by Dani Dundee
Misty kept an even gait and knew the way much better than she did, so Skylar let the mare do what she’d been trained to do. She remembered how much she enjoyed horseback riding, and decided to look for stables once she returned home. Now that she was working, she could afford to treat herself once in a while so some fun activities.
There was a rushing creek down alongside the trail, and the sound of the water soothed her. She felt her mood improving, and decided to make the best of the rest of the weekend. She’d only be here a few more days, and as long as Cal stayed out of her way, this would soon become a distant memory.
C.J. had mentioned that all the trails led around and back to the dude ranch, but Skylar began to get nervous that she’d been out too long. She sure needed to shower, and she had promised her mother she’d help her get ready, too. She kicked Misty, hoping to nudge her pace up a notch, and the horse took off in a flat-out run. Skylar dug in her knees and tried to pull the reins back, but Misty didn’t respond. If anything, she ran faster until she suddenly neighed wildly and reared up on her hind legs.
Skylar was able to stay in the saddle, but as she tried to pull Misty around she caught sight of what had spooked the horse. A large snake was in the center of the trail, coiled up with its head back and hissing wildly at them.
“Shit,” Skylar screamed, and Misty reared up again, this time throwing off her mount, and took off back toward the ranch. Skylar hit the dirt of the trail and rolled down the steep embankment toward the creek.
Her body bumped over rocks and plants on the muddy slope, but Skylar couldn’t stop her descent until she finally rolled into a tree, breaking her fall. She was only about three feet from the rushing waters.
She moved slowly, trying to remove the brush tangled around her pants and arms. She examined herself. Good thing she’d worn jeans and boots, so her lower half seemed unharmed. But her sleeveless blouse offered no protection, and her hands and arms were covered with scratches and bruises. Her left elbow was throbbing, and she screamed out in pain when she tried to bend her arm.
Skylar used her right arm to brace herself and managed to stand up. She grimaced at the thought of running across another snake, but started to make her way back up to the trail. The ground was muddy and the incline was steep, and it seemed she slid down more with each step than she advanced. She felt she was beginning to make headway when her boot slid over a slippery rock, and she fell back down to where she had begun.
That downward slide was worse than her original fall. She slid face down, trying to grab onto to whatever she could. When she finally fell back down to the tree, she was covered in mud, head to toes. She barely noticed, however, because along the way, she bumped her sore elbow and pain shot through her arm.
Skylar propped herself up against the tree, her head throbbing now as well. The trees and ground were spinning, and she was intensely aware of the sound of the water. It was a pleasant, comforting sensation, and she wasn’t afraid when everything went black.
***
CHAPTER 4
Cal paced the front porch in all his finery, wearing a white afternoon tux, Western-style, complete with cowboy hat, boots, and lariat. Skylar still hadn’t returned from her ride, and his calls to her cell went to voicemail. He looked into the distance to where the trails led into the woods, but the grounds were empty. Almost everyone was inside getting ready or helping finalize the preparations for the wedding.
Trent opened the screen door and joined him. “Hey, what’s up? You’d think you were getting married, not Pa, by the way you’re stalking this porch.”
“Has anyone seen Skylar or heard from her?” Cal asked
Trent shrugged. “Not that I know of. Isn’t she upstairs getting ready with the bride?”
Cal swung around, hearing the sound of hooves approaching. Misty was returning to the stables, but without her rider.
“Shit! Trent, that’s the horse Skylar left on a couple of hours ago. I’m going out to find her. Tell Pa, but don’t say anything to her mother just yet.”
He ran into the stable, jumped on his steed, and took off on the trail where he had seen Skylar disappear with Misty.
Cal cursed himself. Another fail for him. He was in charge of pairing riders with horses and ensuring the safety of all guests. But she had been so damn headstrong. He hadn’t wanted to give her anything else to be mad about, so he let her go, despite his better judgment.
“You’re a damn fool,” he said, as he headed down the trail looking for signs of an accident. He continued for almost thirty minutes, calling Skylar’s name, when he came upon a stretch of trail that looked like it had been kicked up.
Cal slowed his horse and started looking more carefully down the embankment. Quickly scanning the incline, he saw broken weeds. His eyes followed the path and saw Skylar propped up against a tree, head down.
“Skylar,” he screamed, but she didn’t move. Cal jumped off his horse and tied the reins to a low-hanging tree branch. He started down toward her and slid immediately in the mud. He tore off his jacket and dress shirt and threw them aside. He needed as much range of movement as he could muster. He took the rope that hung from his saddle, secured one end to the tree and the other around his waist, and started down the embankment again.
He called her name over and over until she finally raised her head and opened her eyes.
“Skylar, don’t move. I’m coming down.”
She lifted her arm, but it dropped limply at her side as her eyes closed again.
Cal braced himself for the slide and was at her side in only seconds.
“Skylar, can you hear me?”
Her eyes fluttered, and she nodded her head slightly.
“Cal,” she whispered, and her head dropped again.
Cal, like all the employees at Longhorn, was trained in CPR and emergency medical procedures. He checked her arms and legs and didn’t feel any breaks. His hands moved over her ribcage and around her torso.
Skylar’s eyes opened. “Hey!” she said sharply, as if reprimanding him, and he had to laugh.
“Sorry, just checking for signs of broken bones or other injuries. If I support you, do you think you can make it up to the trail?”
“I tried that already. But maybe if you help.” Skylar’s voice was weak, and he could see she was struggling to stay with him.
“Just don’t touch my left arm,” she cautioned him as he prepared to lift her.
“I’ll be careful,” he said.
Cal was able to raise Skylar to her feet, and she leaned against him, seeming more alert.
“Do you think you could stay on my back with your arms around my neck?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He untied the rope from his waist and wrapped it around hers, leaving a long amount free at the end. He turned and lowered himself to his knees. “OK, now drop against my back, and let your arms hang over my shoulders.”
Skylar did as she was told, and he took the loose end of the rope and secured it around his waist again, tying it in front of him. “Put your arms around my neck and hang on the best you can.”
When he felt her weight against him, he stood up, and put his hands under her thighs, like he was giving her a piggyback ride. “All right, here we go.”
Cal used the tension of the rope to help pull him forward. Nothing he hadn’t done during basic training after ROTC, except instead of a weighted backpack, he had a live body n his back.
Arm over arm, fist over fist, Cal pulled up along the rope until he reached the top of the incline and pulled himself over the edge to the road. He untied the rope knot at his waist.
“Skylar, slide off me onto your right side.”
No answer or movement. Cal lifted his left side slowly and let her slide off. He quickly examined her again, and was about to open her eyes to check her pupils when her lids fluttered wildly.
“Where am I?”
“You’re with me, Skylar, out on the trail. I’m going to help you onto my horse and
take you back to the ranch. But I’m going to need your help to hoist you onto the saddle. All right?”
“Sure,” she said, grinning at him like she was drunk. Cal was concerned with her disoriented state and hoped Doc Jensen, one of the wedding guests, would be at the ranch by the time they returned.
He undid the rope from the tree, but left the other end secured around her waist. He brought his horse over.
Cal put his arm around her waist, getting ready to help her into the saddle. But Skylar leaned into him, and he turned his head sharply to hers to make sure she hadn’t passed out again. She brought her lips to his, and he felt her tongue pushing gently into his mouth. The sweetness of her touch ignited flames in his heart and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her back and more. Just as he was about to open his mouth and return the kiss, he got a flash that she may not even know what she was doing, and anything that happened here would be on his conscience if later she accused him of taking advantage of her.
“Whoa, little lady. Let’s get you home and checked out. I’ll take a rain check, though,” he added when he saw of look of surprise and cognition on her face. Maybe she wanted it as much as he did, but first things first.
He helped her place one foot in a stirrup. With his help, she was able to hoist herself into the saddle. He wrapped some of the rope around the saddle horn and walked a few feet along the trail to retrieve his tux jacket and shirt. He looked down at his chest and laughed. He was covered in mud, so he stuffed the clothing into the saddlebag and got on his horse behind Skylar.
She turned and looked at him over her shoulder. Her eyes were clearer, and she appeared to be more like herself. “Guess you’ll need a shower before the wedding,” she said
He laughed heartily. “I don’t know ‘bout that,” he said. “I’m the best man and you’re the maid of honor. Right now, we’ve almost got on matching mud outfits, so I think we’ll look damn good walking down the aisle together.”
Skylar grinned, showing Cal a side of her he hadn’t seen yet. Happiness. It looked good on her. Even covered in mud, scratched and bruised, and in torn clothing, Skylar’s smile could light a galaxy.
He put his arms around her waist and gave the horse a kick. The sudden forward movement brought their bodies closer together, reviving his lust for her. His manhood grew, much to his discomfort.
Skylar pushed her rear into his bulge, and he knew it wasn’t an accident. “I never should have let you go off alone,” he whispered into her hair, and was instantly sorry. She stiffened and pulled away.
“Let me? Listen, Mr. Cowboy, just because you’ve saved my ass again doesn’t give you the right to think you can tell me what to do and what not to do.”
Cal groaned. Two strikes against him now. Just like baseball, timing was everything. He decided it would be better to wait and step up for his last at-bat sometime later.
***
CHAPTER FIVE
Skylar stared at herself in the vanity mirror. The ugly bridesmaid dress that her mother selected fit her snugly, to say the least. Her boobs popped out the top of the scoop neck like two honeydew melons trying to escape the bin.
Doc Jensen had pronounced her fit to attend the wedding, despite her badly bruised elbow and probable concussion. But he also said she’d need someone with her for at least twenty-four hours to ensure her condition didn’t worsen, which could happen after a head injury.
So she had no choice but to allow the other bridesmaids help her get ready. At least they’d let her shower by herself while they stood guard on the other side of the curtain. Now she sat still while the women fussed with her hair and makeup.
They all stood back while she examined their handiwork. With her thick blond curls held back off her face in two rhinestone barrettes, her blue eyes stood out in her pale face. She added a touch of pink lipstick. The bevy of women behind her nodded approval.
A soft knock at the door interrupted the scene.
“Ladies, it’s Cal,” said a deep voice from the hall.
She smiled at them. “Thanks, I can take it from here.”
Darlene, who claimed to be her mother’s best friend in Texas, shooed the other women out and followed behind them.
“Go ahead in, Cal. She’s more than decent,” she said.
He walked into the room and closed the door.
Skylar looked at him in the vanity mirror without turning around, trying to ignore the sudden wetness she felt between her legs as she admired his tall, muscular frame decked out once more in formal Texan finery.
“How many of those tuxedos do you have?”
He grinned. “One of the good things about living in a small town is you know everybody. A call to the men’s wear store downtown, and another was delivered out here in an hour.”
She could see his eyes were drawn to her cleavage, although he tried not to be obvious.
“You look beautiful, Skylar,” he said, and held out his arm. “I’ve come to escort you down the aisle. The wedding’s about to begin, and we’re supposed to be at the head of the bridal procession.”
Cal was her escort through the ceremony and reception line, and she was grateful when she heard the call for guests to take their seats—until she found herself seated next to him on the bridal party dais. Looking out at the sea of guests, her only thought was that in only another few hours, this would all be over.
To kick off the party, the best man stood and tapped a spoon on his glass. The room quieted and all eyes turned to Cal, and by default, Skylar.
“A toast to the couple of the day, the bride and groom,” he began.
“I’d say they may have gotten upstaged by the best man and maid of honor,” a guest called out, and a titter went through the room.
Skylar felt a blush building from her bosom to her hairline. She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.
Cal laughed, and tried to continue. He raised his glass of champagne again. “To my dear father and his beautiful bride—”
“—who may just get some peace when the bride’s daughter goes home. Hey, did y’all hear she melted a car engine yesterday and fell off her horse and rolled down to the creek today? Way to go, Yankee!” The guest’s voice was noticeably blurred with drink.
The room became deadly silent. Skylar pushed back her chair and ran from the room. With tears blinding her, she bumped against some of the guests in their chairs in her rush to get out.
“Well, folks, looks like she can’t walk, either!”
Skylar heard a crash coming from the great room, but didn’t turn around. She realized she had exited toward the kitchen, and had only two choices of where to go from there. Back into the dining room where all the guests were seated, or out the back door. She ran outside and toward the stable, the closest building and only place she could think of to hide out until everyone had left. She hid in an empty stall at the end, closing the half gate, sliding down to the floor, her back against the stall door.
Within minutes she heard footsteps coming toward her. “Skylar, are you in here?”
It was Cal.
She bent her legs under the full skirt of her dress and pulled them up to her chest, hoping if he looked in, he wouldn’t see her crouched against the door.
“Hey, that’s no place for the Maid of Honor. Please let me escort you back to the party. And don’t worry about that drunken idiot. Let’s just say he’s been removed from the premises.”
Skylar looked up. Cal was leaning over her, forearms resting on the top of the half door. He put his hand out. “Let me help you up, and bring you back inside. It’s time for the bride and groom to dance, and then we’ll be called up to join them.”
“Cal, I can’t go back in there. I’m a big joke around here.”
“Hey, no one feels that way. I got a big cheer and standing ovation when I about knocked Jimbo into the next county.”
Skylar stood up. “Was that the crash I heard from the kitchen?”
“Must have been.” He opened the gate and put out his arm
. “May I have this dance, Ms. Skylar?”
She took his arm. “Good thing nothing happened to my legs or feet in that fall. I can run and dance like nothing happened. Just don’t try swinging me around by my arms, or I may have to deck you.”
“I’ll be the most gentle dance partner you’ve ever had,” he promised. “Let me give you a demonstration here.”
He waltzed her to the door, bending her backward for a dip and kissing her with flourish before they exited.
Skylar fanned her herself upon his release. Her skin tingled where he had held her, and she found herself breathless from his kiss. She stole a look at him as they walked into the house and noticed his amused grin.
“It’s so hot out there,” she murmured. “It’s good to be back here in the air conditioning.”
The music was playing when they entered the great room, but no dancing had begun. When the bandleader saw them, he signaled his musicians, and called Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Reynolds for their first dance. After the newlyweds swept across the floor, he called for Cal and Skylar to join them, followed by the rest of the wedding party—Cal’s brothers and the bridesmaids.
Skylar felt her face flaming, but she held her head high, knowing all eyes were on them. But once Cal pulled her to his chest, all other thoughts disappeared. Her mind relinquished control to her body, which eagerly responded to her partner’s lead.
The wedding couple danced up to them, stopping to exchange hugs. “I’m mighty sorry about Jimbo,” C.J. said.
Skylar waved it away. “Not your fault.”
She turned to her mother. “I’m so sorry this visit and our reunion has been marred with accidents. I promise to lay low and not cause any more trouble for you while I’m here.”
Her mother took her into her arms. “Nonsense. You know I love adventures. Be yourself.”
Skylar laughed. Maybe she had more in common with her mother than she thought.
As more and more guests stepped out on the dance floor, Cal guided her over to the bar and took two goblets of champagne from tray.
