Page 21 of Operation: Integrity

He blew three sharp whistle blasts to let anyone around know there was trouble in the pasture. If anyone happened to be saddled, they might get to Kelly faster than Sam could on foot. Kelly leaned over Bella’s neck, clinging to her. Dread washed over him. Every time she felt a little freedom, something happened to ruin it.Why God? Why can’t Kelly be allowed to heal?

His legs ached with the strain of running that far until they were almost quivering, yet he couldn’t hear any hoofbeats behind him. No one was coming to help so he’d have to find a way to rescue Kelly himself. Another job he shouldn’t be doing. If Edwyn had been there, he’d have led her on horseback. He wouldn’t have let himself be in this position.

Bella adjusted course slightly, headed for a low hanging branch. “Kelly, look out!” He called to her. Bella ran under the branch, but Kelly was too low on her neck to be peeled off. That didn’t deter Bella who was now agitated enough to be twitching. Something outside of Kelly’s direction had spooked her and she was having no more of this ride.

Bella trotted back toward him, giving him time to getclose. Having her seemingly working to help him gave him the drive he didn’t think he had. He picked up the pace. Within a few feet of reaching her, Bella veered back for the trees.

Kelly glance up at him. “Sam, help!”

“Kelly, duck!” He realized too late that she couldn’t turn back to face the front and lean close to Bella’s neck like she had before.

With a harsh thud, Bella trotted under the tree and scraped Kelly off her back. She landed in a pile under the tree. Bella took one look at him and kicked up her pace as she raced back to the barn. “Kelly?” he finally reached her and brushed the hair from her face.

She groaned quietly. “I think I might be done riding for a few days . . . but that was kind of fun until I landed on the ground.”

He wanted to hug her, to tell her she had a fantastic attitude. He wanted to tell her that with her way of thinking, healing was possible. Instead, he felt along her back waiting to see if she flinched or if he could feel anything wrong. “Are you hurt?” He couldn’t let himself act toward her in any way that he wouldn’t for anyone else.

She brushed away his hands. “Yes, just sore. The ground must be frozen because it’s really hard.” She laughed as she slowly took to her feet and massaged her back through her coat. “I think I’ll need a hot bath when we get back.”

He glanced over his shoulder, already knowing how far they had to go. The barn wasn’t even within sight anymore. “It’s going to be a long walk, a little more than a mile. On the plus side, at least your muscles won’t seize up . . .” He tried to think positively.

“I guess you have a point there.” Her watch buzzed and Kelly’s eyes widened momentarily.

“What was that?” The timing was so odd for that to go off right after her accident. Had someone been watching them and frightened Bella to make her throw Kelly?

“Nothing.” She pressed the side of the watch. “It just wanted to know if I’d finished my exercise. I guess it must be paying attention to my heart rate.”

Or it had been paying attention to where she was and how fast she was going, therefore thinking she’d been running. He would have to talk to Dominic about these watches and see if there was any way to disable the tracking information without scaring Kelly even further. He’d also start praying that God would give her the chance to heal. Obviously, Satan’s minions were working overtime to make sure Kelly felt unwelcome and hurt.

He wasn’t about to stand for that kind of warfare.

Chapter Ten

Kelly tried to act tough but her back and legs hurt after the fall. The walk probably had helped like Sam said, but she couldn’t be thankful for that yet. Right now, everything just hurt. Plus, Sam had quit talking to her about ten minutes before and had been looking at his watch every few seconds. Was he late for something or just tired of being with her?

“Sorry, I have a longstanding riding appointment with Rebecca. Even though Junior took over as her wrangler, they still want me there to help her mount since she’s not able to do it on her own and Junior doesn’t feel confident using the hoist.”

“A hoist?” She hadn’t met Rebecca or any of the others at Wayside yet, since she’d mostly stayed in her cabin when she wasn’t with Sam. Reaching out to others was work, both physically and mentally. She wasn’t ready to tackle anything so emotional yet. Especially when the first thing she had agreed to do had left her really sore.

“Rebecca is in a wheelchair. She loves riding but needs assistance getting onto and off of the horse. She’ll eventuallyget to the point where she can do it herself, but she has a lot of muscle to build before that, and I’m happy to do it.”

Kelly nodded, wishing he sounded that happy about helping her. Instead, he had agreed but it felt like a duty. He was doing it because she felt most comfortable with him, not because he wanted to. He was also a man driven by principles of what was right and good, so he’d always been willing to put his own feelings aside for others. Now, she wished he wouldn’t. She wished he would tell her what he was feeling so they could move past the old hurts.

“Maybe I’ll get to the point of loving to ride at some point.” Kelly curled her toes in her tennis shoes and wished she’d thought to wear two pairs of socks. Her feet tingled in the cold.

She opened her mouth to comment about the chill when her watch buzzed again. She couldn’t look at it in front of Sam or he would know she was receiving communications from Nathan. He didn’t look up or seem to notice the sound and she hoped that was the case. If he knew but wasn’t saying anything, he might tell Connor which would mean she’d lose her watch. Without it, she wouldn’t ever know what happened to Jasmine.

They came to the barn and found Junior and Rebecca waiting for them. Sam grinned the moment he saw them, and her heart jolted. Did Sam care for Rebecca? He’d said there wasn’t supposed to be any feelings between guests and wranglers, but Rebecca’s face certainly lit up when she saw Sam.

Jealousy stabbed her so hard it took her breath away. When Sam laughed at something Rebecca said, the knife twisted. Kelly headed for a chair so she could rest and be alone for a minute. Sam would understand. After fallingoff her horse and walking all that way, he wouldn’t question her actions. With her back turned, she checked her watch to see what Nathan wanted.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten that I’m here. I can see you. If you tell anyone about these messages, Jasmine will die.

Kelly frantically looked through the watch options, swiping left and right but she couldn’t see how to respond to Nathan. Why did technology have to be so hard? She hadn’t told anyone about the watch.

That’s right. You’re scared. You should be. You will meet me tonight by the new section of fence where you were about a half hour ago. Come alone. If you don’t, you know what will happen.

Keeping her fear to herself no longer mattered. She needed to know where Nathan was that allowed him to see her. How had he known she was by the new section of fence? How had he known she was frightened? She glanced down at the watch again. He had to be tracking her or watching her with the watch, but what could she do? If she took it off, he would know.

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