Page 30 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
I gasped and pulled my arm to my chest as a rattlesnake darted out in front of me. I stumbled backward and nearly fell on my ass.
Oh my god, there is a rattlesnake in the barn!
Holy shit! You just got bit by a rattlesnake!
It was probably about three feet long and as wide as a baseball bat. In the second it took me to realize what had happened to my arm, it had slithered into the corner and coiled in on itself. Its head was poised a foot off the ground, hissing through hideous fangs dripping venom. Its tail was sticking straight in the air, rattling with abandoned fury.
It was warning me that it was ready to strike again.
And it didn’t need to warn me twice.
I regained my footing and backed out of the stall, then whipped around and ran toward the barn doors as fast as my flip-flopped feet could go.
Did snakes chase people? Running as fast as I could, I cursed myself for choosing flip-flops instead of tennis shoes. Because of my poor footwear selection, I was going to be eaten by the biggest rattlesnake on the planet.
I hit the barn door and glanced over my shoulder.
I relaxed marginally when I saw it wasn’t chasing me.
My arm was really starting to throb and blood was running toward my fingers. It was either the poison or the adrenaline coursing through my veins, but my vision started to blur and my head was swimming.
I needed to get it together. I needed to get to the hospital. I needed to slow down my heart rate so the poison wouldn’t spread too fast.
I needed to effing breathe.
So I forced myself to take two extremely long and slow breaths before moving away from the barn and walking straight to the house.
By some miracle, I’d had the foresight to keep Rowen out of the barn while I was cleaning. She was currently reenacting Sleeping Beauty with a couple of dolls in the front yard.
“Rowen!?
? I screamed, rushing toward the house.
She looked at me and knew instantly something was very, very wrong. A look of sheer terror came over her face and she went ghostly white.
I was clutching my arm to cover the bite mark but my face was pale and my eyes were wide. I wasn’t hiding my fears from her.
“Get in the car, baby girl,” I said as calmly as I could, which meant it came out shaky and a little too loud.
“Mommy?” Her lower lip started to quiver and tears started pooling in her eyes.
“I’m okay, sweetie. Just do as I say, okay? Quick, get in the car and buckle yourself into your seat.”
She nodded and I passed her running to the car as I jogged into the house. I took two seconds in the entryway to stop and think through what I needed.
Keys. Purse. Phone.
I grabbed them all and hightailed it back to the car. After glancing over my shoulder to confirm Roe was strapped in, I threw the car in drive and flew down the driveway to the hospital.
I didn’t freak out. I didn’t cry.
I just drove. Fast.
“All set, Gigi. Try and relax.”
“Thanks, Everett.”
He had just finished putting an IV into my arm that would administer an anti-venom plus some morphine for the pain. The puncture marks on my arm were covered with gauze and I was praying they wouldn’t leave much of a scar.
