Chapter 6
“Trixie, answer me.” Jim’s voice sounded close. “Trixie, please open your eyes.”
Trixie moved a little and slowly forced her eyes open to see what was going on. Where ever she was, it was dark.
“Trix.” She felt Jim’s strong hand rubbing her cheek. “Talk to me.”
“What happened?” she asked softly.
“Something startled Susie and you fell.”
“That’s why my head hurts.”
“Probably. Are you hurt anywhere else? Your legs? Your arms?”
Trixie moved each leg slowly. No pain. She moved her arms. No pain there either.
“It’s just my head.” She put her hand to her forehead, hoping the throbbing would stop.
“We should probably get back to the house.” He reached behind her head. She winced as he touched the lump. “We should probably go to the emergency room and have a doctor look at it. The bump is already swelling.”
Trixie struggled to sit up, her head throbbing, but bearable. “I don’t need to go to the emergency room. Some ice will do just fine.”
“Trixie.”
“Jim, I’m all right. I’m not seeing double nor is my vision blurry. I don’t feel nauseous either.” She touched his face. “Relax. I don’t have a concussion.”
“Okay.”
Looking around, Trixie saw Jupiter was tied to a tree nearby. Susie was nowhere to be seen.
“We need to find Susie.”
“She’s probably back at the stables,” Jim said. “We should also head back.”
Trixie nodded her head wincing as Jim helped up and wrapped his arm around her waist protectively. They moved to Jupiter. Jim untied the reins and mounted Jupiter first knowing how anxious he was that evening. He reached down and helped Trixie up so she was sitting in front of him. He nudged Jupiter with his heels and they started for Manor House.
Trixie felt safe with Jim’s arms around her and she closed her eyes. She didn’t think anything could happen to her. She asked, “Do you know what startled Susie?”
“I don’t know. I heard a commotion. The next thing I knew, you were on the ground.”
“Wasn’t Jupiter startled?” Trixie asked.
“No. Whatever it was darted out between the horses. Susie may have seen whatever it was and since Jupiter didn’t, that’s probably why he didn’t react.”
“Jim, how long was I out?”
“Just a minute or two. I have to admit, I was concerned for a moment. But you came to right away.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence. As they approached the stable, Trixie opened her eyes. They could see someone standing in the doorway.
“I knew you would be back soon.” It was Regan.
“Susie’s already back?” Jim asked moving close to the stable.
“She got back a few minutes ago,” Regan said. “Are you two all right?“ I heard the hoof beats and looked out the window to see Susie wandering around the driveway. I knew you two had taken her out and was surprised to see her back alone.”
“Pretty much,” Jim said. “Except that Trixie has a bump on her head.”
Jim slid out of the saddle and handed the reins to Regan. As Jim helped Trixie down, Regan asked, “Do you know what frightened her?”
“No,” Jim said. “It had to be an animal or something. Trixie got tossed from the saddle.”
“Are you all right, Trixie?” Regan asked turning to her, looking at her face in the light from the stables.
“I just bumped my head,” Trixie said, trying to downplay her injury.
“She does have a lump,” Jim said wrapping his arm around her waist. “We should get some ice.”
“If she bumped her head, she should probably go see a doctor,” Regan said. “She could have a concussion and its better to be safe than sorry.”
“Ice will be fine, Regan,” Trixie said. “I’m all right. The bump is not that bad.
“All right,” Regan sighed. “But I really think you should go see a doctor.” He looked at Jim. “Go take care of her. I’ll take care of Jupiter.”
“Thanks, Regan,” Jim said.
They made their way up to the Manor House and then into the living room. Jim went to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a bag of ice. He sat down beside her on the couch and held the ice against the bump.
“You don’t have to do that,” Trixie said.
“But I want to.” Jim squeezed her hand once it was in his. They were quiet for a few minutes, then he spoke again. “You know, you’ve been awfully quiet tonight. Maybe we should go to the emergency room.”
Trixie shook her head slowly. “No, I‘m fine. It’s just been a long day.”
“If you were tired, we could’ve gone for a ride another night.”
Trixie looked at him. “I wanted to go. I wanted to spend time with you.”
“I wanted to spend time with you also.” Jim leaned forward and gave her a kiss. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Me too.” She leaned against Jim’s shoulder. “I should probably head home.”
“Do you have to work at the station tomorrow?”
“No, but I do have some errands to run.”
“Why don’t you give me a call when you’re done and maybe we can do something?”
“That sounds like a plan.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
They got to their feet and started for the door. Jim’s cell phone ringing made them stop. Trixie glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised that it was only 10 o’clock. “Hello? This is Jim.” He looked at her. She watched his face go red as he gripped the phone tighter. “Stay put. I’ll be there soon.”
Jim set the phone down as she asked, “What’s going on?”
“There’s been vandalism at the school. I need to get there.”
“I’m coming too.”
“All right.”
As they climbed into Jim’s jeep, Trixie wondered why someone would vandalize the school that was helping so many boys that would have otherwise ended up in juvenile detention centers or on the street.