Chapter 9 #3
He nickered and shook his mane.
“I got a friend you should meet. Come ‘ere.” She pulled a sugar cube from a pocket and held it out on her flat palm.
The horse came closer, but his eyes were mostly on the dog. Beans began to wiggle, wagging his tail, but staying where he was.
Sundance lowered his head over the fence. The dog took a step nearer, and their noses touched. Then Sundance leapt backward a little, and pawed the ground with a forefoot, and the puppy crouched, ready to spring in response.
“Is Sundance playing with him?” Jeremiah asked.
“Sure looks that way,” Willow said. “Good boy, Sundance. That’s a good boy.” She again offered a sugar cube. Sundance nuzzled her flat palm to eat it, and Beans sniffed as high as he could reach without jumping to get a whiff of the treat. She dug in her pocket and fed the pup a sugar cube, too.
Beans took it into his mouth, then pushed it back out again. It hit the ground, and Sundance leaned all the way down to snatch it, then turned and walked away.
“Do you want to go for a ride, Gringo?”
He glanced at the pup.
“Beans can ride with you,” she said.
“I don’t think teaching him to jump on a horse’s back is the best idea.
He’ll be too big soon.” Besides, he didn’t think she ought to even try riding yet.
He’d been paying attention to her on their walk out there, and her stride wasn’t as strong as before.
She was moving oddly, extra slow, extra cautious, wobbling here and there, holding her head a lot.
“Next time,” he said. “But let’s introduce him around, though.”
She was disappointed, he could tell, but they walked around the pasture with the dog, and most of the horses leaned down to sniff and nuzzle him. Beans was loving it.
Willow had a treat for every horse, carrots and sugar cubes in her pockets.
“This is Butch,” she said, feeding a carrot to Sundance’s twin.
“He’s not as spirited as Sundance. A nice calm ride.
” She patted the horse’s neck and it leaned into her as if returning the embrace.
“Yes, you’re a good boy, aren't you, Butchy?”
Butch blew noisily and stomped and Willow laughed. An inside joke between the two of them, apparently.
Another horse came plodding up, mottled white and rather shaggy. “Hello, Daisy.”
This horse, too, replied to her with a shake of her mane.
“It’s right here, don’t get so bossy!” Willow produced an apple this time. “Just for you, old girl,” she said, ruffling the mare’s mane between her ears with one hand, holding the apple in the other.
Daisy took the apple in her teeth and trotted away as if she’d just won the lottery.
“Daisy’s a rescue. Humane Society called the Sheriff’s Department for help placing her after she was removed. She’d been half-starved, hooves were so long they were curlin’ up.” Her face turned angry. “Well, naturally, we took her.”
“Naturally,” he said, though he didn’t see it as a given the way she obviously did. “It’s a beautiful spread.”
“Thanks. I love it here, and I love the ranch. But it’s on Comanche land.”
“But…you’re Comanche, aren’t you?”
She said, “Comanche don’t believe in ownin’ land. We’re just its caregivers and in return the land sustains us.” She nodded toward where the creek ran through the horse pasture. “Mom thinks there might’ve been a village down there.”
“That’s exciting.” She seemed something other than excited though. A little sad, a little contemplative. “How do you feel about it?”
“I’m still tryin’ to figure that out. One thing I do know, I’m their only child, so they’ll be leavin’ this place to me, and I don’t want or need nine-hundred acres.”
“You’re thinking of selling it?”
“I’d never sell Skydancer Ranch.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“I’m givin’ it back.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re what now?”
“Givin’ it back to the tribe. I’d like to carve just a little piece for myself. The house and a few acres. Just enough for me and a coupl’a horses.”
He was stunned right to his toes. “Do you have any idea how much all that land is worth?”
“Yeah,” she said, gazing out toward the horizon.
You could see forever looking east, as the hills were only little rises.
“It’s priceless. And it’s not really mine to give.
It’s Comanche land. It was stolen.” She looked again past the barn toward the creek.
“I intended to take you down there to show you my favorite spot, but…dang, Gringo, I’m tired out already. ”
“I had a feeling you would be.” He turned his back to her and crouched lower. “Climb aboard. Unless you think it’ll make Sundance jealous.”
“Piggy back?”
He looked at her over his shoulder, and saw her skeptical brow. “You said you wanted to go riding.”
He was surprised when she put her arms and legs around him.
He’d expected her to argue a little more.
Then he forgot everything, including how to breathe.
But he managed to straighten up and started back along the trail toward the house, carrying her on his back.
“If you happen to come to the bunkhouse, don’t think badly of me for the fridge full of beer. It was for the bonfire, but—”
“Whaddya mean was?”
“Well, obviously we didn’t hold the bonfire without you, and we’re sure as heck not having it on your second night home from the hospital.”
He felt her twisting around to reach behind her, and the next thing he knew she was holding her phone in front of his head with both hands, so she could text and hang on at the same time. “Bunkhouse bonfire is ON. Tonight. There’d better be pizza.”
She returned the phone to her back pocket and kicked his thighs. “Giddyap!”
He took off at a lopsided gallop, and she laughed like a little kid. And then when she stopped laughing, and he stopped galloping, out of breath, she said, “You can put me down now.”
“You sure?” He stopped moving and turned his head to look up at her. They were only a few yards from the front door of her cottage.
She bent lower and kissed him upside down. He raised his arms to thread his fingers into her hair, pulled her down a little closer, and kissed her back. It was long and slow, and she sucked at his lower lip and made his blood heat.
When the kiss ended, she slid to the ground.A throat cleared. Drew was standing in the driveway, just in front of the cottage.