Page 105 of Forever After All

“I think we should go to the cabin,” Jess said.

Linc stopped and looked her in the eye. “Please?”

“No,” Jess said. “But I do need help getting on my horse.”

He hung his head in his hand for a minute before offering her his arms. Protecting her injuries, he helped her to her feet.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“Positive. As long as you’ll take care of the scratch when the bandages need changing and let me help out during the day.”

“I don’t want to do that,” Linc said.

“You don’t want to help me?”

“No. I don’t want you to help me.”

“Well, tough,” Jess said. She squirmed a little before Linc realized she wanted to cross her arms but couldn’t.

“What about you take care of meals, and I’ll do all the rest?” he asked.

She sighed, and her shoulders dropped an inch. “Fine, but only because I like doing it.”

“It’s a deal,” Linc said before pulling her close. Careful not to touch her injured shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “Stop scaring me.”

“I’m not scaring you,” she said back. “People get hurt sometimes, and it’s no big deal.”

He wanted to argue with her on that point. Itwasa big deal, if only to him. The image of Jess lying lifeless in the ravine would haunt him for a while.

“Did you lose consciousness when you fell?” he asked.

“No. I just needed a minute to wrap my head around what was hurting. And I prayed a little. I wanted to be prepared for whatever injuries I had.”

He ducked his chin and rested his jaw against her hair. She was so much stronger than anyone gave her credit for.

“I prayed for you too because I knew you were going to freak out,” she said.

“I didn’t freak out.”

“You did. A little bit.”

Linc chuckled once. “Okay, maybe a little.” He was still freaking out on the inside, but she didn’t need to know how much the fall had shattered him.

She pulled back enough to look up at him, and her small smile had his heart racing for a different reason. She’d been drifting closer over the last few weeks, and the change between them was becoming impossible to ignore.

And he didn’t want to. From the look on her face, she didn’t want to fight it either.

Assured her injuries were tended and that she wasn’t in too much pain, Linc released her and nodded his head toward the woods. “I’ll go get water. Are you okay to hang out here for a few minutes?”

“I’m fine. I’ll just be spoiling the horses,” she said.

Good. Knowing she was happy and willing to take the rest she needed, Linc set out for the creek, making a note to mark the ravine on the map as soon as they reached the cabin.

Chapter32

Linc

Linc sat with his back against the headboard of the twin bed. The cabin was small, but it didn’t need nearly as much work as he’d expected. He’d clean out the chimney tomorrow, pull up some broken boards on the front porch, and cut some firewood.

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