“I’m such a wimp,” I whimpered.

“You’re perfect, cricket. Now, tell me something about you no one knows.”

“We already did this. I told you I wanted to travel.”

“No. Something personal. Something that no one would ever guess about you.”

I opened my eyes again to find Owen’s gaze pinned on my face. His eyes were filled with concern and care… and something else I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

There weren’t many secrets I kept close to my chest. If anything, Jenna knew every deep and sordid detail of my mind. She knew I was only a virgin because the one guy I dated in my early twenties turned out to be a douchebag with another girlfriend on the side. Even though I was conservative in my thoughts that I wanted to wait until marriage. But my outlook was thinning on that aspect. I would probably remain a virgin forever.

That was a secret I could tell Owen, but I hesitated. Instead, I spilled something that only my mom knew.

“You were the reason I went to our senior prom.”

Owen’s grip loosened, only slightly, but enough for me to feel the blood rush back to my arm. He quickly adjusted his hold and regained the tension.

“But I—”

“You didn’t go, even though I heard Tessa waited for you before she came alone. She started the rumor that you showed up at her house drunk.”

“Yeah, I remember hearing about that from my coach. I wasn’t. I mean….”

“I know. It didn’t sound like something you’d do.”

Owen glanced down, focusing on my arm while I focused on him. His hair had lightened a bit since he was in high school. I attributed it to the California sun and all his time spent in it. There were blond streaks mixed in with the dark-brown. For a moment, I wondered if he had it done professionally.

“You really went to prom because of me?”

“I mean… I didn’t have a date or anything. I wore my sister Autumn’s pink slip dress. But I thought…. I don’t know. I just wanted to see you in a tux, to be honest.” I followed the confession with a giggle and felt relieved when Owen smiled along. It was his eyes that told me it was only for my benefit though.

Just when I thought he would say more, there was a knock on my door. Owen stood up immediately with a look of relief.

“I’ll be right back.”

There were two voices mixed with his, and just as I mustered the energy to look over at my door, I found three sets of eyes staring at me.

“Oh dear,” Beverly said as she moved into the room. There was a young man with her, who I recognized from the doctor’s office in town.

Owen moved into the space, his body seeming to fill every crevice once he stepped inside. I felt his leg press against my body as I continued sitting on top of the toilet seat. Embarrassment overwhelmed me, and I ducked my head.

“What happened?” Beverly’s gentle fingers pried the layers of gauze from around the wound, hissing when she saw the slice through my skin.

“Long story short, the demonic cow and the barbed wire won this round. I’ll have my vengeance… eventually.”

She nodded, then gesture for her sidekick to hand her a small bag. “I’m going to clean wound and surrounding skin with some saline and antibacterial ointment before I stitch you up.”

Out of instinct, I jerked my arm back.

“Careful, dear girl. I was a nurse in my past life. Kevin was able to get these supplies over to help. Thank goodness Owen called me.”

She pulled out a squirt bottle and cleansed my arm before wiping something on my skin. When she pulled out a syringe, I nearly passed out, but Owen crouched next to me and grabbed my free hand. I turned my face toward him, distracted. I never even felt the pinch.

“That was to numb you. Now, I’ll stitch you up. I’ve had a lot of practice doing this,” she said solemnly, and I wondered how often she had to stitch up her own wounds… or her son’s.

“Thank you,” I whispered to Owen, whose eyes were still filled with worry. His hand shook in mine. I wondered if he was reliving moments of his childhood by watching my arm getting stitched up.

“You doing okay?” Beverly asked. “I’ve only got a few sutures left.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I squeaked, feeling the tug on my skin. It wasn’t painful, but the sensation wasn’t completely absent.

Owen pressed his head against mine and whispered, “You’re doing great.”

My body heated at the compliment, and I felt my cheeks burn.

“All done. I brought some fresh bandages. Take some pain meds and get some rest. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When was your last tetanus shot? You may need to get one tomorrow.”

“I had a booster last year.”

“Oh, good. You should be covered then. Let’s not wrestle with barbed wire anymore, shall we?”

Chuckling, I leaned my upper body against Owen’s hip, my energy already drained.

“Get some sleep,” she said, and then I was abruptly lifted in the air and deposited on my couch. “Thank you for calling me, Owen,” I heard her tell her son.

“Well, I figured if anyone could stitch her up, it would be you.”

Even I felt the subtle dig, but Beverly replied gracefully, which surprised me. “Years of practice.” She leaned over me. “Make sure to get extra rest and be careful with that arm over the next few days. It will be sore.”

“Okay.” My response was garbled.

I felt the couch shift, then heard Owen’s deep voice off in the distance. He was likely saying goodbye to his mother. Opening my eyes, I examined the dressing on my wound, wondering how I could have done something so stupid. I’d been rewiring the fences since I learned to use the metal cutting sheers when I was ten. It was a stupid mistake I made, and now I was injured because of it.

Owen closed my front door and then sat beside me. The couch cushion dipped dramatically under his weight.

“Thank you, Owen.”

I leaned toward him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“You’re welcome, cricket. I was worried you’d go nuts once you realized I called my mom.”

“You did the right thing. I’m sure she appreciated it too.”

“Probably.”