Page 39 of Road to Rosalee

‘It can get a little tricky from here on in for a bit, so I’ll take the lead until we reach the top.’ As the track began to thin, Zai eased Sao in front.

Melody liked how he took charge and she was glad to follow him, especially for the fact of bearing witness to the muscles in his back and arms tautening as the track became a little harder to navigate. Carefully, steadily, she directed Toffee but also allowed her to take the path she was comfortable with when, out of nowhere, the mare tensed beneath her. As she glanced left to right, unease pricked the hairs on Melody’s neck right before she spotted the brown snake coiling its way to standing.

Then it all happened so fast – too fast for her to gain a thigh-tightened grip to the saddle. With a fearful whinny, Toffee reared to avoid being struck. Panicking, Melody slipped then tumbled, time seeming to stand still as she fell through mid-air before she hit the dusty ground with a bone-rattling thump. Adrenaline hummed through her veins and she was unable to draw breath. Her senses whirled way too fast for her to comprehend her surroundings. Sky, clouds, rocks, sky again, all out of focus. But then they wavered, wobbled, began to steady … and that was right about when the pain kicked in, full force. And it was excruciating, so much so she couldn’t move, nor did she want to try to. She fought to control the fear that wound tightly around her chest as she imagined having broken her back.

‘Holy hell, Melody.’ Galloping hooves neared her, quickly followed by the thud of boots hitting the ground. ‘You tumbled a fair way. Are you okay, beautiful?’

Did he just call her … beautiful? Disoriented, she waited for the sky to stop spinning before she sucked in a hard-won breath and tried to turn towards Zai’s rattled voice. He appeared at her side, his expression one of grave concern.

‘Are you okay?’ His voice was strong yet tender.

‘I’m not sure. I’m too scared to move.’ Every word was laced with searing pain.

His jaw muscles clenching, he gently brushed the tousled hair from her face. ‘Shit, Mel, you’re bleeding.’ He ripped his shirt off, buttons popping, and carefully pressed the cloth to her forehead. ‘Do you know what day it is?’

‘Saturday?’ she mumbled, unable to stop staring at his muscle-ripped chest.

‘Spot on.’ He looked her up and down. ‘Can you move your fingers and toes for me.’

She tried and was relieved to be able to.

‘That’s good.’ Zai looked to her. ‘Where do you feel the most pain?’

Everywhere, she wanted to say, but then she slowed her breathing and did a scan through her body. Even though every bit of her ached liked buggery, she quickly came to the conclusion that it was her ribs that hurt the most. She placed a hand on her left side. ‘Here.’ She winced beneath her too-firm touch. ‘Ouch, bloody hell. I think I might have broken something.’

Zai grabbed the hem of her shirt. ‘Do you mind if I have a look?’

‘Not at all.’ Rolling a little to the right, she closed her eyes as he ran gentle fingers over her – she was oddly glad she wasn’t wearing her favourite old cotton bra.

‘I honestly don’t think you’ve broken anything, but you’re going to have a whopper of a bruise.’ He helped her roll back to him. ‘There’s a doozy of one starting already.’

A flood of tears – from the adrenaline rush subsiding, the pain, and this amazing man taking such wonderful care of her – welled and rolled down her cheeks. ‘So you think I’m going to live?’ she finally asked, trying to make light of it all.

‘I reckon you might, just.’ He winked then took hold of her hands. ‘Let me help you up. Slowly does it, okay? I daresay you’re going to feel real light-headed.’

She gritted her teeth as, bit by bit, he finally got her to her feet. The world was a little wobbly and she had to take a few moments to try to steady herself. ‘Holy moly, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.’

‘Yeah, well, being thrown from a horse doesn’t tickle.’

Hands going to her hips, she leant forward a little, the angle allowing her to breathe a little easier. ‘You got that straight.’ She loved the way Zai still helped balance her, his hands now resting on her arms.

‘Everything’s intact, Mel. You’re going to be fine, I promise.’

She slowly straightened, her gaze travelling from his navel upwards, over his strong shoulders to his fetching eyes. ‘That’s good, but I’m not sure I want to ride ever again.’ Just like someone waking up with a hangover after a night out and swearing off drinking, she didn’t actually mean it. She’d come off a horse before, and probably would again.

‘Well, all I can say to that is when you come off a horse, the only way to get over it is to dust yourself off and climb right back into the saddle again.’ His gaze was soft and tender.

‘Yeah well, you can take your saying and—’ She stopped short, grinning at his cheeky smirk. ‘What?’

He wiped at something on her cheek. ‘The only thing sexier than a woman atop a horse, her hair flying in the wind, is one who falls off and wants to try again.’

‘Is that your way of challenging me?’

‘Might be.’ Smirking sexily, he tugged his hat down a little. ‘Either way, you’re a true-blue jillaroo now.’

She felt her face warming, along with her heart. Why did he have to be so damn charming all the damn time? And so irrefutably gorgeous in his dusty jeans, boots and hat, with his tanned torso so gloriously exposed, along with a very sexy tattoo – she couldn’t help but crave to kiss the place where his heart beat beneath.

‘Come on then, let’s get you back home so we can sort out these cuts and run you a nice hot bath.’