Ten minutes later, her hair lying in tangles and her cheeks flushed, Audrey came barreling into Luke’s barn.

“Whoa there,” Eddy, an old ranch hand, yelped as she quickly leapt off her horse. She smiled up at him, and handed the reins over to him with a sheepish smile asking, “Would you please unsaddle Betsy?” She looked up at him pleadingly. Normally she had no problem doing that simple chore herself, but today she couldn’t chance the possibility of running into Luke again.

“Sure no problem…in a hurry?” He asked politely as he started to unclench the cinch. Audrey smiled, and mentally gritted her teeth, as she nodded her head. She hated lying.

“Yeah, a real hurry.”

“Well then off to it my lady. I can’t have you being late on my watch!” He chuckled as she glanced almost wooingly at him as she scooted off towards the house. He was such a nice man.

“Audrey what happened?!” Jenny screeched the moment Audrey walked through the door. She smiled over at her friend fondly. She should’ve known better than to think she could keep anything past Jenny. They were as close to sisters as any two girls could be.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Luke and I got into a fight. End of story,” she answered her wearily. She was so tired of fighting. She couldn’t even relax in this house knowing that he was always laying in wait for her…!

“But enough about me lets get you upstairs and start your exercises!” Audrey wailed, a smile lighting up her face. Finally solid ground, no fumbles, no blushes, no painful fights. Just therapy.

Jenny smiled gamely at her as they, slowly, made their way up the curved stairway into a guest room that had quickly been redecorated as Jenny’s fitness room. As Jenny got into a comfortable position on the mat, Audrey walked around gathering dumbbells, balls, and step-stairs. Finally she too sat down and together they started doing arm circles.

“That’s it! Just keep it light and simply. See Jenny you’re doing so much better all ready,” Audrey encouraged her as they started doing counter-clockwise arm motions. Jenny’s wide lips turned up in a smile and her eyes sparkled at Audrey.

“You’re right! Holy Hannah I thought this day would never come. Praise the Lord-this doesn’t hurt anymore!” Audrey could see the tears of accomplishment shinning in her eyes, but she also knew that Jenny would not let those tears fall until she was well and truly fit. But they were making progress.

“Okay, today we’re going to start something a little bit different. I’m going to have you start using the dumbbells. You’re not going to be able to do much, but its credit to your good health that you’ve all ready advanced to this stage,” Audrey told her with a celebrating smile. She held up a couple of 3lbs and placed them on either side of Jenny’s arms. “On Thursday, by the way, you have a doctors appointment for your leg…you never know that cast might come off sooner than you think.

“Your bruises are almost completely gone, and so are the few scratches you also retained. Your leg, in my opinion, is not a need for concern and after speaking to the doctor he seems to think that the cast will be coming off any day now, so cross your fingers. Your arms are still a bit weak and so are your ribs…but your ribs are just going to be sore. I’m sorry but there isn’t much I can do for that, except make sure you’re comfortable,” Audrey finished, laying out the rest of the weeks schedule as well. She was impressed by Jenny’s willingness to work so hard, and secretly a little surprised.

“All right, well let’s get going, I have a hot date tonight and I must insist that you not interrupt it,” Jenny teased her.

“I have to STOP!” Jenny screamed an hour later. Her breathing was labored, and her shirt was wet around her neck, but all in all, Audrey was glad to see her fitness and energy coming back.

“All right.” Audrey agreed, needing a five-minute break herself. She rubbed her neck tiredly as she softly pounced to her feet. She looked down at Jenny and asked nicely, “Would you like some water before we start up again?”

Jenny’s eyes widened in her surprise, they weren’t done done! Her eyes narrowed then and her lip thinned at the top as rage started to fill inside her tired body.

“No I don’t want any water thank you, because I’m done for the night!” Jenny screamed. Her voice was so loud Audrey was sure the cowhands must have heard her. Instead of rising to her bait though Audrey merely inclined her head and cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes you are, please don’t make this difficult for me Jenny,” she replied calmly. Jenny crossed her arms in front of her breast and stuck her chin up in a grand gesture.

“Why the hell not! You think this is easy for me!”

“No of course not. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes Jenny,” Audrey stated again and this time she left, closing the door quietly behind her. As she walked down the back staircase to the kitchen Audrey remembered clearly now why she’d decided against becoming a nurse. Patients were rude, and crabby, hurtful, and… Audrey stopped herself right away; shame coloring her cheeks a husky rose. What was she complaining about, her ribs were fine and her legs were in great shape. Audrey decided that she was no better than Jenny if she continued that line of that.

As she rounded the last stair to the kitchen floor Audrey decided that instead of a glass of water she needed a breath of fresh air. Audrey made a beeline for the door and, after closing it behind herself, leaned against it as if it were her only lifeline! She closed her eyes and let her mind slowly start to drift away, she let her mind empty itself, and let her muscles relax and simply enjoy…

“Are you okay?”

Audrey jumped at the sound of Luke’s voice in her ear. Her eyes popped open and she half turned and found herself staring up into his beautiful dark eyes. She gulped once and than took a quick step backwards.

“I’m fine.”

“Jenny giving you a hard time?” He asked her, leaning casually against the house, his arms and feet crossed. Her back stiffened in suspicion. Should she tell him, or would he only accuse her of being a bad care provider? Luke must’ve seen the indecision on her face because he answered his only question. “Of course she is. She’s always a pain in the ass when she needs someone else’s help.” He spoke quietly, but sincerely, and that alone had Audrey’s head snapping up to his, to again look him directly in the eyes.

“Yes, but she’s in a lot of pain.” Audrey defended her. Luke smiled at her before lighting a cigarette.

“But I’m not in pain…so why am I so mean to you?” He asked her. Audrey’s mouth hung open and all thought left her mind. She could only gape at him as the question hung heavily in the air.

“Why?” She breathed, hoping to finally end this war. She was ready to throw the towel in. More than ready.

“I have a pretty good idea, but don’t worry about it, because I’m not going to hurt you anymore. I promise.” Luke took a step towards her, but stopped immediately when she automatically took a step back. “I never mean to hurt you…I just do. But I won’t, not anymore. You don’t deserve this. You deserve nice,” he spoke so softly that Audrey wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or himself. But she listened anyway.

“What brought this new outlook on?” She asked, having trouble keeping the sarcasm out of her voice. Luke shrugged and took a draw from his cig before answering her slowly, as if weighing out his words.

“The look on your face this afternoon, is that how you always look after I lose my temper with you?” He asked her softly. Audrey didn’t want to lie; in fact she wanted to make him feel guilty so she nodded her head.

“God, when I saw that look in your eyes Aud, I could’ve killed myself. You’ve never before even hinted that what I said really made it though that tough shell of yours. I guess, maybe that’s why I did it, to see if anything I said could affect you. If my opinion mattered to you.” He stated, looking uncomfortable. Audrey’s mouth hung open again. Talk about your revelations!