Page 2 of Johnathan

“Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.” John wrapped his arms around the woman and helped her sit down. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Abby…. Abby Cooper.”

Holy fuck. His world spun. The woman in his arms was his buddy Sam’s little sister. He hadn’t seen her in nearly a decade, not since she was a kid with her face buried in a book.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Abby, help is coming, okay? I need you to take your hand away for one second so I can see what we’re dealing with.”

Her unfocused gaze told John she was likely going into shock. He moved her fingers and his stomach lurched as he looked at the wound. His hand was on top, applying what pressure he could in a delicate balance to stop the bleeding, but also not block her windpipe.

“Okay. It doesn’t look too deep, I’m just going to press my hand on it slightly to try and slow the bleeding. Just breathe for me, Abby. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be just fine.”

She whimpered and his heart shattered.

“I’m not… I don’t think …” Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and John lowered her the rest of the way to the ground, praying he hadn’t seen those beautiful blue eyes for the last time.

Two

Her whole body ached. Two hours of running on back roads filled with potholes and random rocks would do that. It wasn’t that she’d woken up wanting to run at three that morning. No. She needed to. More than she needed to take her next breath.

Running helped Abby shut her mind off. And after the nightmare she’d had, that was exactly what she needed. It wasn’t smart to run in the dark, even out in the county like she was, but what other choice did she have?

Was she just supposed to let her mom and brother watch her fall apart? No, that wasn’t an option. Especially not after how broken and cautious they were after her attack.

Besides, she’d been living back at the ranch since the attack, and their closest neighbors were the sheriff and his wife. Hank and Daisy also had an insanely adorable baby girl named Madison, who she’d taken up cuddling with when she needed a break from the ranch. If anything happened, she was confident she could make it to their place for help. Or she’d die trying.

Ten more minutes and she’d be back at the Red River Ranch. Her father had lived for that place. He ended up dying for it, too. Being back hurt deep in her bones. The plan had never been tostay with her mom and brother for so long. She’d gone back to Bell Ridge after finishing college because she loved the town, but she wasn’t meant to live with her family again.

She slowed her pace as she started her cool down. Abby found herself looking at the white farmhouse that sat up on a slight hill across from her family’s ranch. She’d always loved that house. Something about the white siding and the wraparound porch called to her. She could see herself standing there, calling her kids inside for dinner.

Abby shook her head, picking up the pace once again as she rounded the bend onto the road that would take her up to her house. It was a silly daydream she used to have as a kid. That her husband would one day buy her the house across from her parents, and their family would continue to be close. That dream died right along with her father.

In the distance, she could see the front porch light was on. Damn it. The outline of a cowboy resting against the banister told her everything she needed to know. Sam was up, and she was about to have yetanotherchat with him where he’d end up yelling about her safety.

“Are you okay? Where have you been? Mom and I have been worried sick. She’s pulling tarot cards in the kitchen trying to convince herself you’ll stop doing this soon.”

“You know I like to run in the mornings. I’ve done it since freshman year of college.”

“Not in the dark! How long have you been out there, dove?”

The nickname slammed into her chest and made the nausea from overexertion bubble in her throat. Her dad had first called her that when she was three. It had been her role in the Christmas nativity at their church, and she’d loved it so much she begged to take the costume home.

“Don’t use his nickname.”

“Abby—”

“Dad might be gone, but you didn’t take his place.”

“We’ve all called you that your whole life. It wasn’t just him.”

“Well I don’t want to be called it anymore, Sam!”

She let her body fall into the grass, arm draped dramatically across her eyes. Maybe if she just kept them closed for a few minutes, he would walk away and she wouldn’t get lectured.

“Jesus, what hell happened to my sweet little sister?” he mumbled.

She knew he wasn’t trying to piss her off, but that sent her over the edge.

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