“Whoa, boy.” Without reins or stirrups, I used my thighs to signal the big beast to slow down. He must have sensed we were close to the other horses because he drew up and stopped a few yards shy of them. I hopped down and called out for Whitley, then Jessie.
“She’s down here.” Jessie flashed the light on his phone my way.
“What the hell happened?” I picked my way over the uneven ground to a gully that filled with run over from the creek every time it rained. We’d had a fair amount over the past couple of weeks, so a layer of thick, wet mud covered the bottom.
“Amarillo got spooked and bucked her off.” Jessie knelt down next to where Whitley laid half in, half out of the mud.
My heart stalled at the sight of her pale cheeks. “Whitley, are you okay, hon?”
She blinked against the light and put her hand up to shield her eyes. “I don’t know what happened.”
“You fell off a horse.” Relief coursed through me at the sound of her voice. Except for a small bump at the edge of her forehead, she didn’t seem injured. “Did you hit your head on the way down?”
Her finger brushed the bump, and she winced. “Maybe.”
“Can you stand up?” I needed to get her out of the gully and back to the house. The urge to protect her surged within me.
She struggled to stand, but stumbled into me when she tried to put weight on her right foot. “Ouch. Oh, crap. I think I might have sprained my ankle or something.”
“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” I swept my arm under her legs and lifted her into my arms.
“You need some help, boss?” Jessie asked.
I shook my head. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
He had the decency to hang his head. “I’m sorry, I thought—”
“You weren’t thinking.” I’d deal with Jessie later. Right now, all I wanted was to take Whitley back to the house and clean her up so I could get a good look at that ankle. Hopefully, it was just a sprain. I wasn’t willing to consider the alternative. I helped her put her left foot in the stirrup and swing herself up into the saddle. Then I got on in front of her.
She wrapped her arms around my middle and rested her cheek against my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Chase.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.” I was responsible for everything that happened on my ranch. Jessie might have made a bad call by inviting her out on a ride, but it was my fault she’d been tempted to go in the first place.
We rode back to the house in silence. If we’d been riding double under different circumstances, I might have enjoyed it. With her arms wrapped tight around me, her breasts pushing into my back, and the sweet scent of her perfume teasing my nose, I wished I was taking her out for a ride instead of carrying her muddy and injured body back home.
When we finally arrived, I jumped down first, then held out my arms to help her dismount. Jessie would come up to deal with the horse. The only thing that mattered to me was getting Whitley inside.
“Come on, sweetheart.” I lifted her into my arms again and carried her into the house. “We need to get those boots and jeans off so I can take a look at that ankle.”
“Put me down before you hurt yourself.” She tried to slide down my body, but I held her tight.
“I’ve wrestled with bulls who weigh more than a ton. You really think a sweet little thing like you is going to hurt me?” I didn’t bother stopping in the living room and took her straight to my bedroom. With the thick mud covering her clothes and a good portion of her skin, I wouldn’t be able to see anything until she took a quick bath.
“I’ll be fine. It barely hurts.”
I rested her butt on my bed. She had a stubborn streak that rivaled my own and tried to put weight on her foot to prove she wasn’t hurt.
“Ouch. Okay, maybe it hurts a little.”
I didn’t like the way her forehead pinched. She was hurting, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. “You need to get into the tub, then I’ll be able to tell if we should head to the ER.”
“Stay with me?” She gripped my hand.
“Whatever you need, sweetheart.” I was done trying to deny the feelings she’d awakened inside me. The sound of her scream still echoed in my ears. “Don’t move. I’m going to get the bath started and will be back to help you.”
Whitley nodded. The bump on her head had started to bruise. I hated myself for being the reason she’d gone on that ride. If I hadn’t rejected her, she wouldn’t have been hurt. All I’d wanted to do was protect her, to keep her safe from me. Instead, I’d sent her straight into harm’s way.
I stepped into the bathroom and made sure the water filling the tube wasn’t too hot. If anything had happened to her… fuck… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.