Read After the Fall for Free Online

days.”
    “I’m doing okay, actually. The worst is over, so the pain’s not as bad as you might think.”
    “That’s good to hear. Glad it’s bearable.” He paused. “If you’re really up for it, I can come by after work and drive you to the barn.”
    That gave me pause. It hadn’t occurred to me I still had to get to the barn. “You don’t mind?”
    “Not at all.”
    “Okay.” I gave him the address. “See you around four?”
    “I’ll be there.”

    Right on time, a knock at the door.
    “Come on in,” I said.
    The door opened and—
    Holy hot dude, Batman.
    I hadn’t been in any state of mind to really check him out the other day, but I made up for lost time now. He’d traded his motorcycle regalia for a pair of relaxed fit jeans and a faded Metallica T-shirt with the very edge of a tattoo sticking out from beneath his sleeve. His hair was damp and perfectly arranged, so he must’ve showered before he’d come over here— don’t imagine it, Nathan, don’t imagine a single second of it .
    His boots weren’t what I’d call riding boots, but they had a sharp heel, which was the important thing—if there was a mishap, his foot wouldn’t go all the way through the stirrup. As much as I would have been happy to see him dragged behind my horse while I was still royally pissed off and in a world of pain, I’d calmed down considerably since then and really didn’t want him getting hurt now.
    Besides, he still had one hell of a bruise on the side of his face. I decided we were even.
    “So how is your—” I made a circular gesture at the same region on my own face.
    He gingerly touched the corner of his mouth, then shrugged. “It looks worse than it is.” With a wink, he added, “That was a pretty impressive right hook.”
    I laughed. “Well, remind me not to do it again.” I held up the cast. “This pain in the ass wasn’t worth the trade-off.”
    “I don’t doubt it. So . . .” He spun his keys around his finger. “Ready to go?”
    “Yeah.”
    He didn’t move. “Are you sure you’re up to this? It doesn’t have to be today.”
    “Trust me.” I leaned heavily on my crutch. “I need to. I’m getting cabin fever like you wouldn’t believe, and I need to see my horse.”
    “Fair enough.”
    I locked my apartment door behind us, hobbled two steps down the hall, stopped, and peered down the stairs. “Shit,” I groaned.
    “What?”
    “I think going down might be a little more complicated than coming up.”
    “Can you make it?” Ryan eyed the stairs, then me. “Especially with only one crutch?”
    “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I think up until now I’d kind of blocked out the fact that there are stairs between here and the ground.”
    He grimaced. “Do you need some help?”
    “No,” I said quickly. “I’ve got it. I’ll just . . . I have to figure it out. I’m going to have to get up and down these stairs in a cast for the next few months. Might as well learn sooner than later.”
    “Nathan.” He eyed me. “You can start pushing yourself after you’ve healed a little. Come on. Let me help.”
    I gritted my teeth. “Fine.”
    Ryan took my crutch in one hand and put the other arm around my waist. I put my right arm around his shoulders, careful not to smack him in the face with my cast, and held the railing with my other hand.
    Together, we took that first awkward step down. I distracted myself from my own helplessness by remembering who I was leaning on. Sort of like how a buddy of mine had said his appendix operation wasn’t as bad as it could have been because he had a hot nurse, this was a lot easier to stomach knowing I had my arm around this particular set of shoulders. He felt like someone who spent a fair amount of time at the gym—he was naturally broad shouldered, but I had no doubt these muscles got some use.
    “Jesus Christ,” Ryan muttered as we neared the bottom. “I could’ve sworn there weren’t so many steps on the way up.”
    I snorted. “Tell me