Peppermint Winter

Chapter 8

5 weeks later

"Bye, mom!" I shout as I run outside and slide into the passenger seat of Kayden's car.

"So do you want to go on a ride today?" Kayden asks me.

"Absolutely! I would love that," I reply, smiling.

So much has happened over the last five weeks. Kayden and I are very close now. We've gotten so much progress with Pepper. Now, she will let just about anyone ride her without any fuss.
I smile when I think of the day Pepper was ridden for the first time. Kayden was on her, because he refused to let me ride a wild horse. he said I could get hurt, which earned him an eye roll from me. But when he got on her, I was glad it wasn't me up there. Pepper went completely crazy, bucking and rearing until Kayden came flying off and landed with a thud.

We pull into the driveway and both get out.

Once we're all finished with the day's chores, we get Peppermint and Blizzard, Kayden's dapple gray quarter horse stallion out.

We do a full grooming, and then tack up western. Then We mount and head out to our favorite trail.

At some point along the trail, we ride by a short but steep cliff.
Pepper and I are in front, and Kayden and Blizzard behind us.

Just as we are passing the cliff, a deer bounds out of the bushes to our right, and Pepper spooks.
She jerks left, her back leg going over the edge of the cliff. She tries to regain her footing, but her front left leg goes over next, and soon we are sliding and tumbling down the edge of the cliff.

Pepper rolls over, nearly crushing me, but I manage to slide away from her just before slamming my back into a tree. I feel something crack in my body, and hear a loud popping noise. Pepper continues to tumble down, until she safely reaches the ground.

In seconds Kayden is by my side. I have no idea how he got down here so fast, but he is.

"Lexi, Lexi are you okay?" He asks, his voice urgent and worried.

"Yeah, I think so," I mumble, rubbing my back where the tree hit. I know there's going to be a bruise the size of a car tire there tomorrow. Plus, it's probably pretty badly scraped up.

"Are you sure? You hit that tree pretty hard," his voice is strained.

"I'm fine, Kayden. But is Pepper okay?" I start to get up, but He pushes me back down.

"You stay put, I'll go check on Pepper." He seems hesitant to leave me, as if it's his duty to protect me, but he goes anyway.

I watch from my spot on the ground as he checks all of Peppers legs, then Checks for scrapes and bruises.
I am glad he can't see my back, cause if he could he'd freak. I still have an aching pain there, but I don't want him worrying about me.

"She's okay, aside from a few little scrapes here and there. Are you sure you can ride?"

"Yeah, and besides, it's not like there's any other way to get back. besides walking, which would be harder than riding at this point," I chuckle.

"I could carry you," he says,

I laugh at this, until I realize he's serious.

"No way, I am not letting you carry me all the way back to the house while leading two horses. I can just ride, but thanks for the offer." I laugh again.

He helps me mount up, and then gets on Blizzard.

"You good?" He asks me, and I nod.

The ride back is fairly uneventful, except that at one point I get dizzy so I lay my head on Pepper's neck. I'm so thankful for her.

When he sees me lay down on her, he asks for the millionth time if I'm okay.

"You've seriously got to stop asking me that. I just got a little dizzy, it's no big deal. why are you so protective of me anyways?"

There is a long pause, and then, "I had a sister. She died in a horse riding accident nine years ago."

"Kayden- I, I'm so sorry,"

"I don't want your pity, but that's why I am so protective I guess. I can't lose you Lexi, not like my sister."

We ride the rest of the way back in silence.

When we get there, I see Kayden dismount and lead Blizzard into the barn.
I see this as an opportunity to do something without him helping me for the first time since the accident.

I slide off Pepper, but when I hit the ground a sharp stab of pain shoots up my back. I let out a little squeak of pain before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

Apparently Kayden heard, because it seems like the moment I fall down he is right beside me asking what happened.

"My back hurts," is all I say.

"Lexi, I think you need to see a doctor."

"I do not," I say stubbornly, "now if you will please help me to the car, I'd like to go home."

He sighs, and holds out his arm for me to grab.
I take hold of it and shakily stand up, but the moment my back straightens the searing pain comes back. I wince, but hope he doesn't notice.

He does.

He lifts me up and carries me to the car, gently setting me in the seat. I can't help but notice how strong his arms are, probably from lifting bales and doing ranch work.

"You didn't have to carry me, you know," I say.

He doesn't reply. Has been sort of... quiet, since he told me about his sister.
I hope he is okay.

We ride to my house in silence.

Once we get there, I decide I am not going to let him carry me this time. I quickly open the door, standing up. After the first step, the pain is unbearable, and I collapse.
Again.

But this time, I collapse into his arms.

"You sure are stubborn," he mutters as he scoops me up again.

He carries me to the porch, but when we reach it, my dad comes out with a shotgun.

Authors note

Ooohhhh u better run Kayden. lol :) oh and another 1000 word chapter! It's just a filler, but it's kinda important too. Oh and btw, wattpad crashed on me and deleted this entire chapter. I had to rewrite the whole thing!!! yea that was annoying... oh well. :)
well, thanks for reading guys!