Her Unforgettable Cowboy by Debra Clopton

Author:Debra Clopton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2013-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The sound of the rushing water set Jolie’s nerves on end. Before the accident, it had made her adrenaline pump and her energy level skyrocket. Now she was terrified by the sound, and by the thought of stepping into the swirling water and climbing into her kayak.

She’d had to push her anger at Morgan aside this morning so she could teach class. But last night she’d fumed at the high-handed attitude he’d had when making this proposition. For him to assume he knew what was best for her was irritating beyond comprehension—he didn’t have a clue.

Okay, to be fair, he was right about the fact that the boys would hound her until she was forced to tell them the truth, and she didn’t want to admit she was afraid. Especially not to Sammy—what a hypocrite she would be. So that was why she’d finally agreed to do this.

Before the accident, Jolie had really been afraid only once in her life, and that had been the day she’d handed Morgan back his engagement ring and driven away from him. God had given her the strength to do that—to reach for something more in her life, to dare to go beyond the boundaries of what was comfortable.

God was going to have to give her the strength to do the same here.

Only, right now she felt nothing except the cold edge of panic. Palms as wet as if she’d been dipping them in the river, her heart racing with anxiety, she marched down the path behind Morgan.

What am I doing? The question echoed in her mind.

Fighting came the answer, pricking at her like a thorn.

Jolie hadn’t faced the possibility that her real reason for taking a break from kayaking was fear—it was easier to make it about needing to set things straight with Morgan. But the idea that Morgan could be right about her fear bothered her. More than she wanted to admit.

She was scared spitless, as Chili Crump would say. Both he and Drewbaker had fought in two wars and yet they both said crawling off in that yellow banana she rode over waterfalls would scare them spitless.

Long ago she’d thought they were just teasing her. Now she understood exactly what they’d meant.

“Are you all right?”

Morgan stopped a few feet ahead of her. She hadn’t even realized she’d halted in her tracks until he’d turned around.

They were on their way to the spot where he’d first taught her to kayak.

“I’m fine,” she lied, catching up to him.

It wasn’t as if she was the first person this had ever happened to. Her friend Rita had gotten tangled upside down a couple of years ago and hadn’t come back to the sport yet. She was a ski instructor in Colorado and guiding white river rafting expeditions in Tennessee. At least she was able to get on the water in an eight-man raft. Jolie hadn’t so much as gotten her big toe back in the water.

“You don’t look fine,” Morgan said gently, studying her face.

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