Half a Dozen...Horses? Book 1

Half a Dozen...Horses? Chapter 4...

Here's the next one all, hope it lives up to your expectations hehe

Enjoy...

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Chapter 4...

The pattern remained the same for the next two weeks, for the first few days Dani slept most of the time only waking up to eat. The doc came by to check on her and left a happy man. Jim kept his distance from her during the day often spending all day out on the outskirt of the ranch and at night he would stay away from her as long as he could stand it but eventually her screams would sink past his defences and he'd sneak in and just hold her. He had taken to laying down next to her after 3 nights of nearly breaking his arm laying on the cot next to her bed. His Mother had come in at dawn on the fourth day to find him out for the count on his back with her curled up next to him with his arm around her protectively. She had woken him up with a disapproving look and shooed him out of the room, but she eventually came to expect it and would just wake him up each morning before Dani woke up.

The second week was better, Dani still had the nightmares but during the day she tried to get up and move about on her own if only to go to the bathroom. She still hadn't spoken one word to anyone about that night and would only answer direct questions about trivial things, other then that she stayed in her room staring out over the meadow with a blank expression on her face.

At the end of the second week at about three in the morning, Jim had been woken again but this time it wasn't because of her screams but rather from the lack of them. Jim lay staring at the ceiling for close on an hour waiting for a sound, for anything but the whole house was still. Frustrated he climbed out of his bed and made his way to her room. He met his Mother outside her door on the landing.

"I was worried." She muttered as she pressed her ear against the closed door.

"Yeah me too, kinda got used to the screams." He muttered back slightly embarrassed. His mother giggled lightly at him.

"I'm just going to check on her, make sure she's ok." She explained as she slid the door open silently and slipped inside. Within two seconds she swung the door back with a bang. "She's gone!"

Every muscle in Jim's body went on high alert and he ran for the stairs, grabbed his jacket at the door and threw on his boots as he pulled the kitchen door open, only to come to an abrupt holt right outside it. Dani stood a little way across the yard leaning against the coral fence, blanket wrapped around her, looking up at the night sky. The moon reflected off her black hair as a soft breezed played along the edge picking up pieces and blowing them around her face. Jim's heart rate picked up at the sights and then letting out the breath he was holding he made his way over to her.

"What are you doing out here?" He watched as she nearly out of her skin, he hadn't meant for the words to come out as harsh as they did but he wasn't quite over the panic her disappearance had caused him. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He added leaning against the fence next to her.

"Uhmm that's ok. You're Jim right?" Her voice was soft but penetrating eating away at him, pulling his full attention towards her.

"Yea?"

"I guess I owe you a lot for finding me." She said trying to smile, but wincing slightly.

"Well... actually you kind of found me. You have on hell of an arm." He replied smiling trying to get the sad expression off her face, but apart from a slight tug at the corner of her mouth, she was miles away staring up at the stars. Jim looked over her face taking note of the fading bruises that had turned a nasty shade of yellow. Even with the bandage wrapped tightly around the top of her head, she was a stunner. Jim forced his mind away from such thoughts and looked up to see what she was looking at.