He approached her as if they knew each other and whispered something in her ear. The next thing he knew, Snow doubled over in pain and screamed bloody murder. What Garrett saw next, he only read about in novels. A big black bear stood where Snow sat only moments ago. Garrett shook his head, thinking he only drank one beer, and someone must’ve laced it with something.
“What the fuck, man? Shoot it,” Buddy shouted at Garrett. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at him. Buddy wore a weapon. If he wanted to shoot it, let him. The only person he felt concerned about was Snow.
“Where did Snow go? What the hell did you do?”Garrett demanded of the stranger, who completely ignored him while he spoke to the sleek black bear.
The animal coughed and shook its head in understanding, only further confusing Garrett more.
Garrett raised his gun in the air and discharged it in the nearly deserted street, hoping to scare the damn thing off. Unable to see the other side of the bike with the stranger’s body blocking his view, he envisioned Snow lying helplessly on the ground and bleeding. The bear took off toward the trees and disappeared. Garrett ran to the opposite side to aid Snow, only to find nothing.
He shook his head in disbelief and ran his hand through his hair. Frank and Buddy ran back into the bar. Not knowing what else to do, Garrett took off to where he last saw the bear. He didn’t know what the hell happened, but he was determined to get to the bottom of this shit or admit himself to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.
“I can’t handle this shit,” he shouted as a roar echoed through the trees.He searched the woods but found no sign of her.
He walked out of the edge of the woods toward the back of the bar, debating on calling the cops and reporting her as missing. Garrett doubted they’d believe his story, considering he didn’t know what happened. Imagining their questions, they’d probably chalk it up to him being drunk or on drugs. He glanced up to find the stranger, who scared Snow off, staring at him. Rage flowed through his body as he stalked toward the man, determined to get some answers from him.
The man paused, trying to act unaffected by Garrett’s expression. “Hey, man, I don’t want any trouble,” he said. “My phone’s dead, and I need to call my brother.”
Garrett didn’t give a shit who he needed to call. He only wanted answers. “Where’s Snow?” he demanded.
“That’s why I need a phone. I lost her,” he explained.
“You lost her? Fuck off. If you need to call someone, go use the one in the bar,” Garrett snapped. Seeing the stranger there, he turned back toward the woods. Snow might’ve hunkered down to hide if she saw his bike still behind hers.
“Snow, it’s me. You can come out now,” Garrett called every few minutes. He stopped to hear any trace of her but heard nothing but the animals. He walked the whole perimeter and headed back toward his truck. Daylight was fast approaching and his anxiety increased as he worried about her. Snow might’ve hitched a ride and returned to the only safe place she knew, Mystic Ranch.
Getting in his truck, Garrett headed back to the bunk house. Before dawn, the place felt deserted, since all the hands went into town in search of some form of entertainment. He grabbed a flashlight and made a mental list of places she might hide on the ranch. It’s not as if she didn’t have reason to hide there. Some of the other workers constantly teased Snow. The women did it out of jealousy. Her tall stature, sleek black hair, and piercing green eyes caught a lot of attention from the men. The fact that she seemed aloof and paid the men no attention drew more scrutiny from them. When she brushed off their advances, some of them took it personally and made her life a living hell.
Recalling how they connected, the evening started when Frank and Buddy began their antics by loosening the cinch on her horse, causing her to fall off in front of the cowboys. Laughter and jeers sent her running into one of the barns. Garrett shook his head at the assholes before following her. After several harmless pranks earlier in the day, they finallygot to her. It typically didn’t work with Snow, and her running off concerned him.
“Snow,” Garrett called, entering the building he watched her run into. Standing still, he listened for any indication of her. A slight sniff in one of the back stalls clued him in on her hiding place.
“Hey,” he said, squatting down on his haunches. Garrett brushed her hair away from her tear-streaked face. “Don’t let them get to you. They’re assholes.”
“I’m sick of being the butt of their jokes because I refuse to let them paw me. I can’t even bend over to pick something up without one of them grabbing my ass,” she said, angrily.
“I know,” he said gently. “How about I get us a couple of drinks, and we go for a walk? It sometimes helps me to clear my head,” Garrett coaxed.
She sat in silence for a minute before she brushed the hair out of her eyes and regained her composure. Snow nodded. “All right. I have to put Gus back in his stall. I never should’ve left him out there with them.”
“They won’t hurt him. Mr. Baron will have their asses if they mistreat one of the horses. Why don’t I get him taken care of, while you talk Nan into giving us some of her homemade cookies and a couple of beers?”
She smiled. “Thanks, Garrett. You didn’t have to come find me.” Her green eyes searched his, and he felt the warm ripple of a connection between them.
Garrett rose and returned to the corral, where all the cowboys leaned against the metal fencing while Frank and Buddy startled Snow’s horse and made it a game. Some of them sent dirty glances in their direction, while the other half seemed too surprised by their stupidity to do anything about it. Garrett let himself in, picking up the saddle and tossing it to one of the hands he trusted before turning to the Houser brothers.
“You’ve enjoyed your fun. Leave the horse alone,” he said firmly.
“Who the hell are you to tell us what to do?” Frank approached him, sticking out his chest like a jaded peacock.
Garrett didn’t hesitate as he slammed his fist into Frank’s belly. “Baron won’t be happy about you tormenting the animals. Consider this my warning,” he growled at him. Taking Gus’ lead, he led him away from the clowns. Buddy seemed too occupied with helping Frank to care anymore about taunting the poor animal.
Garrett led him to his stall and rubbed him down. “Don’t worry. I found Snow. I’m sure she’ll check on you a bit later. She needs to cool down a bit,” he told Gus as he got him fresh water and pulled an apple from the bucket.
The horse settled as if he understood. Snow possessed an uncanny ability to connect with all the animals, and they loved her, especially Gus.
When Garrett returned, Snow waited for him with a bundle in her hand and two ice-cold beers. He took it from her and let her carry the drinks. Garrett turned left onto a hidden trail he found six months ago when he arrived. It slowly became his favorite place to wind down at the end of a long day or to quiet his chaotic thoughts. Returning home from the military, Garrett didn’t quite fit in with the men here. Something inside him changed while he watched people die day after day, and Garrett knew he needed to get the hell out when his time ran out.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she sighed when she saw the giant rock overlooking the valley below. “I thought I knew everything about this place.”
