I live for this.
For the freedom. The sun shining down. The power of the horse beneath me, making me feel as though I’m flying.
I let go of the sadness that has consumed me for the last two days.
The way my heart has ached for Tristan.
The weight on my chest each time I think about never touching him again.
All of it goes with the wind. With each stride, the horse catapults me farther from my home and my heartache.
I close my eyes for a heartbeat, letting the sun beat down as we sail across the open pasture.
Then, suddenly, I’m not flying beneath the horse.
I’m in the air. I scream. My heart pounds as the ground rushes closer and closer.
I’m going to hit it—hard.
I brace, tucking myself like I’ve shown hundreds of riders.
“Fuck!” I scream out because I’ve turned my body the wrong way.
I slam into the ground, my head bouncing once, twice, and then again.
The pain is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
My vision swims, and I can’t move.
I search for my phone in my pocket, praying I can keep my eyes open long enough to call my brother for help.
I can’t find it.
The world around me is spinning, and my head is throbbing. I need to tell someone where I am. To get my location to someone, because I’m fading and I don’t want to die here. I have so much to say to my family, my friends, to Tristan.
I need to see him at least one more time. I can’t let that conversation on the ridge be our last.
Remembering the one thing I’ve drilled into everyone I’ve ever worked with, I use the last of my energy and say, as loudly as I can, “Siri, I fell.”
And then everything goes black.
Chapter 36
Tristan
“Where’s Sadie?” I ask my father as he’s sitting in his recliner.
She told me she was going with him to work on the new barn for the goats.
“How would I know?”
“I thought you were doing stuff with her?”
He huffs. “She went to see Cloud and then left me.”
That makes no sense. She would never just abandon my father. Not for anything other than…that fucking horse.
Anger flares in an instant. We had an agreement that she wouldn’t push her luck with Cloud, and sure enough, she’s already doing it.
