Page 26 of Forbidden to Fall

Two sets of quick footsteps approached as I blinked my eyes madly to rid them of the stinging.

A second sneeze followed, but this time, I let it rip, stepping back from the stall door and protecting my throbbing forehead with my hand for good measure.

When I’d recovered enough to open my eyes, Archer and James were standing outside of Miss Mahogany’s stall, staring at me with concern.

“Are you okay?” Archer asked.

“Yeah, totally,” I said, giving my forehead one last press. “Just not super skilled at sneezing.”

James undid the latch, confirming that if my sneeze hadn’t given me away, the latch absolutely would have.

“Miss Mahogany demanded a brushdown,” I explained, holding the brush up as evidence as James opened the stall door, his brow furrowed as he looked at my head. I looked at Archer. “I mucked the stalls and filled everyone’s water and hay, so they should be good for the rest of the day. I should get going, though. I’ve got a lot of baking to do.” With a forced smile on my lips and a face as red as my hair, I slipped through the open stall door and started walking down the row of stalls to the stable exit.

Ignoring the throbbing of my forehead as I walked, I shut my eyes like I could shut out the last five minutes of my life. This was what I got for giving in to Miss Mahogany’s unreasonable demands.

“Sadie!”

It was James’s voice, and though I stopped, it took me a couple of seconds to turn and face him. I braced myself.

He jogged up to me. “Are you driving or walking?”

I’d brought my car, but the thought of him asking for a ride to the farm after what just happened sounded like torture.

“Walking,” I said, only to realize a half-second too late that maybe he had driven and would now offer me a ride. Hitting my head on the bars hadn’t done me any mental favors.

“I’m headed there too,” he said. “Mind if I walk with you? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

If there was anything that sounded worse than being stuck in a metal box with James Carver for five minutes after my awkward eavesdropping, being stuck with him on a half-hour walk was it. Did he even have time for a stroll through the sugarbush? Surely, he had a suitcase to pack and a flight to catch.

I took a couple of seconds to search for a reason why walking together wouldn’t work, but, again, bar to forehead.

“Sure,” I said, brightly agreeing to torture. “I do need to change really quick, though….” I didn’t speak the implied if you’re in a rush to catch a flight, I might delay you too long.

He nodded, the v in his brow looking mighty deep. “I’ll wait outside.”

“Great.”

I could’ve taken my time changing, but I hated to inconvenience people—even someone I was dreading spending the next half an hour with.

I emerged from the tack room a few minutes later, slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder.

Archer, not James, stood near the stable entrance.

“Where’d James go?” I asked, unable to stifle a bit of hope that he’d changed his mind.

“He had to run inside the house.” Archer cocked a brow at me. “You know, I didn’t figure you for an eavesdropper.”

“Ugh. Can you guys please check the stables before your next gossip session?”

Archer chuckled. He was a good-looking guy—sun-kissed brown hair and a general vibe to fit his history as a rodeo star. We’d known each other since we were kids, but then he’d gone off and gotten famous, only visiting every now and then from Texas. Seemed like most people I’d grown up with had gone off and done something exciting. Except me. If there was a film version of my life, it could be a YouTube short. And a boring one, at that.

“You hit your head pretty hard,” he said, nodding at it.

I put a hand to my forehead and grimaced at the tender spot. “I tried too hard to hold the sneeze in.”

He grimaced sympathetically. “Should’ve let it out. You could’ve passed it off for a horse sneeze.”

I shot him an annoyed look. Horse sneezes were incredibly violent and projectile in nature. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.” I thought of the conversation he and James had had. I wanted to know more—to ask Archer what he’d meant. But the only thing that could add to my humiliation at the moment would be James coming back in time to hear me interrogating Archer about information I’d gotten as an unintentional eavesdropper.