The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) (4 page)

Ace had managed to stay out of the blood when he pulled the fence away from the wounded calf, and I did what I always do. I dove in without a thought to the mess I’d make of myself. I struggled to keep the calf down without hurting it even further. By the time Dr. Anderson made it there, my hair had partially slipped out of the ever-present ponytail I’d kept it up in. I blew the strands out of my face, mostly out of habit. There were just some things I didn’t want in my hair. Blood and cow shit were two of them.

Ace had waited until Dr. Anderson had sedated the calf, and we helped him load it up in the back of his truck. Old Man Willis showed up a few seconds later, and we filled him in on what happened. I tossed my keys to Ace and went to bail into Dr. Anderson’s truck, but the vet’s hand caught the door. He’d tipped his hat back on his forehead and squinted against the harsh afternoon sun. “Isn’t today your day off?”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts, Riley. I swear, you work harder than I do most days. Go, I’ll be fine.” There was a worn look to Dr. Anderson. A kind one, but tired. He worked around the clock in our town. It didn’t matter what time it was. If you called him, he’d be there. He settled his hat back over his shaggy, brown hair and reached out to pat me on the shoulder.

I answered him, as he turned away to walk around the front of his truck. “I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, but I do. You have plenty of time later to wear yourself out with this job. Right now, you need to enjoy this last bit of freedom and take the day off.” He climbed in his truck and fired the engine.

Old Man Willis’ truck kicked up a cloud of dust, as he raced down the dirt road and pulled up beside Dr. Anderson’s window. They exchanged a few words, and Dr. Anderson drove off with Old Man Willis following behind him. When he passed, the old man stuck his hand out the window with a wave of thanks to us.

“Well, that was… fun,” Ace said, as he jingled my keys in his hand.

Turning, I scrunched my face up at him. “Fun?”

He laughed at me and stuffed my keys in his pocket. “Come here, that’s driving me crazy.”

I tilted my head in question, and my hair bounced off my cheek.

“That.” He pointed at my hair.

My eyes cut up to the left, wondering what he meant.

He put his hands on my shoulder, turned me around, and put my hair back to rights.

The first aid kit snapped closed, and I pushed back the latest memory of my time with Ace, pulling his shirt tighter against me. When had he started taking over all of my thoughts?

“Okay, you’re all set. It’s not as bad as it looks. Bruising from the log she hit you with and a long scrape right under your bra strap, but other than that, you’ll live. You’ll just be a little sore for a couple of days,” Paige said, setting the box on the table beside me. After everything, waking up in the cabin, losing my shirt, Ace walking in on my half nakedness, and still, my biggest worry was how the hell I would get off the table without flashing him.

Embarrassment flooded through me. I knew my cheeks would be a deep shade of red, so I kept my face down. The shirt Ace had taken off and handed to me did little more than cover my face. I hadn’t even covered myself up with it. No, I’d been too busy inhaling his scent and replaying the last time we were alone together.

“Did you bring any clothes with you?” Paige asked, as she crossed over to the recliner by the fireplace and sat.

“No. I hadn’t planned to stay out tonight.” I pulled Ace’s shirt lower to cover the plain white bra I had on.

Ace stepped back and leaned against the far wall of the kitchen. “You still have a change of clothes from the last weekend we all stayed out here.”

“I do?” How did he remember that, but I couldn’t?

“Yeah, I found them in the drawer the other day. Hang on; I’ll go see what’s there.” He walked past me, and my eyes followed him until he disappeared down the hallway.

When I knew he could no longer see me, I carefully slipped his shirt over my head and slid my arms out through the sleeves. I kept looking down the hallway, waiting for him to reappear.

Paige snapped her fingers to get my attention. “You might wanna wipe the drool off your face before he comes back.”

I rolled my eyes at her, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Yes, she was my best friend, but that didn’t mean I’d said a word about my growing infatuation with Ace.

“Are you staying?” I changed the subject on Paige, in hopes that Ace wouldn’t come back down the hallway and hear something I didn’t want him to.

“Nah, I have to work in the morning. Hey, what are you gonna tell your dad?” She pointed at my face and winced.

I shifted with a groan. “The truth, which will probably freak him out or piss him off.”

My dad was very protective of me since my mom decided that she no longer wanted to live the quiet country life. She left us behind and never looked back. It was probably a good thing too, since I had nothing nice to say to her. How did you just up and leave everything behind? How did you leave your daughter and start over again as if she didn’t exist? Dad claimed she had to find herself. My reply was ‘good luck with that’. It was a sore subject for both of us.

Paige chuckled as she stood up and stretched her arms. Her hand slapped over her mouth, stifling the yawn that tried to escape.

The front door of the cabin opened, and in trudged the rest of the Six. Each of them carried a bag and a look of concern stretched across their faces.

I picked up my fingers and gave them a half wave. “I’m fine, guys.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t look fine, so don’t try to cover it up to make us feel better,” Jared said, dropping his bag on the counter. I jerked around to tell him to shut it and immediately regretted it. Sweat broke along my brow, and a clammy film coated my skin. The next time I saw Samantha, I’d chuck a damn log at her head as payback.

Josh darted in my line of vision and gave me a toothy grin. “You look a little green, Riles.”

I swallowed the thickness in my throat and closed my eyes tight, which was a big mistake. “Ow!”

“Damn it, y’all, she’s hurt. Stop screwing around with her!” Ace’s voice boomed down the hallway before I could even see him.

Josh’s hands shot up, palms out, and he backed away from me. “None of us touched her, Ace.”

The others ignored Ace’s roar of disapproval and set their bags down to put away what they’d brought with them.

“Are y’all moving in?” I asked.

“No, but we figured we’d stay here for a couple of days. Kinda lay low for a little while until you don’t look like… that.” Jared tossed his head in my direction.

“My dad…”

“I stopped by and talked to your dad. I asked him if he minded if you stayed, and he was cool with it,” Josh said. He raked his hands through his hair, telling me there was more to it than that.

I pegged him with the meanest glare I could without howling in pain from it. “What?”

Josh’s hands fell to his belt loops and hooked his thumbs. “I told him Paige was gonna stay out here, too.” He darted a glance at Paige. I looked over at her about the time she shook her head and threw up her hands.

“Y’all know I can’t do that. I’m on shift tomorrow. Besides, I’m on the schedule at the hospital all week. The hours are weird, and I’d planned on crashing in the lounge in between shifts.”

Mark crossed his arms and gave Paige a look I couldn’t quite decipher. “But Riley’s dad doesn’t know that. Besides, it’s not like you couldn’t come out here at least one night. We’re not that bad, Paige.”

She actually squirmed under his gaze, nodding her head sharply in agreement with what Mark said. When had things got awkward between those two?

Mark’s expression changed. He gave Paige a grin that would have melted any of the other girls who competed for his attention. “Good, then it’s settled.”

“God, you six are so damn bossy. When are you gonna get it through your thick ass heads that not every female in existence will do what you want when you… ugh, never mind!” Paige slammed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Make yourselves useful and get her off the damn table. Riley, I’ll be by tomorrow with clothes for you.” Paige’s sentence trailed off as she walked out the door and closed it firmly behind her. The Six thankfully waited until her car started before they broke out in laughter.

Ace shook his head and held his hand out to me. “Come on, Riles, let’s get you settled on the couch.”

THERE WAS NO EASY WAY
to get off the table. If it didn’t hurt so much, it might have been a little humorous. Unfortunately for me, it did hurt, and it was not at all funny. Ace ran his hand down his face. “Riley, I don’t know how to help you without hurting you. I can’t even put my arm around you and lift you up.”

Eli stuck his hand out and gestured for mine. When I stretched it out, he dropped two white pills in my palm. “Take those,” he said, as he tried handing me a bottle of water. I went to give the pills back, but he shook his head. “Relax, Riley. They’re just ibuprofen with codeine. You need something for the pain, and this will help without being too much. Trust me, you’ll want something, and soon, when your back tries to seize up. This is what I took when I tore a ligament a few months back.”

I shook my head no and tried again to hand them back, but Ace’s hand closed over mine. “Just take them, Riley. Eli’s right; you’re gonna need something for the pain.”

The kitchen went quiet, as if the Six waited for me to give in for once and agree. “Fine.”

Eli unscrewed the bottle cap and handed the water to me. Dumping the pills in my mouth, I took a swig to wash them down.

Ace took the water from my hand and handed it off to Eli. “We’ll wait a few minutes for the medicine to kick in before you try to get off the table.”

I was tolerant up to a certain point. I really was, but sitting on the damn table like a bird on its perch was just as uncomfortable as trying to get off it. I pulled a deep breath in, pushed my hands against the top, and shoved myself off the edge. The slamming stop jarred my body, and Ace grabbed my arm to steady me. His tight hold kept me from falling backwards into the edge and doing further damage to my back.

I huffed deep breaths with each wave of pain that rolled over me, as I chased the black dots in front of my eyes to make them disappear. Ace put a hand under my elbow to help keep me upright.

“Riley, I swear to God, you’re gonna be the death of me,” Ace muttered under his breath when I swayed against his grip.

Tilting my head to look up at him, I scowled. His eyebrows lifted, and his gaze hardened as if challenging me. His eyes told me everything without saying a word. “
Go ahead and argue with me, you know I’ll win,
” they said.

I looked down and groaned at the sight of my pants. “Ace, was there any sweatpants in the clothes I left behind?”

Confusion marred his brow. “You can’t even stand up on your own. How the hell are you gonna change by yourself?”

“Y’all shoulda thought about that before you chased Paige off.” They had a bad habit of doing that crap. I’d put up with everything they dished out over the years. Paige had only dealt with them since our sophomore year in high school, and she did that for me. The Six made her uncomfortable. Not because of their looks, but because she was shy and kind of timid. Or was. Ever since she’d started taking loads of college classes in between her high school ones, she’d grown a backbone. It was like her confidence grew when she took on shifts at the hospital and
got her foot in the door as an intern. If anything, being around the Six had given her thicker skin. If she could deal with them, she could deal with anyone.

Ace groaned beside me. “How do you want to do this, Riles?”

Josh tossed the last pillow on the couch and walked over to take my arm. “I can help her.”

I swear I felt Ace stiffen up beside me. “It’s okay, Josh. I can do it myself.”

“You’re gonna fall on your damn face, which, by the way, would make it worse than it already is.” Ace sounded angry. “Josh, hand me those pants,” he said, pointing to the clothes he’d laid over the back of one of the recliners in the living room.

Josh grabbed them and handed them to Ace.

My pulse hammered in my neck, and I could feel a cold sweat beading up under my armpits. No way would I let Ace help me undress. “Ace… I got…”