dust, as he raced down the dirt road and pulled up beside Dr. Anderson’s window. They exchanged a few words, and Dr. Anderson drove off with Old Man Willis following behind him. When he passed, the old man stuck his hand out the window with a wave of thanks to us.

  “Well, that was… fun,” Ace said, as he jingled my keys in his hand.

  Turning, I scrunched my face up at him. “Fun?”

  He laughed at me and stuffed my keys in his pocket. “Come here, that’s driving me crazy.”

  I tilted my head in question, and my hair bounced off my cheek.

  “That.” He poin
ted at my hair.

  My eyes cut up to the left, wondering what he meant.

  He put his hands on my shoulder, turned me around, and put my hair back to rights.

  The first aid kit snapped closed, and I pushed back the latest memory of my time with Ace, pulling his shirt tighter against me. When had he started taking over all of my thoughts?

  “Okay, you’re all set. It’s not as bad as it looks. Bruising from the log she hit you with and a long scrape right under your bra strap, but other than that, you’ll live. You’ll just be a little sore for a couple of days,” Paige said, setting the box on the table beside me. After everything, waking up in the cabin, losing my shirt, Ace walking in on my half nakedness, and still, my biggest worry was how the hell I would get off the table without flashing him.

  Embarrassment flooded through me. I knew my cheeks would be a deep shade of red, so I kept my face down. The shirt Ace had taken off and handed to me did little more than cover my face. I hadn’t even covered myself up with it. No, I’d been too busy inhaling his scent and replaying the last time we were alone together.

  “Did you bring any clothes with you?” Paige asked, as she crossed over to the recliner by the fireplace and sat.

  “No. I hadn’t planned to stay out tonight.” I pulled Ace’s shirt lower to cover the plain white bra I had on.

  Ace stepped back and leaned against the far wall of the kitchen. “You still have a change of clothes from the last weekend we all stayed out here.”

  “I do?” How did he remember that, but I couldn’t?

  “Yeah, I found them in the drawer the other day. Hang on; I’ll go see what’s there.” He walked past me, and my eyes followed him until he disappeared down the hallway.

  When I knew he could no longer see me, I carefully slipped his shirt over my head and slid my arms out through the sleeves. I kept looking down the hallway, waiting for him to reappear.