"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

Oscar Wilde

Chapter Eight

After another long, uneventful day at school Bella parked her truck in the driveway and hopped out, slinging her book bag over her shoulder.

She was immediately greeted by Bear who came bounding towards her from the porch steps, barking excitedly. Bella smiled and bent down to scratch him affectionately behind the ears.

"You're such a baby," she cooed, rolling her eyes as he fell against the ground and rolled onto his back, obviously wanting a belly rub.

"Oh, fine," she sighed. Surrendering, she crouched down and began scratching his belly, laughing softly when his big thick tail began to thump back and forth against the ground, causing a small dust cloud to rise.

Bear let out a short, high-pitched whine from the back of his throat the moment she stopped scratching him. Giving him a final pat, Bella stood up and headed towards the barn in search for Jasper. She wanted him to show her how to tack up again so that next time she'd be able to do it herself.

After about ten minutes of looking for him Bella frowned. She couldn't find him anywhere. Weird, she thought, wondering where he could possibly be. She checked all of the stalls one last time but no luck. Growing irritated, she glanced over at Sweet Thing who was munching quietly in her stall and bit down gently on her bottom lip.

Who cares if he's not here? She suddenly thought, I'll just go out by myself.

Grabbing Sweet Thing's bridle from the tack room she walked inside the stall and slipped the reins over the mare's head before placing the bit carefully into her mouth the way Jasper had showed her. Once the bit was inside Bella lifted the headstall with her left hand and with her right, gently pushed Sweet Thing's ears underneath the headstall. After fastening all of the buckles Bella remembered to slip two of her fingers underneath the strap against Sweet Thing's cheek bone, making sure it wasn't too tight.

"There! That wasn't too hard, was it? Ready for a ride, Sweet Thing?" she murmured to the horse, kissing her muzzle. She confidently took the reins and led Sweet Thing out of her stall and into the bright afternoon sunshine.

Since she couldn't quite remember how to tack up Bella decided against doing so and instead chose to ride bareback. She was contemplating how she was going to manage actually getting up on the horse when a deep, amused chuckle made her jump.

She whipped around, still holding on tightly to the reins, and blinked through the blinding sunlight to see Sam standing behind her with arms crossed and dark eyebrows slightly raised. He was staring at her, not inappropriately but with a curious, friendly expression on his face.

Bella slowly felt herself relax.

"Need help?" he asked, stepping forward and patting Sweet Thing's neck. He grinned when she started to nuzzle his jean pocket, her ears flicking forward eagerly. Reaching inside the pocket he took out a small carrot. "Smart girl, aren't ya? Well, here ya go." He gave it to her and they both watched as she chewed, her long silver tail swishing back and forth in contentment.

"Um…yeah, I was just wondering how to get up," Bella explained shortly. "She's pretty tall…"

"Well, of course. She's a Thoroughbred," Sam said, gazing at Sweet Thing fondly, "and a darn right beautiful one at that. Here, I'll help you up." He moved behind Bella and added, "Lift your foot on the count of three. One, two…"

Bella was up on top of Sweet Thing in less than a second to spare. Immediate discomfort shot through her as she moved her hips. Bella glanced down and realized for the first time how bony Sweet Thing was.

Her discomfort did not go unnoticed by Sam. Frowning, he lifted his chin and squinted at her through the sun. "You ever ridden bareback before, miss?"

"Um, no, but I thought I'd give it a try," Bella answered, grimacing as she re-positioned herself. She considered telling him that she hadn't ridden by herself ever but knew that if she did he most likely wouldn't let her ride. So she smiled at him and kept her mouth shut.

"Okay, well, just be careful. And if it's your first time on bareback I wouldn't have her go into a gallop or anything, not until you're completely comfortable."

Bella nodded. "I'll remember that, thanks."

"You're welcome. Have fun and make sure to be back before dark," Sam called, starting his walk towards the barn.

Who are you, my Dad? Bella thought with a roll of her eyes.

Clicking her tongue, she squeezed her legs gently like Jasper had told her to do and smiled when Sweet Thing nickered softly and started walking. This isn't too bad…she thought, despite the irritating pain she felt in her thighs. She had a feeling she was going to be a little sore after this…

It wasn't long until they reached the beginning of the trail. The trees swayed lively in the breeze and the dead autumn leaves that had fallen onto the ground rustled in the wind, a few of them drifting across the sandy path. The glowing sunlight that filtered through the branches of the trees fell in several speckled rays onto the ground, tinting it a brilliant shade of gold.

All of it was so mesmerizing and Bella couldn't get enough of it.

And so you could imagine her disappointment when she realized the trail was already taking her back to the ranch. It had only been about thirty minutes. Not quite ready to go back Bella pondered for a moment before finally deciding to lead Sweet Thing away from the trail.

I won't stray too far from it, she promised herself. I'll just go this way for a little bit and then come straight back.

Fifteen minutes later she was lost.

Bella was beginning to panic. It was quickly getting dark and she had absolutely no clue where she was. Why did I have to leave the trail? She thought in exasperation. I'm so stupid! Out of all the foolish, idiotic-

A sharp whinny from Sweet Thing immediately snapped Bella out of her thoughts. The mare was swinging her head back and forth and prancing around nervously.

"What is it, Sweet Thing?" Bella cooed, bending down and rubbing her neck soothingly. "It's okay, baby girl. I'll get you home soon, I promise."

Bella clicked her tongue again and urged the mare forward with a gentle kick of her heels. Snorting uneasily Sweet Thing took another step forward, followed by another step, until she stopped completely and let out a high-pitched whinny.

"What is it, Sweet Thing?" Bella repeated, glancing around and then up. "What-"

And then she saw it.

It was huge, it was dangerous and it was staring right at her.

All color drained from her face when the cat let out the most loud, horrifying yowl, freezing her heart right in its place. Sweet Thing neighed shrilly and reared up on her hind legs, lashing out at the air frantically with her hooves – in the exact moment Bella screamed.

Sweet Thing shot forward before Bella had the chance to compose herself and before she knew it she was on the ground, rolling again and again as the dust quickly consumed her. When she stopped she could feel the vibration of Sweet Thing's hooves pounding hard against the ground. The sound of them quickly faded away. Coughing, Bella lifted her head slowly and watched in horror as the mountain lion leapt onto the ground from its perch on the tree, stalking towards her with its jaw open to reveal sharp, gleaming fangs.

Oh God, I'm going to die…There was no possible way that she was getting out of this alive. Unless…thinking quickly, Bella glanced around frantically and saw a medium-sized rock a couple inches away from her. If she could only grab it before the mountain lion grabbed her than perhaps she could hit it hard enough against its head and knock it unconscious.

Or maybe it will just break the rock in half with its fangs and swallow me whole, Bella thought. Okay, no time to be pessimistic. I have got to get that rock…

She looked back over at the mountain lion and noticed that it was advancing rather quickly. Scooting backwards inconspicuously with one eye still on the lion, she sucked in a deep breath and finally managed to grab a hold of the rock with her hand. Gotcha.

She didn't have time to think before the lion lunged. Biting back a bloodcurdling scream, Bella lifted the rock and was just about to knock it against the mountain lion's head when-

BANG!

The lion collapsed onto the ground beside her feet, forever immobile. Bella blinked at the huge animal that was now dead, utterly shocked to the bone, and slowly lifted her head to gaze at the person who had undoubtedly saved her life.

One word escaped her lips before her head fell to the ground and she was enveloped by blackness.

"…Jasper."

A/N: I'm really sorry, I'm a writer who loves cliffhangers, haha. But at least I don't use them all the time. ;) Anyways, I know some of you are anxious to see the reactions of Jessica and Bella's friends when they find out about her and Jasper (except for my 2nd time readers who already know)...don't worry, that's coming up soon! In fact we're already halfway through the story (there's only about 8 more chapters left, including the epilogue), so hang with me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know your thoughts. :)

~LWS

Random fact #1: Did you know that "Bing Bang Boom" was actually an album title of the country music band Highway 101 back in the early 1990s? Yeah, I know. Fascinating (or...not?)

Random fact #2: I just realized this, but some of you might have been reading along and thinking to yourself, "What the heck is a headstall?" Well for those who are wondering it is the part of the bridle that surrounds the top of the horse's head. Hope that cleared up some confusion. And to all the horse people out there who already knew what it meant, you deserve a high five. Or better yet, a cookie. So eat one.

Random fact #3: Reviews make me smile. And hop. And giggle. And dance. And...yeah, you get the gist. Haha. Till next time, my lovely readers!