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

Chapter 37

             "It's okay, Hunter. Seriously."

            When we pulled into the driveway, he barely got the key out of the ignition before jumping out and rushing around to my side. He pulled the crutches out of the truck bed and lifted me down easily. 

             The screen door slammed open and my dad stepped onto the porch with my sister in tow. They were both wearing the biggest smiles I had ever seen adorning their faces.

            Dad practically threw himself down the stairs to get to me, barely sparing Hunter a nod. I heard his chuckle from behind my shoulder, but I was too busy getting tackled in a monster bear hug. 

             "Hey, Kid." He whispered against my ear. I felt myself tearing up, not realizing how much I had missed the nickname. 

             "Hey dad. I love you and all, but I kinda need to breathe..." I let my voice trail off and waited for him to let go. He was reluctant, but released his grip. 

             "Let's get you inside." 

            They both walked on either side of me, as if they were worried I was going to fall over and break myself. 

            Again.

            In all honesty, I was a little afraid of that as well. 

           I heard the dull thud as Hunter pulled my suitcase out of the truck bed and dropped it on the ground. 

           When Kellie had come to visit me in the hospital, she had brought with her about five bags, full of every thing I might possibly need. From clothes, to underwear, to paracord ropes, (they hadn't let her bring in the pocket knives. That had been a bit of a mess) to nail polish, she had brought everything. 

            We stepped into the mud room, and I was immediately greeted with a giant 'Welcome Home, Kate!!' banner hanging from the kitchen ceiling. On the table sat a chocolate cake with sparklers for candles. 

           All I saw were fire hazards. 

          Standing in the corner of the kitchen were Shelly, and Chase. I could tell that Shelly had tears in her eyes, because she had her hand over her heart and was fanning her face a bit too dramatically. 

         I couldn't quite make out the writing on the cake, but it was written in a bright green gel frosting stuff. Honestly, it looked amazing.

        Of course, anything was probably better than the food they forced down our throats at the hospital. Even my awful cooking. 

         I had never really liked surprise parties, as it had always been just me, Dad, and Kellie. Then Kellie had gone off to college, and it was back to just  me and Dad. But that had always been the way I had liked it. 

        Now, all of a sudden, we had friends. We had people who seemed to care about us. About me. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes again, and I was getting a little sick of it. 

         All this was running through my head in an instant, which was all I had because Shelly flew across the room and wrapped her arms around me. She cried into my shoulder, getting my shirt wet.