AN: I hope you enjoy this little fic! Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think of it! :)
Lost
The dusty road to Echo Village was narrow along this stretch, and heavily lined with bushes and brambles. Most of the time it didn't matter—it was wide enough for the caravan, and they rarely met anyone on the path. But this hot summer morning, as they led the carts and animals towards the village, Neil heard the thunder of hoofbeats galloping up the road behind them, then slowing as the rider reined in his horse, unable to pass. He didn't bother to glance back—they were already going as fast as they could, so there was nothing else to be done until the road widened again. Luckily for the horseman, it wouldn't be much farther.
Finally the tangled growth of brambles and bushes gave way to grass, and he heard the rider urge his horse on to pass them by. Rod called a friendly greeting as horse and rider trotted by, swishing through the tall grass. However, instead of passing Neil, he slowed again, keeping his horse to a walk as he drew up alongside him. Glancing up in annoyance, he first noticed the horse—a rangy black Appaloosa, large black spots splashed over the blanket of snowy white on his hindquarters. The rider was dressed in black, with a brown leather vest and boots and a black cowboy hat. His silver hair was unkempt and his face unshaven, and he mirrored Neil's expression with an amethyst glare of his own.
"Whaddya want?" Neil snapped.
"You an animal dealer?" the cowboy asked.
Shit, is this guy for real? Neil thought to himself. "No, I'm a fucking ballerina."
Ignoring his sarcastic reply, the cowboy nodded his head. "Thought as much. That's my line of work, too."
"Well, la-di-dah. Do you actually want something, or did you just wake up this morning and decide that today you were going to annoy the shit out of a total stranger, and I drew the short straw?"
"I'm looking for someone. A rancher, probably, or farmer. Got any of those around here?"
Neil snorted in disbelief. "What do you think, I sell cattle to rich housewives? Yeah, there's a bunch of them around here, but only one in town."
"Yeah? What's his name?"
"Hers," Neil corrected automatically, then cursed to himself when he saw the small, triumphant smile curling the corners of the man's mouth.
"A woman, huh? Where can I find her?"
Neil paused. He didn't like the idea of sending this guy on to Rio's farm when she was all alone there. Yeah, she had her dogs, but they were herd dogs—not guard dogs. And he didn't know what this fellow wanted with her.
Finally he said, "Give me a few minutes to get into town and get my animals settled, then I can take you there."
The cowboy narrowed his eyes at Neil. "I don't need an escort," he said flatly.
"Maybe not, but you're getting one, whether you like it or not," Neil snapped.
The cowboy hesitated, then shrugged. "Fine. Is there an inn in town?"
"Yeah, just keep on this road straight through town. It's on the far side, just to the north. You'll see it on the bluff, overlooking this road."
"And where will I find you?"
"In the plaza, just a little east of the inn. Just follow the sounds of animals."
"Then I'll get a room and meet you there in… how long will it take you to get ready?"
"I'll be finished setting up by 10:00," Neil replied, glancing back to be sure his animals were keeping up as he spoke.
The cowboy urged his horse ahead, calling back, "See ya then."
Neil glanced at his pocket watch impatiently. He'd moved faster than usual, and had finished setting up with ten minutes to spare before that man was supposed to meet him. He scowled in irritation. Maybe he should have just given him directions. Rio was a big girl, and she could take care of herself. Then he remembered the subtly triumphant look on that man's face, and thought maybe an escort wasn't such a bad idea, after all.
Two minutes before the hour, he heard hoofbeats approaching down the road. Turning, he saw the cowboy riding up the path to the plaza, the horse's iron shoes clattering on the cobblestone. He nodded to Neil and dismounted, then stood waiting impatiently while Neil set out his "Come back later" sign and asked Rod to keep an eye on things for a while. He'd apparently made arrangements for a room, since he'd cleaned himself up—his hair was still damp, his face was clean-shaven, and the trail grime had been washed from his face and dusted from his clothing.
"Won't it be faster if we ride?" he asked Neil as they started back down the same road, him leading his horse by its reins.
Neil shrugged. "Maybe. But I like to let my horse rest and graze after that long haul. Besides, it's not all that far. Why, you in some kind of a hurry or something?"
"What? No! I…. Well, okay, I guess maybe I am, a little. It's not urgent, though. I just want to… to take care of my business as quickly as I can."
Neil glanced sharply at the cowboy, but he was staring ahead, lost in his own private thoughts as they walked through town. Soon they reached the head of the long gravel drive down to Rio's farm, but Neil hesitated before turning down it. "Listen," he began, glaring at the stranger, "I don't know what you want with her, but I'll tell you this—she's well-regarded and beloved by the entire village. So if you mean her any harm…." His voice trailed off, leaving the threat unspoken but unmistakable.
The cowboy looked at him with amused disdain. "Cool it, son. I don't plan to hurt anyone—so far." Then he turned down the drive, and Neil stood and glared after him for a moment before hurrying to catch up to him.
As they approached the barns, Neil heard Rio's voice shouting from somewhere within. "Iroha? Is that you? It sounds like you finally gave in and got that horse I said you should get! I told you that you'd—" Her voice halted midsentence as she rounded the corner and came into full view, stopping dead in her tracks as she caught sight of her visitors, her bright blue eyes opening wide in shock.
"Rio?" the stranger said, his voice slightly strangled with emotion. He took a half-step towards her, then dropped the reins and ran to her, lifting her up in his arms and swinging her around as he embraced her in a bear hug. "Rio! I've been looking everywhere for you! I… I thought I'd never see you again," he cried, burying his face in her neck as Neil stared, openmouthed in astonishment and consternation.
"V-Vaughn?" Rio gasped as soon as he loosened his grip on her enough for her to catch a breath. "W-what… what are you doing here? How did you…?"
Neil found his voice then, and strode up, his face flushed with anger. "Rio, who is this guy? And you—get your hands off her!"
Vaughn turned to look at Neil, setting Rio down but keeping his arms firmly around her as he stared coldly at the younger man. "And who the hell are you to tell me to keep my hands off my girlfriend?"
"Your what?!" Neil shouted, clenching his jaw as he looked from Vaughn to Rio and back again.
"Your what?" Rio exclaimed, frowning as she pulled away from him, struggling to free herself from his grasp.
"Rio, please… don't be like that," Vaughn said, pleading her with his eyes as he let her go.
She sighed, rubbing her forehead as if feeling a headache coming on. "Yeah. Okay. I think we need to talk. Both of you, follow me." And she turned and walked towards the house.
Inside, she said, "Just have a seat at the table there. Neil, you know where everything is—can you get something for you guys to drink? I still need to finish my morning's work—I haven't yet put out feed or checked on my hens—I'd just finished milking my cows when you showed up." Turning to Vaughn as she headed for the door, she said, "I'll put your horse out to graze. What's his name? And is he gelded?"
"Oh, uh sure. His name's Flash. Short for Flash Back. And yeah, he's a gelding."
"Good. I'll put him out to graze with my mare then, and leave his tack in the barn. I'll be back soon. Try…." Looking back and forth between the two surly men, she gave up with a sigh. "Oh, never mind. Just don't break anything while I'm gone, all right?" Then she ran out the door, leaving the two men staring face-to-face.
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, and the locations and characters in this story belong to Natsume Inc. and MarvelousAQL Inc. The story's plot is my own invention.
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands, and the locations and characters in this story belong to Natsume Inc. and Marvelous Interactive Inc. The story's plot and some characters & locations are my own invention.
Photo Attribution: The cover image is titled "tango" and is by Mollie Bryan, aka mokedophoto. It may be viewed on the Flickr website, photo ID 2110452168. It is available for public use under the terms of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. I have not altered the image in any way, other than any resizing that may have occurred as part of the process of uploading it onto this site.