The horse whinnies and rears as Jay goes to attach the lead to his halter again - every muscle in the stubborn and agitated animal is tense and rigid. Jay doesn't know what to do especially since Erin couldn't even calm the mustang before she went inside. So with one more distressed noise from the horse, Jay decides to leave him be - telling himself that the animal has spent his whole life before being caught, outside, even at night. So with a dismissive wave of his hand he exits the pen and heads back to the barn. When he returns outside he takes notice that the horse is still in a frantic state. He makes note to check on him before they leave for the night and then steps into the cabin.
"Any luck?" Erin asks as he walks over to the sink to wash his hands.
"No, I think he's related to Zane." Jay huffs after coming to stand in front of her.
She chuckles lightly at his remark as she gets up. "Are you ready?"
He's surprised that she's asking that since she was the one pushing to stay another night here. But he doesn't question it - preferring to get her back down the mountain before it gets too dark. So he nods and then lets her know he just has to use the bathroom before they go.
When he gets done and doesn't see her, he figures she's already outside. He smiles finding her standing by the gate of the mustang's pen. She's talking to the horse - holding her hand without the lead, out in front of her. Jay stays back to see if she can do it - the stallion moving up to her hand but then it appears like he gets spooked as he neighs loudly and runs away from her to charge the fenceline parallel to the trees before sliding to a stop just short of the wood plank fence. She watches the animal for another moment before she looks down in defeat.
His large brown eyes stay wide as he stares at the trees in front of him. The branches rustling in a different way than they do when the wind blows through. His breathing comes out ragged, almost like soft groans as his ears swivel to listen better to what's lurking in the darkness. The sound of a twig snapping causes him to huff loudly and drag one of his front feet back and up preparing to defend himself - his hoof digging up some grass and mud with the action. Then it grows quiet - even the wind slows down so that nothing but his breathing can be heard in the immediate vicinity. It only lasts for a few moments though before a predator steps forward - stepping on more sticks and twigs as he advances towards the pen. The stallion's ears go back and lie flat against his head as he wrings his tail and kicks his foot again when the barbed wire making up the exterior fence is cut followed by the cracking of the wood planks separating the horse and the man. The latter of the two simply ignores the animal's warning and continues towards him with a large knife in hand. He waves his hand with the weapon and another man emerges from the woods. Light from the setting sun peaks through the trees and hits the sharp blade - the reflection beaming into one of the horse's eyes which causes him to back up. But that one step back is followed by several strides forward. And the knife soon hits the ground as the mustang rears again and strikes the first of two rustlers once, twice and finally a third time.
Just as quickly as the attack started it ends with the wind blowing through the trees and grass. Returning to an eerie yet peaceful quiet as the attackers retreat to the forest from which they came.
The ringing only stops for a minute or so before it starts up again. She had thought that it was tossed onto the nightstand before their escapades last night but now as it dings - signaling that she has a new message from somewhere in the sheets she realizes that her phone didn't make it to the table. Her frustration grows when she hears the distinct sound of the device falling to the floor. She wraps the sheet around herself as she leans over to swipe the phone off the floor and then sits back as she presses on the notification of a voicemail.
He can tell she's disappointed as soon as he walks into the room. Her shoulders are sagging as she looks down at her phone somberly. He walks over to her and hesitantly takes the phone out of her hand and places it on one of the pillows before he presses his lips to the crown of her head.
"What's wrong?" He asks after sitting down next to her.
"The house sold." She murmurs and he sighs, knowing how much both of them were looking forward to touring the house later today and most likely buying it. But he feels he's more saddened by her disappointment than his own - especially since he's more than ok with just staying here.
"We'll find our place babe." He tells her - kissing her temple this time. She just nods as she turns her head to look at him and wordlessly leans in to give him a kiss to the lips in return.
"Don't you have a horse check-up appointment that you have to get to?" She asks in a panic after a beat and he chuckles as he nods at the clock on his bedside table.
"Right." She smiles sadly and blushing a little when she sees that the appointment was almost three hours ago.
"I was actually about to go up to the mountian cabin, if you want to join me?" He asks and she nods - giving him another peck before standing up and walking into the bathroom to get ready.
He's focused on driving up to the cabin while she looks in the direction of the mustang's pen as soon as they make it past the trees. She looks for the mustang - scouring the fenced in area, her eyes shifting to the shelter but stop short when she spots the break in the fence, she tightens her hold on him - squeezing his abdomen and saying his name to get him to stop the ATV. He looks back at her to see what's wrong before following her line of sight.
"Shit." He mutters as she jumps off the seat and walks over to the pen. He chases after her and looks at the mess of blood and broken wood across the way. They both move cautiously around the pen - practically tiptoeing as if they'll distrub something. Jay pulls out his phone to take pictures of the bloody hoof prints near the gate of the pen that lead away from the break and then he walks towards the broken wood and stained dirt.
"I should have-"
She shakes her head as she comes to stand next to him. "You can't blame yourself for this Jay."
Then it's his turn to deny it with a simple back and forth of his head. The anger bubbling inside him, making itself known just by the tone of his next words. "He should have been taken into the stables."
"That wouldn't have stopped them." She marvels as she chooses to look around them instead of at him.
"What?" He all but growls - his anger and confusion making him sound annoyed by the sentence.
"The wood is all on the inside of the pen - as if it was pushed or maybe even kicked in." She explains and then she point to the footprints.
"If it was the horse that broke out then the wood would be on the outside and the posts for the exterior fence would have been disturbed." She adds while nodding at the objects as she mentions them.
He looks up at her after taking in the scene between them. Uneven lines wrinkle his forehead as he pinches the bridge of his nose. The distinct clinking of the camera on her phone tells him that she too is photographing what they see while he dials the Sheriff's office number. The call is short, with Jay telling Antonio to meet them at the cabin before immediately hanging up.
The sight of her picking up the cut barbed wire to inspect it closer, causes him to grow angrier. He knows he's more mad at the situation and not her but that doesn't stop the involuntary urge to take it out on her.
"What are you doing?" He snaps at her causing her to pull her hand back as she flinches from his booming voice. But her sleeve catches on the wire and slices into the skin of her forearm. She hisses as she quickly brings her hand towards her chest and looks at it before covering it with her other hand in attempt to slow the bleeding.
"That's why you shouldn't have been touching anything." The bite in his voice still present even as he steps forward to check on her but she narrows her eyes at him from beneath the rim of her Stetson - giving him a stern look while she moves around him to go towards the cabin. His eyes follow her as he thinks about going after her - helping clean and dress the cut but he shakes his head and focuses back on the mess on the ground.
The cut isn't deep enough for stitches but it still takes a while for the blood to even slow down so she can take care of it. She presses one more piece of tape along the bottom edge of the gauze before she sets out to takes care of Jay's other two horses and dogs, with Poppy, of course, remaining by her favorite person's side.
By the time she's walking back towards the stables to go get the second horse, Antonio, a few deputies along with Kevin and Adam wearing their Livestock Agent Kevlar vests make their way over to her.
"Hey Erin." Antonio greets her and she gives him a small smile.
"Hey." She whispers as she rolls down her sleeve.
"You alright?" Kevin asks when he sees some blood already seeping through the gauze.
"Uh...yeah, I just cut myself on the fence. Jay's checking the woods for any evidence." She lets them know, having seen him disappear behind the trees as she stepped out onto the porch.
The five men nod before making their way over to what was the mustang's pen.
"You sure you're ok? Do you need stitches?" Antonio asks as he steps closer to her.
"I'm ok, I didn't think I needed stitches at first but now I'm not sure." Her eyes land on the bloody gauze and then lift to Jay as he re-emerges from the woods and walks into the pen.
"I hate seeing him like this." She nods towards her boyfriend who's pointing out something by the trees closest to the break in the fence as the other four men approach him.
"Even without talking to him yet, I have a feeling that he's more worried about you than anything - especially since that mustang was just here for his medical issues to be treated and was going to be released." He tells her as Jay looks over at them.
She sighs a thanks - even though she didn't really mean it because while his words were meant to make her feel better they only made her feel worse. So after sending her friend on his way she turns on her heel to bring the other horse.
The mare, Sydney, nuzzles her head into Erin as soon as she steps into the corral - the horse seemingly sensing that Erin's under distress. Erin chuckles sadly as she runs her hand down the side of the mare's head.
"Let's get you some food and then go outside." She murmurs to the horse before attaching a lead to the black head collar. Erin clicks her tongue to get the horse to follow her out of the stall and they make their way to the corral.
His footsteps can be heard as soon as he walks into the stables but she doesn't take her attention away from finishing the task at hand - even though it's almost unnerving when he stops short of the stall she's in - especially since she can practically feel his gaze on her.
"I'm sorry." He whispers once she sets the shovel down; having laid the last of the fresh shavings down on the floor of the second stall.
"Don't be, you were right, I shouldn't have been touching anything." She shrugs as she pulls the suede gloves off her hands and takes them and the shovel back by the small tack room. When she walks back out to grab the wheelbarrow he grabs her bicep gently and pulls her into him.
"No, I was wrong, I know you were just trying to help - you did help and ended up accidently hurting yourself because I was an ass." He looks down at her arm, she smiles sadly for what must have been the hundredth time today before she leans in to kiss the corner of his lips - her silent way of letting him know that she accepts his apology and that she's ok.
They're just about to head inside when the sound of gunshots ring out - echoing through the valley with several sharp hisses. It causes her heart to drop as she thinks of the worst case scenario. Shot after shot is fired, too quick to be the wranglers warning the rest of the ranch of a predator on the premises. She backs up until she can't, feeling her back become flush against Jay's front. He wraps an arm around her midsection after he secures the toolbox on the back of the four wheeler.
"It's just the guys at the range." He whispers into her ear before placing a kiss there. With the mention of the ranch's shooting range her mind takes her back to the day after her eighteenth birthday - the first time she fired a gun.
The colorful assortment of pamphlets and flyers spread out of the kitchen island make her want to turn back to her room and lock herself away for the day. But she thinks better of it and sweeps her arms across the counter - pushing all of the offending articles to the edge of the cool granite and watching them as they fall into the garbage can below. Once the lid is closed she nods her head and walks to the coffee machine - not even acknowledging her dad's appearance in the doorway.
"It wouldn't hurt to look at other options closer to home." He grumbles and she huffs while rolling her eyes.
"I already looked Dad, besides it's a little late to change where I go." She tells him but he shakes his head.
"No you didn't look, you went with the first out of state acceptance and settled with that. And it may be too late for this semester but you can always wait until next semester to start." His voice raises towards the end of his statement.
"You're just mad because I didn't let you pick where I should go. You're pissed because you can't control where I go or what I do anymore. But you're not going to change my mind. I'm going to Chicago."
"Watch it Erin." His warns her but she just huffs at him.
"No Dad. I'm not going to let you make this decision for me or pressure me into doing what you want. Not anymore." Her shoulders sagging for a moment before she straightens her posture again.
"You're right." He agrees but she doesn't take the win - sensing that he's not done. But after another few moments without a follow-up, she sets back in to make herself a cup of coffee before going out to work.
"You're technically an adult now and since you can make your own decisions, you can decide how to pay your own way through the college you chose." He tells her as he pulls out the pamphlets and flyers from the garbage and sets them in a neat pile on the counter.
She sighs as he leaves the kitchen. The stack of glossy paper seemingly taunting her as she sips her coffee and eats her toast. Her dishes are washed once she's done and then she heads back to her room to get ready for the day. The pamphlets once again getting tossed into the garbage on her way out.
His green eyes are on her as soon as she walks into the stables. And she can tell that he's trying to read her - to see what's wrong without having to ask. But she stays quiet and continues preparing the equipment to saddle up Ziggy. Her fingers glide over the leather before unbuckling the cinches with the metal clanging as the straps swing downwards. She can see him move in her peripheral - turning her head to the side to watch him bring Ziggy out. He remains silent too as he effortlessly lifts the saddle from the stand and onto the horse's back before he begins helping her secure it in place on the large animal.
"I don't really want to talk about it." She whispers to him, finding it necessary to let him know that.
"Ok." He nods - an understanding look coming to his face even though his eyes don't leave the saddle. "I was just about to go to the range. Do you want to go with?"
She's hesitant at first but then he mentions that for her safety - though she's not old enough to own one legally - she should still learn how to handle and shoot a gun if she plans on staying in Chicago. That gets her to agree and causes him to smile as they begin to undo the buckles and straps of the saddle they just got done fastening.
"Thank you." She whispers as they exit the stables.
He quirks his eyebrows at her in a silent way of asking what she's thanking him for.
"For not treating me like he does - like I'm still a little girl." She adds as they walk out to the gate that leads to the first pasture.
"Is this you not wanting to talk about it still?" He questions, hoping to get her to at least smile. But she just side eyes him - telling him without words that she wants to be taken seriously and he apologizes as he puts his hands up in mock surrender.
"He wants me to go to college here or at least closer to home." She adds.
"I get why you want to leave but I see his point too." He admits with a shrug and she looks over at him again - her eyes immediately meeting his blue-green ones. She feels tears instantly forming at the look in his beautiful eyes - seeing that he's not just referring to her dad in what he just said and what he's about to say.
"There's no one that understands your desire to leave this place more than me but I also see why he wants you to stay." He breaks eye contact with that - choosing instead to stare out in front of them and then down at his boots.
"Because you're the only good thing he has left - the person he cares about most." He shrugs again.
"Jay, I-"
"You don't have to explain Erin and I'm sure that's not exactly what you were hoping I'd say." He looks down briefly - almost appearing ashamed or maybe even embarrassed. She tries to deceiver which it is as she responds.
"No, thank you for being real and honest." Her face scruches with that.
"But...?" He questions and it's her turn to look down.
"I have to go - leave Montana I mean." She tells him and his only response is to nod as they reach the range.
"I know." He agrees as he sets his duffel bag on the ground while looking out at the target stands and the large mounds of dirt behind them. She's never actually been to this part of the ranch, so she just stays put while he moves about to get things set up - frozen in place as his words resonate in her head. And she realizes that she feels the same way. The revelation just hitting her now - that the only thing that saddens her about moving away is leaving him - her best friend - the most important person in her life. And while her heart has grows heavier by the second with that reality, she doesn't want to be her dad's little puppet anymore.
"Are you ready?" He asks and with her last thoughts she immediately shakes her head before she realizes that he's talking about shooting - not the thoughts running through her mind. She shakes her head once more to rid herself of the newfound dread in order to focus on his instructions.
It's a fight - a real struggle as she attempts to control her breathing. He's trying to coach her through - telling her that she's got this but she can't. She was a little hesitant when he first brought it up - unsure and nervous about holding something so powerful in her hands. Their conversation on their walk here having distracted her but now she feels that initial hesitancy come back tenfold as they stand there facing the paper targets he retrieved from the shed to their left.
His voice comes out in whispers against the skin below her ear as he explains to her what she needs to do before handing the three-eighty to her. But she doesn't take it, instead she just stays still even with a gentle nudge from him. He double checks that the safety is on before bending down a little to place the handgun on the pannier next their feet. He lays one hand on her hip while they other rests on her abdomen while instructing her to breathe.
Once he feels she's ready again, he asks if she's sure she wants to do this and waits a few seconds for a response. With a quick nod of her head, he picks the gun back up.
She's been tense since he told her why the guys decided to go shooting. The muscles in her body have been wound even tighter the closer they got and now that they've arrived it's seems she can't even move.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?" He mentions as he hands sets his Smith Wesson down on the table beside them after managing to get her to walk up to it.
She just nods as she looks out at the target in front of their lane. Her mind going back to that memory again.
"Yes I do." She says as she puts the ear plugs in and waits for him to back up a little before taking the gun into her hand.
Her first few shots are way off mark but he stays back until she empties the clip - only moving in when she clicks the safety on and drops the gun back down on the table to her right. Her body is no longer tense but instead her posture droops - practically sagging as she turns and collapses into his chest.
"Just breathe babe." He kisses the crown of her head and then repeats himself.
"Let's get you back to the cabin." He tells her once her breathing is more under control. Except she doesn't budge when he attempts to guide her out of the shooting lane.
"Don't - Don't do that." She shakes her head and pushes him away just a little.
"Do what Erin?" He questions, almost more confused by the sudden change in her demeanor than the statement itself.
"Treat me like I'm fragile - like I'm bound to break or like I can't protect myself. Don't take my moments of vulnerability as weakness. I'm not weak." Her voice stammering towards the end.
"I'm not weak." She repeats, only this time it seems to be more for herself than it is for him.
"I know you're not babe. I know." He reassures her as she turns back around.
"I need to do this Jay - to be prepared to back you up if - when they come back." Her hands are trembling as she reloads the magazine and he nods even though she's not looking at him. His mind traveling back to when he taught her how to shoot.
He doesn't say anything as he corrects her stance and adjusts her hold on the gun.
"Now you just have to invision it. Try to imagine something you hate or the thing you need to protect yourself-" He stops when she shakes her head at that. "...ok. Umm...imagine that the target is something dangerous that's going to hurt me, breathe, aim and fire." He instructs her and she nods, taking a deep breath before she opens her eyes, flips the safety off and puts her finger on the trigger. The bullet seems to leave the gun in slow motion and then almost floats instead of flying through the air. It rips through the center of the target, a perfect bullseye. And the hole it creates is soon surrounded by the rest of the bullets in the camber. Her attempt resulting in a nice group all in or close to the center.
"Damn." Adam whispers as Jay steps back in line with him and Kevin.
"Now that I did teach her." Jay boasts, clearly proud of and impressed by his girlfriend and referring back to when Adam thought that Jay taught how to ride a horse with a few short words a couple months ago. Both of the other men nod in astonishment as they watch Erin switch targets, going from a circular one to one of a man's silhouette.
Jay can see as she takes another deep breath before she picks the reloaded gun back up. Her body language is a lot more relaxed than when they first got here and he's grateful for that - knowing that she'll be a little more prepared to shoot accurately if needed and that she was able to rid herself of some of the tension that the day's recent events brought to her - to them both.
The storm closing in on them causes them to pack up and leave the range sooner than any of them would have liked. But they don't want to get stuck up the mountain when the rain starts, so they secure the guns and ammunition on their respective four wheelers before heading their separate ways, with Kevin and Adam going back to the ranch while Erin and Jay return to the mountain cabin to put the horses away and lock up before hurriedly going back to the main cabin.
The feeling of him wrapping his arms around her - especially while she's cooking is one she'll never grow sick of and for him the same goes for holding her. Both of them feeling an overwhelming sense of calm as they are - just being in each other's presence. Everything else that happened today gets pushed out of their minds as they remain quiet - enjoying the warm silence as she finishes making their dinner. She can feel his eyes on her - his gaze practically burning holes in the side of her face with his breath on the skin of her neck just before he places a kiss below her ear. It causes her to lean into him more, pushing the pan towards the back of the stove and turning off the hot burner. Once she's sure their food won't be charred, she turns in his embrace and meets his lips with her own - her hands quickly finding home on the back of his neck with her fingers weaving together and pulling him in closer. The kiss leaves them breathless and they soon have to pull away to take in much needed air. She chuckles softly as she looks down - their foreheads remaining pressed together and his eyes staying on her, a small smile spreading on his lips at the sight of her dimples caving in, in an almost bashful way.
"I love you." He whispers and her head snaps up with that but she doesn't make any attempt to move away or out of his embrace. Her eyes go wide in surprise and his heart both races and stops when she doesn't respond for what feels like hours but is really just a few seconds before she's leaning in and kissing him again.
When they pull apart her dimples are even deeper as she smiles up at him and she lets out a sigh that he perceives as one of relief.
"I'm sorry if this still wasn't the right time but I wanted to say it - I needed to say it just in case. And I needed to tell you because it's how I've felt for years and I couldn't wait anymore. I love you and I'm in love with you." He declares and her heart almost seems to ache but in a sweet way.
"I love you too." She finally says back to him after a beat with tears in her eyes and his heart soars. They don't say anything else - there's no need to as their lips meet once more before they return to the silence that encompassed them up until a short time ago. But this time they're just cherishing the moment - letting it settle into their minds as their new favorite memory. The fact that it was so unexpected makes it somehow better and both of them are grateful that they held off - this just felt more true to them. She was just cooking and enjoying his embrace - a part of their routine a thing that was already so special and it became even more so as it lead to them to finally saying those three words - the spontaneity of it just enhancing the feeling and making the casual event into a grand gesture.
She repeats herself with yet another kiss - one that quickly grows in passion. Her arms having moved to wrap around his sides with her hands landing on his sinewy back. Their dinner quickly forgotten as they take their time moving things upstairs.
He trails one of his fingers along her spine - gently up and down her skin even after he feels her hands stop their ministrations on his chest and her breathing evens out. With a firm pressing of his lips to her forehead he gets up - pulling his discarded pants on and returning downstairs to reheat their dinner on the stove.
Just as he's about to take the plates up to their room there's a noise at the front door but it's not a knock - instead it sounds like a stumbling of sorts. He sets their food down on the entryway table before going to see what's going on the other side of the door. But the distinct clicking of a gun - someone pulling back the forestock of what Jay guesses is a shotgun stops him in his tracks. He leaves the light off and steps to the side away from the entryway - choosing to slowly move to grab the gun attached to the underside of the coffee table before going to the side of the window to try and see who it is. But without light the only thing he can make out is that there's two people concealed in the darkness of the night - both armed with what appears to be sawed off shotguns. He doesn't stand by the window any longer, quickly moving back upstairs and waking her up from her slumber.
A/N: Another one I'm not too proud of but I'm still crazy about this story, and enjoy writing it - even if it's hard at times to continue. And I love a few of the moments in this chapter, I just hope you did too! If you did please review and let me know what you thought. I have a feeling a couple followers will be thinking finally, lol. Sorry for the mistakes and taking a minute to update, but thank you for sticking with it!
