The Impossible Art of Falling (Impossible Art #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

down to see her horse. Instead, Luke had watched her silhouette haunting her upstairs window. Considering all that Luke had seen of Jena since she had arrived, Rob was either completely wrong or didn’t know his niece at all. Regardless, no matter how hard he tried to push the girl from his head, Luke found himself wondering about the strange girl at the window. Who was she really? Equally annoyed and intrigued, Luke found that she was all he could think about. And now, after only a week, he was determined to figure her out.
     
    LUKE THREW ANOTHER BALE of hay down from the loft onto the back of the tractor to where Kyle was stacking them. It was the last of the fifty bales that needed to be moved from the hay barn to the main barn. The afternoon was hot and he reached to take off his now soaked t-shirt. His hair was wet and curling at the nape of his neck. I really should make time for that haircut, he thought to himself. Or else let Meg trim it a bit . He climbed down from the loft, feeling the air getting cooler, although it was still in the 80’s. He sat on the seat of the tractor, reached for his bottle of water, and drank. In the distance, he could see Jena sitting on the porch with a book in her lap. Today, she had finally left the interior of the house and the frame of her window, but still, Luke couldn’t hide his dismay. He didn’t consider sitting on the porch, leaving the house. Rob had said she would help, yet she hadn’t stepped into the barn once since she had been here. The sound of footsteps on the gravel tore his gaze away from the girl. Rob was coming.
    “Ready to bring this over to the main barn?” Rob said, eying Luke with suspicion. He had been noticing the way Luke looked at his niece and could see the curiosity and underlying disdain. It wasn’t that he needed them to be best friends, but he did need them to get along, as they both lived here. “She’ll come around. We just have to give her time,” he said, reading Luke’s mind. Kyle continued stacking bales, pretending to hear nothing. Luke wasn’t fooled. The other man was eavesdropping.
    “You keep saying that,” Luke said, with obvious petulance. “You also said that she lived for horses, yet she hasn’t been out to see a single one. I guess she’s just not what I expected.” Luke put his water bottle down and grabbed his gloves from the floor near his feet. 
    Rob took his hat off and ran his hands through his sweaty hair. He paused for a minute. He hadn’t told Luke the whole story of why his niece was here, figuring Jena would be around, and he wouldn’t need to be explaining anything. He had never even told Luke or Kyle about losing his brother. He shouldn’t be surprised that Jena didn’t talk about it. Telling a stranger how you had lost your family couldn’t be an easy thing to do. And while Ted Grayson was Rob’s brother, he didn’t feel it was his story to tell.
    “She’s just got a lot going on,” Rob finally said. The blank look on Luke’s face told Rob that the kid had no idea. Luke hadn’t lived with them when it happened, so he wasn’t aware of the loss. A few months of mourning had passed before the other man came to work at the Grayson Ranch. He remembered that what would be international news in the eventing world, may not even make the paper in this small mountain town. “We just need to give her space.” By now, Kyle had finished and joined the two men.
    “Luke, let’s take this last load. Kyle, I think we are done for the day. You could probably head home,” Rob directed.
    “Sure thing, boss,” Kyle responded with a grin, and Luke cringed at the constant arrogance. Kyle began walking back toward the house. Luke shook his head and started the tractor. He glanced back at Jena sitting on the porch, and Rob could see a look of pity in his eyes. Rob hopped on the back of the trailer and headed back to the barn with Luke.
    Kyle ambled back slowly, waiting for the two men to disappear around the