I glanced down at my body and looked over at Connor, who stood at the foot of the bed, groggy and confused. We didn't have a stitch of clothing on.
After snatching the top sheet from the bed and wrapping it around my body, I gestured for Connor to put something on, and before he pulled his jeans up and over his thighs, he winked at me. I was mortified. And he thought it was funny. Men.
"Sorry, Kris," Connor said as he closed the top button of his pants.
"Hurry up! You have to see this!" she mumbled, refusing to take her hands from her face.
"See what? What's wrong?" I asked again.
"You can take your hands down now, Kris. We aren't naked anymore," Connor said with a chuckle.
She peered at me first, and sighed heavily when she saw me wrapped in only the sheet. "No, like, you have to get dressed, you know - in clothes. Meet me downstairs! And hurry!"
I watched her back as she rushed out of the room and listened to her sneakered feet running down the stairs.
"What's that all about?" Connor asked as he tugged a shirt off the chair beside the bed.
"No idea," I mumbled, picking up my outfit from the night before.
We were dressed but still tugging on our shoes as we took the stairs down to the main level. Zoey rushed me, nudging my knees with her snout. "Good morning to you too, girl." The kitchen smelled faintly of oranges and oatmeal. We missed breakfast.
"Come on, come on!" Kris hissed from the front door. She was standing with her fingers curled around the knob, excitement hitching her voice up an octave.
"What is it, Kris?"
She only smiled at me and opened the door, leading us out into the fresh mountain air. Connor and I had fallen back to sleep after our early morning escapades. It was mid-day already. The sun stretched out across the sky, high above our heads, warming my head and shoulders instantly.
After we were outside, Kris shut the cabin door, leaving Zoey inside. Confused, the dog stood up, placing her paws against the glass and gave us a single 'woof'. Her large brown eyes peered at me as her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth. She was silenced by Kris, who seemed to be getting more excited by the second.
"Zoey can't come?" I asked.
"No, not this time. She's probably safer here," Kris answered with a giggle.
Connor lifted an eyebrow at me in concern and rolled his eyes after I shrugged my shoulders. We followed Kris off the porch and across the dirt path that ended not far from our cabin steps. She walked right into the woods, just passing by the tree where I saw Fin materialize into thin air the day before. If we fell too far behind her, Kris would beckon us to hurry with her arm, not stopping or turning around to face us, but watching the trees in front of her carefully.
"Kris, seriously…tell us what's going on," I paused to lean against a thick pine tree after nearly ten minutes of walking through the scratchy brush and as Connor stopped behind me, he took the opportunity to run his hands up the back of my shirt.
"Stop!" I hissed playfully into his ear when he leaned forward for a kiss. Connor stuck his lower lip out in a pout, but released my bra strap without snapping it.
Anxiety filled her voice as Kris spoke over her shoulder, "We're almost there, come on!"
I groaned and pushed myself from the tree, falling back in line behind Kris, Connor taking up the rear. Not long after that, I realized where we were. There was nothing in this part of the woods - nothing but the meadow.
Every twig beneath my shoe crunched and it seemed like the woods echoed with the sound; even the dead leaves that crumbled under my step sounded like fireworks as we slowed to an almost painfully slow walk. The smell of pine and sap drifted all around us, making my nose twitch. Kris lifted her hand up, signaling for us to be quiet, so we were. Only our footsteps and breathing could be heard. It was obvious she wanted to sneak up on something - or someone.
Just before we reached the circular patch of land that opened up to the size of a football field, she bent down behind the brush, signaling us to do the same. When I half squatted and half crawled beside her, she parted the bush, giving me a clean view of the meadow. Kris clamped her hand over my mouth but it did little to stifle the gasp.
"Oh my--," I muttered against my smashed lips.
"Sshh! You'll scare them off!" Kris whispered against my cheek.
"Thay alwedy know wrrr hrrr," I answered.
"Huh?"
I swatted Kris's hand off my mouth and rubbed at my lips. "I said they already know we're here. Look at them."
Connor was kneeling in the dirt on my right, staring wide-eyed into the field with a boyish expression. The youthful look took at least ten years off his handsome features, and paired with the longer hairstyle he was sporting, he could have passed for twenty-something. When he smiled, the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth that I loved so much crinkled, betraying his age.
We turned to stare out above the brush together in awe, with Kris huddled on the other side of me, quiet as a mouse. It was clear she didn't have experience with the situation but she was excited…we all were.
Horses.
***
I approached the palomino mare first since she seemed to be the most curious of the pair. They did their best to ignore us while we hid behind the tree line; flicking their ears and glancing sideways across the field, but once I stood and left the safety of the trees, they stopped grazing and turned to face me.
Ragged pieces of what was left of the golden-colored horse's halter hung from around her neck. She was without a headpiece and had no bit in her mouth. The ends of the material were chewed, as if she or the other mare had gnawed at the straps in an attempt to remove them. The bay, copper-red in color, stood only in her mangled coat. There weren't any signs on her thick hair that she had been harnessed recently. Her back twitched as I reached out to stroke her friend, as if she was preparing herself to bolt or charge.
"Ssshhh, girl. Easy, now." I brought my palm up for the palomino to smell, feeling the hot air of her breath as she sniffed hesitantly at my hand. With the other, I reached up and stroked the side of her neck, reaching slowly up toward her ears, scratching gently at her matted and dirty coat. When I brought my hand away, it was brown from grime.
"Look at you, pretty girl. You need a bath and a good brushing, dontcha?" I cooed at her.
The bay stomped her right front foot down on the grass, but the palomino didn't budge, in fact she looked down at my feet and bent her head forward, giving me permission to rub my hand up between her eyes. She had a white blaze that ran the length of her face in the shape of a narrow hourglass, with darker browns around her muzzle and nostrils. At one time, she was probably properly cared for, but it was obvious it had been many months since anyone had tended to either of the horses. Both were covered in dried mud that flaked off their legs, and burs and stickers filled their tails and manes. It didn't appear that either was starving but they could stand to put on some weight. Though filthy and on the thin side, they were still beautiful.
"You made a new friend," Connor said quietly from behind me. I nodded silently, afraid to disturb the mighty horse that was relaxed beneath my hands.
The bay didn't approve of his presence at all and stomped again in the soft dirt, shaking her long and tangled mane until it flew up around her head. She grunted and whinnied in protest and I saw Connor back away from the corner of my eye as the palomino stiffened against my palm.
She bolted away from me just as the bay charged in my direction. With only twenty feet or so between us, there was nowhere to hide - nowhere to run. My last thought before we collided was, Oh man, this is gonna leave a mark.
***
The bay rushed at me, stopping just short of my chest and slammed both feet into the ground before me in warning. She snorted in my face and whinnied so forcefully that her spittle sprayed across my forehead. Afraid to lift my hand and wipe at it, I tried to ignore the warm and gooey trickle that dripped off my left eyebrow.
When she realized I
wasn't going to challenge her, she sidestepped toward the nervous palomino, putting her wider frame between us, watching me carefully. Eventually I couldn't stand the feeling of her spit dribbling down my face and slowly wiped the substance from my skin, transferring my wet hand to my jeans, rubbing my palm clean.
The three of us stood there, watching each other until my knees creaked. Eventually the bay turned her side to me, flicked her tail in the air and began grazing the grass once again. She looked up often, and seemed satisfied to see me standing in the same spot, but my legs were beginning to cramp. When I decided to sit down, I did so slowly, keeping my eyes on the large horse with the reddish-brown coat.
She ignored me completely for five minutes, before turning in my direction. I scrambled to my feet a second before she reached me, preparing for the worst. The palomino followed close behind her, making soft snorts through her nose. She didn't seem happy either.
"It's okay," I said quietly, watching the horse's brown eyes size me up.
She flicked her ears back and forth, and muscles trembled under her skin from her neck down her sides. She was afraid of me.
"Good girl," I said quietly, "It's okay, girl. It's okay. I won't hurt you." I risked bringing my hand up for her to smell and she sniffed it forcefully. I left my palm up, hoping she would allow me to stroke her, and when she lowered her head slightly I gently placed my fingers between her eyes, caressing the flat space tenderly.
I looked over my shoulder at Connor who had retreated and was once again standing next to Kris, a smile spread out wide across my face. They gave me a little wave, but made no attempt to join me in the middle of the meadow.
"That's a good girl…" I murmured.
The bay shifted her weight between her front feet, breathing loudly through her nostrils as I stroked her and she stepped forward, closing the space between us. Her lowered head was just in front of me and I brought my other hand up so I could rub both sides of her neck. Everything was going well until with a sudden dip, the mare's head lowered before rising against my chest with a massive shove. I was off my feet and on my back instantly, the air exploding from my lungs in one forceful exhale.
Somewhere in the distance was Connor's voice, booming through the forest but it echoed off the trees and only made the ringing in my ears worse. Afraid the horse might trample me, I struggled to lift up on my elbows and raise my head so I knew which way to roll. Struggling to suck oxygen back into my nearly collapsed lungs, I looked up not to find the horse's hooves in my face, but her ass. She stood with her rear facing me, swishing her tail calmly from side to side, and grazing again. When the air finally came, my throat made an ugly sound as I gulped it down. And I laughed.
"Well played," I said between gulps. She didn't bother to turn to look at me she had made her point. I wasn't in charge of her.
"Jesus, you okay?" Connor's hands were on my shoulders, and though he was a male and a protective one at that, I couldn't help but find it funny that he made no attempt to put himself between me and the horses behind.
"Okay. Just…got the wind…knocked out of me." I sucked in more air and let Connor pull me up to my feet. My ribs weren't broken, but they hurt just as badly.
The palomino grazed her way toward us and stopped to sniff Connor's hair. He bristled as she muzzled against his face, stepping around him to smell his clothes.
"I think she likes you," I laughed at his wide-eyed expression.
"R-right. Let's hope she's not just picking out a good place to bite off a chunk of flesh," he said stoically as the palomino worked her way around the two of us. With a jump, I laughed when she snorted into my hair, sending the loose strands flying about from the heavy gusts of her breathing.
The bay stood watching her friend inspect us with interest. I doubted she truly wanted to injure us, or she would have already, but trusting - she was not. When I clicked my tongue at her, she whinnied and approached cautiously, stomping each of her feet almost as a reminder of what they could do to me if she chose to kick them against my head.
Connor tugged at my wrist as I stepped forward to meet her, but I shrugged him off. "It's okay. She needs to know we're friendly, besides, I don't think she wants to hurt us," I said over my shoulder at him.
"Riley, she just flattened you out. That didn't hurt enough?"
With a sigh, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled faintly at him. "Haven't you been around horses at all? You're from Ireland!"
"Not everyone from bloody Ireland rides horses!" he hissed back. His expression changed from irritation to concern as he looked beyond me and I turned around to find the bay's face inches from my own.
She smelled of dirt, grass, and old manure. Tentatively, I reached up again, placed my palm on the blaze between her eyes, and cautiously rubbed the coarse hair until she shifted.
"Riley…don't," Connor said quietly behind me.
I stepped along the side of the horse, running my hand under her tangled mane, across her shoulders and along her back. I patted her gently, returning my hand to her neck, scratching beneath her hair. The palomino was still inspecting Connor's hair and I smiled at him while he patted at the creature's neck.
"See?" I said, as the bay flicked her ears and turned into my scratching hand, "I told you, she just needs time to get to know us, is all."
When the bay turned around to stare at me, I could see the pain and fear that was imprinted in all our gazes. She was scared and just as lost as the rest of us.
"Don't worry girl, we'll take care of you." She sighed and snorted in response, bending down to finish her grazing while I alternated between pats and rubs up and down her side. An idea blurted from my mouth before I had the chance to properly consider it.
"Connor?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you ride?"
CHAPTER six
"You're crazy! I mean, certifiable, Riley. You can't be serious!" Connor stood with his feet firmly planted in the weedy grass, staring at me in disbelief. The shoulders of his shirt were covered in damps spots where the palomino had nibbled and nuzzled him. He was lucky the friendly horse hadn't grazed across his head, and trimmed his hair to the roots in the process.
"Think about it, Connor. The horses are pretty much all-terrain. We wouldn't need to worry about fuel or traffic; it makes sense, you know it does!" I stood as tall as my narrow frame would allow with my arms crossed at my chest, willing my face to look determined.
"I think you're nuts, Riley. Damn crazy," he mumbled into his hands as he dragged them down his face.
"Not to interject, but maybe she has a point," Winchester said. He stood next to the golden mare, his palm resting on her side. "I mean, at least Riley won't be crashing any bikes, right?" I was the only one that laughed.
The horses had eagerly followed us back to the lodge along the remnants of what used to be a trail leading to the main building. There was no stable on the property, but along the recreation building, was a wooden railing with posts that ran deep into the ground. It was the only place we could think of to keep the horses, but there was no way to contain them.
The bay mare was pretending to ignore us as she nibbled at the plants and grasses that bordered the trail and the main lawn, but I caught her peering up at me every time I glanced in her direction. Her large, brown eyes seemed hesitant, but willing to trust us. When we made eye contact, she would swish her tail and look back down at the ground to continue her grazing.
"Wait. Just wait," said Jacks, "Look, I've seen Riley ride, I know she can do it. But Riley," he turned to look at me, "Are you saying you want to ride a horse from the mountains of San Diego all the way to the city streets of Los Angeles? I mean, Connor's right…that's just crazy, babe." He put his hands up in the air and looked uncomfortable about picking sides. I tried hard not to glare at him.
"What the heck do you think people did before cars were invented? The bikes will only get us so far and plus, horses are quieter. People would hear us coming from miles away if we took bikes." I propped a
fist on my hip and pointed at Connor. "Besides, you said you could ride! Why does this idea bother you so much?"
"I said I could ride! Not that I particularly enjoyed doing it for days at a time! This would be a lot of work, Riley, a lot of work."
"I get that. But what else do we have to do? Is there something better on your schedule for this month?"
Connor and I glared at each other, neither of us willing to be the first to break. It was Skip that jumped in between us and put a hand on each of our shoulders. "Look kids, we don't need to figure this all out today, do we? We don't even know how to keep these beasts from wandering off. Let's just take this one day at a time. Let's go have a drink and relax for a bit. And for God's sake, someone's got to bathe them…I can't handle the stench for much longer." He crinkled his nose up to prove his point before walking past us, with an anxious Winchester in tow. Jacks shrugged at me and turned to follow the other two men as they made their way down the trail and back to the cabins.
Connor hadn't budged and Kris hadn't left her place next to the palomino, who seemed beyond pleased to have so much attention. The bay was still grazing, seemingly uninterested in the men that had left the group.
"Kris," I said over my shoulder, still looking at Connor's pissed expression, "Wanna go for a drive with me; pick up some horse supplies?"
"Yeah! But what about them, do we leave them here?"
"There's rope in the utility closet inside the rec room. I'll get it," I said, finally tearing my eyes from Connor and his flushed cheeks to stomp up the nearby steps.
He was still standing in the same place when I came back with the rope. "This should work, if they'll let me tie them to the post, that is," I said, half under my breath. It was the first time I had ever tied a horse to anything, so I did my best at making the knot secure, without making the loop around their necks too loose. The palomino was completely pliant, allowing me to lead her to the railing and secure her rope to it without as much as a whinny. She resumed grazing at the base of one of the posts, as if she belonged there.
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