All I Have (7 page)

"What happened?" asked Shane.

"He fell into an old well. I helped him out, but he fainted before we got here."

Shane nodded, cradling Nicholas' head in his lap.

Ten minutes dragged by. The wait was killing Ellie. Where was her father?

Then, without warning, Nicholas opened his eyes. "Where am I?"

Shane whispered, "Oh, Nick you're awake."

"Yeah, and I hurt everywhere. What did that girl do to me?" A smile twitched his lips as he stared at Ellie. "What kind of driving was that anyway?" He glanced at his father. "Why so gloomy? Hey, where's Jake?"

"He left to get the truck," said Shane, in a gruff tone.

"There's no need. I'm fine. I just need to rest."

"Nicholas–"

Nicholas grasped Shane's arm, his eyes imploring. "I just need to rest."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

Ellie realized the two of them were trying to make her feel better. But nothing would make her feel better. Nicholas could have been killed. Why hadn't anyone gone looking for him?

A few minutes later a truck rumbled up. Dust flew as it skidded to a stop a few feet from them. Leaving the motor running, Jake leaped out of the cab. "I'll drive Shane and Nicholas to the hospital. Ellie you'll have to take care of the horses and return home on your own."

Ellie nodded.

"I'll stay, Jake," said Shane. "Just take Ellie and Nicholas."

"Shane, don't be silly. Ellie will be fine."

The two argued back and forth until Ellie finally said, "Nicholas needs to be checked out and Shane you need to be with him. Please, just go. I'll see you at the house later."

Finally, Shane agreed and Ellie watched them speed away leaving her alone. Watching the horses graze, she realized she'd have to retrieve the other horse. The idea of chasing down the animal didn't bother her. She needed a distraction anyway.

Grabbing Shane's horse, she made her way back to the pit. Nicholas' horse was still grazing where they'd left her. Tying the two animals together, she retraced her steps and went back to the fence line to find her father's horse. With all three animals harnessed, she set out toward home.

When she arrived, the house was lit and loud music blared from the windows. There was no telling when her father would return from the ER. Carla must have thought the same thing and invited some friends over for a party in his absence.

Shaking her head, Ellie walked to the pond. The farther she walked, the more her frustration mounted. How could her father be so blind to Carla's flaws? Even if the old saying was true about loving being blind, this wasn't being blind, this was being stupid. How could he love someone bent on his destruction? Carla did nothing but drain money and resources from the farm; anyone with eyes could see that. Before the wedding, she'd readily agreed to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. Of course that hadn't bothered her since the woman obviously planned to use all the money the family had before Jake died.

At the water's edge, Ellie paused. Moonlight reflected off the still pond and fireflies danced around her. The peace and serenity of the moment was broken occasionally by arriving vehicles.

By the time Ellie returned to the house, darkness had descended. Weak and weary from the trauma of the day, she stumbled inside and edged past gyrating dancers and her step-mother's drunken friends. Irritation that her father would probably never know of Carla's vices beset her. Sometimes old sayings were correct:
ignorance is bliss.

Ignoring the noise going on downstairs, she showered and collapsed on her bed. Her last thought was a prayer for Nicholas' safe return to the farm.

"Are you all right?" Shane asked, concern lacing his question.

"Do you think she's okay?" Nicholas said, as his dad pulled in front of the cabin in the early morning hours. Except for scrapes and bruises, the ER had given him a clean bill of health, but they'd warned him about soreness over the next few days and advised him to get plenty of rest. Physically that would not be a problem, but mentally his mind was already protesting.

"Do you think Ellie's okay?" he repeated.

"Of course she's okay, son."

Inside his room, Nicholas stretched across his bed, every muscle in his body screaming. When he closed his eyes, all he could see were the rough gray jutting stones of the walls of the pit mocking him. Claustrophobia flooded his senses, along with the old feelings of never being rescued. In the well he'd moaned. It was a sound he remembered from his days of worry and uncertainty in the prison camp; a sound conveying abject misery.

In the despair of the moment, he'd been shocked to see a head peeking above him. His gut reaction had been a flashback. He'd wanted to cower in the hole, refusing to be carted off to another prison. Then his heart had leapt at Ellie's voice, only to have his hope plummet. How could she help?

When she'd dangled the cable in front of him after he'd told her to go for help, he'd wanted to hope again, but not at a risk to her safety. Anger had made his heart hammer. Why had she disobeyed him? He'd heard the four-wheeler spinning and her grunting as she'd worked doggedly to resolve his rescue. Why hadn't she listened to decent advice?

****

When Nicholas awoke the next morning and staggered into the kitchen, he found a note from his dad.

Gone to work. Rest. Love, Dad.

He wadded the paper and tossed it in the garbage. It made him feel better. He'd been First Lieutenant in the U.S. Infantry and he'd survived worse injuries than this. No way would he sit around and let the old men outwork him.

The first challenge was making it to the barn of the big house, which he accomplished with a minimal of hassle. Inside the barn, he was surprised to see Ellie scooping fresh hay with a pitchfork into empty stalls. Wearing a tank top and shorts, her lightly tanned skin drew his attention. When she turned, he was drawn to a huge purple bruise on her arm. The sight made his stomach churn. He watched her place the pitchfork aside and ladle water from a bucket, lifting a drink to her pretty mouth. He shuffled his feet to keep from alarming her.

At the sound, her head lifted and her lips twitched into a grin. "Nicholas! What are you doing here? Your dad said you had orders from the doctor to rest."

A lump formed in his throat. Stalking forward, he gently lifted her arm and turned her to face him. "Where did you get this?"

Ellie twisted out of his grasp. When she did so, the fabric of her shirt caught and lifted, revealing another purple bruise across her stomach. Ignoring his question, she reached for the pitchfork and tossed more hay into a stall.

Nicholas' pulled the tool from her hands, turning her to face him again. "Ellie, please answer me. Where did you get the bruises?"

This time she didn't shy away. "Listen, it's not a big deal."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

With her hands on her hips, she said haughtily, "Because as soon as I tell you I hurt myself while helping you out of that well, you'll start with the 'I told you so' routine. And how does that help matters? You'll only make me angry and–"

Nicholas watched her lips move. Slowly and methodically, he noted her stance with one hip jutting to the side, and a finger waging back and forth in a sassy manner. Without thought of the consequences, he gently stepped forward. She finally stopped talking when they were an inch apart.

"Ellie?"

"Yes." She sounded breathless.

"I'm going to kiss you now."

"Oh…okay."

His lips grazed hers for a brief second. When he pulled back, her eyes looked glossy. He'd only meant for their lips to touch, but now he wanted more. Bending forward again, he focused on the lushness of her mouth. A large crash sounded and they jumped apart. A metal bucket rolled toward them.

Breathing heavily, Nicholas said, "I guess one of the horses kicked it?"

Ellie nodded, but her eyes shifted around the barn and frown lines wrinkled her forehead.

Nicholas knew the moment was over. Ellie backed away and placed a hand over her lips. He stared at her retreating form, suddenly realizing how alone he felt.

Several weeks passed. The bruises turned black, then purple, then yellow, then faded away, but poignant memories of a shared kiss lingered with Ellie. She tried to forget the kiss. Why? Nicholas was a wonderful guy. Why didn't she pursue him? The answer was simple. If she allowed her feelings to show, then Carla would come after him full force.

Once, while in college, Ellie had brought a boy home to meet her father. Everything had been going great. They'd talked, the boy was grilled and survived, and Ellie had had high hopes of her father's approval. But, before the afternoon was over, he'd ended up in her stepmother's arms. One minute he was going to the kitchen to get her a glass of water, and the next, Ellie found the two of them locking lips. She'd hidden the incident from her father, but never forgotten it.

Now, with Nicholas, she was afraid to showcase her feelings. She had to protect her father from emotional trauma; protect Nicholas from a scandal; and protect Shane from losing his job and thereby his home. All of which would happen if Carla learned of her interest in Nicholas.

Each day, it became harder and harder to avoid him. He was everywhere. He followed her to the barn, the house, the fields. Whenever she saw him, he always had a hurt expression plastered on his face. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to get away.

Saddling her horse, she galloped to the eastern side of the property where a trail meandered to three waterfalls and a swimming hole.

At the trail head, she dismounted and left the horse to graze. Backpack secure and water bottle in hand, she set out. When she reached the first waterfall, she stopped to rest. Because of a morning rain, the crystal clear water was running fast and splashing down into a large pool. The water rippled and she lost herself in memories.

As a kid, she'd frolicked in the pool with her dad and mom, splashing and enjoying the summer sun. Now it was a quiet place. No laughter—just a place to reflect on happier times, times alive in her memories.

Expelling a pent up breath, Ellie picked a flower and spun the stem in her fingers. Tears leaked down her cheeks. One of the petals was twisted and bent. Something once so perfect, now marred. Kind of like her life.

"Ellie?

The sound of Nicholas' voice had her swiping at her tears. Was she imagining his presence? She swiveled. "What are you doing here?"

Nicholas angled his head and a sigh escaped his lips. She swallowed and tried to calm her racing pulse while wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans.

"Jake told me you might be here. I need to talk to you."

She shrugged and motioned him to another rock.

Nicholas raked a hand through his hair and her pulse hammered. In a contrite voice, he said, "Look, I'm sorry if I was too forward. I mean, it was
just
a kiss. Almost not even a real one. Not really a big deal. But, well, I don't understand why you're avoiding me. My dad's on my case. He wants to know what I did because your dad's sensing a change in you and he's upset. And like I told him, if I knew, I'd tell him, but I don't."

Ellie couldn't believe it. All this time she'd thought the kiss was serious, that it meant something to him. She had been protecting him by keeping her distance, when in truth; it
hadn't
meant anything to him!
Just a kiss, not even a real kiss!
Indeed! And to think he actually believed his admission would make things better! How insensitive and egotistical could he be?