Western Heartbreak

Dreaming

Hey all! This next part is to all you who have fanned and voted and commented :D I woke up this morning to see that I had gone up 300 or so places in whats hot.. from #711 to #432!!!! lets see if we can break the top 100!!! before I start, I thought I would explain.. I will be doing one page in Kade's view, and one page in Alyss's POV... anyways, hope you like, and here it is! Dedicated to my sister, who edited for me :D

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Alyss POV

In my dream, it was dark. Then, came voices. I turned towards them, hoping to see something, anything. This darkness was total, and completely consuming. My heart rate quickened in fear. Then, I heard... Kevins voice? I turned around and there he was, smiling, and laughing with someone he knew. He looked happy.

I called out to him. He didn't appear to hear me, or ignored me. Furious, I marched up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. My hand passed right through his shoulder. I stepped around him. Nothing happened... no one could see me. My breathing hitched, and I drew a breath to calm myself.

Then something drew my attention. The person with him was.. Jody? I watched as they flirted, and laughed at each other. Then, they started walking towards.. me? They walked past without a glance, and I turned around to watch. Jody... pretended to trip, and Kevin reached out to catch her. He ended up falling as well, and somehow, Jody ended up on top of him. She looked at him, then smiled and lowered her head to kiss him. He pulled away at first, but then kissed her back.

Tears fell from my eyes as I stared at the scene before me. It was horrifying to watch, as they deepened the kiss, then Jody pulled up Kevin's shirt. I tore my eyes away, and fled into the darkness, no longer afraid of it, but needing its solitude. I fell, and curled into a ball, sobbing at everything I had seen and experianced.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and shook me roughly. I sat up gasping, to discover I had woken up. I looked to see who had shaken me, and discovered Kade, looking at me with concern in his eyes.

"You ok? You were thrashing around." he asked gruffly.

She nodded, shaking slightly. He took off his coat, and put it on her shoulders, assuming she was cold. She smiled at the gesture.

"We need to get going. Its nearly dark." He told her while glancing around.

She gasped. "You let me sleep?! You should've woken me up!" she scrambled up and brushed herself off. She searched for the horses, and found them in the remaining light, grazing under the trees. Kade smiled at her frantic actions.

"No rush, the others know that you're with me. If you had been alone, there would've been a search party, but I know my way around here. All the same, we better get back quickly."

She followed him to the horses, and picked up Charon's reins. He nickered, and heaved a grassy smelling sigh at her. She laughed, and checked the saddle, finding it had been loosened for the horses comfort. She tightened it, and swung onto his back. Kade was already up on his horse, and waiting for her. She clucked at Charon, and he ambled over to Kade.

"Follow behind me. We don't want one of the horses coming up lame before we get back." he told her.

He wheeled his horse around, and set her at a trot. Charon followed behind without Alyss giving him any commands. She moved to the motion of his gait, and wondered about the man in front of her.

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Kade's POV

Her cries still echoed in his head, despite the thunder of the horses hooves. After he had watered the horses, she had been fast asleep, and he decided to give her a little nap.. not expecting to fall asleep as well. Waking up, he heard a sound, and looked around. Seeing nothing, he was baffled. The horses weren't anxious, but what had he heard? Then he heard it again. Crying, coming from Alyss.

Immediately concerned, he sat up, and looked over at her. She was still asleep. Baffled, he watched her. She thrashed around, and cried out again. He quickly stood up and shook her. She sat up immediately and then looked around, confused.

"You OK? You were thrashing around." he asked her. He noticed the slight motion of her shoulders. She was shaking... in fear or cold? He took off his coat and settled it around her shoulders just in case.

"We need to get going. Its nearly dark." he said while glancing around. Anywhere but at her, and feel the squeeze in his heart when he saw her shaking like that.

He heard her gasp. "You let me sleep?! You should've woken me up!" He heard her get up and dust herself off. He almost chuckled at the relief on her face when she saw the horses grazing nearby.

"No rush, the others know that you're with me. If you had been alone, there would've been a search party, but I know my way around here. All the same, we better get back quickly." he quickly reassured her as she looked at the darkening sky.

He walked over to the horses and picked up the reins to his horse. He heard her follow him, and giggle at Charon. Seeing her interact with the horse, he was glad he had made the decision to let her on him. Charon was a spirited horse, but seemed to connect on a deeper level with only very few. Alyss seemed to be a lucky one.

He tightened the straps to his horses saddle, and mounted up. He nudged his horse out of the trees, and waited for Alyss to follow. She did after a minute, and he remembered something.

"Follow behind me. We don't want one of the horses coming up lame before we get back." In the darkness, one of their horses might stumble or pick up a stone. That would be a nightmare to deal with. He sighed, and clucked at his horse. His mind wandered back to Alyss crying. He thought dark thoughts about what could have happened to her. He thought about it moodily all the way to back to the ranch.

When they finally arrived, people came out with relieved expressions on their faces. He nodded to his foreman, and got a nod in return. All was fine. After exclaiming over how late they were, the crowd dispersed, leaving them to unsaddle their tired horses and make sure they got their reward and dinner for the night.

Kade finished rubbing down his horse, and patted her rump before letting himself out of the stall. She didn't twitch an ear, busy concentrating on her food. He caught sight of Alyss coming out of the tack room, and called a good night to her. She turned to look at him, and he found himself wanting to ask her what had happened. But he knew that would make her uncomfortable around him.

"Thanks for today." she said quietly.

He nodded his head silently, and watched her walk out of the barn. He wondered if she would spend the night in the barn loft again, and decided to see where she went. Glancing out of the barn, he spotted her heading towards the cabins. She walked straight past the one she had been in previously, and unlocked on a couple cabins beyond it.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and shook his head. Now he was stalking her. What would he do next? But he wondered why she had switched cabins. He told himself it was her business and went to check on things like he did every night.

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Hope everyone likes it! its not quite as late as it was last night, but I figured I should probably not make that a habit :P again, comments, votes, and becoming a fan are all welcome! Criticism also appreciated.. anyways, I'm off to bed.