Courage Under Duress (SYTYCW)

Chapter 33

I wish I could say that the rest of the day had gone well and that there weren't any issues but the ranch hands had called Thomas away to the barn.  I was left alone with my thoughts.  For a woman such as myself with panic and anxiety issues, I didn't fair all that well in his absence but at least I tried.

Making sure that the doors and windows were locked and the security system activated, I headed upstairs to my room, locking the door behind me.  Deciding to take a shower in an attempt to clear my head, I locked the bathroom door behind me, adding an additional protective barrier that I sensed I needed.

I felt some of the day's stress melt away as I let the hot water cascade down the length of my body.  Until I heard the message chime from my cellphone on the vanity, that is.  I finished up, wrapped the towel around myself and grabbed the device.  My blood cooled as I read.

Did you enjoy my surprise?  The message was vague and eerie at the same time.  I couldn't quite make any sense of it.

I heard the front door slam shut.  It had been hard enough that things in the upstairs hallway rattled on the walls.  Footsteps headed up the stairs and I paused to listen.  They stopped at my door.  I was terrified as to who it could be.

"Erica?"  I released the breath I had been holding as soon as I heard Thomas' voice.  I rushed to the bedroom door, unlocked and opened it.  I wasn't prepared to see what I saw.  There Thomas stood, covered in blood.  I had never been one to be too squeamish when it came to the crimson liquid but this time, I simply had a hard time digesting the picture before me.

"W-what's going on?"

"It's not mine," he assured me and I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief.  "I think we have a problem."

"Why are you covered in blood?  What's happened?"

"The son of a bitch slaughtered some of my horses.  The colt and its mother are gone and same for a few others.  Denver's fine," he added as if reading my mind.  "He's here, E, I have no doubt about it now."

I didn't think.  I pulled Thomas to his room and started stripping him of his ruined clothes.  I pulled him to the bathroom and started the shower for him.  As I reached for his underwear, he froze my progress by grabbing my hands.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing, I'm getting you out of your clothes so you can-" And then I blushed after realizing the predicament that I was getting myself into.  I stood in nothing but a towel around my torso; the not so much white towel.  Hell, I was filthier than when I had first entered the shower before he had come back.

"I think I can handle it from here but it looks like you need another shower."  He chuckled.

"I'm glad that you can find my embarrassment amusing," I chortled with sarcasm.  "Go take your shower.  I'll be doing the same.  Again."

Before I had made my way out of the bathroom, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me.  Now that I was aware of our state of undress, I felt like a caged animal as he backed me up against the bathroom door.

"Are you okay?" he asked.  I nodded.  My mouth ran dry and my tongue felt like sandpaper.  His close proximity felt nice yet unsettling because I still felt embarrassed.  "Are you sure?"  Again, I nodded.  "Then kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me," he reiterated with a slight kiss to the sensitive skin below my ear.

"You should shower," I said, my breathing picking up as my head arched back against the door.  My mind thought one thing but my body seemed to be looking at betraying me for another.