South of Surrender (Hearts of the Anemoi) Read Online Free PDF Page B

chance you can save the lecture for when I’m not bleeding all over the place?”
    “I’m serious, Laney.”
    “So am I. I had to make sure the horses were okay. I tried to call you, but the phones weren’t working and I didn’t have a cell signal. Simple as that.”
    He grunted a sound that expressed his displeasure. “Think you can walk? We need to get you to the E.R.”
    Laney nodded, grateful that he let it drop. For now. She knew she had a major shit fit coming her way. Holding onto him, she pushed off the railing. Her head swam.
    “Okay, lean on me and let’s take it slow.”
    She limped against Seth’s side as they made their way out of the barn and toward his truck. “Is the E.R really necessary? Can’t I just call my regular doc?” Last thing she wanted was a trip to the E.R. She’d spent enough of her life seeing one doctor after another.
    “You’re gonna need stitches and a tetanus shot. The E.R. will be able to take care of everything.”
    It was worth a shot. She sighed. “Okay.”
    “Giving in that easy makes me even more worried about you.”
    She elbowed him in the side. “Shut up.”
    “And there’s my Laney,” he said in an almost amused voice. “Okay, two more steps then hold up a minute.” He opened the truck door. “I’ll lift you.”
    Laney frowned at the idea, but in truth, she wasn’t sure she could get herself up on the seat with the cut on the back of her leg. “Just give me a boost.”
    His arms came behind her back and knees. “Ready?”
    “Yeah.” She wrapped her arms tight around his neck. This close, she couldn’t help but notice his crisp, outdoorsy scent. Sweet hay and warm leather. She’d recognize it anywhere. The arm under her knee pulled at the cuts. She whimpered.
    “Sorry,” he said in a tight voice as he settled her on the seat.
    “Not your fault,” she managed, breathing through the raw burn eating up the back of her leg.
    He closed her door and hustled around to his. With her hand injured and her head such a jumbled mess, she was fighting a losing battle with her seat belt when he got in the driver’s side. “Here,” he said. He reached across and secured the belt.
    “Thanks,” she whispered, hating being so helpless. Geez, she hoped she wasn’t bleeding all over his truck. Not that Seth would care.
    Laney laid her head back and closed her eyes as they made their way down the long drive. What she had seen of the winged horse came immediately to her mind’s eye.
    “Hang on,” Seth said.
    She lifted her head. “What?”
    “We gotta do some off-roading. Trees down over the driveway. Down all over the place, from the storm. Weather men are saying maybe some tornadoes touched down last night.”
    Tornadoes? That was exactly what she’d wondered when she found the horse. You know, the one that wasn’t there this morning. The truck bounced as it left the gravel, jarring the thoughts away. Laney gripped the door handle and breathed through the bumpy ride. Then they were back on level ground.
    “I’m gonna call Ben. Get him to come take care of the horses and see if he can get some guys to clear the drive.”
    Laney nodded. Seth’s cousin had worked at Summerlyn Farm most summers while he’d been in school. The horses would be in good hands. Seth’s voice in the background, she went back to studying the golden Pegasus plastered on the inside of her eyelids.
    Now, she didn’t know whether to believe her magical visitor had been real or not. Either her faculties were failing or… What? She didn’t even know.
    One step at a time, Laney . Yes. Okay. That, she could do.
    …
    From the doorway of the barn, Chrysander watched the truck depart. He didn’t know what bothered him more—the exhaustion he felt down to his bones, the ass-kicking he’d received last night that had drained his power, the relief in the woman’s voice at the human man’s arrival, or the man’s hands all over her. And why the hell the latter two should bother him,