Woodland Love

Chapter 4

 Both he and I knew what was going on... The soon-to-be-owner was abusive and didn't take very good care for his horses he already had. I had to get Zion out of there, so I set him free when no one was looking. I remember him hesitating, not wanting to leave without me...

I nearly burst into tears when I chased him off into the woods.

I couldn't let him stay with me.

When I watched him run off to the mountains, I swore one day we'd run together again. When I ran away- I looked for him for what seemed like forever. All I managed to find of him was his halter he managed to break off. I remember rubbing the brass nametag ‘Zion .’                                                                                                 His tracks were months old and the rain washed what was remaining away, so there was no way of finding him..

He was gone...

  Having that flashback brought unwanted tears. I never and swore not to think of him again. It was just so hard not to - he was my first best friend I ever had, and I bet you a million dollars he returned the same feelings. I wondered for the longest time if he ever looked for me too…

  I wiped my eyes dry and turned to the horses.

"Ok buds, let’s build you a big pen."

     I gathered long, skinny trees, some baling twine I found in an trashed, abandoned dumpster, and started mapping it out.

    The horses must have watched me for hours. I looked over at him, a fire-lit silhouette next to the tree.                                                                                                              Ol' rescue boy didn't seem to want to move- or help. Thanks a lot, dude. Spoiled brat.

  As if he knew I was glaring at him- he shook his hair out of his face to look my way. Before I could meet his eyes, I quickly jerked my attention away and carried on tying two trees.

         Oh gosh, I hope he doesn't think I'm staring at him.

  I could feel my cheeks get hot.  Ace, get a hold of yourself.                                          I then straightened and pretended to carry on without thought.

  The horse corral was almost done, so there was to be no distractions if I wanted to get these poor horses out of their tack.

  The brown horse stomped, almost like telepathically reading my mind.

 Laughing, I took a break to visit with my furry, yet impatient, friends. Stroking the brown horses face, I noticed how different they look in the dark.

 The only source of light, the fire, was flickering off their already glossy coats.

  "Hm- well, if we're gonna be together for a while, minus well find names for you two." I said as I moved to the white one. His head rubbed up against me, as if trying to rub off his bridle. "I know, I know baby.. Just give me about 25 more minutes and you'll have your own cozy little pen."

"Make that 15 minutes."

  Stunned at the sudden voice, my insides flipped as my head jerked around.

  "I figured instead of just sitting around doing nothing, I could help my rescuer with her work." He added with a slight smirk.

  It took all my cool, or all that I had left, to prevent my knees from locking and falling over. Why is he so friendly all of a sudden?  I was soooo confused.

"Um – well yeah if you want. "

"I'd be happy to." He said as he moved to the last couple of posts and lifted them- with ease..

 Surprising me yet again, you could say it took a wrench to pry my eyes off him. It was a miracle he didn't catch me staring like he was a trophy buck. That would have been the end of my “I'm-not-interested” reputation.

  Sure enough, in about 13 minutes or so, I tied off the last two fence posts,             "There, all done." I sighed, relieved to finally have the large pen done. It surrounded my campsite, creating a huge circle around my tent and fire.             The white horse snorted as if to say he wanted his tack off NOW.

"Kitty- be patient." The boy said, turning to the horse and grabbing the reins.

"Kitty? That’s HER name?" I was surprised that such an elegant, graceful piece of heaven was named... KITTY.

"Uh- it's a guy."

My jaw dropped. Oh no, I'm sorry. This ain't gonna work.I was embarrassed FOR that horse. Oh jeez..

Reading my expression, he smirked and added," My uncle named him after his dog that passed away."

"Oh, even better, a dog named kitty." I mocked.

"You can give him a new name.. My uncle wouldn't have minded."

"Whatya mean wouldn't have?"

"He's kinda dead."

"Oh.... Sorry..." Ok, not only am I feeling bad and remorseful for dissing his horses name, but awkward for putting us both in this position.

"I like the name Kitty.. I'm glad your uncle named him that.."

"Yea... So, um, speaking of names- what's yours?"

Okay, Ace, your name is Ace, don't say Samantha, your Ace. This is a chance for someone to only know you as Ace.

"Saa-- I mean Ace." I stammered.

"SaaAce? Thats a nice name." He teased. Those blue eyes glanced my way while he flicked his black, gorgeous hair away from his ocean blues. My cheeks felt hot and I looked down so he wouldn't see my embarrassment and shyness. My throat and chest started feeling tighter. Oh god, what is this?!

"Ace." I said clearly," What about you?"

"Josh VonBargen."

"Nice name." It was a miracle I played it cool. My knees were getting tired from standing and just being upright. I so need out of this awkward state.                 "SOOO! The horses-" I stated, saving me a whole lot of embarrassment. I moved to the brown horse, who was busy nibbling on a nearby bush.                        Without hesitation he trotted up and nuzzled my shoulder.  I said in a quiet voice, “You are the sweetest thing ever, why those cowboys treated you horribly, only God knows.”

                                           *            *            *            *            *

     The horses looked glad to finally get those sweaty leather saddles off their backs and the steal bits out of their mouths. Kitty pawed at the ground, and then steadily lowered himself to the ground. THUMP. He began rolling to his heart’s content. I laughed after he stood and shook, “You ain’t so white anymore buddy.” He glanced over at me with those honest eyes as if to say, “Dang right - it felt good!”

   Now that I have the horses all settled, it was about time for a late night dinner. The sun was now completely gone and the moonlight was the only source of light besides the fire. The birds were quiet again, thank goodness, and everything seemed peaceful throughout the forest. I sighed.

 It’s good for everything to ALMOST be back to normal. Now what will happen with Josh... Oh Lord, help me.