Protecting Tova (Iron Mountain Book 1) by Havana Wilder

Author:Havana Wilder [Wilder, Havana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-04T06:00:00+00:00

23

Tova

Trekking over the trail to the east side of Iron Mountain, me on Lightning, Pierce on Sundance, my mind wanders to the worst possible thoughts. What if his family detests me? Will they ever think anyone is good enough for Pierce? Holy crap, what if they find out what Cladec did to me? Will they go off the deep end when they find out my eyes freaking turn into cat eyes? What will they think of my scarred face and back?

Getting myself worked up, I reflexively grip the reins until my knuckles turn white. Oh my lord, I’m about to have an anxiety attack. Breathing rapidly, the sound of blood rushes to my ears and my vision tunnels.

Crap! Crap! CRAP! This cannot be happening right now.

“Tova, babe, you okay?” Pierce asks, quickly recognizing my current predicament. I force myself to glance in his direction for a brief second, then back to the path in front of me. “Breathe, baby, just breathe. Right now, I want you to challenge your thoughts. Don’t be afraid of what you’re seeing. Nod if you hear me.”

It’s hard to focus on what he’s saying and what I’m looking at. Heaven knows I don’t want to fall off Lightning and reinjure my shoulder or break a bone. So, instead of looking at him, I bob my head up and down.

In a soft voice, I hear, “Babe, can you tell me what you see?”

Loosening the grip on my reins, I utter, “Looking at Lightning's mane is like seeing an assemblage of a billion straws of hay.”

Hearing Pierce’s horse clomp beside me, he replies, “That’s impressive. Now what about the path, what can you make out of it?”

“I can see the individual specks of dust right in front of us. I’m pretty sure if I wanted to jump off Lightning's back, I could calculate the distance from his saddle to the ground and land perfectly. And that says a lot coming from my clumsy self.”

“Tova, let’s try it. Let’s see if your vision can assist with your landing. You up for it?” he challenges.

“Um, I guess.” Pulling Lightning to a stop, I slowly let go of the reins and toddle up to a crouch in the saddle.

“Now focus on your target where you want to land. Be sure to bend your knees so you won’t jolt your spine or hurt your newly healed wounds.”

“Got it. I see where I want to land. There are two oak leaves side by side about a foot ahead of Lightning's nose. Oh, and a pair of bluebirds are feeding their babies in the tree to our left, on the ninth branch from the ground, just in case you’re curious.” I hold my arms out, lifting them from my side and level with my shoulders, then I balance and count myself down.

I leap, not moving my gaze from my anticipated destination. Sticking a perfect landing, I squeal, “I did it!”

Pierce dismounts from Sundance and rushes to my side, kissing me promptly. “Yes! You did it, babe.

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