Page 24 of Wilde Hearts

“That’s right…feel my breathing. Deep breath and let’s hold it for a second, then slowly exhale.”

Her eyes closed, and she dragged in a breath and exhaled when I did. We breathed together for a good minute or so before she opened her eyes again. Her breathing wasn’t so labored, and she looked to be a bit calmer.

“Feeling better?” I asked, rubbing my hands up and down her arms.

“Yes. Thank you.”

She must have just noticed her hands were on my chest, and mine were still on her arms, because she quickly took a step away.

“Have you had panic attacks before?” I asked.

Frowning, she replied, “Once.”

“In an elevator?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

It was clear she wasn’t going to elaborate any further, so I dropped it.

“Did they say how long this would take?”

“I’m sorry, no.”

Groaning, she slid to the floor and dropped her head to her knees.

“We’re safe, though. The elevator won’t fall or anything like that.”

Her head popped up. “Oh great! I wasn’t even thinking about that! Now I’ve got something else to worry about.”

I joined her on the floor but made sure to stay on my side. “What else were you worried about?”

She shrugged. “Running out of air, the doors opening to concrete and we can’t get out. Now, thanks to you, I’m going to worry about dropping to the ground floor.”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know it won’t happen?” she asked with narrowed eyes. “Are you an elevator expert? Is that where you’ve been hiding the last ten years?”

“They’re made not to drop. Safety features.”

“They’re also made to move up and down and not get stuck, so there’s that.”

I sighed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I broke it again because I wanted where I’ve been the last few years to be out in the open.

“I’ve been working on a ranch in Banff the last five years. I started off working as a farrier and worked my way up to ranch foreman.”

“Canada? Why there?”

It was my turn to shrug. “I liked it there, and the opportunity came up for the job, so I took it.”

I wasn’t about to tell her that I’d met a girl in a bar, slept with her that night, and she offered me a position at her family’s ranch the next morning. It had only been that one time with Lori, but because of the job, I’d found another reason to stay away from River Falls.

“Was this one of your world travel stops?” she asked with a bitter tone.

“Yes. Grady always talked about going to Banff to ski, so I found myself there. I loved it and decided to stay.”

She huffed.