by Sable Sylvan
Jason started to walk toward Olivia to claim his prize, but this time, it was Jason who made the mistake of not watching his opponents. Richard came up from behind and pushed Jason with his front legs. Jason turned to fight Richard like a boxer, forelegs up and protecting his muzzle at all times as he made sharp jabs at Richard, fighting more like a man than a beast. Jason pushed Richard further backward. When Jason thought he had Richard in a corner, Richard faked him out, moving just as Jason lunged. Jason fell into the petting zoo, breaking the fence dividing the petting zoo from the rest of the rodeo. Luckily, no animals were hurt, but a river of goats, pigs, and sheep took it as a chance to make their grand escape.
As the barnyard animals hurried around the rodeo, the shifters continued their fight. Jason and Matthew were up and ready to fight Richard, but just as they all lifted up their forelegs to continue their brawl, they heard a sharp voice ring out through the chaos.
“Enough!” shouted Olivia. “Look around you. You ruined everything. I don’t know what you expected would happen from fighting in front of me, but I’m sorry I suggested a ménage. I’m sorry I thought I wanted to date any of you. The biggest mistake I’ve ever made was thinking I could have something nice for once, but now, I can’t have the ménage, a relationship, or, apparently, a fundraiser for the library. Thanks a lot. Don’t call me.”
Olivia stormed off toward her car. She’d seen enough for one day, for one summer.
All three of the horses started off after Olivia, but Cayenne galloped up and stopped them with the breadth of her large horse, Strand.
“Don’t you three dare to chase after her,” threatened Cayenne, looking over the three horses. “You can’t win her back doing more of what you just did. Get your houses in order before you next go a-courtin’ at hers, you hear? The last thing she wants is more drama. I’ve never seen her this mad before. You’re going to have to move Heaven and earth to get her back, so until I see that sky shaking and feel the earth moving ‘neath my feet, I don’t want to see any of your sorry selves again. You may be horse shifters, but today, you proved you’re either jackasses…or dumb asses.”
Chapter Seven
Matthew hadn’t had to say a damn thing to run alongside his herd, and that’s precisely how he liked it. He’d run by their sides after finding a branch of his herd that was in the area. He’d run with them as far and as fast as he could run. He stopped when he felt water against his calves and remembered the last time his shift had run through water, and with whom. He finally realized that he wasn’t the happiest he’d ever been like he usually was when running with his own. No. He was the loneliest he’d been in his life, even surrounded by his herd, shifters whom he should’ve felt the most at home with, especially running through the vast Texas plains.
Richard was at his herd’s cigar club in Dallas, watching a cross herd deal go down when he realized what he had to do. He had to call the two people he didn’t want to see. That was the only way he could see the one person he did want to see…and the fact he didn’t even want to pick up the phone, well, that was half his problem. Suddenly, his tie and sports coat felt tight around his firm torso. He couldn’t believe it had taken that long for him to realize it.
Jason was running through the deserts of Texas when he’d gotten the call from Richard. He was out of his shift, sitting on a dune and eating a sandwich while staring at the sunset and thinking about his past week. He’d come out to the desert to clear his head in private, this time, running without his herd. Usually, getting off the dude ranch was a relief, and so was escaping into his shift, but the trip to the desert had been the loneliest road trip of Jason’s life, and all he found himself wanting was to go back and see Olivia. If, as Richard claimed, he had the key to getting back in Olivia’s good graces, he was willing to work with the rat bastard. Jason packed his kit up and headed straight back to the ranch, not even stopping to kick the sand out of his feet.
“What exactly is it you wanted to talk about?” asked Jason, looking at Richard, confused as to why his rival had called this meeting. He was expecting to be challenged to a fight and came ready to brawl, in or out of shift, but the fact that Matthew was there meant that this meeting might just be legit.
“What do you think?” asked Richard. “Olivia.”
“You know you don’t belong with her, right?” Jason asked.
“Like you do?” asked Matthew.
“Guys, this is exactly why I called this meeting,” said Richard. “We need to put this herd drama aside. Look. Do either of you have a problem with each other or with me?”
“Yeah,” said Jason.
“Of course,” said Matthew. “What kind of a question is that?”
“Now…do either of you have a problem with each other or with me that doesn’t have to do with herds or Olivia?” asked Richard.
“No,” admitted Jason. “You two aren’t that bad…you just aren’t who I’d pick to be in a ménage with.”
“Same,” Matthew said begrudgingly, hating the fact he agreed with Jason.
“Then why can’t we all be in a ménage with Olivia?” asked Richard. “We just have to get along, and if we do, we get to be with the girl of our dreams, our fated mate. Look. Ask yourselves this. If we were all in the same herd, would you be okay with the ménage?”
“Absolutely,” said Matthew. “Ménages are super common.”
“He’s right,” Jason agreed.
“So the only problem we have…is that we’re part of different herds?” asked Richard. “Olivia didn’t ask to be part of this shifter drama or the herd system. We’re not the only ones getting punished by this feud. The person who is being the most hurt is Olivia. We need to put aside our differences for her.”
“You think we can do that?” asked Matthew.
“I know we can if we work hard at it,” Richard said. “So here’s what I propose. For the next week, we need to be on each other like butter on a biscuit. We need to find things about each other we like, that we can more than tolerate, so we can become friends. Only then will we be able to get Olivia back.”
“And you’re certain this will work?” asked Matthew.
“Of course it will,” Richard assured. “We’ll just become friends, tell her we’ll rebuild the damage we did to the rodeo, and she’s bound to take us back.”
“Then I’m willing to give this a shot…for Olivia,” said Jason. “When do we start?”
“Right fuckin’ now,” said Richard, pulling out a jigsaw puzzle. “We’re going to sit here, do this puzzle, and learn to work together.”
Chapter Eight
Olivia was sitting with Cayenne at The Matchstick Grill, picking at her lunch.
“It’s not like you not to eat,” said Cayenne. “Is there something wrong with the food?”
“The food’s great,” Olivia said, forcing herself to take a bite. “It’s just…I don’t have an appetite.” She pushed her food around the plate.
“You are eating, right?” asked Cayenne “You gotta eat, hon.”
“Yeah, I am. But I just don’t feel hungry like I usually do.”
“I get it,” said Cayenne. “It’s about the horses, right?”
“I just can’t believe they pulled that shit at the rodeo. They knew how much the rodeo meant to me. Why couldn’t they save their drama for the ranch? Why did they have to do it at the rodeo?”
“I don’t know, hon,” said Cayenne. “Shifter men can be downright boneheaded when they let their shifts take over.”
“That’s no excuse,” said Olivia. “How many shifters do you see pulling this kind of stuff on a regular basis? The world would be chaos if this were normal.”
“The world is chaotic,” Cayenne said. “And this stuff does happen all the time, with humans and with shifters. Trust me. You think the guys don’t argue at the Mesquite Manor?”
“Right: they do it at home,” said Olivia. “Not in public. Not where they can embarrass people.”
“Weren’t you the one who
told me not to worry so much about being embarrassed?” asked Cayenne. “Maybe you need to let down your hair and relax, Rapunzel girly. You gotta let down those walls.”
“This is one of the principles I have that I just can’t let go of,” said Olivia. “I know I don’t look like appearances matter much to me, but social appearances do.”
“Olivia?” called a voice.
Olivia turned. Behind her were three cowboys, hats in hand.
“And what exactly do you want?” asked Olivia when they approached her table.
“We came to apologize,” said Richard. “We talked about everything and realized our herd affiliations shouldn’t come between you and us.”
“We should’ve kept the shifter drama to ourselves,” Jason added.
“We’re willing to do a ménage with you,” said Matthew.
“You’re willing? Great,” Olivia said before taking a sip of her beer. “I’m not willing. I’m not dating the three of you.”
“What?” asked Jason. “We apologized.”
“I didn’t hear a real apology,” said Olivia.
“We’re sorry for messing up your rodeo,” said Richard. “We’ll rebuild the petting zoo.”
“First off, don’t waste your time rebuilding it,” said Olivia. “The farmer has pulled support for the rodeo and won’t be contributing animals to the petting zoo, so there is no petting zoo. Secondly, you did more than just mess up the rodeo. I don’t know why I thought you would be able to figure out what I wanted. Just leave. I’m trying to eat lunch, and you’re ruining my appetite.”
“Fine,” said Jason. “Guys, let’s go.”
Olivia watched as all three of the horse shifters left. Was she making the right decision in rejecting them?
“You don’t look like you’re confident in what you just did,” said Cayenne.
“They haven’t made things right,” said Olivia. “I don’t care about words. I care about actions. I want to see that they care. Anyone can say sorry. Not everyone can put in the hard work to make things better. It looks like not one of the three is up to the challenge of earning my forgiveness.”
Cayenne sighed and shook her head before saying, “I think what you might end up needing to ask yourself, Olivia, is whether or not you’re up to the challenge of learning to forgive them.”
“Back to the drawing board,” said Jason with a sigh as they got into the SUV.
“I don’t get it,” said Richard. “I thought that’s what she wanted, for us to get along.”
“Maybe that’s not enough,” said Matthew.
“Not enough?” asked Richard.
“She said she wants us to do something that shows we’ve changed,” said Matthew. “She wants a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice? Like animals on a pyre?” asked Jason.
“No, like a sacrifice of our time and energy for something,” Matthew clarified.
“Okay, so what exactly can we do to impress her?” asked Jason.
“It’s not about impressing her,” said Matthew. “This isn’t about grand gestures. This isn’t about rooms full of roses. That’s not the kind of woman Olivia is. She’s a woman with principles, with values, who is more than a little hard to please. It’s about showing we care, in a real way, in a way that undoes the damage we did.”
“I thought that offering to fix the petting zoo was going to be enough,” said Richard. “I didn’t realize the farmer had pulled out of providing animals for the petting zoo.”
“So we just need to find another farmer willing to contribute animals to the petting zoo,” said Jason. “Easy peasy.”
“You guys…you realize there’s a super obvious solution to all this, don’t you?” asked Matthew.
Matthew explained his plan to the guys.
“Matt, that’s…either the dumbest thing I’ve heard, or the most brilliant thing I’ve heard, or both,” said Jason.
“It’s just so crazy that it might just work,” admitted Richard.
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Matthew. “We’ve got a fated mate to win back.”
Chapter Nine
It was the last Friday before the Fallowedirt Rodeo opening. Olivia got up bright and early and packed Cayenne’s dress in her car before heading to the rodeo to help set up for the Children’s Day event. Cayenne had texted her and let her know that she’d booked a last minute children’s entertainer, but Olivia wasn’t excited to see what bottom of the barrel act had decided that they were now ‘children’s entertainment.’
Olivia got out of the car and saw that the parking lot was surprisingly crowded. She headed straight to Cayenne’s trailer to drop off the dress, avoiding the crowds of kids as it was far too early for her to be dealing with small humans, but that’s when she realized the rodeo wasn’t filled with kids yet. Loose animals were wandering around the rodeo, but none of the staff was freaking out, so neither did Olivia. Olivia nearly dropped the dress in confusion.
“Kai?” called Olivia, knocking on the trailer.
“Hey,” Cayenne said, opening the trailer door. “Oh, yay! You finished the dress?”
“Yeah, and you’re gonna love it,” said Olivia.
“Come on, there’s something you’re going to love,” said Cayenne. She put the dress down in the trailer and walked with Olivia out to the food court, where vendors were set up for Children’s Day. Cayenne bought them each a fancy coffee (a vanilla latte for Cayenne, a cinnamon mocha for Olivia), and they walked and talked.
“What exactly is going on?” asked Olivia.
“We found a replacement petting zoo,” said Cayenne. “Or, rather, they found us.”
“I don’t understand,” said Olivia.
“You see all the animals wandering around?” asked Cayenne. “They’re no ordinary animals. They’re shifters.”
“You mean it’s a shifter petting zoo?” asked Olivia.
“Yup! There’re your standard barnyard animals, but also wild animals, like bears, cougars, bobcats, and wolves, and some animals you couldn’t usually touch, like bulls,” said Cayenne.
“How did they find the rodeo?” asked Olivia.
“They were brought here by three horses,” said Cayenne.
“You don’t mean…”
“That’s right,” said Cayenne. “Matthew, Richard, and Jason called me up as a group last night. They suggested replacing the petting zoo animals with shifter cowboys from the dude ranch. After all, they’re used to being handled by humans. It lets the kids touch some animals they’ve never touched before, like the bears and wolves, and they’re not dangerous.”
“Uh-huh. If those three cowboys organized this, where are there sorry asses?” asked Olivia.
“Right this way,” said Cayenne.
Olivia walked with Cayenne toward a station that was set up with a bevy of horses, a bunch of carts of horse grooming tools, and three shifters in flannel shirts who stood up from their folding chairs upon seeing Olivia.
“Hello, boys,” said Olivia. “Cayenne told me you three are responsible for putting the petting zoo ‘back together,’ as it were.”
“That’s right,” said Matthew.
“Richard got us all together and suggested we work together and learn to get along,” said Jason.
“We may all be from different herds, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends,” said Matthew. “So…what do you think?”
“It’s still too early for me to evaluate the situation,” said Olivia. “We’ll see if you three are still talking by the end of the day. I rarely give second chances. I never give third chances. If y’all fuck today up, you won’t be seeing me again. Got it?”
“Got it,” promised Richard. Jason and Matthew nodded in agreement.
“I’ve got to work with Cayenne on supervising the event,” Olivia said. “I’m not here to hang out…but if I hear about any drama, your asses are grass.”
“Of course,” said Jason.
Olivia and Cayenne left.
“Weren’t you a
little harsh?” asked Cayenne.
“You’re pretty quick to forgive their shenanigans,” said Olivia. “Are you forgetting the damage they did last week?”
“No,” said Cayenne. “But what I am doing is focusing on what they’re doing today. They’ve obviously had a change of heart. Have a little faith in them.”
“I’ll believe they’ve changed when I see it,” said Olivia.
Cayenne took a bunch of pictures to post on social media to promote the updates to the Children’s Day event, and as parents trickled in and posted pics of their own online, the event snowballed. Olivia was running ticket sales and saw sales increase as more and more cars parked in the lot. A rodeo volunteer had to open up the overflow parking lot. The number one question parents asked Olivia was where to find the petting zoo.
“It’s so nice to have an event where there are none of the scary animals in the arena,” said a woman with three kids in tow. “Plus, look at these cowboys. Aren’t they just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” The woman showed Olivia something on her phone.
It was a social media post from another mom, and in the picture, Matthew, Jason, and Richard were showing a crew of kids how to brush the older shifter draft horses that were patiently letting the kids practice grooming them. Matthew and Jason were working together, lifting up a kid and helping the kid brush a horse, while Richard looked like a total dad, crouching down to show a kid how to feed a horse.
