After the Fall

smirked. “Don’t tell me you already got bucked off.”
    I held his gaze.
    The smirk turned to a grimace. “Oh. Shit. Seriously ?”
    “Okay, so I didn’t quite get bucked off.” I tugged at the pillow under my leg, trying to get comfortable, though that was probably impossible. “Tsarina spooked on a steep slope, and she fell.”
    “With you on her?”
    “Technically under her when all was said and done.”
    Brad’s eyes got huge. “My God. How bad is it?”
    “Bad enough to fuck up my summer,” I muttered. “Fractured both bones in my lower leg.” I held up my hand. “And two more fractures here.”
    Brad snorted. “I’d hate to see the other guy.”
    Uh, well . . . Clearing my throat, I looked away.
    “Wait.” Brad hesitated. “You . . . you didn’t actually hit someone, did you?”
    “I. Um.”
    “Dude. What’d you do? Get in a bar fight on your way to the ER?”
    “Not quite.” I laughed dryly. “When Tsarina ran off, I kind of lost it, and Ryan happened to get within reach right at that moment.”
    Brad arched an eyebrow. “Ryan?”
    “Yeah, he . . . he’s the one who scared Tsarina. Pulled out on the trail on his motorcycle.”
    “And now you’re on a first name basis with this guy?”
    I glared at him. “ Anyway . Doc says I got really lucky. The dirt I landed on was soft enough to cushion the fall a little. He said if I’d landed on pavement or even some harder clay, I’d probably have to have surgery.”
    “Yeah, that’s pretty lucky.” His brow furrowed. “But let’s back up a sec. Ryan?”
    I groaned and rolled my eyes.
    Brad pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, then lowered his hand. “So let me get this straight. Dude scared off your horse and put you in a cast— two casts—and you’re—”
    “To be fair, the second cast was my own fault.”
    “Yeah, but it was his face that stopped your hand, so for the sake of argument, he’s got some culpability there.” He cocked his head. “All that, and now you’re on a first name basis with him?”
    “Yes. And I’m actually going to give him riding lessons, too.”
    Brad’s mouth fell open. “Are you kidding?”
    I shrugged. “Well, it’ll keep Tsarina from atrophying in a pasture for three months.”
    “You’re giving riding lessons. To a guy you just met. To a guy you clocked in the face after he broke your leg.” Brad chuckled. “I can’t decide if this is going to be amusing as hell to watch, or if it’s going to end in disaster.”
    “Or both, right?”
    “You said it, not me.”
    “Mm-hmm. Enough about him, though.” I shifted as much as the casts, pillows, and pain would allow. I wasn’t quite sure why I bothered trying to get comfortable, but whatever. Once I was situated again, I said, “You have any luck with Jeff today?”
    Brad wrinkled his nose.
    “That bad, huh?”
    “It’s . . . I mean, we both knew it was going to be a really slow, aggravating process.” He sighed. “And thanks again for letting me crash here.”
    “Hey, anything to keep you two from killing each other. To be honest, it’s probably a good thing right now. I’m going to need all the help I can get for a while.” Just saying it made me cringe inwardly. God, I hated depending on people. Hated it. That was why I’d refused a roommate for ages, even in the days when money was tight.
    I cleared my throat. “So, what happened tonight?”
    He shrugged. “It wasn’t bad, I guess. All things considered.”
    “Okay, so I’m assuming that means you weren’t screaming at each other this time?”
    He sat back in the recliner. “We were in public.”
    “Fair enough. But was it one of those things that would have escalated into screaming at each other if you’d been in private?”
    Brad shook his head, watching his fingers playing with the seam on the arm of the recliner. “No, not this time.”
    “Well, that’s an improvement. Isn’t it?”
    “I guess. And we’re, I don’t know.” He flattened his hand on the armrest and faced me again. “I guess we’re getting there.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Meaning, we’re starting to get to some of the reasons we split up in the first place. One thing at a time.”
    “And Jeff still doesn’t want to get a counselor involved?”
    Brad laughed bitterly.
    “I’ll take that as a no.” I scratched an itch under the cast on my arm. “So what are some of those reasons you guys figured out?”
    “I’ll bore you with them another night. You’ve probably