Unbridled Trails

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  Kyle swallowed. “We just saved a horse. Do you guys know what happens to a horse if it’s injured and no one claims it?”

  Andy, a new ranch hand recently hired, spoke up. “They usually euthanize it. If the owner abandons it and there’s no one to pay the bills, well, you know.” He shrugged and stuffed a gravy dipped biscuit in his mouth.

  Euthanized? Kyle had never had his own horse, but he couldn’t see letting that beautiful horse like Duke die because of owners who didn’t want it.

  Could he just toss an animal aside like that? Emotionally he had more invested in that horse than any other animal before. Maybe because he’d bonded more with Sherri with just the injured animal and its circumstances or maybe because he’d had to drop everything and be there for something besides himself or the Montana Trails or his family or his sister. He was doing it for altruistic purposes... or was he?

  He would have something in common with Sherri. They liked horses.

  Emma’s health problems reminded Kyle how fragile they all were. He excused himself and made his way to the phone by the front door.

  He dialed his sister’s number by heart, even though they hadn’t spoken in quite a while.

  She picked up on the first ring. “Kyle?” The delighted surprise in her voice brought a smile to Kyle’s lips.

  He cleared his throat. “Hey, Rubics. How you doin’?”

  She half-laughed and half-cried. “I can’t believe you finally called me back.”

  “Called you back? What are you talking about?” Kyle turned to lean against the wall, watching his cousins and the other ranch hands from his vantage point.

  “I asked Mom to have you call me.” Her whisper carried over the line.

  “She never told me. Why weren’t you at the wedding?” He didn’t mention all the Thanksgivings and Christmases she’d missed over the years. He knew why she hadn’t been there. Their parents weren’t the most loving people or the most understanding.

  Her weak laugh made him twist his lips. “You know why. Mom can’t even look at me and Dad’s pretty much disowned me.”

  “But it wasn’t your fault.” Kyle hung his head, his chin almost to his chest. “They didn’t invite you?”

  “No, I got an invitation the same day I got a note from Mom telling me not to come. She didn’t want to cast a shadow on Jareth’s big day.” She laughed. “Because I’m an embarrassment.”

  “You don’t embarrass me.” He rubbed his elbow. His poor sister. She didn’t deserve to be a victim and also be shamed. Jareth hadn’t said anything. He’d probably accepted the lies their mother told, too. Hadn’t Kyle initially?

  “Thanks, Kyle. So what’s with the call?” She brightened her tone.

  “I met someone. She’s different and she likes bugs.” His grin erupted at just the thought of Sherri and talking about her with his sister solidified the idea that welled in his chest. He could be falling for her and he didn’t know if he wanted that or not.

  “That’s great, Kyle. I’m so happy.” Her giggle lightened as she talked about a car show she was planning on attending that upcoming weekend and more crazy stuff going on at their relatives’ home.

  He caught a glimpse of Nate’s downtrodden expression. Was falling for someone something to be happy about? Or was Kyle destined to be weighted down with heart ache like Nate? Kyle didn’t know if he’d ever feel for someone like Nate did and he didn’t want to face losing anyone.

  He didn’t want to lose Sherri.

  Chapter 15

  Sherri

  “I’m fine. Do you want me to come to the office, Barry?” Sherri stopped at the intersection where one direction led home and the other way led to work.

  “No, I’m glad you’re fine and that horse is getting care. Great job today. We’ll see you in the morning.” He hung up, probably eating dinner.

  Sherri sighed, relieved to be heading home. But she hadn’t closed the trail. She hadn’t finished her job. She’d have to turn back and finish that up before she went home.

  Her cell rang and she answered. “Cyan, how’s it going?”

  “Are you still out? Stop by and eat with me. Jareth isn’t home yet.” Cyan’s soft demand hid something.

  Sherri was tired but not so tired she couldn’t be there for her friend. “I’ll be there in a little bit. You still at Emma’s?” She’d have time to close the trail afterward.

  “Yeah, see you in a little bit.” Cyan never said goodbye and Sherri appreciated it. The drive there wouldn’t take long, but would be enough for Sherri to dwell on her time with Kyle.

  The man was enough to keep her on her toes, keep her interested, but was she enough to keep him interested?

  He liked her, but she didn’t want to get bored or get so attached to him that when he stopped liking her, her heart would be broken. Wasn’t that what happened?

  She pulled into Nate’s place and parked. A sense of foreboding stayed her hand as she waited a moment before opening the door. Why had Cyan’s voice sounded tight and why didn’t she ask about the horse or Kyle?

  Sherri knocked on the front door. She picked at the inner soft skin of her thumb.

  Cyan answered, a sad smile on her lips. “Hey, thanks for coming over.”

  “What’s going on?” Sherri’s eyes widened as Cyan pulled her to the side of the front door just outside. “I need you to tell Emma what’s been going on with you and Kyle. She needs something to take her mind off...” Cyan blinked away tears. She continued in a whisper. “The cancer’s back.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Okay, I can talk about it.” She followed Cyan inside. They didn’t go far into the house, stopping inside the front living room where Emma sat on the couch with her arms wrapped around a throw pillow and staring blankly out the window.

  “Hi Emma, how’s it going?” Sherri smiled, unsure what to say or what to do.

  Cyan shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Emma, Sherri was just telling me about Kyle coming to help rescue a horse up on Beaver Ridge.”

  Emma turned her attention toward Sherri. “Kyle, huh? Tell me more about what you and Kyle were up to.” She didn’t seem morose and instead exuded sincere interest in Sherri’s tale.

  An hour passed of Sherri telling her story and Emma asking pointed questions about Kyle and Sherri’s interaction with him. They were laughing like school girls when Jareth walked inside.

  He paused, looking back out the door and then back at them. “Am I at the right place?”

  Cyan stood to kiss Jareth on the lips. “Hey, where’d you go? I thought you were going to come right home after dinner at the ranch?”

  Jareth peeked at Emma. “Yeah, but Nate wanted to have a meeting about the upcoming branding of the young cattle and I couldn’t say no. We haven’t seen him in a while.”

  No mention of Kyle and what he and Sherri had been up to. Did he just not mention it to Jareth or was Jareth being discreet?

  Nate stomped through the door, his bandana dark in spots from sweat. “I got the animals fed really fast. Is Sherri still here?”

  He spied her and moved closer, ignoring the dirt flecking from his boots to the hardwood floor. He came within inches of her, peering into her face, his eyes bloodshot in his pale face. “Sherri, do you know anything about leaching?”

  “Nathan. That’s enough.” Emma half-stood from the couch, looking stronger than anyone in that room. “I told you to stop this time.”

  Startled, Nate whirled, his arms wide. “No. Not this time. Not ever. I’m not quitting. I’m not giving up.”

  She crossed the room, lifting her hand to his cheek. “But it’s not your decision, Nate.” Her eyes welled with tears and she glanced at the floor, tossing an apology awkwardly into the room before disappearing up the stairs.

  Nate’s shoulders slumped and he pinched his brow. “Sorry, but...” He sighed.

  Sherri placed her hand on his upper arm and slightly turned him to face her. “It’s okay. I understand wondering about leaching.” Her tone became that of
a teacher’s. “Leaching isn’t used for cancer, Nate. It’s more for relieving fevers or infectious areas. Even if she had those symptoms, I would think she would want every bit of her blood because of the white blood cells.” She glanced between Cyan and Jareth. “I don’t know any more than that because I didn’t go further with my anatomy and physiology than the basic classes. At least for humans.” Her lame laugh fell into the disappointed living room amongst the couches and armchairs.

  Nate nodded the slightest amount. “So it’s just an old wives’ tale. They said that... the doctors, but I just...” He lifted his hand and then let it fall limply to his side.

  “She’s going to be okay. She’s beat it before. She can beat it again.” Cyan linked her arm with Sherri’s as if they were the solitary force Emma would need to beat her sickness.

  “Yeah. She has. But she wanted to fight then.” He softly shook his head, reaching up to pull off his hat. “She doesn’t want to fight anymore.” His red-rimmed eyes seemed to beg for help while the slouch in his spine suggested he’d given up too. “I’m desperate for something. If you guys hear anything about natural or alternative treatments, let me know, okay?”

  He didn’t wait for their acceptance, just turned and walked back outside.

  Cyan stared after him while Sherri shifted on her feet.

  Sherri liked Emma. If Sherri didn’t get things under control with Kyle, she’d be entering a family who could be losing a very important member soon. Sherri didn’t want to get that invested. She didn’t want to lose anyone. Not when she had never lost anyone her entire life.

  She didn’t need anyone and she wanted to keep it that way.

  ~

  “I’m going to check on the trails. I didn’t get a chance to close them all the way.” Sherri tapped the edge of the phone and watched the road.

  “Well, it’s no wonder. You had a busy day yesterday. Check and see if there’s any further beetle damage, too, please. I’ve been fielding calls from ranchers all week, asking me if it’s true. Beetles scare them, but apparently a woman warning them is even scarier.” He sighed. “Keep me updated.” Subtle feminism bothered her but at least it was something that didn’t keep Barry from hiring a woman.

  “Sure, thanks, Barry.” She hung up, placing her phone on the passenger seat. She hadn’t slept well with worried thoughts about how she felt for Kyle and what kind of worry Cyan and everyone else seemed to have for Emma. Emma herself seemed more normal than everyone else.

  A car pulled in behind her on the road from the intersection she passed. Tight on her bumper, the car stuck with her. She waved them around, but they didn’t move.

  She took the next left, turning up the road, passing Jonesy’s Acres and keeping an eye out for Kyle. She wouldn’t mind seeing him again, especially so soon after their time together the day before.

  He liked her, even though they didn’t have much in common. The fact that he was willing to work on things they had in common mattered more than she could tell him.

  She pulled to the side to let the car pass, but the vehicle slowed and didn’t move on. Sherri clutched the wheel and pulled out again. The road was too narrow. She’d never get turned around without getting stuck in a ditch. Maybe the other car was going further than the trails. She couldn’t get out of the truck, if the other car stopped when she did. After that incident with Kyle at the cinemas, she didn’t trust that people weren’t completely off their saddles.

  Trees bordering the road pulled back from the shoulder as the turnout to the gravel parking lot came into view.

  Turning the wheel, Sherri muttered to know one in particular, “Keep driving. Creepy...” But her words trailed off when the car stopped and then sped down the road.

  “Okay, whatever. So dang weird.” But they’d driven on. She left the truck in her normal parking spot and grabbed a water bottle from the back. The day was turning out to be a hot one already.

  Turning the knob to the radio, she listened for the familiar buzz, but the radio light didn’t even flash on. She forgot to charge the radio unit in all the commotion the night before between the horse and Emma’s place.

  Sherri closed her eyes and bowed her head. What was she doing? She tucked her phone in her pocket and clipped the fanny pack around her waist. Already a trickle of sweat made its way down the small of her back and under her shirt tucked into her jeans.

  Locking the doors, she turned at the sound of a different truck pulling into the parking area. She smiled and approached the tinted window as the rig moved onto the gravel. Closing the trail would be easier, if she just tamped down any visitors from the get-go.

  The truck revved its engine and accelerated from the curve. Tires spinning, the front bumper narrowly missed her shin as she jumped out of its path.

  The truck rammed into the bed of her rig. Metal crunched, the sound reverberating through the trees and deafening all other sounds. Even her pulse pounding in her ears.

  Glass tinkled onto the gravelly ground.

  Staring for the briefest of seconds as reality crashed around her, Sherri accepted that she wasn’t just afraid of fire. She was terrified of whoever had just intentionally crammed her truck into the forest boundaries.

  Sherri couldn’t get to her truck. The force of the larger Dodge had propelled her smaller Nissan through the parking space and into the log barrier set up at the trail head.

  She spun, running toward the trail.

  The truck door opened and the man – Guy, if she remembered right - staggered out. He shook his head, holding onto the door as he regained his bearings.

  The barrier was crashed in, partially hanging over the packed down dirt of the trail.

  Guy spotted her and tensed. His quiet voice carried across the short distance. “You’re going to wish I hadn’t missed.”

  Sherri edged further around the accident, trying to get out of his range. He’d easily catch her, if she ran down the road. She wasn’t that fast, unless she took to the trails and non-traveled paths of the forest. Not many could keep up with her in that regard. His wiry size would overcome her without any problems. But his tennis shoes wouldn’t support his ankles well, if she led him down the mountain. Her boots were extremely supportive.

  She’d have to count on that small bit of confidence to do anything about saving herself.

  She watched his eyes shift as he still gathered his control.

  His lips thinned further and he ducked his head, his shoulders tight.

  The crazy man was going to charge her.

  Backing up further, she gauged the slope of the ground with her heels as she moved. Her boot slanted as the gravelly surface of the ground gave way.

  Glinting in his eye warned her.

  He jerked toward Sherri and she whirled, slipping through the break in the fence and darting over the side of the mountain. Fortunately, she’d been that way multiple times since she’d moved back and she could say, fairly confidently, that she was headed toward Jonesy’s Acres. At least generally. She had a valley and then another ridge to get over before she was in range.

  Guy crashed and snapped multiple branches and other limbs behind her as he followed, spurring her on.

  She slipped on dry, loose brush and dirt, propelling quickly downward. Even with her arms out, she couldn’t grasp any roots or low hanging branches for additional support.

  Her legs hurt and she stumbled as a rotten log gave way under her weight. Pushing off the slanted ground, she rushed faster, the sounds of her pursuer closer and louder – his breathing coming in harder spurts than her own.

  She hit the valley of the mountainside and leaned into the climb to get over the slight rise of the ridge before the final drop down toward the large section of land.

  As Sherri dug in, lengthening her stride, the crashing behind her lessened until it stopped.

  Don’t look back. Don’t look back. It’s a trap. She glanced behind her, slowing down when the man didn’t pop up in her line of sight. Where did he go? She turned to se
arch for him. She wouldn’t be caught unawares and there was no way he’d gotten ahead of her. Not on that steep of a rise. He’d been puffing like a heavy smoker.

  Movement from a stand of Tamaracks caught her attention and she crouched down. He had something which flashed in the dim shadows of the forest, flickering orange and white.

  “No! Stop!” She stood, arm outstretched as if she could compel him to stop building the fire in the crux of a very old tree.

  He glanced at her, the fire already set.

  Then he stood, tilting his head back and studying her through slanted eyes. “You’ll come with me or I’ll catch you down by the field. There’s more than one way to flush a hare.” He turned and climbed up the side of the hill, using the trees and brush to aid his climb.

  After he reached halfway up and was far enough away to not be a problem, Sherri rushed from her spot above the valley floor and sprinted up the hill to the small fire which spread quickly.

  No. No no no no no. No fire. Oh crap, the fire. She had to go near it. She had to actually be up close to it. Goosebumps scattered over her arms and up her neck and not because she was cold.

  She couldn’t breathe, overwhelmed by the exertion in the early heat of the summer day and her overwhelming fear of flames. Her pulse was erratic, but she’d have to worry about that later.

  Gritting her teeth, she stamped at the fire eating at the edges of a growing circle.

  Sherri whimpered.

  Dry twigs and leaves succumbed to the hungry tongue of the fire. She scooped dirt onto some of the orange flames to smother it, but they ate at the dry foliage mixed in with the dirt. She backed up as her attempts to kill the fire only fueled its angry appetite.

  Nothing she did was working.

  The flames spread up the crackly bark of the old, drought weakened tree, catching hold and devouring the hair-like moss with increasing intensity.

  Before her the fire grew from a small threat to a priority she couldn’t get under control. She didn’t know how. She couldn’t even blame her crippling fear to its overabundant vigor.