Page 31 of Saddles

“I appreciate it. I’m just glad those fucking assholes won’t be able to travel in it either.” Both of her eyes squeeze shut as she takes a deep breath.

I fill her water and flip the chair around to straddle it after I hand her the glass.

Then I ask questions I hate. I don’t want her to have to relive any memories, but I need to know how much of a threat they are. “How many? Any chance they tracked you?”

She waves her hand in front of her open full mouth and holds up two fingers.

After a quick drink, she pants. “Crap, that was hot. No, I didn’t see a car. I took both sets of keys to the snow machines.”

“Good girl, that was smart.” I don’t have to worry about unexpected visitors for a little while. If it was just me, I’d say “bring it on”, but with her here, she’d be in danger again.

She raises one eyebrow, then takes another bite. “What are you doing out here, anyways? Just hanging?” Her eyes wander the small cabin. “It’s cozy.”

“I’m the ranch boss for the Black Gulch. Everyone else has a family, so I volunteered to stay up here to watch the winter pastures. We’ve been having issues with people messing with the herds, so I’m trying to keep an eye on things.” Not that it did much good. Still lost two.

She locks me with her walnut colored gaze, then looks down at her bowl to scrape the last bite. “I bet you were enjoying your alone time before I showed up.” She empties her cup, then smacks her lips. “That was delicious.”

I shrug as she hands over her dishes. “It’s nice to have a little company. Roscoe gets tired of listening to me all the time.” I try to give her a smile, but a flash of Sarah’s face cuts through my thoughts, souring my expression.

Standing quickly, I busy myself with cleaning up. “I hope I ain’t overstepping,” I say to the wall.

I don’t think I can look at her with a straight face as I struggle to fight the surge of emotions. “But I got hot water going if you wanted to take a bath. There’s a small tub in the corner, but it only pipes in cold.” I nod with my head towards the corner, past where Roscoe watches us with his head on his paws.

“Oh God, I’d love a bath,” she groans. “I just need to sit here for a second though. I haven’t eaten much the last few days…” She stops long enough I turn around to see if she’s fallen asleep.

“Ford? What day is today?” she asks quietly.

“Day after Thanksgiving.” I should probably call Dixon back. Shit, I still didn’t tell Mason about the cows.

“Five days,” she whispers. “And no one even knew I was missing.”

Damn, that feels like a punch to the gut. I feel even worse for her.

“I find that hard to believe. I bet you have tons of friends and family that are looking for you right now.” I have to hope that she has people out there who care for her.

No one deserves to go through what she has and not have someone to help her heal.

The tangled mat of her hair moves as one piece when she shakes her head. “My dad and I had a huge argument that night.His wife, the step-cunt, threw out a bunch of my favorite clothes, so I left.”

Her crass nickname sets me back and makes me chuckle. “Step-cunt? That’s new.” I think I like this girl. She has a little fire.

“Yea, well, I guess he had a heart attack that night. She won’t let me talk to him.” She twists her mouth and chews on the inside of her cheek before her brows furrow. “Fuck him! He chose her!” Her voice raises. “I hope he dies. He didn’t look for me! He didn’t even try to call when I left.” Tears well in her eyes. “Screw them both. I don’t need them, or anyone. I’ll find a place like this and be just fucking fine.” Her balled fists beat the comforter between her knees hard enough Roscoe raises his head to watch her.

I don’t know what to say.

I wouldn’t wish this solitude on anyone, especially someone who has demons of their own.

It’s hell.

Chapter 10

April

My legs are still shaky when I push the heavy blankets away.

I hate how crusty and dirty I feel. The matting of my hair gives me a headache.

His dark locks are just long enough to tuck behind his ears before he picks up the heavy pot filled with boiling water.

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