Wringing her hands, Lou paced over to stand near the big rock and stopped. Then he heard it, the rattling sound that could only come from one source. Lou looked down at her boots and saw a rattle snake, coiled and ready to strike, about two inches from the toe of her boot. Brody saw it at the same time.
Brody bent to retrieve a large rock. “Be very still. Don’t move an inch.”
“Don’t worry,” she breathed out slowly.
From behind the rock, Lou felt a snort against the back of her neck. Then the strong body of the pregnant mare pushed her to the side and out of the way. Lou landed on her backside in the dirt as the mare startled. She stomped, hooves flailing wildly as she reared. On the second strike, her hoof severed the snake’s head from its body. Its length continued to slither on the ground for a moment as the horse stilled. Brody quickly moved over to Lou and extended a hand. She grabbed it and scuttled away from the heaving mare. The horse approached Lou slowly, and Brody moved to shoo her away.
“Don’t,” she said quickly as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the two carrots. She held them out to the mare. “She certainly earned these, didn’t she?” Lou laughed lightly as she touched the side of the mare’s face. The mare snorted and moved away from her, not ready to accept human contact, before marching off into the distance, still chewing on the carrots.
“I can’t believe she did that. I think she was just coming over to get a carrot and got caught in the wrong place,” Lou stated quietly. “I could have been killed.” She reached out and touched Brody’s forearms, her hands shaking as she did so. “Oh, God, I could have been killed.” Lou’s voice caught as she looked at the snake.
Brody said quietly, “You did just great. You’re fine now.” He gently brushed the hair away from her face and wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek.
Lou’s entire body began to shake. Her knees gave way under her and she nearly fell to the ground. She collapsed against Brody. He caught her before she hit the ground with a hand beneath her knees and one under her shoulders.
“You’re going to faint on me again, aren’t you?” he asked quietly as he lowered her to sit on a nearby boulder. He stood in front of her and held on to her shoulders. He placed a hand beneath her chin and forced her to make eye contact.
“I don’t faint,” she stated.
“Oh, yeah? Prove it.”
“I don’t know why I’m shaking so badly.” She wringed her hands together.
“It’s from the adrenaline. The body is flooded by it when there’s a traumatic situation. Then it takes a moment for your body to catch up and realize the danger has passed.”
“Really?”
“ I’m a doctor, remember?”
“I remember. Do you hold all your patients and rub their hair when they are shaking?”
He chuckled softly. “ I’m just making an exception with you.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He continued to rub her hair as the shaking eased, her face pressed against his chest and her eyes closed.
“You’re getting way too comfortable here,” he stated quietly.
She smiled against his chest. “Maybe.”
She leaned back, and her eyes met his. “We had better get back.”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet, yet his fingers stayed laced with hers.
“Sure you’re ready?”
“Yep.” She gave an exaggerated nod and lifted on tiptoe to place a kiss on his cheek. He turned his head at the last moment and her lips met his. She stilled and started to retreat, but his hand caught the back of her neck, gently holding her head still. His lips applied pressure against hers.
Brody smiled against her lips as he whispered, “I just thought I might try to scare you out of that adrenaline rush. Is it working?”
“Yep.”
“Want me to stop?” Brody asked. She hesitated briefly. “Guess not. Lou, you took too long with that answer.” He turned his head slightly to deepen the kiss. His lips pressed gently against hers, forcing them to open.
Her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers in the most delectable way. Her breath caught in her throat. Brody lifted Lou’s hands onto his shoulders, where they curled around his neck of their own accord. His larger hands moved to her waist, then dipped into the back pockets of her jeans, pulling her closer to him. He was rock hard against her belly. She pulled back.
“Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you that much,” he breathed against her mouth. She lowered her head and pressed her forehead against his chest, her breath coming in gasps.