Page 27 of If the Boot Fits

Could she? She wasn’t so sure.

“Here.” One of his hands left her shoulder and covered her fingers above her head. “I’ll help.” He started prying her fingertips away from the shelf.

She panicked and tightened her grip. “I’ll f-fall.”

“No, you won’t. I’ve got you.”

He stepped closer, his chest resting lightly against her back. Then he looped an arm beneath her right elbow and locked his grip on her shoulder. He secured his hold on her and pulled her firmly against his chest.

This time, when he attempted to peel her fingers off the ledge, she offered no resistance. In fact, once he had the left hand free, her right hand fell away from the dash rail all on its own. He took her weight upon himself and eased them both away from the cart. She turned toward his chest, seeking his warmth as she shivered in the aftermath of her brush with death. He slipped an arm beneath her legs and carried her to the edge of the road. Slowly, he lowered her legs to the ground, holding her steady until both of them were sure her knees wouldn’t fold the instant he let go.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured, his lips close to her ear.

It wasn’t a question, so she didn’t feel compelled to answer. A good thing, since her mind seemed rather numb and blank at the moment.

“Here,” he said. “Lean on me.” He cupped the back of her head and gently pressed her cheek against his chest as he shifted his feet into a wider stance.

Not able to think of any reason not to comply, Samantha rested against him, thankful for his sturdy support. He took her weight as if it were nothing, then ran his hands up and down her arms. The friction soothed and warmed, even though her cold came from inside. His heart thumped a hypnotic rhythm beneath her ear, soothing her agitation.

Eventually, the rubbing stopped, though, and reality returned.

“Are you hurt?” Mr. Ellis set her away from him slightly, careful to keep a hold on one of her arms just in case she wobbled.

Taking a mental inventory, Samantha found nothing more serious than a sore left shoulder. “Just some bumps and bruises, I think.”

“Thank God.”

Yes, thank you, Lord.

“You gave me quite a scare.” He pulled his hat off and rubbed his sleeve across his brow. The hat quivered as he fit it back to his head, and for the first time, she realized she wasn’t the only one shaken by what had transpired.

Her lips twitched in an almost smile. “I gave myself a pretty good scare, too.”

A grin stretched wide and full across his face. “I imagine so.”

Heavens, but the man was handsome when he smiled. Well, he was handsome all the time, but that smile threatened to put the wobble back in her knees after they’d finally firmed up.

Pulling her gaze from his face, she steered it over to the shambles that used to be her horse cart. “How could this happen? Wheels don’t just fall off their moorings.”

“They can if they lose the nuts that hold them in place.”

She glanced back and caught his frown. “Surely that’s rare, though. Right? I’ve heard of broken axles and busted wheels, but never something like this.”

Mr. Ellis scratched at a spot on his jaw. “Saw it once at the Bar 7. Some of the hands were moving a hay wagon backward across the field, and a nut dropped into the grass. No one noticed until the wheel fell off. Thankfully, the wagon nuts on the other three wheels had been tightened better. Never seen it happen on a buggy rolling forward, though.” He met her gaze. “Wheel nuts are reverse-threaded, so they tighten when the wheels roll forward and loosen when they roll backward. Yours must’ve been either off altogether or too loose to catch the threads. The wheel must not have been able to maintain its position on the axle once you increased your pace.”

“But Daddy always has one of the hands check the rig for me when they hitch up Dolly. Wouldn’t he have noticed?”

She took a few steps toward the gig, thinking back to earlier in the day when she’d left the ranch. The cart had been ready and waiting for her when she left the house. She hadn’t seen any of the hands around, but then, she’d been distracted with thoughts of the lessons she wanted to teach.

“If the nut had been completely missing, a competent fella would’ve noticed, but if it was just loose . . .” He shrugged. “It coulda been missed.”

Samantha’s head started to ache. “This still doesn’t make sense. I drove to town without incident. If the wheel rolling forward is designed to tighten the nut, wouldn’t it have been tighter on the return trip?”

****

Asher blew out a breath. “I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t.” And that bothered him. An accident like this shouldn’t have happened. “Have your father check the cart over real good when he retrieves it. His men need to know what to look for to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

The very thought chilled his blood. If she’d been alone . . . Thank God Mrs. Stephenson had insisted he provide an escort. For as long as he lived, he’d never forget the abject terror in Samantha’s eyes as she clung to the edge of the speeding cart. Had she not had the presence of mind to grab the nearest handhold, she would have been thrown. A fall at that speed would have left her seriously injured if not dead.