Saddle up

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Brant's POV

I didn't take me long to get Chase out of the mess he'd gotten himself into. We chatted for a few minutes before I got back on the road headed for home. Headed for Jess.

I smiled to myself as I pictured her on the table...in that sundress...half drunk on wine and waiting for me. I stepped on the gas and made it back to the house in no time.

My soul nearly left my body when I saw Cole's shitty pickup parked in front of the office building where I'd left Jess.

I tore into my drive and toward the barn as quickly as I could, throwing gravel everywhere. Chase must have seen my hustle, because instead of continuing down the road towards his place, he pulled into the drive as well, chasing after me.

A million thoughts were racing through my mind about what I'd see inside the office. We both parked our trucks within seconds of each other but I jumped out of my truck and ran for the door throwing it open.

There on the far side of the room right beside the entrance to the office from the outdoor arena was Jess laying lifeless on the floor and Cole overtop of her with his hands around her throat.

My heart was pounding through my chest, vision became blurry, and my hearing became muffled as it usually did as I began to lose control of my anger. I thundered towards the piece of shit on top of my girlfriend. I vaguely heard Chase's voice calling my name, but nothing else mattered more than getting Cole off of her.

Cole looked over his shoulder at me as I reached for him, grabbing him by the collar and shoulder, pulling with all my strength and throwing him across the floor. I was seeing red at this point. This was going to end tonight. Once and for all.

Chase tried to pull me away but it was too late. I was on top of Cole beating him senseless. Nothing would stop me. Nothing except...

"Brant, she's not breathing, man. HELP ME!" Chase's voice was frantic. I'd never heard him like that before. I looked up to see Chase putting his head to Jess's chest, listening for a heartbeat.

I scrambled over Cole's beaten body to get to Jess. I checked for a pulse on her neck. Chase was right. She wasn't breathing. There was no pulse...at least not that I could feel. This can't be happening. This isn't real.

Chase was panicking. He pulled his phone from his pocket, dialed 911 and tossed the phone down on speaker as he started chest compressions. I watched, completely numb. This can't be happening. Not again.

Flash backs of Kelsey's accident played in my mind.

"Brant! Help me! She needs you right now, man! Please!"

"911, do you need fire, police, or ambulance?"

"Yes ma'am! I need an ambulance and police, please! I have a 19 year old female whose not breathing! We need help, fast!"

"Okay, Sir I'm going to give you instructions on how to perform CPR until an ambulance arrives, okay?"

"Yes ma'am! I'm doing chest compressions now."

"Okay, good. Count to 30, and if you can, give her two breaths. And then repeat. What is the address of the emergency?"

"We're at 91 Swigle Run Road. It's a brown stone A frame with a red tin roof. We're in the large barn directly across from that."

I was still coming in and out of it watching Chase perform CPR on Jess. He had tears rolling down his face. I'd never seen Chase cry since I've known him. I didn't want to believe any of this was happening. Jessica was fine just 15 minutes before. Happy and smiling. Now she was laying lifeless on the floor and I didn't know what to do in that moment. But I felt some sort of presence urging me to pull myself together enough to snap out of my daze and help Chase.  I switched off with him while Chase jumped up and grabbed his phone, continuing to give the dispatch information they needed.