“Will he bring you, Esther, as his wife? Or maybe he’ll bring that other woman again?” “That’s none of your business, Miles,” I snap. He’s baiting my anger, I know that, probably trying to punish me for my many lies this evening. I shouldn’t show him how easy he can hurt me with just a few simple
“You love doing things like this,” Cynthia continues. “Being out here with people, organizing things, seeing it all come together.” Cynthia smiles. “This is the happiest I’ve seen you in such a long time.” I almost feel a little guilty by her words, like I shouldn’t be happy. After all, I’m not at
Behind Miles rode a group of adoring men and women. They laugh at Garnar and Thea now, and at Miles’s wonderful takedown of the pair.“You can’t even handle a horse,” one man snickers. “God knows how he treats his wife.”“Poor woman deserves better,” says a younger woman. “True men know how to lead
The riders begin to line up. They will trek through the forest in pairs, with a five minute gap between them to keep from overlap. Each target is being observed through cameras to determine who shoots what and with what accuracy.Miles lines up in the lead. His father declined attending the event, b
I roll out of the way in the last minute, as the boar charges past.“Esther!” Cynthia calls. She’s steadied her horse somewhat, several yards down the trail. Sparkle Heart, already upset from earlier, continues to run.“Go! Keep riding!” I shout to her. “Get help!”“I can’t just leave you!” Her hors
“Oh, God, I don’t want to die.”I’ve wasted the past ten years of my life with a man who doesn’t – maybe never – loved me. I don’t want to waste another second. If I survive, I want to pursue a life of happiness and love.Unbidden, my thoughts slip to Miles. Of his mischievous smile. Of the strength
“Put your arms around my shoulders,” Miles says. When I comply, he wraps his arms around me and lifts me. He begins carrying me back the way he came. Over his shoulder, I glance once more at the dead boar that so nearly killed me.And at Miles’s weapon that he left sitting in the dirt.“Your gun…” I
“Back off, Amber,” Miles says before I can even think to open my mouth in defense of myself. “She’s obviously injured.”“She should be on her own horse,” Amber says to him, even as her sneering gaze stays on me.“Hers is that spooked horse than ran all the way up the path. Maybe you’d like to go get