Page 47 of Burning for You

“Are you done?” Levi yells.

I look around, thinking.

“Not yet!” I shout back at him.

I peel my eyes for anything that I can use to subdue my captor.

The mental map I drew in my head yesterday is still clear. There’s a hangar at the ranch, with a Cessna’s propeller poking out. I could risk it and go for it. But I need a weapon right now.

I look under the mattress, check every corner, search behind the burner, and finally I locate something under a pile of leaves.

Next time the man is with me, he’ll taste this old rusty pipe.

“Come in,” I say.

With an impatient sigh, Levi enters.

I stand firm behind the door with the pipe in my hand.

“Carolyn?”

He comes into view.

Whack!

Levi falls on his belly. I can see he’s desperate to squirm, but the man is trying to mask his agony. The gun is still in his grip, it’s too risky to snatch it from him. So I go for the door, shut it, click the padlock and lock him in as he did to me.

I almost feel sorry for him, I do, and part of me wants to check if he’s okay, but I’ve gotta go. I didn’t hit him that hard. He can get help later.

“Hey there,” I say, approaching Levi’s horse. It’s the same horse that I shared the ride with on that trailer.

I can’t remember the last time I was on horseback, but I convince myself it will be like riding a bicycle—it’s a skill you can’t forget.

From inside the shed, Levi shouts, “Carolyn!”

Hearing his voice, the horse whines.

“No, no, no!” I say, trying to hold on to the reins. Looking at the horse’s stance, I’m sure he’s about to rear.

“Grudge, stay!” Levi says, kicking the door from the inside. “Grudge, stay with me!”

So the horse’s name is Grudge, and he does listen to Levi. The chestnut horse stays, stopping his wild moves, but his ears are drawn, his eyes still nervous.

“Easy, easy, Grudge. Remember me?” I give the horse some slack. “I need you to take me home. Okay? Take me home.”

Miraculously, Grudge completely calms down.

Now, how do I get on him wearing this skin-tight skirt? I would say Levi chose my outfit to purposely make it hard for me to move around, but the truth is, I didn’t bring any other pants.

So be it. I have to deal with this skirt that I was supposed to wear today to the meeting in Bozeman.

“You won’t get away with this, Carolyn!”

As I struggle to mount Grudge, the lock on the shed starts to give way.

I lift up my skirt and then swing my leg over Grudge’s back, tearing the slit on my skirt in the process. Despite my clumsy attempt, I manage to mount the horse without stressing him out. “Come on, Grudge. Let’s go home.”

“Grudge!” Levi seethes, barely out of the shed. He scampers toward us, but Grudge and I are well on our way. “Carolyn. Dammit!”

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