Page 8 of Mountain Man's Bride
“That’s it,” I assured her, aiming a proud smile up at her. “Now, put your left foot into the stirrup.”
She blew out a shaky breath but did as I told her. “Good. You’re doing great, Everlee,” I praised. Her shoulders relaxed. “Now, using the saddle horn as leverage, swing your other leg over the saddle. It’s okay if you don’t get it on the first try.”
Everlee gritted her teeth, and with her eyes narrowed in determination, she did as I instructed, swinging her leg over the saddle on the first try. She squealed when she was seated, beaming down at me.
I couldn’t breathe for a moment. How did she keep getting more and more beautiful?
“I did it!” she cheered.
I chuckled. “You did great, sweetheart. A real natural.” I moved the stool out of my way. “Now, sit still. Clover won’t move when I unhook her. I promise. She’s trained to follow my commands.”
Everlee clutched the saddle horn and nodded. I unhooked Clover and patted her neck before feeding her a carrot from my pocket for being so good and still. Then, I made quick work of saddling Brewer, my all-black Stallion, and swiftly lifted myself into the saddle. Everlee stared at my horse with wide eyes.
“He’s huge,” she whispered.
I chuckled and leaned down a little, grabbing Clover’s reigns. “Just relax and enjoy the ride, sweetheart.”
She nodded and blew out a soft breath, forcing herself to relax. I led us out of the stables, and Everlee smiled when the sun washed over her face. The sun hit her in a way that made it seem like her skin was glowing. My fingers twitched with the urge to take a picture, but I suppressed it.
The memory would just have to suffice.
“Thank you for this,” she told me, aiming a smile my way.
I easily returned it, my heart skipping a beat in my chest. “Anytime, sweetheart.”
I didn’t take her on a tour of the entire ranch. On horseback, we’d need camping gear because the ranch was just that huge. There was no way we’d cover it all in a single day. When my brothers and I moved cattle, it became a trip for us, and we roughed it like good ol’ cowboys. But I did take the time to show Everlee the prettiest spots close to the house, and I showed her where my brothers lived in case she ever needed them.
“I don’t feel good,” Everlee suddenly murmured. I quickly looked over at her. Her shoulders were slumped, and her hands were beginning to shake. I cursed and quickly steered us to the house, kicking Brewer and Clover into a light gallop. “Can you ride still?” I asked her. She needed something to eat. A glance at my watch told me I’d already kept her out way past lunchtime.
Way to take care of her, I scolded myself. I couldn’t get anything right.
She nodded at me, her face pale. By the time we got to the house, her trembling had drastically increased. I quickly dismounted and then helped her down. Swinging her into my arms, I carried her into the house and set her on the couch before rushing into the kitchen.
I made quick work of a gluten-free sandwich, and on the way out of the kitchen, I grabbed her an apple juice. After setting the food and the juice on the coffee table, I grabbed her blood glucose monitor and quickly prepped the equipment so I could check her sugars. She was silent, her teeth chattering and her body still extremely shaky as she watched me.
When I pricked her finger, she didn’t even flinch. It took three seconds for the monitor to spit out the number 50, which almost made me cringe. Her sugar was way too low. Sitting beside her, I opened the juice and held it to her lips, helping her drink it down.
About fifteen minutes after she drank the juice, I used her pump to administer insulin into her body, keeping a close eye on her as I did so to make sure she was still okay. With shaky hands, she grabbed the sandwich and slowly began to eat it.
After a few minutes, color began to return to her face, and her trembling eased. She finished the sandwich and then leaned her head on my shoulder, shutting her eyes.
“Need a nap?” I quietly asked her, my arm draping itself around her shoulders.
She just nodded. These episodes were becoming less frequent, mostly because I kept her on a strict eating schedule, but I’d screwed up today. Naps were almost always a given after her sugar levels dropped too low.
“Come on,” I said softly, helping her off the couch. “Let’s get you to bed.”
She followed me without complaint, and once she was under the covers, her shoes kicked off by the bed, I turned on her bedside lamp and shut her curtains before leaving the room, shaking my head at myself.
I wouldn’t be making that mistake again. And just to ensure I wouldn’t, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and set alarms, one of them set to check her sugars again in thirty minutes to make sure they were coming up.
Her health was way too important to be playing games with it like I just had.
CHAPTER 5
Everlee
Istared up at the ceiling of my room, my phone resting on my chest as I waited on Charlie to answer the phone. Like I’d become used to, Tripp was gone when I woke up this morning, already working. But a couple of days ago, riding on horseback together, something changed between us. Like a switch was flipped.