“Okay,” I agreed, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
I took a deep, steadying breath, mentally tracing the path that led from the back of the goats’ paddock into the woods and down the steep hillside. Somewhere in the midst of the trees, my parents’ property line met the Hills’, although I’d never known precisely where.
It was still raining, and we were both going to be soaked by the time we made it down the hill. I was still slightly damp from my earlier walk out to the Sheriff’s Department, but Hart grimaced up at the rain before he followed me out into the wet.
It was slow going, mud, roots, and stones making the partially-overgrown path treacherous. Broken legs were not something either of us needed.
What Ineededwas to see Elliot. To touch him, smell the distinctive scent of his skin, feel the warmth of his body. To be absolutely certain that he was, in fact, alive. I’d heard his voice, but that wasn’t enough. I needed all of him.
But I was also acutely conscious that Hart probably needed the same confirmation—maybe in a different way, but he loved Elliot, too.
One foot skidded on a root, and I slipped, dropping down to a hand and a knee—the bad one, of course—to stop myself from tumbling down the steep embankment covered in rocks and brambles. “Shit!” I hissed, pain stabbing upward through my kneecap, up my thigh, and into my hip. I hissed out a breath, trying to control my reaction to the pain.
“You okay, Seth?” Hart’s feet skidded a little, but he didn’t fall, and he offered me a hand to help me back up.
“I—Give me a minute.” I breathed through the pain, uncertain whether or not my knee was going to be able to holdme up. When I thought I might be able to manage, I took Hart’s offered hand, and the elf hauled me up, gripping my elbow with his other hand when my knee didn’t quite hold me. I’d forgotten how strong Hart is. I blew out a breath. “Thanks.”
“You gonna make it?” he asked.
“Well, I’m not gonna sit down and give up,” I retorted. I took a tentative step, then grimaced, wobbling. Hart kept hold of my arm, the pressure helping me to keep my balance.
“You sure about that?” It was only half-teasing.
“I’m not staying out here,” I informed him. “Not alone.”
Hart nodded once. “Probably a good call. You need me to help you walk?”
I carefully tested putting weight on my leg again, suppressing the wince. “I think I’ll be okay on flat ground, but I… might actually need some assistance getting the rest of the way down this fucking mountain.”
I don’t knowif you’ve ever sprained anything and then tried to get down a mountain with only the assistance of an extremely irritable and foul-mouthed elf, but it isn’t an experience I would recommend. We got through it. Somehow. And I only pulled him down once.
But, finally, the path opened into a field of wild grasses, dotted with the yellows of black-eyed susans and prairie dock, the purple-blues of vervain, the lavender of coneflowers, and the brilliant red of cardinal flowers mixed in with the brownish green of the grasses. The rain and mist from the storm smudged the colors, turning the field into an impressionistic painting.
It was beautiful.
I was in absolutely no mood to appreciate it.
I did appreciate the fact that Hart kept his arm under my shoulder, taking a lot of my weight, even though we were down the steep part of the hillside. “Are we heading for the house or the barn?” the elf asked, adjusting his grip.
“No idea,” I grumbled back. “Let’s just go for in between.”
As we made our way through the grasses—and I mentally reminded myself to do a thorough tick-check once we got back to the hotel—a sharp whistle drew our attention.
“Please tell me you know who the fuck that is,” Hart grumbled into my ear.
“Ray Hill,” I replied.
“He’s putting Elliot up right now?”
“He and his wife, Helen, yeah.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Hart guided us toward where the ghoul was leaning on the fence to the alpacas’ enclosure—where there was a gate, I saw as we got closer.
“Don’t tell me those assholes ran y’all off the road, too?” Ray said when we got close enough that he didn’t have to yell.
“No,” I replied with a grimace. “I tripped on a goddamn root and pretty sure I sprained my knee.”
Ray pushed the gate open for us, and Hart maneuvered me through it. “We’ll get some ice on that and get it wrapped up. And get you off it for a bit.” Ray looked at Hart. “I’m assuming we can send you to get a car so he’s not walking back up there?”
