“I miss him, too,” she told the horse. She hadn’t heard from Jace in days. She missed watching the two of them every morning. She missed hearing Ari scampering through the house. She missed their presence of being on the property. The place was too quiet. Inside and outside, she felt lonely.
Moving to the other mare, she rubbed his nose, too. Kelly had ridden them that morning before all the activity started, but she had the feeling the horses knew that Ari and Jace were no longer on the property.
Her leg was really hurting and her limp was prominent. If she was going to be of any use tomorrow, she needed to get off her foot. Leaving the barn, she hobbled back to the house. She didn’t feel like eating, so she bypassed the kitchen. It was set up for the caterers anyway and she didn’t want to disturb anything. Limping around the porch, she headed for the front of the house. When she turned the corner, she saw Jace.
She froze, a gasp escaped before she could stop it.
Jace heard her and turned toward the sound. The cane Kelly was using slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor. She didn’t make a move to catch or retrieve it. Her eyes were glued to the man standing twenty feet away.
She was happy to see him. Every part of her reacted to him. She felt her body tremble. He’d returned. He’d come back. Then she realized he was on his own. Ari was not with him. Kelly looked to the truck, but the child was not there. Jace had not come back. He wasn’t here for the horses, either. There was no trailer in sight.
The only other reason would be to serve her legal papers. At least he didn’t have them come by mail or delivered by a clerk from some law office.
“Are you here about the contract?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Where’s Ari?”
“He’s visiting a day-care school,” Jace supplied.
“So you’re planning to stay in the area?” Of course he would stay, she thought. He was challenging her for the house. She was the one who’d eventually move.
“We haven’t really decided.”
Then why was he here? Kelly wondered. “You must want your last paycheck.” Forgetting that her ankle was swollen, she took a step. Pain shot to her knee and she crumpled to the porch floor.
“Kelly!” Jace called and rushed to her. His arms were around her and he was pulling her up before he knew it. He examined her ankle. “What have you done? We need to get some ice on this. And in a hurry.”
Jace lifted Kelly and carried her into the house. He took her upstairs and to the first bathroom he found. Rolling her pant legs up, he set her on the bathtub rim and turned the cold water on. “Keep your feet in here. I’ll get some ice.”
He left her and came back moments later with ice wrapped in a dish towel. He set the towel on the sink counter and turned the water off. Taking a dry towel, he turned her around and dried her feet. Kelly winced at his touch, more from his hands than pain.
“What’s going on in the kitchen?” he asked.
“We have a wedding tomorrow,” she told him.
“You didn’t set up all those tables I saw in the ballroom, did you?”
She shook her head. “I had staff do that, but I helped with the linens and tying of the bows.”
“And that caused the swelling?”
She nodded.
“Does it feel better?” Jace asked.
“I’m fine,” Kelly insisted.
“I know.” He took the ice pack and put it on her ankle, then wrapped that in a dry towel and secured it with a couple of rubber bands. “Here, take these.”
He had two small white pills in his hand.
“What are they?”
“The pain pills the doctor gave you.”
“They make me sleepy,” Kelly said, but she took them along with the glass of water he’d set on the counter.
“You could use some sleep.” Jace picked her up again and took her to her bedroom.
He sat on the bed and took her hand. Kelly closed hers around his. She liked the feel of it in hers. He had a strength that she seemed to draw whenever he was near. Kelly didn’t know how long he sat there. She was getting woozy from the medication.
“I have to get Ari,” he said, standing up and taking a step back.
His retreat hurt her more than any injury to her ankle. Yet she didn’t blame him. And it certainly wasn’t his fault that she’d not used her cane when she should have.
“Sure,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. Ari needs you. Tell him I said hello.” Her voice sounded far away.
“You’ll keep the ice on it like I said?”
“Yes,” she replied. Jace turned to leave. As he reached the door, Kelly said, “Tell Ari I miss him.”