Susan Mallery - Straight From The Hip

“Does that work for you?”

“It did until the explosion.”

Which was the wrong thing to say. Now she was thinking about the surgery again-surgery she didn’t want to have. Being in the dark forever. Could she do that? The thought of it terrified her.

Aaron patted her hand. “You’re a brave little soldier.”

“Not really.” A brave little soldier would have scheduled the surgery.

Fortunately, they’d arrived at the site before she could depress herself.

She climbed out of the Jeep and sensed someone at her side.

“Nick,” she said calmly.

“I didn’t think you’d show.”

“Why wouldn’t she show?” Aaron asked. “What happened? Are you two keeping secrets? Did you fight?”

“Some guy got into my room last night,” she said, telling only part of the truth. “He was drunk. Nick took care of him.”

“Who was it?” Aaron demanded. “What bastard did that? Can you hold him so I can hit him? Or get someone bigger than me to hit him?”

“I broke his nose,” Nick told him.

“That’s not the part that should be broken,” Aaron muttered. “Are you okay?”

Izzy assumed Aaron was talking to her. “I’m fine. He was a jerk and I suspect he’s learned a lesson.”

There was a long silence. She didn’t know if Aaron and Nick were exchanging looks or secret codes and she didn’t care.

“Where’s the bridge?” she asked. “I’m ready to intimidate the hell out of these guys.”

Nick put his hand on the small of her back. “Straight ahead, toward that big tree.”

She saw vague shapes and started walking, doing her best to ignore the feel of his palm and the heat from his skin. She was still annoyed with him and wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of responding.

Someone stepped in front of her.

“Hey, Izzy,” the man said. “I’m Jeff. We met last night. I heard about what happened and wanted to tell you I’m sorry. We all are. We’re not like that.”

“One of you is.”

“You’re right. When he gets out of the hospital, he’ll be fired. I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can do.”

“Hospital?” she asked, feigning surprise. “For what?”

Jeff chuckled. “He fell or something. Broke his nose. Woke up naked in the barn.”

“Oh. How horrible. I hope he’s okay.”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I just wanted you to know we’re all sorry.”

“Thanks.”

He stepped out of her way. She continued walking.

“He was nice,” she said. “I wonder if he’s single. We could go out. Get married. Have a couple of kids.”

Nick didn’t say anything. Izzy glanced back at him.

“No comment?”

“I hope you’ll be very happy together.”

The wrong thing to say, she thought, annoyed all over again.

They stopped in front of a tall tree.

“Rope ladder up about twenty feet,” Nick said as he helped her step into a harness. “The rope bridge swings a little. If you feel yourself starting to lose your balance, drop into a crouch. Lower your center of gravity. Ethan, a mountain-climbing buddy of mine, is in the other tree. He’ll talk you in.”

“Is he cute?”

“Adorable.” Nick seemed to be speaking between clenched teeth. “Maybe you could take them both on at once.”

“Because you’re not interested.”

“Dammit, Izzy, would you just climb the tree?”

She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to stalk away. But there were a group of guys watching her. They all knew what had happened the night before and it was up to her to show them what strength of character meant. It was up to her to demonstrate what a girl could do and challenge them to be men enough to follow.

She started up the tree. The rope ladder made it easy and she climbed until Nick yelled at her that she was there. Then she felt her way onto the rope ladder.

“Who’s next?” she yelled down.

No one answered.

She laughed. “Come on, guys. This is team building at its best. Face death with the person in the next cubicle. Are you really prepared to be shown up by a girl?”

“I’ll go,” someone muttered. “It can’t be that hard.”

“Hey, Izzy.”

The voice came from in front of her. “You must be Ethan.”

“I am. Come on. I’ll talk you in. It’s about twenty feet. The bridge sways the most in the middle. Keep a steady pace.”

She couldn’t really make out the details of the rope bridge, but she did have a sense of the ground being way down below.

“Is there a net?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s no fun.”

Ethan laughed. “If we kill them, they tend not to rebook.”

“Oh. Good point.”

She stepped out onto the rope bridge. She had to feel for the thick bands and place her foot there. It was slow work, but she moved fairly quickly. Before she expected it, Ethan was telling her she was only a couple of feet from him. Then strong hands pulled her onto a platform.

“Like a pro,” he said. “Good job. Are you really blind?”

“Enough that they won’t let me drive.”

“Impressive.”

“Thanks,” she said, heading down and wondering why Nick couldn’t be more like him. Supportive and complimentary. But, no. Nick was only interested in pushing too hard.

Once she reached the ground, Aaron took her back to the barn. She climbed out of the Jeep and headed toward the entrance while Aaron drove back to the retreat. She’d barely stepped into the shadows of the doorway, when she heard a familiar voice say, “Hello, Izzy.”

IZZY TOOK A STEP BACK, so she was in daylight. It seemed safer. “Dad.”

Jed Titan stood up from the bench by the door. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“Still blind?”

She shook her head. “I suppose the real miracle of this is you asked how I was first. No. I haven’t had the surgery.”

“What are you waiting for?” he demanded. “You’re no good to me as you are. You’re nothing but a liability. At least if you could see, you’d be worth something.”

“I’m sorry to hear my stock is down,” she said, determined not to let him upset her. She would see the ridiculousness of the situation, nothing more. She wouldn’t think about how he hadn’t bothered to visit her in the hospital. That she was nothing to him but a possible means to an end. She wasn’t anyone he cared about. Certainly not a daughter he had ever loved.

“Are you getting the surgery or not?” he asked, sounding annoyed. “If you don’t, you’re an idiot. At least if you can see, you can marry well. You weren’t ever going to inherit the family business, but you could have done something.”

The words weren’t a surprise, but they still hurt. Her mother hadn’t left her anything, either. Apparently she was quite the disappointing child.

“You’re only interested in what I can do for you,” she said.

“What you could have done for me. You’re stubborn and difficult and now you’re blind. What a waste. That’s all you are. A waste.”

“Then you shouldn’t be standing here, talking to me,” she told him. “Get out, Jed. I don’t have time for this.”

“Right. Too busy learning Braille. All three of my daughters are a disaster. Don’t bother moving back to Glory’s Gate. You’re not welcome there.”

Glory’s Gate had been the Titan family home for generations. Izzy had grown up there with her sisters. She hadn’t been back since Skye had moved out after Jed had threatened to have her declared an unfit mother and lock her away. Izzy had no plans to go back now.

But knowing it was no longer her choice bothered her more than she wanted to admit. Rather than listen to any more of Jed’s vicious words, she retreated into the barn, thinking that for the first time since she’d arrived at Nick’s ranch, the shadowy space felt like a sanctuary.

Jed didn’t follow her. She hoped he left, but refused to find out. Instead she led Jackson out of his stall and quickly saddled him. Then she walked him outside, swung onto his back and let him pick his way.

She didn’t know where they were going and she didn’t care. As long as it was away from here. Away from her father and Nick and the jackass who’d attacked her the previous night. Men were becoming a serious problem in her life.

Jackson rode toward the sun. He started to run. She could feel the heat on her face and the rush of the wind. Riding felt good. She wouldn’t think about anything or worry. She just hung on for the ride.

When he finally slowed, she brushed her face with her hand and refused to admit the moisture there came from tears. She didn’t cry. She was stronger than that. Stronger than anyone knew.

But not strong enough to risk the surgery.

The truth hung on her shoulders, heavy, like a thick, damp cape. She wanted to be different, wanted to face the darkness bravely, but she couldn’t.

She turned Jackson back the way they’d come. “Time to go home, boy,” she told him.

A few minutes later, she heard the sound of hoof beats racing toward her. She reined in Jackson and waited until the rider approached.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nick demanded. “You took off without telling anyone where you were going.”

“I didn’t know where I was going,” she snapped, too exhausted by one emotional upheaval after another to deal with Nick and his tantrums. “I can’t see, remember? I just went for a ride and now I’m coming back. What’s your problem?”

“What’s yours? You just admitted you can’t see, but you took off on a ride by yourself?”

Oh. Good point. “I was upset,” she admitted. “I needed to get away and think.”

“Can’t you go sulk in your room like everyone else?”

“I’m not sulking. There are things in my life I have to deal with.”

“You could have been thrown. It might have taken days to find you. Resources would have been wasted because you needed to think.”

She ignored him and urged Jackson forward. “Because that’s all that matters,” she muttered. “Resources. How you’d be put out. Tell you what. Next time I go riding, don’t bother coming to look for me. I wouldn’t want you wasting your time.”