Safe Haven

Seeing You Again

"Hey, Peanut," Bo greeted, patting the new mother. Looking around the peanut-colored mare, he saw the new baby boy, struggling to stand on all fours. The staggering movements brought a smile to Bo's face as he and Peanut watched the foal. Eventually, he made it up on all fours, slightly wobbling, but standing nonetheless.

"You just going to stand there and ogle or are you going to name the boy?" Will asked, approaching the stall with Cooper following at his heels. "Shawna and I couldn't agree on a name, so we decided to let you take a crack at it."

Bo glanced at Cooper's awed face, the child-like joy dancing in his eyes. "Actually, I was thinking Cooper should name it. First time seeing a foal and all."

"Really?" Cooper questioned, giddiness dancing clearly on his face. Bo nodded, gesturing to the foal that was now prancing in circles. Cooper, with a mile-wide smile that almost split his face in two, turned to the foal, running his hand down the foal's neck. "I think you should be named...Fireball."

"Hmm," was all Will said. It was all he needed to say. If he didn't approve of the name, he'd go on a screaming rampage. If he approved of the name, that's about as good as a response as you'd get. "Not bad for a guy who's never ridden a horse and can't keep from hitting on my wife."

"How can any man stop themselves from hitting on a woman who can cook that well?" Cooper countered, causing Will to shrug in more of an agreement than anything.

"We should get to work if you two are going to make it to your appointment on time," Will stated, moving to allow the horses to graze. "I can only imagine the two of you would like to shower so you don't walk in there smelling like something died."

"Or took a dump on us," Cooper chuckled, helping Bo clean out a stall. They paused as Fireball moved to nurse from Peanut. He wouldn't move anywhere until someone fed him. He definitely inherited something from his mother.

The three men worked for hours, pausing only to take a few drink breaks here and there. Once it was eleven, Cooper and Bo headed back inside the house to take showers and change before trekking up to Safe Haven.

"You think any of the workers will be hot? You know, any that might not have been in the pictures?" Cooper questioned, climbing into the passenger seat of Bo's electric blue Corvett. Some eighties song blasted through the speakers causing Cooper to utter some interesting words before turning down the volume. Bo shrugged indifferently, gearing himself into working mode. He couldn't be distracted by the idea of women possibly wrestling with cats twice their size. "How do they even get some of the cats here?"

"That's a question to be asking the owner, isn't it Cooper?" Bo countered, swearing when the 'Vette wouldn't change gears to drive on the dirt road. "Have these people never heard of pavement? Looks like we may have to get out and walk."

"Uh-uh," Cooper shouted, furiously shaking his head. "I ain't walking nowhere in this snow! If I step out in this snow, I'll disappear and you ain't never going to see me again!"

Bo shot him an amused look. "You are such a New Yorker. The snow isn't really that deep. It may bury your ankles though. Unless you'd rather sit in the car and get eaten alive by cougars and bobcats."

The thought looked as though it frightened the living daylights out of Cooper. "I'll come."

* * *

"Sage, have you been sleeping out here all night again?" Liz questioned, banging on the fence to wake her up. Yawning, she stretched, patting Dusk on the head as she wiggled out from under her. "You're going to catch a cold one of these days."

"You said that already," Sage reminded her, hooking her feet in the gaps as she climbed the fence. Nimbly, she landed on her feet, next to Liz. "And it doesn't feel right, leaving Dusk alone every night while she's sick like this. I mean, what if she goes into labor?"