Distant Trails: Under Carico's Moons: Book One by Nan C Ballard

Author:Nan C Ballard [Ballard, Nan C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Not a Pipe Publishing
Published: 2022-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Lee

Lee let Seth go, resisting the urge to watch him, to reassure herself that he was in control. His nightmares and difficulty interacting with her haunted her. Unexpectedly tears welled up. She ached at the thought of his assurance, his innate calm, so shattered. With luck, he would feel comfortable around the animals when he didn’t with people.

It was a person, a fellow human being, who had tormented him. She knew beyond doubt that Jerdix had used the rod on Seth repeatedly. She guessed the setting had been random so that Seth couldn’t predict what to expect, pain or pleasure, instilling an aversion to being touched at all. Different for her with only a few widely separated uses. After the first, she’d known exactly what to expect. Still, she wasn’t feeling much like being around other people just then either.

She remembered the couple of days she and Seth had spent together. She’d felt a connection between them that she had never felt with anyone before. Events hadn’t changed that. Looking for a distraction, she went in and applied Teri’s herbal concoctions to bruises, scrapes, and blisters. Already the discomfort was fading. She’d be back in good shape soon, hopefully before she had to account to Vinz, before the Rangers would expect her to leave Carico for reassignment. Something she had no intention of doing.

That thought came as a surprise to her. She hadn’t consciously considered staying on Carico, but she had already made that decision. She put down the jar of ointment. She had enough time in service to resign but had always considered the Rangers her career. Of course, staying with Seth meant she would stay on Carico. She just hadn’t thought through all the implications.

Then there was Jerdix. She firmly reminded herself that now he was someone else’s responsibility. She needed to trust Joe Reilly and look forward to a day in court to finish what had started here. That was where she would face Jerdix, place the rod undeniably in his hand, and watch judgment fall. Today she had other things to concentrate on.

She went out on the porch to sit. From there she could see across the field to the trees. To the east, a promontory of the Rim jutted south in tiered verdigris cliffs. A light breeze made waves in the tall grass and flowers of the meadow. Insects flitted among the plants. A larger flyer soared on the thermals, dipping and circling with mesmerizing flow. She put her feet up and dozed, willing to leave everything until later.

When Seth came back leading two young horses, the soft sound of hooves on dirt woke her. Seth waved to her and headed toward the corrals. Lee went through the cabin and sat on the back steps where she could watch. Seth tied one colt and led the other into the round pen. He’d taken off his shirt even though it was not hot. Did he usually do that?

Lee soon quit being distracted by dust-frosted skin. As she observed his quiet, intricate dance with the horse, she was seeing into his soul.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.