Chapter 7
"But I'm not RCMP," Sam laughed, as he leaned against the ring rail, having listened to Rachel tell him about how she had finally connected with Connor.
"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes, "but I wasn't about to tell him that." She turned her attention towards the mother and daughter who were leading a large white horse towards them. "This is Nicole and her mother Ellen. I love teaching Nicole. She's a natural and she loves horses." She waved at them as they paused by the ring gate and the mother gave her daughter a boost up onto the horse. Rachel pushed away from the ring rail. "See you in an hour."
Sam grinned, "I'll be counting the minutes."
Rachel laughed as she walked away. "Yeah, whatever."
Sam shook his head with a chuckle as he jogged back up the bleachers to the spot he'd sat before. He stretched out, wondering when he'd ever felt so relaxed or so happy. He certainly never thought he'd be content to watch a horseback riding lesson, that's for sure.
The mother of the girl walked to the bleachers, and with a friendly smile climbed the steps to sit next to him. "Hi, I'm Ellen."
"Sam," he answered, reaching out to shake her hand.
"So, are you a friend of Rachel's?" she asked with curiosity.
"Yes," he answered, his eyes twinkling.
"Boyfriend?" she asked, with surprise.
"Not yet," he said, with a cocky grin.
Ellen laughed. "Love the attitude!" She shook her head, "Well, Rachel deserves to have a boyfriend so I wish you the best of luck."
They watched Nicole ride around the ring with Ellen explaining what Rachel was teaching Nicole and her horse Justice. Sam listened and nodded, but he honestly couldn't figure out what was going on. All he could tell was that Nicole and the horse looked comfortable together and were obviously miles ahead of what Connor had been learning. After a half an hour or so, Sam noticed Rachel rubbing her thigh in a subconscious gesture. He sat forward with concern when she did it again less than a minute later. The next time she did it, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pill bottle and popped two pills into her mouth, never taking her eyes off the girl and the horse.
"They're Tylenol," Ellen said. Sam looked questioningly at her. "The pills, they're Tylenol. I'm guessing from your reaction that Rachel hasn't told you about the horrific car accident she was in two years ago." She leaned her elbows back on the bleacher behind her. "She has several plates and pins in her left leg because the accident shattered her thigh in three different places. She went through three surgeries to make it right. It still bothers her a lot."
"She never told me," Sam muttered, angry that Rachel hadn't told him the extent of her injuries.
"That doesn't surprise me," Ellen answered, "Rachel never complains about physical pain. The accident is also something she doesn't like to relive. She was driving on the freeway during the winter and a semi trailer careened over a barrier and landed on her truck. She was trapped underneath the trailer, not able to move for 3-4 hours." She paused to shake her head. "She'd broken her arm and her leg and had tonnes of cuts and bruises. Can you imagine? It must have been horrible."
Sam stayed silent, listening to the story he knew perfectly well. He could picture all too clearly the pain and panic on Rachel's face as she lay trapped.
"Anyway, one of the policemen at the scene crawled underneath and stayed with her the entire time she was trapped. He talked to her and held her hand to keep her from going into shock." Ellen paused and then said with a grin, "Rachel would kill me for saying this, but if you have any competition at all, it's going to be from the memory of her miracle man."
"Her what?" Sam said with a laugh, surprised.
"Her miracle man. Rachel talks about the policeman with nothing but respect and admiration. He has become her ideal of what a man should be."
"Oh, great," Sam muttered, wondering if he was more embarrassed or thrilled that Rachel had not only thought about him, but had considered him admirable.
"Don't worry," Ellen laughed, misunderstanding his comment. "If Rachel invited you here, then you have obviously passed whatever test she may have had for you." She pointed to Rachel. "Look, do you see what she is doing?"
Sam turned his eyes to Rachel and noticed right away that even though her focus was on the girl and horse, she was holding her left hand in her right and was rubbing her thumb across the back of it.
"The policeman rubbed her hand like that, to help her focus on something other than the pain." Ellen grinned. "You might want to try that on her, she'd probably love it."
"Really?" Sam answered, grinning back at her, wondering what other tidbits of information Ellen could have.
"Yeah. Through her recovery, the nightmares from the accident, and the intense physio she had to go through, she'd rub her hand like that to help with the pain and to keep calm." Ellen gestured out at Rachel. "Believe me, this guy did more for her than just sit with her for a few hours. He gave her a coping mechanism for her recovery."
"Really?" Sam said again, amazed at what he was hearing.
"I'm not telling you this to gossip or to discourage you," Ellen said, putting a hand on his arm. "But I want you to understand some of the things that Rachel isn't likely to tell you. The accident has had a big impact on her life."
"Being trapped inside a truck for five hours can change things," Sam acknowledged.
"It was three to four hours," Ellen corrected him, "but that's still a horrifically long time."
"No," Sam said, smirking at her, "it was five hours and ten minutes from the time the trailer landed on her until they'd cut her free from the truck. I know exactly how horrifically long it was." Ellen looked blankly at him. "It was very cold and wet under the trailer," he added, with a lazy smile.
Ellen looked at him in confusion for a moment before understanding slowly dawned on her face. "Get out of here! You are the Police Officer?" she cried, a happy smile on her face. When he winked at her she laughed. Then she hit him on the arm. "Why didn't you say something? I've been rambling on and you know the story way better than I do."
"I only know about the accident. I didn't know about the extent of her injuries or how hard it has been on her for the last couple of years." Sam looked out at Rachel. "I really didn't do anything, she was the amazing one."
"Wow," Ellen said, taking a deep breath. "This is better than a romance novel." She looked at him thoughtfully. "I can't wait to see where this goes."
"You and me both," he answered, with a smile.
When the lesson was over, Sam and Ellen went down to the gate together. Rachel came and leaned against the railing next to him. As if he'd done it a thousand times, he reached over and took her hand in his and began rubbing the back with his thumb. He watched as Rachel froze for a second, her eyes glued to their hands.
"Well, we need to go," Ellen said brightly, grinning at Sam. He gave her an answering smile and a quick wink.
Rachel glanced up at them, her face unreadable. "Oh, right," she said. She gave her head a small shake and said, "Thanks, Nicole. You did great. Keep working on your flexion during your side pass and you'll do great at that Junior Dressage Show next weekend."
Sam and Rachel watched as Ellen hustled Nicole away as quickly as she could. They were walking their horse back towards the barns, when Sam turned towards Rachel. She was looking down at their hands again when she said, "I hope you weren't too bored. Watching a lesson, especially when you don't know what's going on can be a bit tedious."
"It was great to just sit and relax," Sam assured her. Rachel carefully disengaged their hands and ducked awkwardly under the rail. Sam looked carefully at her. He could see from the way she was standing that she was trying not to put too much weight on her left leg. He sighed and without comment leaned down and picked her up in his arms.
"Hey!" she cried out in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"We have a few things to discuss," he said firmly, walking towards the house with her.
"I can walk, you know," she said, a little breathlessly.
Sam looked down at her and answered, "Not without pain you can't."
"I'm going to kill Ellen," she muttered.
"You should have told me about your leg," he said, giving her a stern look.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Why should I?" she asked.
Sam stopped and gently put her down so that she was standing. He straightened and stepped as close to her as he could without actually touching her. "I think you know why," he answered, as he reached out and cupped her face in his hands. Her green eyes went wide and her mouth opened with a small gasp. He gently brushed some stray strands of dark hair off her face, loving the soft feel of silk running through his fingers. She subconsciously ran her tongue over her lips, drawing his attention away from her hair. Lifting his gaze to look to her eyes, he saw the invitation he was looking for. As he slowly lowered his lips to hers, he felt her hands come and rest on his forearms. He gently brushed his lips against hers and he felt her tremble slightly. He couldn't resist any longer and pulled her to him and kissed her the way he wanted to kiss her, long and deep.
When he ran out of breath, he pulled back enough to rest his forehead against hers. "Tell me everything from now on," he said, huskily. "I want to know everything."
"Okay," she answered, breathless. "I can probably manage that."
He chuckled, kissed her one more time and then reached down and picked her up again. "Let's get you inside and on the couch so you can take the weight off of your leg."
"Or you could just carry me around from now on," she said cheekily, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"As much as I'm enjoying this, I'm no miracle man," Sam answered, walking up the steps and stopping outside the door, waiting for her to open it.
"What did you say?" Rachel asked, looking quickly at him.
"I'm no miracle man," Sam answered, winking at her.
"I am so going to kill Ellen," she muttered, opening the door.
