Paradise Lost (Private 9)

Out of nowhere, I heard a crack like the breaking of a large tree limb, and then felt a jolt. The smile fell off Upton's face, and I whipped my head forward. Misty suddenly had broken into a sprint. The trees were bolting by at an alarming speed and a low-hanging branch clipped my arm, but I barely felt the sting. My heart was in my throat. I gripped the knob at the front of the saddle, straining with all my might to keep from falling off. Pain radiated through my butt and up my back as I was flung up and down, losing my form completely.

"Upton!" I screamed as we came out of the trees. My grip was slipping as my palms leaked sweat.

"Pull up on the reins!" he shouted back. "Jerk up like I taught you!"

My sunglasses fell off, and the riding helmet I was wearing bounced forward, partially covering my eyes. But I could still see the ocean rushing toward me. The edge of the cliff overlooking the water was only a hundred yards away. Misty was heading right for it. I grabbed the leather reins with my sweating hands and pulled.

"Stop! Whoa! Stop, Misty!" I screamed, yanking over and over

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again. But she didn't so much as miss a step. We were going to go over. I yanked again and cried out. "Upton! Help! She won't stop!"

Upton and Bolt raced up alongside us. Upton's face was full of fear as he glanced toward the edge of the cliff, then at my helpless hands as they clung to the horse. Now all four of us were sprinting toward certain death. I imagined watching Upton as we went over the edge and closed my eyes. I couldn't watch this. I couldn't just couldn't watch us plummet to our deaths.

Then I felt something glance off my knuckles. Heard Upton shout. Felt a sudden jerk and was flung forward, my face colliding with Misty's neck. We veered off to the right and all of a sudden, Misty slowed down. Just like that, she was walking again. When I opened my eyes, we were headed back toward the center of the property and away from the cliff. Upton's leg bumped mine. His hand was closed around Misty's reins. Bolt was walking so close to Misty that their hooves kept brushing, which made them twitch their heads up and down like it tickled.

The horses were perfectly calm. As if nothing had happened.

"Are you all right?" Upton asked me.

I burst into tears.

"Whoa, whoa," Upton commanded the horses. They came to a stop and he easily dismounted. Then he reached up for me. I found I couldn't even disentangle my foot from the stirrup, I was shaking so violently. Finally, Upton had to remove my foot for me, and I just slid off the side of the horse. He caught me in his arms.

Not at all graceful, but what did I care? I had almost died back there.

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We both had. I pressed my face into Upton's shoulder and cried. My chest was racked with huge, painful sobs, but I couldn't stop myself. All the terror just released itself all over his expensive shirt.

"It's okay. It's okay," he said, stroking my hair. "We're fine."

I looked up at him and sucked in a rattling breath. There was sweat all along his brow and above his lip. "I thought we were going to die."

Upton blinked. "You know, so did I for a moment there."

I smacked his arm as he laughed. "You're supposed to tell me I'm stupid and we were actually miles from the cliff, and that I'm just overreacting."

Upton breathed in through his nose and gave a slight nod. "You're stupid," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "We were actually miles from the cliff, and you're just overreacting."

"Liar," I said, my heart still pounding. "What the hell happened? I thought Misty was supposed to be steady."

The horses had wandered a few yards off and were picking at the grass.

"I don't know. She's never taken off like that before. Ever, "he said, wiping his brow as he looked at her. "Something must have spooked her. Maybe a branch hit her or something?"

I shook my head. "We were at a wide part of the trail. There was nothing."

"Bizarre," Upton said, shaking his head. "It had to be something."

Or someone.

I felt a chill go through me and looked back at the trees. It was amazing how far off they were, how much ground we had covered in

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those few short seconds. I wanted to run back there and check the spot where Misty had first taken off. See if there was an