Divine Fall Read online

  Table of Contents

  Divine Fall

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Acknowledgements

  Also by Kathryn Knight

  Divine Fall

  by

  Kathryn Knight

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Divine Fall

  COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Kathryn Knight

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by phatpuppyart.com

  Typography by thefontdiva.com

  Photo credit: victoreus

  Published by Wildflowers Books, a division of The Wild Rose Press®, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Publishing History

  Print ISBN 978-1-62830-538-8

  Digital ISBN 978-1-62830-539-5

  Published in the United States of America

  This one’s for my mom,

  whose love of horses gave me a fabulous childhood

  full of adventures at the barn. I miss you.

  Chapter 1

  I should have been paying more attention, but we were almost back to the barn. Beau quickened his gait, most likely in anticipation of water, hay, and rest. I reined him in slightly, but my mind was focused on the psychology assignment we’d been given earlier that day. We were supposed to make a collage representing ourselves, past and present. Mr. Gilbert had referred to it as an “icebreaker”. I’d mentally referred to it as stupid, and the collective wave of muted moans at the announcement had convinced me my classmates agreed. The funny thing was, I probably would have enjoyed this project a year ago. Now I could only conjure up tragic images to paste on an empty poster board. Perhaps some dark clouds. Or a single ragged crow, sitting on a desolate stretch of road.

  Something furry dashed across the trail, and Beau reared back and skittered to the right. One loud curse escaped my lips as I tumbled from the saddle. With a vicious yank, I wrenched my riding boot out of the stirrup to avoid being dragged alongside Beau’s deadly hooves. Then my head hit the ground, and darkness swallowed the bright September sky.

  “Are you okay?”

  An unfamiliar face swam above me. Blinking, I tried to focus my vision. Unfamiliar, yes—but crazy handsome. Who the heck?

  “Who are you?” I mumbled, trying to inventory my body parts. My shaky hands reached toward my head and touched the secure surface of my riding helmet. Skull intact. That was good.

  “Dothan,” he replied, crouching down. His eyebrows furrowed with concern.

  “What kind of name is that?” I blinked again, groaning inwardly. That was the best I could come up with? My brain was definitely not okay. I had knocked something loose in the fall. Warmth crept into my cheeks.

  His full lips pressed together. “An old one,” he said cryptically. He continued to stare at me, his clear brown eyes glittering in the afternoon sun.

  I pushed myself up to sitting, casting my gaze around the field. Was I still in Maryland? This guy, with his chiseled features and shoulder length blond hair, looked like he belonged in Hollywood. Or at the very least, somewhere else in California, preparing to hang ten with his surfer buddies.

  “Sorry. I’m not usually so rude. I hit my head.” I patted my helmet for emphasis.

  “I saw.” He smiled crookedly, and matching dimples emerged near the sides of his mouth. “Are you hurt?”

  I did another quick assessment, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins made it difficult to diagnose myself. In addition to the fuzzy ache in my head, a dull pain radiated from my right ankle. The riding boot on that leg felt like it had shrunk a size—not a great sign.

  “Not sure,” I mumbled, looking around the open field for Beau. “Did you see where my horse went?”

  “He hightailed it back to the barn. I’ll get him untacked and settled in his stall once I know you’re okay.”

  Why would this gorgeous guy want to take care of my horse? I wisely chose to evaluate my next words before blurting them out. I was normally a fairly eloquent 16-year-old with a higher than average intelligence. That wasn’t the impression I was giving, though.

  “I’m Jamie,” I began carefully. “Sorry for my confusion, but I’ve never seen you here before. Do you…ah…do you board a horse at this barn?”

  “No,” he said with a quick, derisive laugh, as though that were the stupidest question anyone had ever asked him. “I work here.”

  This was new. I came to Fox Run at least four times a week, and I would certainly remember seeing this guy, even with a possible concussion. The older couple who owned the stable must have finally decided to hire some help. Rubbing my forehead, I tried to figure out where to go with this conversation.

  He pushed himself up in one fluid motion and stood over me, regarding me with a wary expression, as though I might attack at any second. “Do you want me to call someone?”

  Like who? I wondered. “No,” I said, gingerly pressing at my ankle through the leather of my boot. A twinge traveled up my leg in response, but I thought I could probably walk. Although some help up might be nice. “I’m okay, I guess...but I may have sprained my ankle.”

  He made no move to assist me, and my temper flared. “Did you come out here just to stare at me?” I grumbled, looking up at him in exasperation.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, shaking his head as though to bring himself back from somewhere far away. He extended his hand to me, a resigned look hardening his beautiful features. Obviously helping unhorsed riders was not his favorite part of the job. Why had he even bothered checking on me?

  I considered ignoring his gesture, but if I struggled to stand up on my own and my ankle gave out, I might literally die of embarrassment. So I reached up grudgingly, punctuating the move with a heavy sigh.

  A searing pain stabbed at my forehead the second before our hands connected. “Oh,” I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut. He grasped my wrist, and an electric jolt traveled up my arm as he hauled me upright. My eyes flew open and I wobbled on unsteady legs.

  He dropped my hand like it was on fire. Maybe it was, I thought dimly. It sort of felt that way. I peered down to check, stretching my fingers as the ice pick in my brain faded. No flames, just normal skin and ragged fingernails.

  I pulled my gaze back to Dothan. His face was carefully blank, his light brown eyes guar
ded. Had my damaged mind manufactured the shock? If that was the case, I prayed he didn’t think I was swooning at his touch. “I’m still a little dizzy,” I explained.

  He nodded, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his battered jeans. “Can you walk?”

  I put more weight onto my right foot. Swollen ligaments groaned in protest, but it was hardly unbearable. Besides, if I said “no”, I didn’t think he’d offer to carry me. “Yes. It’s not too bad.”

  He tilted his head toward the barn, and I nodded and followed him. A slight breeze blew the smells of the stable in our direction, stirring the long grass of the unkempt field. Dothan walked beside me as I gingerly navigated the dirt trail, his heavy work boots crunching through the dry stalks and tall weeds.

  Since last winter, I’d become fairly accustomed to being ignored. That was now the hallmark of a good day for me. Still, the silence between us made me uncomfortable. “I usually never fall. I was just thinking about this project I have to do for school, and my horse shied.”

  I paused to give him an opportunity to contribute. The only response came from a flock of geese, honking urgently from above. Their plaintive calls echoed like warning bells in my rattled brain, but I shook off my paranoia. “It’s for psychology,” I added helpfully, in case he cared. “Do you go to Huntsville High?” Of course, I’d know if he had in the past. Despite the fact that our high school absorbed students from the surrounding towns, I knew all the faces. And this particular face would not go unnoticed. But he could be a new student, I told myself, a tiny bud of hope blooming in my chest.

  “No.”

  Okay then. A steady pounding settled between my temples as I turned ideas over in my mind. A prep school occupied a sprawling green campus a few towns over, closer to civilization, but that option seemed unlikely—those boys didn’t need jobs. And if they did choose to enhance their college applications with work experience, they didn’t seek responsibilities that included driving for miles to shovel horse manure and lift hay bales.

  I stole another glance at him as we approached the wooden fence surrounding the back paddock. He gracefully slid his long body between the wide slats, turning back to watch me. His cool gaze drifted to my leg, but he didn’t offer to help me through.

  That was fine. I was an experienced equestrian, despite what he’d witnessed. I could manage a fence on my own. Nonetheless, his lack of chivalry bothered me. Was the idea of touching me that loathsome? Either that, or the strange shock between our skin had been real. He certainly seemed strong enough to weather a little static electricity, but maybe it had freaked him out more than he cared to admit.

  I cleared the fence, grimacing when I was momentarily forced to transfer all my weight to my right foot. His brows pulled together in concern, but he kept his hands jammed in his pockets. We trudged across the paddock, our boots kicking up dust as I cast about wildly for something else to fill the silent void. “Are you in college, then?”

  I realized right away it was a dumb guess. Any college student home for the summer would be back at school now, not starting a new job. And I was pretty sure there were no colleges near Huntsville, Maryland. Then again, the majority of my research on the subject had been focused on finding colleges located as far away from this town as possible. I’d happily attend school on another planet if they gave me a scholarship.

  “No,” he replied again, pulling me away from my escapist plans with the expected answer. He didn’t offer further insight into his educational background, and I gave up trying.

  We reached the side entrance to the barn, and his arm muscles tightened as he unlatched the heavy gate that led inside. Swinging it out, he tilted his chin toward Beau. My horse had easily found his way in through the open front doorway and now stood in the aisle outside of his stall. Horses were such creatures of habit. That was probably why I felt so comfortable around them.

  I trudged down toward the second-to-last stall on the far side of the barn, favoring my right foot. Dothan’s boots clomped behind me as I made my way down the paved aisle. Skyler, a feisty young bay, stretched his neck over the door of his stall to investigate. I veered just outside his reach, in case he tried to snap at me. It was a lesson I’d only had to learn once.

  “Nice work,” I grumbled to Beau, snatching up his lopsided reins. Irritation hummed through my veins, pounding in time to the drumbeat of my headache. I’d fallen off my horse, sustained an injury, and been quasi-rescued by a hot new employee who found me physically repellant and intellectually inadequate. Still, he’d come out to make sure I was okay, and he deserved a “thank you”. Gritting my teeth, I pivoted on my boot heel to tell him I appreciated his concern.

  The hot guy had disappeared. I peered down the aisle, past the intersection of the central hallway toward the far stalls near the gate we’d come through. “Figures,” I muttered under my breath. My fingers drifted toward my mouth, and I stopped myself from chewing on a torn cuticle by fishing a peppermint out of my pocket instead. Beau’s ears turned forward at the familiar sound of crinkling cellophane. Technically, the peppermints were his treats, but over the summer I’d developed an alarming addiction in an attempt to break my nail-biting habit. So far I was probably only encouraging tooth decay, but no one cared anymore if I visited the dentist on a regular basis.

  I debated calling out his name, but I wasn’t entirely sure I could pronounce it correctly, and I had reached my threshold of embarrassment for the day. It was something like “Doe-thin”, if memory served. I wondered idly where the name came from. Judging by his level of enthusiasm surrounding my previous questions, I doubted he’d welcome the chance to discuss it.

  He stepped out of the feed room just as I was leading Beau down to the cross ties, a lumpy towel in his hand. “You should put some ice on your ankle,” he explained, holding the bundle out to me like it was a bomb.

  Clearly he didn’t want to touch me. I shook Beau’s blue halter into the crook of my elbow and reached for the towel, my mind whirling with possible medical explanations for this odd behavior. Autism? OCD? But my thoughts kept circling back to the electric shock like a carrier pigeon determined to deliver a message.

  I considered lunging at him to test my theory by purposefully brushing against the skin of his hand. A move like that would probably make me look like the disturbed one here, though, so I accepted the rudimentary ice pack graciously, keeping my fingers away from his.

  “Thanks. I’ll get to it as soon as I untack Beau.” I titled my chin toward the cross ties hanging against the aisle walls just behind him.

  “Can you manage on your own? I have work I need to do.”

  Could I manage to untack my own horse? I ground my teeth together, crunching the remaining shards of peppermint. “I’m all set,” I answered in a clipped tone.

  Dothan nodded, jamming his hands into his pockets once again. He studied me for a moment as I waited for him to get out of my way.

  Ignoring the little thrill his gaze produced, I blurted out, “Thank you for coming out to check on us.” I assumed that was what he wanted to hear; I didn’t see any other reason he would hang around when he apparently had such pressing work to attend to.

  “No problem.” He paused, adding, “I’m glad you’re okay.” A hesitant smile played across his lips, revealing the hint of those dimples.

  I turned my back on him, hiding my coloring cheeks while I slipped Beau’s halter around his neck. Was he making fun of me? His voice and smile had seemed sincere, but this guy was tough to figure out. Beau chuffed at me, dipping his nose toward my pocket full of treats as I tried to buckle the halter strap and hold his reins and a towel at the same time.

  Ready to give Dothan the benefit of doubt, I twisted my head over my shoulder to make a joke about my pride sustaining most of the damage. But in the time I’d taken to secure the halter, Dothan had retraced his steps to the far end of the stable. His eyes flicked toward me as he latched the heavy side gate. With a slight nod, he turned and started across the pad
dock, toward the wheelbarrow and pitchfork he must have abandoned when he’d seen me fall.

  Chapter 2

  “Come on up,” my neighbor Sam called, waving at me from the upstairs landing. Her real name was Samantha, but she preferred Sam. It suited her much better.

  “Thanks,” I murmured, addressing both Sam and Mrs. O’Brien as she shut the door behind me. It frustrated Sam to no end that I never texted her with a heads-up before I came over. But I’d given up using my phone, and I had stripped my plan down to the bare-bones minimum. My new cell phone policy was “emergencies only”, and an after-school visit didn’t qualify.

  “Why aren’t you at the barn?” Sam asked. “Don’t you usually jump on Tuesdays?”

  I shut her door behind me and flopped on a twin bed. Only a true friend would know my riding schedule. And Sam was definitely that; we’d bonded the moment I’d moved into the house up the street from her, eight years ago. Despite the small age difference, we complimented each other perfectly. Now, however, she had the additional distinction of being my only friend. The events of last year had clarified who my real friends were. After the fallout, Sam was the lone person who still had my back. Poor Sam, I thought ruefully.

  “I didn’t feel like going today.”

  She raised a strawberry blonde eyebrow at me. “That happens…never. Try again.”

  With a sigh, I rolled to my back and gazed at the ceiling. David Beckham’s chiseled chest stared back at me from a poster plastered above the bed. “I fell off Beau yesterday,” I admitted.

  “Are you hurt?” Sam asked, shuffling over to check on me. She refastened her perpetual ponytail, her tiny pink lips pursed in a frown.

  “My ankle’s a little swollen, because I had to yank it out of the stirrup to avoid getting trampled. And I hit my head on the ground and blacked out for a second.” I bent my elbow and rubbed my forehead, thankful the vicious headache had disappeared during the night.

  “You blacked out?” Sam demanded, her blue eyes widening in alarm. “You might have a concussion! Do you feel nauseous?”

  “Only when I picture how ridiculous I must have looked. But I’m fine, really…I had my helmet on. I just figured I might as well take a day off.” A tiny part of me silently rejoiced that it was jumping I was missing. Not because it was difficult—I loved the challenge, and Beau and I needed it to stay in shape. But being in the practice ring now always reminded me that we had nothing to practice for. Last October had marked the end of Saturdays spent competing in horse shows.