"Here we are."

I glanced out the window of the SUV and saw a blue house, presumably the one my aunt was going to move into it. It was pretty bland on the outside, excluding the pretty house and the already green lawn. There was a stone pathway down the middle so that the lawn wouldn't get smashed down, although there was no fence. There was another house, a bright brown one, a ways off and another house, faded yellow, in the opposite direction by a couple of yards. Okay, that was good. At least the houses weren't cramped together. But I would definitely have to do something about putting up a fence for Nanuk. Though he ran free around the ranch back home, this was a new, unfamiliar place and I didn't know what he might do.

"Thanks for the ride." I told John, un buckling the seatbelt and sliding out of the SUV. John nodded, flashing me a smile, and I shut the door. John waited patiently as I went and clipped the leash onto Nanuk's blue harness. I considered getting a new one but dismissed the thought. On the harness Gram had took a white thread and written Riverbend's phone number, my name, and then Nanuk's. After one time after I had given him a bath and hadn't put his harness back on, he had escaped outside and went for a "walk". Maxine had called me about and hour after I came back to the house, tired and sore, searching for him. After that, he always had some sort of identification.

Nanuk jumped over the sides of the flatbed and hit the ground gracefully, his tail curling as he sniffed the ground. I unloaded my few bags, and waved goodbye to John and he waved a hand in returned before he slowly turned back onto the main road and then disappeared out of sight.

"Samantha!" Aunt Sue said, walking out of the door of the house and engulfing me in a hug. Awkwardly trying to keep my hand firm on Nanuk's leash, who was not moving one inch to make it easier, and hugging my Aunt at the same time, I managed.

"It's so good to see you again!" Aunt Sue said, releasing me. "And I take it this is Nanuk?"

"Yep." I said, glancing down at him. He was looking at me, confused, as if saying, "What the heck are we doing here? I don't see any sagebrush at all!" I smiled at his expression and scratched him behind the ears. He let out a doggy-dog sigh and leaned against me.

"Well, come in! You're probably tired from your flight and there's a certain some one who wants to see you."

I didn't need to guess, because as soon as I stepped over the threshold I heard the squeal of delight as Pam tackled me. I laughed and dropped Nanuk's leash as I heard the door close behind me.

"You're finally here! God, it's been ages since I've saw you." Pam said, a light in her eyes.

I smiled. "I know. But I'm here now."

"Come on," Pam said, tugging at my hand. "I'll show you your room and you can tell me all about everything while you unpack."

I smiled at her enthusiasm, but bent down to unclip Nanuk's leash and hang it on a hat-hanger by the door. I then picked up my bags and walked slowly to avoid being tripped by Nanuk, who followed behind closely. His ears were slightly laid back, and he had "the look" on his face.

"I will," I said to Pam. "But first Nanuk needs to go outside for a bit. Although I think he's doing relatively well, for being away from the ranch for the first time."

"I've been doing a bit of work in the backyard. I've put up some light fence - he could probably jump it if motivated but at least it's something - and washed some old carpet I got from a neighbor and put it out there to substitute for grass. It isn't much, but it'll work for awhile."

I nodded. "But, I don't know. What would be the point to build a fence and what not when we're only staying for a few weeks?" I asked.

Aunt Sue smiled. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe Nanuk will convince me to get a dog. Maybe." She added, at my smile. It would be good for her to get a dog, instead of being here by herself.

I tossed my bags on the bed in the spare room - now my temporary room - and then lead Nanuk towards the back door. He followed me across the threshold and into the backyard without hesitation, though he did look a bit confused. Nanuk seemed to get over it, however, and started sniffing.

When my Aunt said that Nanuk could jump it if he wanted to, she was serious. The "fence" that was up was designed for an garden bed, which was about a foot at the highest. There was a couple of slabs of carpet laid down, and other than there was damp dirt. It would work for now, but I was going to have to keep a strict eye on Nanuk when he was outside.

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"So, tell me everything. Starting with whether or not you've hooked up with him yet."

The digital red clock on the night stand read eight o' clock, and we (Pam, Nanuk and I) were lying on top of my neatly-made bed. Nanuk was snuggled up, lying across my feet as he snoozed. Most of my bags were unpacked, and in a neat pile lay Nanuk's toys in a corner. Absentmindedly flipping through my photo book, I glanced up at Pam.

"What? Who?" I asked, confused.

Pam rolled her eyes, flopping over on her stomach so she could lie beside me as she looked at the picture of Hammer, the beautiful "run-away" horse. "You know who!" At my still confused look, she sighed patiently. "That...cowboy. Jack, or something."

"Jake?"

She nodded. "Yep. Him."

I blushed, looking back at the photo album and turning a page. "Of course not. Besides, he's off at college anyway. Majoring in Animal Behavior."

Pam glared at me. "College? There is no way you mentioned that he was that old."

I laughed. I hadn't really thought of Jake being "that old"; to me, in a way, he was still the ten-year-old kid who liked to tease me mercilessly. I guess I hadn't really gotten my head around that Jake was nineteen, soon to be twenty, and off at college.

"Didn't I? Hmm." I said playfully.

Pam sighed. "Oh well, probably knew it wasn't going to happen anyway. However, the way that the redhead looked at you..."

Pepper and me were the only redheads on the ranch. "Pepper? You're kidding me."

Pam gave me a look.

"You have a one-track mind tonight, you know that? Besides, I haven't had time for anyone else besides the animals most of this time. Not with between training Nanuk and Tempest and then keeping Ace fit..."

"Where'd you get Nanuk, anyway?" Pam asked, leaning towards him to pet him behind his erected ears. "He's so cute."

As the conversation trailed on to other topics and other people, I felt my mind wandering back to Riverbend. Gram would probably be doing dishes. Bryanna would be curled up on the couch with Cody. Dad would be doing some thing or other, like cleaning his boots while Dallas played the guitar. Pepper would probably be with Ross in the bunkhouse, talking horses.

What Pam had said about Pepper didn't leave my mind, but I had no more room in my cluttered head to focus on it for too long. Soon enough I was sprawled out, fully dressed, on the bed and snoozing away.