Green Pastures (Edited)

Chapter 7

Grandpa led our group to the edge of the pasture, into the trees, and down a hill to a creek. He climbed down from his horse and led it to a nearby tree. He slung the reins over a branch and helped me down from my mare. Once my feet were on the ground, he took the reins from her neck and tossed them over a branch. Sameal brought his horse up to us and stopped in front of me. The horse nudged my cheek with his nose and "pffed". I giggled and stepped aside. Sameal carefully handed Jessi down to me and we followed Grandpa to the bank of the creek. Grandpa kicked off his worn boots and stepped into the shallow water. I sat down and took my shoes off. I stuck my feet into the water. It was warm from the sun but cold spurts could be felt every now and then. I kicked my foot up, splashing Grandpa and he laughed. Sameal came up beside me and said, "It's nice to see the old man happy again."

Grandpa must have heard Sameal call him an old man because he soaked Sameal with splash after splash of the creek water. I laughed so hard that I nearly fell over. After sitting in the warm sun, Jessi cradled to me, Grandpa finally pulled himself from the cool water and said we needed to go tend to the animals. He took the reins of his horse from the tree branch and led it to the water. The black horse dipped its head down and drank. Sameal followed and so did I. Once grandpa was mounted on his horse he asked, "Can I take Jessamine back with me?"

I lifted her up and grandpa settled her against his chest. I felt my heart stutter at the love he had for her, even though he just met her. They idled back toward the barn. Sameal helped me mount my mare, trying not to touch me if he didn't need to. I felt disappointed when he didn't. Quickly, I kicked that to the back of my mind and nudged my mare forward. She started to walk. Once I was comfortable I nudged her to go faster. She gained speed until she was going as fast as she could.

My hair billowed behind me and I felt free! Free of the pain that I had been through, free of the thoughts I had had about Sameal, free of the worry over Jessamine and Sebastion. I was filled with a rush I had never known and it was incredible. I threw my hands up in the air, closed my eyes, and let my mare take control. She ran fast and wild. I didn't want it to end. All too soon, Grandpa hollered, "Girl, get back here with my horse!" My eyes shot open and I became confused. In front of me was not the barn. It was not a field. Instead, it was a forest. Before I could grab the reigns, the mare shifted to the right and I flew out of the saddle. I hit the ground with a loud thud and the air left my lungs. I tried to breathe but it was no use. The impact had hit my body so hard that nothing wanted to work. I squeezed my eyes shut and laid there. I prayed for my breathing to return. I could feel myself fading into nothingness, from the lack of oxygen. I forced myself to take a deep breath. Finally, oxygen coated the inside of my lungs and I opened my eyes. Above me, a giant nose was the only thing I saw. My mare stood over me and nudged my head with her nose.

I tried to get up, but everything hurt. Instead, I raised my hand to her nose and caressed her. She whinnied, dipping her neck down. Her mane brushed my hand and I grabbed a handful. She raised to her full height, pulling me with her. When I was on my feet, my legs shook. I used her body to hold me steady as I caught my breath. Once I was okay enough to move, I clumsily climbed back into the saddle. Once settled, I looked up to see two pairs of legs, one slightly behind the others, running toward me. I nudged the mare toward the barn, careful not to give her her head again. They slowed a little when they saw me back in the saddle. Every step the mare took, jarred every bone in my body. I held my breath as she walked. When I came upon Grandpa and Sameal, I stopped and exhaled. Grandpa eyed me for a second before helping me off of the mare. He asked me if I was okay but didn't believe me when I said yes.

Grandpa rode the mare back to the barn and I walked with Sameal, who held Jessi. The adrenaline finally kicked in and I could move easier. When we made it back to the barn, grandpa told Sameal to take me inside and set me on the couch. "Don't let her up until I get inside," he said.

"Yes, Sir."

Sameal led me into the house and onto the couch while Grandpa took care of the horses. When the adrenaline wore off, my body began to ache. Every breath felt like a thousand knives were being slowly pushed into my lungs, My thighs ached from rubbing the leather saddle, and my head pounded. I laid down on the couch, slowly. My eyes closed and I was out in a matter of minutes. When I woke up, it was dark out. Grandpa was cooking and Sameal was sitting on the coffee table watching me. He sat up straight when my eyes opened.

"Oh thank God! Shaw," he hollered. "Isa'Bella is awake." The way my name rolled off his tongue made my insides mush. The way that he stared at me with concern made me happy. Grandpa rushed into the room, cutting off my insane thoughts. He sat on the couch and grabbed my hand when I held it out to him. Grandpa and Sameal helped me sit up. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "Are you okay," Grandpa asked me.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I just want to be sure. You scared me, girl. Doctor Cook came by to check on you and said you just needed to sleep but when you hadn't woken up, I was beginning to worry. You have a bruised rib"

"I'm just sore." I rubbed my thighs and hissed. Sameal looked at me, a question in his eyes. "Really, I'm fine." Grandpa kissed my head and stood. He gave me another once over and walked back to the kitchen.

Sameal eyed me and my cheeks heated up. It's as if he could see right through me.

"You have saddle burn," he said.

"What?"

"Your thighs, they are raw from the saddle."

"Oh. Well, they do burn." Again, my cheeks heated.

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Uh, sure?"

What was I supposed to say? He knows more about this stuff than I do.

"You'll have to let me change out of these jeans, though."

He leaned back and motioned for me to go. I was slow with the movements I made. My whole body hurt, especially where my jeans rubbed my legs. Once I finally removed them, I looked at my thighs. Both thighs were covered in nasty looking blisters. I pulled on some ball shorts and went back to the couch. I sat down and lifted the hem of the shorts to expose the raw flesh. It was red and torn. Tentatively, Sameal's fingers touched the edge of my burns and I hissed, closing my eyes. His fingers were cool on my feverish skin. He examined my thighs and then removed his fingers from my skin I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. He blinked and cleared his throat. Standing, he said, "I'll give you some ointment to put on your thighs."

He walked out of the room and came back after a few minutes. He handed me a jar and then walked into the kitchen. I opened the jar and smelled its contents. I couldn't place the scent. I would have to ask him what it was later. I rubbed the gel onto my thighs and put the lid back on. I laid back down on the couch and I fell asleep again.