Shattered Hearts ePub by Pen Name Page A

she exclaimed, pushing her chair back from the table so hastily she nearly tipped it over.
    With a touch of amusement, I watched as she stuck her spoon her mouth, grabbed her bowl of cereal from the table and stole a banana right out of her brother’s hand before rushing out of the kitchen.  A moment later her footsteps pounded on the stairs as she presumably ran up to her bedroom to find her laptop.
    But my amusement dissipated as soon as Maggie was gone.  Now that it was just me and Nate alone in the kitchen, I was reminded of the ugly scene that had played out between us.  I edged closer to the table until I was able to lean against the back of the chair directly across from him. 
    “About last night,” I began, fully prepared to admit my wrongdoing.
    “You were right,” Nate cut me off.  “I mean, I don’t think I’m an alcoholic, but you’re right that I spend most nights sitting on the porch.  Ever since the car accident, I’ve had trouble sleeping.  So at some point I got in the habit of taking a beer or two out to the rocking chair and staring at the stars until the sun comes up.”
    I was startled by his honesty.  “I have trouble sleeping too,” I confided.
    “Why can’t you sleep?”
    “That’s not important,” I replied, brushing his inquiry aside.  “What matters is that I should have listened to you when you told me to dismount.  I didn’t think I was being reckless.  I don’t know what I was thinking...maybe I wasn’t thinking at all,” I confessed.  “I got caught up in the moment.  I don’t know what went wrong, but it’s my fault.” 
    It hurt to think I’d misread Penny and if I’d pushed her too far by trying to ride...well, to me that was an unforgiveable betrayal of her trust. 
    “Actually,” Nate replied, “I saw a snake in the grass when I went to take her back to the barn.  It was just a harmless fox snake, but they’re kind of rare around here so it may have been the first time Penny had ever seen one.  I’m betting that’s what spooked her.  That’s why she reared.  It was nothing you did and nothing that could have been helped.”
    “Thank you.”
    “For what?” he asked, puzzled.
    “Thank you for telling me about the snake in the grass,” I replied.  “After how horrible I was to you last night, I would have thought you’d just keep it to yourself and let me continue thinking I was in the wrong.”
    “Why would I do that?” he shrugged.  “I can’t stand mind games, so of course I’m going to tell you the truth.  And besides, I’m not without blame either.  I shouldn’t have yelled at you.  Maggie calls me a hothead and I suppose she’s right.  I don’t mean to be that way and I hate it about myself.  I’m just...”
    “Stressed?” I offered knowingly.  He tried to hide it, but I could see it in the way he carried himself day in and day out.  It was like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and was unable or unwilling to let anyone else bear some of the burden for him.
    “Yes, like you wouldn’t believe.  Seeing you fall from that horse scared the hell out of me, Amanda.  When I thought you might be badly injured, I couldn’t even breathe.  I guess fear is what made me flip out, but that’s no excuse.”
    “It’s okay,” I said softly.  Hearing Nate take responsibility for his actions meant a lot.  As sad as it was to admit even to myself, I’d come to expect men to blame their misdeeds on me or try to justify them in some delusional tirade.  But Nate had simply owned up to what he’d done wrong and apologized.  It was refreshing.
    “How’s your hip?” he asked, looking down.  “I couldn’t help but notice you’re still limping.”
    “It’s sore, but it’s better than it was,” I told him.  “I should probably put more ice on it.”
    “Back when I was still competing, sometimes the best way to loosen up a pulled muscle was a nice long massage,” Nate recalled.  “I could...I