Author's Note: Yes, the long-awaited next chapter is here. I apologize for taking so long, but I've been plagued with a horrible bout of writer's block lately. So, without further adieu, here is the next chapter. Big thanks to kandykane33, JMacNCheese, and Shelly for your reviews! They mean a lot! Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Summerland, nor do I own any related characters or places.
Longing to Know
Chapter 7
Entering the cool aisleway of the barn, Harley sighed. It was a quiet day at Meyer Stables, and she was thankful all the more of that fact as she limped slowly to Rouge's stall. She untacked him as efficiently as she could, given the fact that she had to hobble around. Grabbing a towel off the front of his stall, Harley dipped half of it in the water bucket and started rubbing the big horse down.
"Feel better now?" she asked Rouge when she was finished. The horse wiggled his nose on her cheek in response, and Harley allowed herself to laugh. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him close, setting her spirit free in the rich scent of his coat.
Memories of past summers spent with Hiding Wolf, her grandfather, welled up within her. As Thunder Horse Girl, she was one with the Humans, the nation of the People, her People. How she longed to be with Jack Strong Knife and Bending Willow, galloping their ponies across the North Dakota grasslands. But Hiding Wolf had long since embarked on the journey to reside with the elders and spirits, and her friends were no longer young and carefree children. Thunder Horse Girl was a mere childhood memory. She was Harley Trivette now, no matter how hard she wished she wasn't.
Releasing the embrace, she gave the animal a parting scratch on the withers. She limped out of the stall and gathered the tack in her arms. The distance to the tack room seemed like miles and when she reached the doorway, she sagged against the wall.
"Are you okay?" Bradin asked from behind her.
"I'm fine!" she snapped coldly, pushing away from the wall. Harley instantly regretted the harsh tone she had used when she caught a brief glimpse of the hurt plainly written on his face. He was only trying to be friendly after all.
"What happened to your face?"
Harley dipped her chin and stared at the ground, hoping to hide in the shadow of her riding helmet brim. "N-nothing."
"You've got a black eye," Bradin stated, worriedly reaching his hand out to lift her chin.
Brushing his hand aside, Harley looked at him defiantly. "I-I was…" –she hesitated momentarily, searching for words– "kick-boxing."
"No, you weren't."
Harley turned away and stepped into the tack room, busying herself with zipping the saddle into its cover bag.
"It was CJ, wasn't it." His words were more of a statement than a question. "He hit you."
"No," she lied, keeping her back toward him. The word came out stronger than she'd intended, but she hoped he hadn't noticed.
"You have to tell someone, Harley. It's not right for him to hurt you."
"Why should you care?"
"Because I want to help," Bradin gently touched her shoulder, but she moved away.
"You want to help me?" Harley asked angrily, turning to face him. "Leave me alone. Stop talking to me, stop hanging around me, just stop everything that has to do with me, okay?"
Bradin stared at her in silence.
"What?" she spat.
"Nothing." Bradin left her standing alone in the tack room.
Harley sniffed and stuck out her chin defiantly. Who was he to tell her what to do? She didn't need a nanny. Grabbing cowboy boots and a pair of jeans from her locker, Harley wearily made her way to the dressing room in the back of the office. After changing, she took one last look at herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall before gathering her breeches and black field boots under her arm. Her first step out of the office sent a sharp spasm of pain up her left side, and she collapsed onto the floor, fighting the fuzzy blackness that crept into the corners of her vision.
"You okay?"
Harley's head jerked up at the sound of his voice. "I just stepped crooked."
Offering her a hand, Bradin helped her up from the floor. He stood awkwardly for a moment before speaking hesitantly. "You wanna go get ice cream or something?"
"Well, um, I," Harley started nervously, then looked up at Bradin with a half smile. "Sure."
"You don't even have to walk, if you don't want to."
"I'll walk," she said with a slight laugh, heading toward the parking lot.
Bradin and Harley walked silently for a long while, simply enjoying the salty breeze kicked up by the ocean. The small, paved one-lane road twisted up the side of a hill and as the two teens reached the top, Playa Linda's busy Promenade sprawled out below.
Harley was the first to speak as they started the descent toward the town. "Any luck finding a car?"
"Not really."
Silence spread over them for the rest of the walk down to the Promenade. The late afternoon crowd bore down on them, sweeping them along in a sea of people. Five minutes later, they threaded their way to the edge of the current, stopping at the brightly colored overhanging above the ice cream stand.
"Two scoops blackberry, thanks," Harley told the blonde girl working the stand.
"Two, mint chocolate chip," Bradin ordered, then pulled out his wallet. Before he could set the money down, Harley had produced her share of the cost and set it on the counter.
Bradin opened his mouth to protest, but Harley shook her head, holding his gaze. He didn't push the subject, instead, handing his own money to the cashier. Ice cream in hand, they re-entered the stream of movement. Heading down toward the beach, Bradin led her to a small grouping of rocks. They climbed up and sat, watching the gulls swoop low on the rippling ocean as the sky produced a background of rich, accented oranges and pinks.
"So, you're from Kansas?" Harley broke the silence, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah, moved here at the beginning of the summer," Bradin replied. He took a breath as if to continue, but added nothing.
"Oh, that's cool. I'm actually from North Dakota." Harley allowed herself a relaxing breath.
"What brought you to Playa Linda?"
"My parents, well they're not exactly my parents, they adopted me after my m—" she stopped herself short. No, she wasn't going to bring her mother into this. "Um, after my grandpa passed away."
"Do you like it here?" Bradin asked.
Harley was relieved that he had changed the subject. "Yeah, I guess it's okay. Nothing like North Dakota, but that's obvious."
Bradin smiled and nodded agreement before they slipped back into a comfortable silence. Half of the sun still lingered above the water when Harley raised her wrist to look at her watch.
"We should go." Her words seemed to snap Bradin out of whatever thoughts he was lost in.
"Oh, yeah," he said distractedly, checking the time as well.
Standing up, Harley cringed at the pain that shot through her body from being inactive for so long. Her leg had cramped, but she knew it just needed to be walked out like earlier. She watched as Bradin slid off the rock first, and she didn't refuse when he put his hands on her waist to help her down. The two teens walked up the beach, picking their way through the scattered groups of evening patrons enjoying the last of the sunset. Harley followed closely as Bradin headed for the road to the stables, bypassing the Promenade for a more direct route.
They were nearly to the stable when Bradin stopped and spun Harley around to face him. "Why do you let CJ treat you like that?"
"What are you talking about?" Bradin's statement had caught her off guard.
"He hit you, I know it, so don't lie to me."
"How would you know?" she asked angrily.
"Because I followed you last night to make sure you got home okay."
Harley grit her teeth and exhaled sharply. Turning her back on Bradin, she started again toward the stable.
"I saw him force you into the car, Harley," he called after her. When she stopped, Bradin continued, "You got in the car, and he yelled at you and hit you."
Feeling a tear escape, Harley hurriedly wiped it away, wincing at the pain of touching her lightly discolored cheekbone.
"You can't let him treat you like that anymore," Bradin said softly, moving closer and reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "You're worth more than that."
"No, I'm not." She hung her head sadly, shrugging his hand off.
"You're worth more than that to me."
Harley allowed herself to look up at Bradin. His brow was wrinkled with concern as his eyes searched her face carefully. Something took hold of Harley, drawing her to Bradin, forcing her to need to touch him and feel the warmth of his skin.
"Bradin," she whispered, keeping her eyes locked on his. The overwhelming need to be held rushed through her like the burst of water from a reservoir, calming only when Bradin took her in his strong arms and held her close, kissing her passionately.
Breaking the kiss, Harley pulled away slightly to look up at him. She grabbed his hand and started off for the stable.