Chapter 8 #2
Hunter tilted his head. “It’s never too late to learn. I could teach you.”
She smiled up at him. “I’d like that, but I don’t think I’ll be around long enough.”
Hunter’s chest tightened. He didn’t want to think of Savvie moving on and leaving West Yellowstone.
Against his better judgment and years of avoiding involvement, he couldn’t squelch the desire to get to know her better.
“The offer remains open. You should at least let me show you the basics. Then you can decide whether you want to learn more when you settle on a place to live.” He hoped that place she settled on was right there in the small Montana town.
“You have a good point,” she said.
He led the way out of the tack room and stopped in front of one of the stalls.
“This is Rusty.” The sorrel gelding poked his head over the top of the gate and nuzzled Hunter’s hand.
“Sorry, dude.” He held up his empty hands for the horse to inspect. “No apple today.”
Rusty tossed his head, clearly annoyed that Hunter hadn’t brought him the usual treat. He settled for a scratch behind the ears.
They moved to the next stall, where a palomino mare whinnied softly.
“Hey, Duchess.” Hunter stroked the mare’s nose. “Duchess is the grand dame of the trio. She has the most grace and sweetest temperament.”
Savvie reached out and touched the mare’s nose. “She’s so soft.”
The mare lifted her head, sniffed Savvie’s hair and then lowered her head for more petting.
Savvie smiled. “She’s beautiful.”
Hunter leaned toward Savvie and whispered in a conspiratorial voice, “I think she knows it.”
“As she should,” Savvie said. “Isn’t that right, Duchess?”
Duchess tossed her head in agreement.
Savvie chuckled.
The sound warmed Hunter’s heart. He wanted her to make the sound more often. She probably hadn’t had many occasions to laugh.
The next stall contained a bay gelding. “This is Frisco. He’s younger than the other two and a little higher strung, but he usually settles down once you’re in the saddle.”
Frisco draped his head over the stall gate and nibbled at Savvie’s hair.
“Dude,” she said, “it may look like hay, but it’s not.”
Savvie pulled her hair behind her ears and looked around.
Hunter stood in the middle of the barn. “That’s all the horses for now. Hank and Stone had originally planned to convert the entire barn into offices, but we all agreed we had enough room in the loft and would rather use the lower portion of the barn for its original purpose.”
He waved to the other side of the barn, where a collection of machines lined the wall.
“We have a collection of four-wheelers and snowmobiles we can use to get around in the mountains if we don’t want to take the horses.
” He looked around. “So, that’s the barn.
And you know what’s upstairs. The other large outbuilding is where the tractor and implements are stored and where Tinker works on anything that needs to be fixed. All his tools are stored there.”
Savvie’s gaze went to the last stall at the end of the barn. “Aren’t you curious about the surprise Tinker mentioned?”
Hunter laughed. “I am. I was waiting for you to say something. Come on. Let’s check it out.”
They walked to the last stall.
Hunter looked over the gate and didn’t see anything but wood shavings on the stall floor. “Hmm. I don’t see anything.” He opened the door and stepped inside.
Something moved in the corner to his left. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, turned on the flashlight app and shined it into the corner.
A pair of eyes blinked at him, and a soft meow sounded in response to being blinded by the light.
Hunter approached slowly and squatted in front of an orange tabby cat curled up in the corner. “Hey, there. You’re the cat I’ve seen hanging around.”
The cat turned and licked at tiny little mouse-like creatures pressed against her belly.
“What is it?” Savvie asked from the gate.
“Come see,” he invited and moved aside so Savvie could kneel next to him.
He shined the light onto the mama cat and her litter of kittens.
“Oh,” Savvie sat back on her heels. “They’re so tiny.”
“She must have had them recently.” Hunter studied the little ones. “I count five. What do you get?”
Savvie nodded. “Five. Two orange tabbies like their mama, two gray and whites and one calico.”
“Eventually, we’ll have to find homes for the kittens and catch mama to have her spayed. But for now, she’s got a warm, dry place to keep them safe.” Hunter pushed to his feet and backed out of the stall.
Savvie stood for a moment longer, a smile curling the corners of her lips. When she stepped through the gate, she gave him a wistful smile. “I never had a pet growing up.”
“Not even a cat?”
Her lips twisted into a frown. “We lived in an apartment that didn’t allow animals.
When we moved into Ralph’s house, he had a fenced backyard, perfect for a dog.
” She shook her head. “He refused to let us get a dog. A neighbor’s dog strayed into his front yard once, tail wagging and eager to make a new friend.
He kicked it so hard it cried all the way back to his home.
” Savvie’s lips pressed together in a tight line.
“How a man treats animals says a lot about his character,” Hunter noted.
“True.” Savvie sighed. “After that, I didn’t ask for a pet. He would have hurt it, too. I would never subject an animal to that kind of abuse.”
“I grew up near a small town in the Hill Country of Texas,” Hunter said.
“We had a small farm, raised a few cows, rode horses and had a variety of pets. Of course, the usual cats and dogs. I had a miniature donkey that followed me around. She thought she was one of the dogs. We trained her to pull a little cart in the annual Fourth of July parade.” He smiled.
“I haven’t thought about Annabel for a long time. ”
“You have brothers and sisters?” she asked.
He nodded. “Two sisters and one brother. I was number three of four. During the summer, we ran wild like feral cats. We’d leave the house first thing in the morning and didn’t come back until dark.
Our friends would come from town, and we’d ride horses, go fishing, swim in the creek and camp out under the stars. ”
“Sounds like you had an idyllic childhood,” Savvie said. “Why didn’t you stay in your small town? What made you join the Army?”
Hunter’s smile faded, and his gaze moved from Savvie to the far corner of the barn. “Things happened. I couldn’t stay.” He’d gotten out as soon as he’d graduated high school and hadn’t gone back since. Not even to visit his family.
“Hunter?” Savvie frowned up at him. “What happened?”
He stood silent, unhappy memories pushing out the good ones.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.” Savvie touched his arm. “Although, what could be worse than shooting your stepfather?”
He gave a short bark of laughter that held no joy. “What could be worse than killing a man who deserved to die?” He steeled himself for the rush of guilt and regrets that never failed to overwhelm him when he thought back to that fateful day. “What’s worse is killing your high school sweetheart.”