S I L A S
The cool night air hit me when I rolled over. Mirabelle’s side was empty. I hadn’t heard her get up.
“Mirabelle?” Keeping quiet not to wake the guys, I slipped on my boots and searched blindly for my flashlight. When she didn’t answer, I called again. “Mirabelle?” This time, my voice was louder. My stomach knotted with rising concern.
It had been a long time since we’d had a woman in the field, and late night bathroom trips took a little more effort. My assumption was that she’d gotten up to visit the bushes again, but it annoyed me that she didn’t wake me up to go with her. She was as stubborn as the days were long.
Though we had our fair share of wild animals out here, I was more worried about her losing her footing and hurting herself in the dark.
“Fuck,” I grumbled, unable to locate the flashlight. Hopefully, Mirabelle took it with her.
“You okay, Si?” Ryke asked from a few feet away. His sleeping bag rustled as he moved.
“You got a flashlight, Ryke? I can’t find mine.” The blackness of the night was absolute. Only faint silhouettes were visible.
“Yeah, here,” he said, shuffling around.
Following the sound of his voice, I inched toward him, stepping on his leg in the process. His grunt told me it must’ve hurt.
“Shit, I’m sorry, buddy.”
“What the fuck are you two doing?” Nate grumbled.
“I’m sorry.” Waking them up made me feel like shit. “Mirabelle’s gone, and I think she has my flashlight.”
“Where the fuck did she go?” Nate sat up as I clicked on Ryke’s flashlight, sweeping the blinding beam across the land.
“Probably to the bathroom.” Shining the light where I’d taken her earlier, I didn’t see any sign of her. “I’m going over here to look.” Heading off in the direction of the bushes, I’d barely passed the truck when a huge crash rang out in the opposite direction, echoing through the silence of the night.
“What the fuck was that?” I hollered. “Mirabelle?” I started toward the noise, stopping at the truck to shine the headlights in its direction. Ryke and Nate were out of their sleeping bags in a blink, running across the field toward the back fence.
As soon as the lights were on, I took off, too. With the shadows cast from the headlights, the tall pasture grass made it difficult to maneuver.
A small utility vehicle idled in the distance by the fence—or where the fence had been. It had obviously been pulled down by the vehicle. Even with the shadows, I could discern a figure moving around.
“Who the fuck is that?” I yelled to Nate, who was closest to the fence.
“It looks like that asshole, Rick!” he hollered.
Whoever it was hopped into the vehicle and started to move forward.
“Don’t let him leave!” I yelled, running as fast as I could, fury rushing through my veins.
A smaller figure suddenly stepped out from the trees, into the direct path of the utility vehicle.
Time slowed. Anxiety and fear hit me like a knife to the chest, twisting and turning until all I felt was pain.
“Mirabelle!” My voice was unrecognizable, coated with thickening dread.
The clunk as she hit the bumper was deafening. Her small frame flipped over the hood and tumbled off to the side where she lay unmoving.
“No!” Slowly, my brain registered my feet moving in an uncoordinated gait as I pushed myself harder over the uneven land, trying to reach her. The vehicle stopped, and I could now make out Rick Andrews with a shocked look on his face, staring at an unresponsive Mirabelle.
Nate and Ryke reached her first and knelt next to her. I propelled myself forward into Rick, slamming his back against the vehicle.
“You fucking asshole!” A red film clouded my vision, and my fist connected with his face. Feeling his nose shatter on impact gave me a moment of satisfaction. “I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
Rage bubbled inside me, pouring out with the fury of a thunder storm. The sight of my Mirabelle flying through the air played over and over in my mind, keeping me swinging, punch after punch. If my own hands were to break, I’d still beat him with my shattered bones until he couldn’t hurt my family ever again.
As though someone whispered the answer in my ear, everything became clear to me. This was the asshole tearing down the fences around the ranch, I was sure of it.
“You killed him! You killed Dalton!” Hate consumed me like a prairie fire—fast moving and destroying anything in its path. If this asshole hadn’t torn down the fence back then, Dalton and I wouldn’t have been out there, and he wouldn’t have died.
And Mirabelle was his latest victim. If she died, too, I would kill him and bring him back so I could do it again.
“Silas!” Hands pulled at me, finally dragging me off Rick. “Stop!” Ryke shook me until my eyes focused on him. “Mira needs an ambulance.” His words finally broke through the fog of rage in my brain.
I rushed over to Mirabelle. Blood seeped from a cut on her forehead, turning the ground beneath her dark and sticky. Her breath was shallow and raspy. Paralyzing fear brought me to my knees. My clumsy, trembling hands brushed her hair out of the way so I could see where she was hurt. Jerking my shirt off, I pressed it to her head, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Don’t you die.” My voice cracked as I placed gentle kisses on her pale face. “Get the truck!” I begged, hoping someone would listen.
“Si, I’m not sure we should move her,” Nate said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“I’m not watching another person I love die in a fucking field, Nate! Get the fucking truck.” Uncontrollable shaking spread through my body, tears rolling freely down my face.
“Okay, Si.” Nate’s usual joyful personality was absent as he regarded Mirabelle.
“Get her into the Gator,” Ryke said, pointing to Rick’s vehicle.
“I’m gonna move you, baby.” Slipping gentle hands under her legs and shoulders, I steadied myself before carefully standing, holding her tight against my bare chest. Her face was ashen underneath the blood smears. “Please don’t leave me, Mirabelle.” Pressing my face into her hair, I inhaled her sweet scent as I sat in the passenger side.
When Ryke lifted Rick into the Gator bed, anger coursed through me.
“Why the fuck are you bringing him?” I snarled. “Leave him for the coyotes.”
“Si, he needs an ambulance, and I need to call the Sheriff. Nate’s going to drive the truck, and I’ll get the gates,” Ryke explained as Nate did his best to avoid the bumps.
Facing front, I put the limp man out of my mind, not willing to give any more attention to that asshole.
When we reached the truck, I placed Mirabelle in the back seat. As soon as I closed the door, Nate didn’t waste a second. We got more speed in the truck than in the utility vehicle, but Ryke was true to his word about getting the gates, barely keeping ahead of us.
Rick flopped around in the back, and I hoped like hell he was in pain. If he survived and Mirabelle didn’t . . . No, thoughts like those weren’t allowed in my head. Focusing on Mirabelle was the only thing that mattered.
The whole way to the hospital, Nate drove like he was in a race. Despite a few moans and moving her head side-to-side, Mirabelle never fully regained consciousness. I looked over every part of her body that was visible, checking for obvious trauma, but other than the wound on her head, I didn’t see anything significant. That worried me even more. What if there were internal injuries?
When we arrived, Mirabelle was taken straight to the back.
And now, they wouldn’t let us see her because we weren’t family.
Freaking out on one of the nurses and screaming about seeing Mirabelle wasn’t the best plan, but somehow, Nate managed to assure security I wouldn’t be a problem. After a while, someone brought me a clean scrub shirt and a cup of coffee, but sitting around the waiting area almost drove me crazy.
My hands itched and trembled to wrap around Rick’s neck. The urge was so strong, I could almost feel the bones in his throat. I wanted to hold onto that anger, keep it at the front of my mind. Otherwise, I would be forced to admit fear like I’d never known consumed me.
Not comparing Dalton’s accident to hers was impossible. Losing my ‘brother’ was horrible, but if I lost Mirabelle, I would never recover. Four years wasted when we could have been together. Four years of ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could have beens’. If only I could go back and do it all over again, that night in the barn would end differently.
“Dammit, Si, sit down before someone calls security again.” Nate startled me from my chaotic thoughts when he grabbed my shoulder and steered me to one of the hard chairs.
Smells of urine, vomit, and bleach assaulted my senses. My stomach rolled with nausea. A stiff neck and shoulders were giving me a headache. And the image of my girl flying through the air haunted me.
“I can’t lose her, Nate.” My eyes squeezed shut, stemming more tears. Now that she was back in my life, it was easy to see how big of a piece of me had been missing all the years Mirabelle was away. She was it for me. Even when we were fighting, everything was better because she was there.
When your life was marred by losing people you loved, you tended to hang on tighter to those still with you. But with Mirabelle, it was different. It always had been. Everything tying us together had tangled over the years, but some ties never completely broke. She and I were supposed to be together. With my entire existence, I knew this. I felt it as sure as my heart beat.
“Silas!” Caroline hurried across the waiting area. When she reached me, she pulled me into her arms and held me as only a mother could, providing comfort I hadn’t realized I needed.
“How is she?” Caroline asked.
“I don’t know! They won’t fucking let me see her because I’m not family.” My hands flew up in frustration. “Ow!” Caroline’s smack to the back of my head hurt more than a punch to the face.
“Watch your language, Silas. Not Family? Well, we’re going to fix that right now.” She stormed off, a woman on a mission, and relief settled through me. If anyone could get me to Mirabelle, it was Caroline.
I sat back down beside Nate, rubbing the back of my head.
“I’d hate to be in her line of fire right now,” Nate muttered, looking in the direction of where Caroline had disappeared.
“No doubt,” A small smile threatened my mouth. Caroline would take them to the mat the way only she could. Her words and looks could send the biggest of men scrambling.
Less than five minutes later, a nurse came out and called me by name.
“Come with me, Mr. Anderson. I’ll take you to your fiancée.”
My mouth dropped open as Caroline passed by me and winked.
I would be forever indebted to that woman. That was for damn sure.