Country Girls Do It Better... Book 1 Of The Healing Through Horses Trilogy

Chapter 30

               "Kate! It's so good to see you! It's not like I just saw you a few days ago, or anything." Mrs. Smith gave me a giant hug as soon as I walked in the door. It was like a bear had tried squeezing me to death. Or a boa constrictor. Same effect pretty much. I smiled and hugged her back. "Of course, it's always good to see you, Bill. And you must be Shelly. Nice to meet you." She added, as she pulled away and gestured to the woman standing slightly behind dad. 

             Chase was still in the car. He said he had to make a phone call, but something just seemed off about him. 

            Hannah came running in the room and grabbed my hand. "Hi Kate! Hunter's waiting for you!" It was almost amusing to see how much she was trying to play matchmaker. The only thing she didn't understand, was that if the people she was trying to set up have no feelings for each other, it probably won't work well. At least, that's what I was trying to convince myself. That we have no feelings for each other. 

            "Hey Kate." Hunter was lounging on the two person loveseat, his feet up on the coffee table, a book in his hands. He looked up and grinned at me when I walked in the room. 

           Hannah drug me over to the couch and shoved me down next to him, before flinging herself on the sofa and stretching out so she covered the entirety of it. "Uh-oh. Looks like there's no room except right there." She tried to hide her smirk, although it was obvious what she was trying to do. 
           "What book you reading?" I asked Hunter, placing my own feet on the coffee table next to his. 

          He held up his book so I could read the front cover. Moby Dick was scrawled across the cover in fancy handwriting, followed by the author, Herman Melville. "I didn't know you were into classics. I pictured you as more of a... I don't know... Louis L'amour kinda guy. Or maybe even Stephen King." 
          "What? Just because I'm  a country boy, I can't read classics? I can read whatever I darn well please." The grin never left his face, so I didn't have to worry about him being upset. I smiled back. 
          "Which part are you at?" I leaned over, trying to get a better look at the pages. He tilted the book so I could make out the words. 

         "The part where they are talking about getting the Spermaceti out of the head. That part's a little gross." 
         "How many times have you read this book?" I asked him, genuinely curious. He seemed to know exactly what happens. 
        "This is my sixth time, I think. Maybe more, actually. It's kind of sad how Ahab dies, although he really was an idi-" He stopped and turned to look at me, his feet flying off the table. "You do know what happens, right?" He stared at me, as if everything depended on my answer. 

        "Duh. This is one of my favorite books." 

        He sighed in relief. "Phew. Scared I was gonna spoil. Anyways, kinda sad how Ahab does. He was an idiot, though. He pretty much drowned his crew, because he couldn't let go. This whole book is kinda like Jaws, before Jaws was a thing. And it was just a whale instead of a shark." 

          I thought about that for a moment before replying. "Hmm. Never thought of it that way, but I guess you're right. That makes sense. The worst part to me, is the way Fedallah died. Like, that would be such an awful way to go, wouldn't it? I mean, you're strapped to a giant whale that is dragging you hundreds of feet under the sea, slowly dying from pressure build-up, and lack of oxygen. That would really stink." 

            He looked at me somewhat intently, like I was a riddle for him to try and figure out. "You know, this is pretty close to the first real conversation we've had without arguing, or sharing some deep personal life story. I kinda like it, to be honest."