Read Online Accidental Cowgirl by Maggie McGinnis - Free Book Online Page B

good bonk to the head, you start asking questions. What’s your name? What happened? Where are you? Who’s your sister? Who’s the president? That sort of stuff. If they’re falling asleep, vomiting, or if they can’t answer those basic questions, off to the hospital they go.”
    “Off you go, Fred.” Hayley motioned Jimmy away. He scowled playfully at her, then took a few steps backward so the group could concentrate on Pete’s injuries.
    An hour later, they’d practiced bandaging a sprain, splinting an arm, and doing a couple of carries in case anyone had to be bodily transported out of the woods. Good Lord. Who knew there were so many ways they might hurt themselves? That new spa was looking better and better.
    Cole gathered them back on their logs and started wrapping up the splints. “Now, we’ve never had anyone need more than a Band-Aid on the trail, but it’s always better to be overprepared. We carry good medical supplies, and Decker and I are both EMT-certified, so you’re in good hands. It’s still important to pay attention and not do anything stu—” Cole sent a curious glance toward the stable, where Pete and Jimmy were stumbling out. “What the—”
    Kyla’s eyes followed his, but she could only see Pete’s and Jimmy’s torsos over the other guests’ heads. Jimmy called out, “We got a surprise for you, boss! How ya gonna fix this injury?” Kyla swallowed hard as they got close and she caught a glimpse of Pete’s leg, which was streaming with fake blood. As Jimmy laid Pete down just inside the circle of logs, Kyla’s head started to prickle. Somehow the ranch hands had fashioned a fake bone to stick out of Pete’s jeans, and ketchup-blood was dripping everywhere.
    She saw Decker’s dark expression a millisecond before the prickles turned to an icy sensation that enveloped her head, top to bottom. Oh, no. Something about this scene was triggering her subconscious mind to panic. Dammit. This was not happening here.
    She tried to close her eyes and concentrate on her breathing, but as soon as she did so, it just made her hyperaware that she was breathing way too fast and shallow. Her shoulders suddenly felt very heavy, and her arms felt like they were stuck in mud.
    Oh, God. She was having a panic attack. Had she seen something like this at the accident? It made her ill to even wonder. Hayley and Jess had gone in to help Ma get lunch ready, so they were too far away to call to. She couldn’t seem to figure out how to use her voice anyway. All she could think was that she needed to get out of here. Now. She just had to make her legs cooperate, and stop breathing so damn fast.
    As everyone closed around Pete, she opened her eyes and tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work. Maybe it really was a heart attack this time. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, and could hear it pounding in her ears. Her breath felt cold on her upper lip, and she wished she could lift what felt like iron bricks from her chest. Logic told her the feelings would pass, but the illogical part of her brain was pretty convinced she was losing her freakin’ mind.
    She tried to stand up, but her legs had turned to oatmeal. She stumbled back toward the log, but miscalculated and hit it with her ankles. The air hummed and buzzed around her head, and as she fell backward, the branches and sky above her were all mottled like she was looking through a kaleidoscope. Her last thought was that her head was really going to hurt when itlanded on the log.
* * *
    “Kyla. Kyla, wake up, honey.” A deep voice reached past the fog in her brain, but it was a stranger’s voice. She couldn’t answer. She became aware of shuffling sounds, felt hands on her arm, voices around her.
    Two warm hands cupped her face, thumbs stroking the skin under her eyes. “Kyla, wake up or I’m gonna put you back on Kismet and send her running.”
    She squinted her eyes open and met two piercing blue ones. Decker. What was going