River's End (River's End Series, #1)(30)

She gulped back the fear, and clutched onto the saddle horn with every ounce of her fiber. She told herself to breathe in and out, as if she were in yoga class. She ordered her stomach to cease cramping and churning with nerves. She was terrified. The horse was so high off the ground. Although Georgie plodded along as slowly and calmly as a golf cart, she could feel the awesome power beneath her. If the horse chose to take off, or turn, or abruptly stop, Erin would be at her mercy.

She was very aware of the four heavy hooves that stomped down, and how easily they could trample her if she fell. She barely registered her eyes on the trail Joey followed. So busy remembering all the instructions on how to ride, there was no way she could enjoy the beautiful landscapes they were traversing. Until they began to climb. Looking around, she saw they’d taken off from the dirt road and were now… nowhere. Not on any trail or road. They were crossing over sagebrush and fresh, untrodden grasses. There were pine trees all around them and nothing else. They climbed up one hill, then another. However, Erin nearly closed her eyes through it all. She held the reins tightly around the saddle horn and her breathing increased. She thought she was going to faint if she looked down.

They were climbing up a freaking mountain!

Being directly over the ranch now, she looked below, and saw the most incredible view of her life. The ranch, in all its glory, spread out over the valley and the river was now only a small, shiny line, stretching this way and that across the valley floor. She was on what felt like the top of the world. The sky seemed much closer, and the world below oh so tinier.

If her horse misstepped, even by six inches, she would surely plummet to her death down the mountain, which dropped precipitously below her. Having come up the mountain from one side, the one which was a gentle rise of hills, now they were nearly at the top of the mountain. It dropped a good two hundred feet to the road, straight below them.

She wanted to turn around. But there was no way she could. She was stuck. The only escape from this stretch of trail was to continue forward. Her throat felt so swollen with the anxiety lodged there, she couldn’t even yell at Joey. Her breathing grew more rapid as her head felt lighter; she was getting dizzy. She was going to die. That’s all she could think of as she stared straight down. Then she saw the small, dirt footpath her massive horse was supposed to follow. It was no more than a deer trail, if that.

She knew she was going to faint. She could feel her chest tightening, and her breathing grew more difficult. Something was wrong.

“Joey,” she finally managed to croak out through her ever-tightening throat. “Joey, help me.”

Joey turned in his saddle. He hadn’t so much as glanced at her once while they rode. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped when he finally saw her. He stopped his horse, dropping the reins and jumping down. The horse didn’t move a single step. Joey walked uphill from her until he was right next to her.

“Shit, Erin, what’s the matter?”

“Can’t breathe,” she said, starting to really panic now.

“You’re white as a sheet. Okay, okay, Erin, calm down, and take some deep breaths. Are you scared?”

She nodded, but wanted to scream. Was she scared? She was terrified. She was about to die from plunging down a steep mountain. After being thrown from a five-hundred-pound animal. And Joey wanted to know if she was scared?

He looked genuinely surprised by her reaction. “Okay, let’s get you down. It’s okay, Erin. Really, you’re fine.”

He helped her down off her horse and pulled her uphill from the horses by a few feet before setting her down on the grass. They sat fifty feet from the top of the mountain, and when she looked down, she saw they were crossing a narrow, flat section before the land completely became a steep rock that dropped straight down. There wasn’t a hint of humanity, and only the strange, far-off sound of wind moving over the grasses. It was almost eerie in its silence.

“I think you’re having a panic attack.”

A panic attack? She put her head in between her knees. No way. It had to be more than that. She had to be dying, judging by the pain in her chest, and the dizziness of her head. Joey kept encouraging her to breathe. Then to slow down her breathing and just think calming thoughts. She did that until she opened her eyes and saw the view: she was indeed on top of a mountain with two horses grazing not twenty feet from her. There was no way down. She was petrified. It felt like concrete had been poured around her ass.

After another ten minutes, Joey quit talking. Finally, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She shook her head no. Joey looked around, utterly lost. “Maybe I should go get Jack.”

Erin lifted her eyes. She didn’t want Jack to know, but her head was swimming and she couldn’t speak. Joey looked into her eyes. “Yeah, I’d better go get him. I’m not sure what else to do. You have to get on the horse, or walk down; you can’t stay here.”

She shook her head adamantly in fear. She wasn’t moving.

Joey stood up over her, running his hands through his hair. “I’m going to get Jack. I’ll be back as fast as I can. I promise. Okay?”

No! So not okay. He intended to leave her on top of this mountain all alone? She thought she’d pass out from the dizzying fear of that suggestion. She couldn’t look down. She had to turn her head towards the upside of the hill. Joey finally patted her shoulder with more banal words of comfort. Then he left her there, all alone, dragging Georgie by a lead rope behind him. Erin pulled her legs up to her chest, and curled up into a ball as tears flooded over her eyes and she tried to remember to breathe in and out.