Ring of Fire

by Hestand, Rita

  Even though there was little future in pursuing Hank, the need to know more about him kept her following him. She hoped his place wasn't too far away.

  About to give up and turn around and go home, he finally pulled into a place out in the middle of nowhere.

  She couldn't be sure he hadn't seen her, for it was hard to follow when there was no trail. She hid herself now in the bushes about the place and peeked through to watch.

  In a moment, a little gray-haired woman came out on the porch, her smile was all for him and she took him into her arms the minute he mounted the porch steps. The woman was little and bent over a bit, her gray hair was short and glistening in the setting sun. But her attention was all for him and Letty could tell they were close.

  They talked for several minutes before going inside, but it was long enough to see the contended look on both of their faces. So this was his grandmother. She looked so kind and sweet, and Letty had an urge to barge right in and introduce herself, but thinking about Hank's reaction kept her still. Some things you just couldn't push.

  This one time meeting would have to be enough.

  Resigned to the fact that they weren't coming back out, she back tracked to the ranch where she settled her horse in the barn and she stopped long enough to curry him good before going in the house.

  She didn't realize that tears were choking her. Seeing Hank with his grandmother just like he said made Letty feel so lonesome all of a sudden.

  What made things worse, Julie was moving out this weekend and she knew the sadness that griped her wasn't just missing Hank, but missing a sister she had come to get close to, her family.

  She sighed. Now that Julie was married she'd be busy a lot, and there wouldn't be time for all the long talks they had when she first came home. Letty would miss that. Sandy was dating Mike and didn't seem to have much time to talk and Wendy couldn't keep her mind or eyes off of Wade for five minutes.

  Now that Hank had practically told her they would never be anything to each other, Letty felt a loss, deep within her.

  She liked Hank. Really liked him. She couldn't remember the last time she could say that about a man before.

  She thought Eric had ruined it for her long ago, but somehow she had survived the situation and in complete silence.

  It had been a long time since she'd had such a melancholy feeling swamping her. She had to get a grip. This was a happy time for her sister and niece.

  But when Julie and Kellie came bouncing down the hall with smiles on their faces, Letty felt the tears barely at bay. She didn't want to ruin this for them, but she was in pain keeping the tears away.

  "Oh now, you aren't going to cry, are you?" Julie chuckled.

  "I'll try not to." Letty turned her head so she couldn't see the cloud of tears crowding the corner of her eyes. Julie was joking, but this didn't feel like a joke. It was painful.

  "We'll be here every day. Well…most every day," Julie corrected.

  "I'm gonna miss you, something awful," Letty admitted.

  "You are crying, I can't believe it, Letty, honey. I'll come see you regularly. Okay?"

  "Don't be silly, you are gonna have to fix up your place and keep it up. You won't have the time."

  "Don't worry. Wendy has already informed me that the will states we have to be here every day…for a year. So I will be here." Julie laughed.

  Cade passed them and grabbing Julie's elbow, he smiled at Letty. "I keep telling her we don't need the money. But we've decided already that as soon as she inherits we are gonna set up a big sum of it for the underprivileged children I've been working with. We've both agreed to enlarge my place so we will have plenty of room for all of them and more."

  "Really? That's so….well, that's just so sweet!" Letty cried and finally let the tears fall pretending that his statement affected her so.

  "Don't worry Aunt Letty, I plan on havin' sleep overs with you." Kellie laughed when she saw her aunt wiping the tears away.

  "You better!" Letty laughed.

  "You'll see me every day, I still work here." Cade chuckled as he carried out some baggage to the truck.

  "Right." Letty nodded with a smile.

  "And I think we are overdue for a long talk." Julie smiled as though she knew something Letty didn't.

  Sandy breezed through the hallway. "You still packing up?" she asked.

  "Almost through." Julie smiled. "Where you been?"

  "Out!" Sandy smiled.

  "Sounds mysterious. Letty, you better start keeping an eye on our little sister here, she's getting to be such a gad about."

  "Out with Mike again?" Letty asked, as she saw the look on Sandy's face. She was flushed.

  "Yes, as a matter of fact, I was." Sandy snickered and went to her room before anyone could ask any more questions.

  Julie leaned close and kissed Letty on the cheek. Letty hugged her tight. "Don't forget me, okay?"

  "Deal. Now stop your fretting," Julie commanded.

  "I'll come over and we'll talk," Julie assured her.

  "I'll count on it," Letty informed her.

  Before she could stop crying, they were gone and the house seemed so empty. This feeling of abandonment hurt.

  And now she thought about Hank, and another tear slipped down her cheek.

  Chapter Seven

  Bored and lonely, Letty decided it was time to ride Thunder.

  As she entered the barn, no one was about. She found it strange that Caleb wasn't hanging around. But it was a lucky thing for her; he probably wouldn't appreciate her riding Thunder.

  She took the bridle and reins and led Thunder out of the barn. He'd just been brushed down and seemed preoccupied at eating, but Letty was just as preoccupied with riding him.

  She ran her hand over him and smiled. "You are a fine looking horse. I'd like you to be my horse, but you've got to let me ride you first."

  The horse neighed and Letty laughed.

  "Let's do this…" she whispered for Thunder.

  The wild look in his eyes told her he wasn't as at ease as she seemed to be.

  "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. And I hope you extend me the same courtesy." She pet his head as she walked to his side. With a long sigh, she gently put the saddle on his back. The horse moved with jerky movements, obviously uncomfortable.

  "Easy boy," she whispered.

  Again she caressed the horse, trying to put him at ease.

  After she cinched the saddle, she put her foot into the stirrups and pulled herself up. Thunder reacted by rearing.

  "Whoa boy, it's alright. We can do this together," she whispered.

  But a noise from the other side of the barn distracted Thunder and he reared again. He took off in a run and jumped the corral fence. Letty hung on for dear life. Several cowboys saw the distressed horse and her hanging on for dear life, but they couldn't catch up to her. Letty never felt so out of place. Her senses disentangled from her body, a numbness covered her thoughts and actions as Thunder took complete control. Thunder had been scared and now she had no control over the animal.

  She felt the air rushing from her lungs as Thunder bucked hard and threw her high into the air. Only a moment things seemed suspended, and then the hard reality that she was about to hit the dirt made her panic.

  She smelled the thick dust about her; she heard the sound of bone against earth and the impact of hitting it. Pain radiated from every fiber of her being as darkness nearly swamped her. Her brain barely registered the fact that she was lying on the ground. Dirt and dust settled against her teeth as she tried to raise her arm; Thunder pounced upon it and now it lay beside her, limp, unresponding and her teeth ground against dirt as the pain swamped all other feelings.

  She heard a scream then realized it was coming from within, and it seemed a hundred cowboys were at her side in seconds. It was Hank though that picked her up in his arms and carried her to the house. Although the pain racked her body, something within her recognized she was once again safe.

  The pain was
so bad she could do nothing but hang onto him with the one good arm she had.

  "I'm sorry, something spooked him…" she tried to explain as her body slumped against him.

  Hank didn't say a word, but carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom where he laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

  He finally looked straight at her, his face pale, his hands shaking. "Don't you ever do that again." He reviled her, as he turned away from her.

  "Do what?" she barely managed, the pain nearly making her faint. It was hard to draw breath, hard to see into his face, impossible to grasp what he said.

  "Don't you ever get on that animal again….especially with no one around. He's much too wild to ride," Hank said, his voice full of some emotion she couldn't identify.

  "Well, I…" she began, but this time the pain overtook her speech, and what was once light was now dark as she fainted.

  She didn't know anything for hours, and when she did wake up, Hank was gone and the doctor was there, along with Wendy and Wade.

  Wads of frowns surrounded her. Seas of faces peered at her. A sharp pain in the one good arm, and then it came, the relief flooded her as the pain medicine began to work.

  It was some time later that she recognized her sister's concerned voice.

  "Letty, whatever possessed you to ride Thunder like that?" Wendy wiped her head with the back of her hand and stared seriously into her face.

  Letty glanced about her. "Well, I…" She saw Wade's dark brooding face and she turned away.

  The doctor closed his bag and moved toward the door. "She'll be alright in a few weeks when that arm and those ribs heal. Come to the office at the end of the week; let me make sure you are on the mend. I'll rewrap it for you."

  Letty nodded at the familiar family doctor although his face seemed so distorted, and the words seemed to slur in her mind.

  "Thanks." She tried to smile at him.

  "And no more horse riding for a while." He smiled sympathetically.

  "If you insist." She barely managed a nod.

  "I do."

  "That was a very stupid thing to do, you know. You could have broken your neck, Letty. What were you thinking?" Wendy admonished, the worry in her voice carried over to Letty as she lay helpless on the bed wishing she could make this day start all over and knowing she had to accept the reprimand from her sister and Wade.

  "What was I thinking?" She sighed as moving on the bed seemed impossible.

  Wade looked over Wendy's shoulder. "From now on that horse is off limits to anyone but me and Cade and Hank, do you understand?"

  Letty nodded dully. "It wasn't Thunder's fault." She nodded numbly as the pain medicine seemed to ebb through her limbs, dulling the pain to bearable once more.

  "You scared me to death, Letty," Wendy admonished once more.

  "Sorry," Letty nearly cried.

  Wendy stared with disbelief. "Sorry. Letty…what's wrong with you? Don't you know how much we all love you?"

  Letty stared at Wendy for a long moment, trying to regain her full focus. "I–I'm sorry…" she managed, turning her head to the pillow so a tear could escape. No one had told her they loved her in so long and it hit Letty hard. She hadn't expected it from Wendy. Another pain shot through her, but this pain was not physical, this pain came from the heart.

  "I guess I wasn't thinking," she murmured a minute later, as she finally recognized the distress on her sister's face.

  "That horse might seem tame, but he isn't. He's given us all a lot of headaches, Letty," Wade informed her.

  "I really thought I could ride him. I thought we had some kind of connection. I guess I was wrong," Letty admitted, her words slurring again.

  "You were. You had every cowboy on this property concerned. I thought Hank was gonna tear the place up. The way he stormed out of here, slamming the door almost off the hinges. Obviously he blamed himself for it."

  "Why would he do that?" Letty asked in a whisper, as thoughts of Hank carrying her to the bedroom ran through her mind.

  "I don't know except he kept muttering something about he knew you wanted to ride Thunder, he should have watched after you."

  "It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. I thought I could do it. That's all. You all know how stubborn I can be at times."

  "Never seen any man fly off the handle so quick when he spotted you and Thunder about to pounce on you. Hank was hollering for help or at Thunder, we don't know which and running at the same time."

  "I'll apologize to him." Letty closed her eyes.

  She remembered the strong arms carrying her. She remembered the strange look on his face just before she passed out. Hank…Hank had saved her.

  Letty's arm ached and the pain surrounded her as bits and pieces of the day flashed through her head. "I'm so sleepy…" She glanced at Wendy who was staring at her with a white and worried face. "I can't seem to…stay a—"

  "Let's let her rest. I guess we have scolded her enough." Wendy finally smiled. "I'll check on you in a bit."

  Letty didn't remember anything for hours, but when she awoke it was dark and the house was silent. The medicine had worn off. The pills for pain were on her night stand. But there was no water. She got up, threw on a robe and walked down stairs to get some water.

  She didn't want to wake anyone so she didn't turn the lights on.

  She was about to open the refrigerator when a gruff voice interrupted her and made her jump. The jump made her hurt once more, and she almost cried out. She shrieked from surprise and pain.

  She grabbed her arm.

  Hank was by her side in a second. "What are you doin' out of bed?"

  She didn't know where he came from, she didn't care. Just hearing his deep voice made her feel better.

  But the lack of sympathy and scoldings made her want to cry. She never cried. Letty wanted to cry, her arm hurt so bad she could hardly get a glass from the cabinet.

  Hank reached over her head and got the glass down.

  He was close, very close and she was afraid she'd see nothing but a wad of frowns if she looked into his face. She didn't want to see frowns, she wanted to see his emotions.

  But the curiosity to look was too much, and the look of compassion she witnessed in his expression startled her. He cared!

  "Thanks…" she murmured.

  "Is your arm gonna be alright?" he whispered back.

  "Sure…sure it is…" she barely managed. "I'm not sure what all I did to it, but the doc sounded very confident as he was leaving."

  "You scared me to death," he whispered as his head bent and he pulled her closer so he could touch his lips to hers.

  The kiss was so unexpected, and so welcome she nearly collapsed in his arms.

  Never had a man been so gentle not to touch her, and yet so insistent on kissing her. His lips caressed and sent a thrill through her that brought goose bumps to her all over her. But she didn't want to end the kiss. This was the exact medicine she needed right now, an outlet for all the pent up emotions, and yet it was more than that too.

  "I was so scared when I saw Thunder hovering over you and his hoofs ready to pounce on you. I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time," he whispered as he rained light purposeful kisses over her nose, eyelids, and then back to her mouth, as he picked her up in his arms and cuddled her against him. "I don't want to hurt you, but I need you close to me, right now."

  "Oh Hank…" She smiled as his mouth hovered above hers, just before he kissed her again.

  Each kiss was better than the last, her mind registered. This is where she wanted to be, needed to be, and all the medicine in the world wouldn't do as much good as Hank's kisses.

  She whimpered in her throat at his gentleness.

  All the loneliness that had surrounded her when Julie moved out was gone, replaced by a new hope growing inside her.

  Hank let go of her for a moment and he didn't say a word. She leaned weakly against him feeling the fast thud of his heart, the heat from his body, and the security hi
s arms offered. She was too weak to respond like she wanted, and he seemed to sense it.

  "You're going back to bed, young lady, and stay there until you are better," he instructed.

  "Oh…but I need a drink of water to take another pill," she cried, looking up into his face.

  The look on his face as the moonlight hit it made her nearly gasp. She saw concern, compassion, and so much more in that one glance. Still, she was groggy and it could be just wishful thinking.

  He set her down, got the water for her, and then proceeded to carry her up the stairs once more.

  He put her on her bed, and covered her up. She looked into his frowning face, and stroked his cheek with a finger. She remembered thinking how soft his cheek felt, and warm. "What were you doing downstairs?"

  "Waiting…to make sure you were okay…" he whispered then kissed the tip of her nose.

  "How long were you there?"

  "Since I brought you up here," he managed as he kissed her once more.

  "I'm fine…now!" She smiled when he finally pulled away from her.

  "Get some rest…" he commanded softly. "Here, take your medicine…"

  He handed her another pill after checking the label in the moonlight.

  She swallowed the pill and as he started to go, she pulled gently on his hand.

  "You don't have to worry, I'm going to be fine." She watched his expressive face.

  "Get some sleep," he murmured, but she saw his eyes traveling quickly to her lips and she smiled.

  Then he was gone and sleep overtook her.

  Three days later, she was up and about and acting as though the arm was merely a nuisance. Still the pain lingered, either that or she was missing Hank who she hadn't seen since that first night. Had she dreamed him there?

  Hank hadn't been back and she missed him more than she could say. She wanted to know what his concern was all about? How much did he really care? Would he ever accept who she was and that they could make a life together? Or was she insinuating her importance in his life? There were so many questions she wanted to ask, and was afraid to.

  It was the weekend though and Hank was probably home with his grandmother. She missed him on the weekends. She missed him all the time.