Country Girls Do It Better... Book 1 Of The Healing Through Horses Trilogy

Chapter 40

             I slammed my locker door shut and huffed as I leaned against it. The day had been long, and my thoughts had been jumbled around the whole time. I hadn't been able to focus on a single lesson. 

             My phone beeped and I pulled it out of my back pocket to check it. 

            To: Kate
            From: Hunter
          Where r u?

            How was he outside already? School just ended. 

            To: Hunter
           From: Kate
           calm down, sparky. I'm coming.

           I clicked my phone off and slung my backpack over my shoulder, preparing for battle. I pushed through the students, trying to keep my feet under me and not under their feet. 

           In no time, I saw the doors up ahead. 

            To: Kate
            From: Hunter
            ;p ;p ;p brat

           I smiled in spite of myself and pushed open the heavy double door. The smell of fresh air hit me in the face as I scanned the parking lot for Hunter's Chevrolet. 

          I spotted it in the corner, lined up with a dozen other trucks. 

          From the beginning of time, that space in the lot had been reserved for all the students with trucks. It immediately made one part of the 'cool' squad... Or something like that. If you didn't have a truck, or didn't park it there, you were basically an outcast by the rules of Katriss High. 

           Hunter was leaning against the passenger side door, looking at his phone in one hand, his other arms crossed over his chest. Of course, I caught myself staring at his arms. As usual, the muscles were pronounced in the white t-shirt he was wearing, and I almost had to physically pick my jaw up off the ground. 

            For all the acting I did, I really liked having a boyfriend. He was sweet, and kind, and caring, and I often wondered why he had ever wanted me. But, of course, all he ever told me was that I was beautiful, and he really liked me. 

           He hadn't said he loved me yet. 

          Suddenly, he looked up from his phone and a huge grin broke across his face. Again. He seemed to be smiling a lot lately. 

          He opened the door and tossed his phone on the seat, before jogging over to me. He swept me up in his arms, and I barely managed to hold on to my bag. "How was your day, beautiful?"

        "Good..." Why was he so happy all the time?

          I felt myself moving as he began walking towards the truck again. He placed me in the seat and rested his hand on my thigh, near my knee. "How's the leg?"  

          "Eh. Not bad. It hurts a little." 

          "You should rest for a bit when we get home." 

           I was totally oblivious to him trying to help me. "I can't. Chase is coming over for a ride."

           His expression fell, and he dropped his head. Sighing, he closed the door and walked around to his side. When he got there, he turned the key in the ignition, but just sat there for a moment. 

            "Are you sure there's nothing going on with you and Chase? I've been thinking about it since lunch." 

            I scoffed. "Really, Hunter? I never pegged you as the jealous, overprotective, slightly possessive, and way paranoid  kind of boyfriend."