Page 22 of Words from the Heart
Chapter 18
Delilah woke to banging – a lot of banging. Rolling out of bed, she was shocked to see it was after noon. “Shit.” She forgot about her hand, smacking the bright pink cast against her forehead as she attempted to run her fingers through her hair. She pushed to her feet and headed to the bathroom.
Delilah was disgusted with her reflection. Her brown hair was looking sad and her eyes had lost some of their glow. Turning on the water, she took a quick shower. The banging seemed to be double – making her head pound even under the spray of the water. Turning off the water, Delilah hopped out and toweled off. She was going to kill Parker. Her head was not in the mood for all the noise. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and stormed down stairs.
“PARKER!” Delilah yelled as she pushed through the back door, unaware that the decking had been ripped up in a few places, her foot hit a hole throwing her forward.
“Whoa there,” strong arms wrapped around her, tugging her to a stand, “you alright, Darlin?”
“Who in the fuck are you?” Delilah spewed as she dusted herself off, “And why in the hell is there a giant hole in the deck?”
“I’m Hank. You must be Delilah.”
“Where is Parker?”
“He just left to go pick up some decking nails. As you so gracefully saw, we are replacing some bad wood.”
“Ugh… Whatever. Tell Parker I want to talk to him when he gets back.” Delilah was mumbling her fury as she stepped over the gaping hole. “I’ll be at the barn.”
“Delilah,” Hank called out after her, “You need to quit playing my friend.”
“Who. In. The. Hell. Do. You. Think. You. Are?” She spun piercing him with a glare fit to kill a man.
“Whoa, hold up hot pants. I’m just saying Parker has lost enough in his life. He doesn’t need some chick playing around with his heart – it’s been through enough.”
“First of all, I am not playing your friend. And second,” She calmed herself, “what do you mean he’s been through enough? How would you even know that?”
“Parker and I were in the Marines together. I watched when his whole world crumbled, right along with his desire to serve his country.”
“I don’t even know what that means. But Parker is a big boy – I think he can handle himself.” Delilah turned, heading for the barn.
“Yeah – except I am pretty sure my friend loves you. And if you don’t feel the same, you should steer clear.”
She stuck her hand up, giving him a one finger salute, as she disappeared around the barn. How dare Hank, whoever the hell he was, tell her what to do. She wasn’t intentionally leading Parker on. Hell, she was scared to death about how she felt. But space and time is what she needed to get those feelings worked out in her head.
Walking towards Ed’s stall, she heart stopped beating and the air left her lungs. There, laying on the ground was her beloved horse. She dropped to her knees, not realizing she’d screamed.
“Delilah?” Hank’s voice called out, “Well shit.” He dropped next to her, seeing that the horse was most likely dying. “Darling, we need to call a vet. Now, I can do that, but you’re going to need to tell me who to call.”
“I…” her voice cracked, unable to make a coherent sentence.
“Hank?” Parker called out, “What are you… FUCK!” he pushed passed Hank, kneeling beside Delilah. “Delilah, honey – let me see him.”
Delilah scooted back, giving Parker room to look at her horse. She couldn’t move much, and words betrayed her.
“Parker, tell me who to call. She’s in shock.”
Parker tossed Hank his phone, blurting out a name to call. Hank made the call, giving details to the person on the other end of the phone. “Can you stay out here until the vet gets here? I’m going to take Delilah inside.”
“NO! I need to stay here.” Snapping from her shocked stated, Delilah shook her head.
“Delilah, they will need room to check him. Let’s go inside and wait, I’ll sit with you, ok?”
Delilah simply nodded and let Parker lead her into the house. He guided her to the couch and helped her sit. “Let me get you some water.”
“He was fine.” She took the glass from him and sipped.
“Awe, damn. Delilah that horse was old when I came to work for your grandma. He lived longer than any horse I’ve ever known. But’s let’s wait and see what the doc says, ok?”
