Page 49 of Whispers of My Skin

But my main worry currently is what the fuck caused the problem with my truck last night. That was a pretty close call, and we were lucky to have escaped with our lives, so I’m having the vehicle thoroughly examined to discover what the hell was wrong with it. The thought of anything happening to Tara really scares the shit out of me, and makes me want to lock her safely away somewhere. Now I really regret setting her the stupid fucking challenge of painting the house, because the stubborn woman won’t give up until she’s finished, so I had to resort to getting Fermin to watch over her while I’m working. That guy sure is weird, and I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first. Do I feel threatened by him or jealous of his friendship with Tara? Initially I did, but having spent some time watching them together, I know he’s not Tara’s type. She can deny it all she likes, but Tara needs a man’s man, one who can take control and dominate her in bed. Fermin can be annoying as fuck, but I do believe he wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Tara. As she pointed out, he did drop everything and rush back from Europe to help her out.

“You want us to put the fences up here, right, Joel?” One of the ranch hands asks, and I’m so lost in my thoughts I can’t even remember his damn name. Something beginning with M? Marlon…? Martin…?

“Joel!”

My head snaps up when I think I hear Tara’s voice calling me, and I steer my horse around to face the direction I thought it was coming from. Hell, I must be deluded if I think I’m hearing her out here when I left her back at the house, with strict instructions to Fermin to keep her there and not to let her out of his sight.

Then I hear it again, loud and clear.

It’s definitely her, no question. Now I see her, galloping towards me on the pinto mare.

She yells my name with such urgency I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that something’s got her so spooked. Then I realize she’s galloping straight toward the trench the workers have just finished digging, so intent on getting to me that she hasn’t noticed it.

“Tara!” This time I’m the one desperately yelling her name. “Tara, watch out!”

But my warning comes too late. Despite desperately spurring my horse on, there’s no way I can get to her in time.

All I can do is watch her fall, and nothing I can doto save her.

Not. One. Thing.

I watch helplessly as the horse slides to an abrupt stop, throwing her off in the process. I hear the sickening thud as she lands on the hard ground.

The few seconds it takes to reach her are tortuous. I leap off my horse, kneeling down by her side to check how badly hurt she is. She’s barely conscious, and although I can’t immediately see any obvious injuries, she could be bleeding internally. She moans while I’m checking her over, so I make sure not to move her too much.

The mare she’d been riding makes her way out of the ditch and then gallops off. I thank the stars Tara’s foot wasn’t caught in the stirrup, otherwise she would’ve been dragged along and suffered far more serious injuries.

“Keep calm, my love, and don’t try to move. We’ll get you to the hospital just as soon as we can,” I whisper reassuringly as I gently brush some strands of hair out of her face. “Damn it, one of you call an ambulance!” I shout. “And tell them to hurry.”

“Already on it, boss,” somebody replies.

I look at where we’re located, weighing the possibilities. Thankfully the house isn’t too far away, and if we open up the gates, the ambulance should be able to get to us without too many problems.

“You, Murphy!” I shout at one of the workers, thankfully remembering his name. “Go back to the house and wait for the ambulance, then bring them up here as soon as they arrive.”

Fuck, I hate waiting.

Even though it only takes the ambulance half an hour to get here, it feels like an eternity as Tara drifts in and out of consciousness. Once they arrive, the paramedics take Tara’s vitals and assess her. When they’re happy that she’s stable and can be moved, they put a plastic collar around her neck, then carefully roll her onto a stretcher, before moving her into the ambulance. I insist on going with her—thank God there’s no quibble about this as I’m her husband—and I’m just thankful when we’re finally speeding our way to the hospital. My chest squeezes painfully when I look at Tara lying there, eyes closed, deathly pale and ethereal. I feel so powerless, I’d do anything, give anything, if it meant she was going to be okay. I’d give every last drop of my blood if she needed it. I’d give her my heart if it would save her, because she’s had it from the very first night we met.

When we finally make it to the hospital, a nurse is waiting to escort Tara to the ER, and I’m ordered to wait behind while they lead my wife away, because I need to fill out all the fucking paperwork while they get on with treating her. My first inclination is to tell them to shove their stupid paperwork where the sun don’t shine, because no way am I leaving my wife’s side, but since I’m depending on these people to do their utmost for Tara, I reluctantly back off.

Paperwork dutifully completed, I enter the waiting room to find a worried looking Fermin pacing the floor. He obviously discovered what happened from one of the ranch hands and made his way straight here.

“I’m so sorry, Joel. There was no stopping her, trust me I did try, really I did. But you know what Tara’s like once she sets her mind to something, so then I tried calling you, but there was no signal…”

I just glare at him, pissed beyond measure. I like what he says next even less.

“There’s something else, Joel. You need to call her mother. Trust me, I’m not a big fan of Monique any more than you are, but I think she needs to know her daughter’s been in an accident. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I don’t care if you think it’s the right fucking thing or not, I don’t want that woman anywhere near Tara,” I growl. “She’s the last person I need meddling and interfering. Tara is my wife, my responsibility and I’ll decide what’s best.”

“Yes, but it’s not you in that emergency room right now, is it? It’s Monique’s daughter and you have to call her. Don’t be petty, be the bigger person here by doing the decent thing.” Fermin stares back at me.

I sigh in resignation, knowing that damn it, he’s got a point. Before giving into the desire to smash the phone against the wall, I call my mother-in-law and give her the news that her daughter is in the hospital.

At least we’ve been assured that Tara’s injuries from the accident don’t appear to be life threatening, although I’ve still not been allowed in to see her.

“What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?” Those are the first words out of Monique Appleton’s mouth the second she walks into the waiting room.

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