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“I was in the far-right corner. There were a few boxes of old magazines, newspapers; I’m sure they were used to line the chicken huts out back. It’s the kind of thing my gramps did when I was a kid. Anyway, I was pushing them to the side when?—”
A shudder rolls up my spine from my toes.
“What?”
I meet his gaze, frowning. “Freaking mice!” Another shudder runs through me.
“Some tough farm girl you are.”
“Hey, I am tough. I just don’t like rodents running at me. Anyway, I still don’t know what happened first.” Suddenly, I can’t hold back a chuckle. “It would have probably been one of those moments that would win the grand prize on America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
“Okay, so what you’re saying is, there needs to be cameras out there?”
I swat his chest. “No, God, just knowing I fell and busted my ass is embarrassing enough. I do think we need a barn cat or two, especially once we start getting animals.”
“We can do that. I’m sure there is an animal rescue or a pound somewhere close by.”
“It would be best to find kittens that will only know this place. Cats can return home. They know where they belong. Even if it takes them weeks. We had that happen at my Uncle Joe’s once. He gave a cat to another farmer who lived on the opposite side of the county. The cat returned two weeks later in bad shape, but he was happy to be home.”
“Okay, kittens then.” He runs a finger along my jaw. “But you still need to tell me what happened before I take you to the ER. They’re going to take one look at you and assume I did this. I need to know exactly what happened.”
“You wouldn’t do this to me.”
“You know that. I know that. They will not. Too many women walk into medical facilities with bruises and breaks because they ‘fell.’ Trust me, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
How could—no, scratch that. I know he’s right. There have been a lot of abuse cases that have popped up in the media as of late that have been going on for years. They’d come in because they fell, or they said they’d run into a doorframe. It was all utter bullshit.
However, I will be one of those women today. Just when I say I’d hit a wall, it would be true.
“I tripped on a box. My face hit the frame of the stall door. That metal piece where the lock goes. I scrambled up and that was when I tripped over Stanley. He’d come running in, ready to defend me, but that lead got wrapped around my foot. The ladder broke my fall when I knocked it over. That’s when my knee got knocked around. I don’t know where that cut on my hip came from. The metal doorframe, a rusty nail, the ladder. God himself is the only one who knows.”
He’s checking around my temple and then behind my ear as I speak. I hiss in pain as his fingers find another sore spot. His fingertips have a smear of blood on them.
“Dammit. I don’t know when that happened.” Frustrated tears prick at my eyes.
“It’s okay. Come on. Let’s get you dressed into something comfy. I hope they’ll take one look at you and get you straight back. Your face is darkening by the minute here. Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“My elbow is sore, but I don’t have any breaks in the skin that I could see. I hit it on the wall of the stall. I think.”
“We need to get you a work excuse. No way you’re going to work on Tuesday like this.”
“Afraid they’ll blame you?” I tease. Only half-heartedly.
“I don’t care about that. I just mean you’re going to hurt like hell tomorrow, but Monday you’ll feel worse. You’re going to need a few extra days off to recoup.”
“I look like I was in a bad car wreck.”
“That you do, baby.” He moves to the closet and pulls out a tank top, a pair of my leggings, and one of his t-shirts. The Green Day t-shirt is old but one of our favorites. He helps me get dressed.
The walk to the car is long; I know the next few hours are going to be nuts.
Chapter 6
Vanessa
The barn incident from a week ago is still alive and well in the back of my head as I walk across the yard toward said barn.
The two stitches in my brow, the three staples in my scalp, and the spot on my arm—that I swear is still sore from that tetanus shot—are constant reminders. As if I could forget that graceful day.
