Shouldn't be too hard, right?
It's a good thing I'm on break all this week. If I try really, really hard, I might even be able to finish completely before going back to school Monday. Stranger things have happened...
Of course, now I've reached the turning point in the novel, and I'm having to go back and explain some things that I've come to realize I need to let the readers in on earlier in the novel.
Which is where today's excerpt comes from. Previously, I have talked about how Aileen is a horse whisperer of sorts. But it seems as if she's having a bit of an off day now. Poor thing. I just keep doing mean things to her. To all my characters, really. But it's okay, they'll bounce back just fine in the end.
When she arrived, she found David calming down her horse. She approached slowly, and the horse neighed loudly, dancing away from her. Frowning, she sat down against the fence and waited until David put the horse back into its stall. He came out and handed her a bottle of water, sitting down beside her.
"I was worried when he showed up without you. What happened?"
She took a generous gulp of water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Something is up with him today. He was a bit skittish when I was getting him saddled up, but I figured he was just antsy about getting out, since I haven't been by in a few days. But he kept tugging at the reins the whole time I had him canter, so I tried to stop him. He didn't like that very much... he threw me off and ran back here. I managed to jump off so I didn't land on my back, but I twisted my ankle when I landed, so it took me a little while to get moving again."
David shook his head and took a swig from his own bottle. "Wonder what's up. You don't usually have any problems with the horses, and he seemed perfectly content to let me put him back in the stall."
She shrugged and tugged off her boot. "Maybe it's me, then. I must be having an off day." She pulled off her sock and winced at the black and blue splotches covering her ankle.
He whistled. "Looks like it hurts. You sure you don't need me to bring you anywhere? I mean, I know you're superwoman and managed to walk back up the trail by yourself, but it's only going to get worse now that your boot is off."
She squeezed her ankle slowly, her breath catching every so often from the pain. "I'll be okay, I think. Just need to get home and get some ice on it." She made to stand and quickly lost her balance.
"Oh, no you don't," David said, catching her arms. "We'll get you set up in the office until the swelling goes down. Then we'll wrap you up. You're not going to be able to make it from the car to your place with how it is now."
Thanks for reading!
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