Page 66 of The Brave and the Reckless

My boots were caked in mud by the time I made it close enough for him to spot me.

“Go back inside! You’re getting wet all over again,” Noah shouted over the rain.

“Too late.” I lifted my arms demonstratively. The shirt he’d gotten me was already drenched.

“You’ll get sick.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Go back.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“The door is stuck,” he finally replied.

Inside the stables, Tornado and Crumble neighed. The wind was pushing the rain through the open door and water was pooling down the center aisle of the stables. If it kept raining like this, it wouldn’t be long before it reached the horses.

“Stay there. I’ll push from inside. On three.” I slipped past him and took the opposite door handle. “One, two, three.” We both pushed against the sliding doors. They only budged half an inch. I blinked up at the mechanics, water dripping down my nose. “Do you think something’s stuck in there?”

“No, it’s just rust. I haven’t gotten round to fixing anything out here yet.”

“I don’t suppose you have any vinegar or baking powder here?” Not that it would have even worked in this rain. The acid would have been washed off before it could attack the rust.

“On three,” Noah said, and I steeled my grip around the door handle again.

We got another half-inch this time, a full inch by the third time we pushed.

“I need to change position.” I flexed my right knee, which had been bearing most of my weight. The hours in the saddle had already taken their toll, but the easily ignored subliminal ache was morphing into sharp pain now.

“Come here. We’ll try together.” Noah directed me in front of him, my hands right below his on the handle. Despite the rain, the heat of his body still engulfed me as he positioned his feet between mine. “One, two, three.”

I threw my weight against the door, expecting another inch at most, but this time, the thing rolled forward. It banged shut and I tried to catch my misplaced momentum. I even managed to land my steps without rolling my ankles. But my feet slipped away in the mud.

I landed with an oomph– not mine.

Noah had gone down with me. His arms wrapped around my waist. He’d absorbed most of the fall while I dropped cushioned to his chest.

“Oh god, are you okay?” I scrambled to my knees. My hands roamed over his shoulders and down his arms, feeling for any bones in places they shouldn’t be. “Are you hurt?”

“Just slipped,” he chuckled and caught my hands in his. “You good, princess?”

“Are you sure? Did you fall on your wrists? How’s your neck?” I asked, still fretting.

Noah pushed himself up on his elbows and regarded me with a furrowed brow. A slow grin spread on his lips. He seemed okay. Of course he was okay. He wasn’t me. I took a slow, trembling breath to calm my nerves. Noah was fine, and he had no clue that he’d probably shielded me from a trip to the ER by cushioning my fall.

His hand whipped up faster than I could react. He booped my nose, a wet dollop of dirt hitting me right in the face.

“Never played outside in the mud, Esra?”

“No.” I wiped the cold mud off my nose and glared at him. My momentary panic washed away. “Oh, you’re so dead.” I swung my leg over his hips while grabbing two fistfuls of mud. He laughed, barely even trying to field off my hands as I slapped the mud on to his broad chest and spread it up his neck.

“You’re playing dirty,” he huffed, mud-coated hands grabbing hold of my legs.

“Who’s making jokes now?” I dipped my hands back into the sludge and slid them around the sides of his face. He just let me spread the dirt over his cheeks and stubble. No protest whatsoever. “You know, women in New York would probably pay good money to get an organic Tennessee mud facial.”

“I’mnotjoking.” His hands roamed up the sides of my legs, leaving a coat of mud in their wake. “This is a very dirty trick to keep me pinned down.”

I glanced down, only then realizing what he meant. The rain had soaked me to the point where I couldn’t tell where my shirt stopped and my skin started. That strangesensation extended to the fact that I wasn’t wearing any clothes other than the shirt. Something Noah was clearly aware of as I straddled his lap.

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