by Joanna Sims
“And one pretty little redhead.” Molly grinned at her.
“I did manage to slip through the cracks, didn’t I?”
“It was meant to be,” her friend reiterated. “Hey. I’ve got to run. Make sure you ask Hunter about Chase. Neither one of them are on social media. Find out if he’s married!”
Skyler hung up with her friend and slipped out of bed. Alone in the woods, she felt comfortable stepping outside without a bra on. She pulled on a ribbed tank top, a clean pair of jeans and her newly christened dusty boots.
On the front porch, she pulled in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. It was late afternoon and the air was still. Other than some birds chirping and fluttering from one tree limb to another, it was quiet. Slowly, carefully, Skyler made her way down the porch steps, still feeling wobbly from her earlier ordeal.
Across the yard, she made her way to a giant boulder at the edge of the clearing near the gravel drive that led back to the main ranch road. Skyler had been pulled toward this boulder since she had first spotted it. This was the perfect perch for her daily meditation. When she reached the boulder, she ran her hands over the smooth surface; it was covered with swirls of gold and black and white. It had small crevices and places where tiny wildflowers were trying to grow.
Skyler found a foothold and climbed her way to the top of the boulder. There she sat cross-legged, hands resting in her lap, her eyes closed, her chin tilted upward. She wasn’t sure how the summer was going to unfold, but she knew that she was in the right place at the right time. She felt it in her gut. As the sun began to set behind her, Skyler began her gratitude ritual, something she had begun during the darkest days of her illness. She sat silently, her body still, and thought of all of her many blessings. Her list of gratitude was a living document; she was always adding to it.
“I am grateful for Jock Brand for allowing me to heal in this most beautiful place. I am grateful for Hunter Brand, who caught me when I was about to fall.”
Chapter Four
It wasn’t how she would have wanted it, but it took her four days to regain her strength. Hunter refused to let her help with the barn chores, only letting her keep him company while he mucked the stalls and occasionally letting her drive the zero-turn lawn mower. It was something she had learned to use with her father when she was young, and she mowed around the cabin and the other buildings. By the fourth day, she was starting to get restless and she told him as much.
“I feel better.” She marched after him as he took a load of manure to the compost pile. “Look at me.”
Hunter tipped over the wheelbarrow, dumping the contents onto the pile. “I see you.”
“I need to get back to work or I’m going to lose my ever-loving mind,” she said, irritated. “I’m not some delicate little baby bird that you have to protect.”
“That’s not how I see it.” The cowboy rolled the wheelbarrow over to the barn and tipped it on its side to rinse it out.
Skyler stomped over to the hose, grabbed it, dragged it over to the dirty wheelbarrow and turned on the water. Hunter made a grab for the hose but she held it away from him with a scowl.
“I’m serious. I didn’t come here to convalesce in bed. I’ve done enough of that. I came here to work, to experience ranch life, and it’s your job to give me that experience, isn’t that right?”
Hunter’s jaw was set and he didn’t respond.
“Now, I’m as much to blame for that little episode as you are. More, actually. I knew my body was being pushed beyond its limit and I should have just been straight with you, the consequences be damned.”
Skyler finished cleaning the wheelbarrow. Then she shut off the water and threw the hose down on the ground as if to punctuate her words.
“I’m tired of the trees. I want to see some people other than you.” Skyler had her hands on her hips. “Take me into town or give me the keys to your truck and I’ll drive myself.”
Hunter stared at her, his arms crossed. She could almost see the wheels turning inside his brain, trying to figure out his next move with her. What he didn’t realize was that she was going to determine her next move, not him.
Skyler spun on her heel and simultaneously took her phone out of her pocket. “Fine. I’ll get an Uber. Does Uber come out this far? Someone has to come out this far, right? We’re still in civilization.”
“I don’t know what you’re so worked up about,” Hunter called after her.
She stopped and turned back to him. “I’m bored. I’ve seen the trees, I love the trees, but enough with these particular trees!”
“How about that trail ride?” Hunter asked, still planted in his spot.
“Ah, yes. The elusive, promised trail ride,” Skyler snorted back at him.
“Let’s go get the horses and saddle them up.”
A trail ride seemed a much better prospect than town, except for seeing other human beings. When she had imagined Montana for all of those years, she hadn’t thought about how lonely it could be. So much land with so few people—it was an adjustment after spending her entire life living in one of the biggest cities in the world.
“Will we see any signs of life other than birds and cows?” she asked, walking toward him.
“I can take you up to the homestead tour,” Hunter said. “I can take you up to the main house, ride you by Bruce and Savannah’s place, swing by my stake and then finish at Little Sugar Creek.”
They brought the horses in from the pasture; Hunter brushed Zodiac, picked out his hooves and sprayed him with fly spray, while she took care of Dream Catcher. She was pleased with how easily her skills came back from her two summers at horse camp. It was like riding a bike; she could only hope that the riding part came back as easily.
“You are such a beautiful girl.” Skyler combed Dream Catcher’s long forelock so it wasn’t in the horse’s eyes.
Hunter swung a saddle pad and saddle onto Dream Catcher’s back. “She was my sister’s rodeo ride for years.”
“Your sister doesn’t mind me riding her horse for the summer?”
Hunter tightened the girth slowly; Dream Catcher pinned her ears back a bit as the girth tightened around her belly. “She’s happy that Dream has a job for the summer. She was over in Australia visiting friends when this whole virus thing happened—she decided to hunker down over there until things calm down.”
“I’m sorry I’m not going to get to meet her.”
Once the horses had been saddled and bridled, Hunter fit her with a helmet so her head was protected from a potential fall. He gave her a leg up; she swung into the saddle and sat down as gently as she could on Dream Catcher’s back. She sat upright and held on to the saddle horn, while Hunter adjusted her stirrups the right length.
“How does that feel?”
“Good.” She moved around a little to get the feel of the stirrups and the seat of the saddle. “Comfortable.”
The cowboy handed her the reins and then mounted Zodiac. He rode up beside her. “You’ll let me know if you need to stop.”
“Yes,” she promised and she meant it sincerely.
They took a trail that ran behind the cabin; she had walked some of the trail on foot but had never gotten very far. She sat taller in the saddle, feeling more confident in her ability to handle the horse. Along the way, she practiced stopping and backing up and shifting Dream Catcher’s direction.
“It is like riding a bike!”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Hunter warned. “An experienced trail horse can spook just as easily as a novice trail horse.”
They made their way along the curvy trail, crossing several rock-laden streams and trotting up short hills, which made Skyler laugh with joy. Every now and again, Hunter would hoot and holler, and he told her he was making sure the deer cleared out of their way so their sudden movements wouldn’t spook the horses. Skyler joined him in the hooti
ng and hollering, and it felt amazing to yell at the top of her lungs in the middle of Montana.
At the edge of the trail, an expanse of pastureland and fields provided a picturesque foreground for the main house of Sugar Creek Ranch. Of course, she had seen the main house on the show, but to see it in person, to get perspective on the sheer size of the house in relation to the mountains in the background, was another thing entirely.
“Wow.” That was all she could say.
“Dad wanted to make a statement.” Hunter had stopped Zodiac where the trail met the open field so she could take in the view.
“The statement is ‘I have a boatload of money.’” These words just jumped right out of her mouth before she could reel them back in.
Hunter looked over at her and smiled. “You got the message.”
Skyler laughed. “Loud and clear.”
“You’ll meet my parents next week at the cookout.” He turned his horse to the northeast.
“I’m looking forward to that.” The family had planned the event to be two weeks after her arrival, in order to observe a fourteen-day quarantine. She was totally on board, but had no idea how long fourteen days could feel!
They followed the tree line along the open field. In the distance, a small herd of deer appeared—three mothers with their seven babies dotted the hillside.
“I need to get a picture of this.” Skyler shifted in the saddle to pull her phone out of her pocket. “Look how precious those babies are!”
Hunter stopped Zodiac close enough to Dream Catcher that he could take a hold of the mare’s reins. His big-city tourist did exactly what he expected her to do: take way too many pictures of every stump, leaf and common deer on the ranch.
But that’s where his assumptions of his summer charge ended. She was completely unexpected, from her firecracker personality to her ability to take pleasure in every little thing in life that she did. Everything in the world seemed to hold wonder for Skyler; she didn’t just see a leaf—she saw the miracle of nature. And it made him see the world around him—the world he took for granted and often saw as an obstacle or a chore—in a different light.
“Wow.” Skyler turned that bright smile of hers on him. And when she did, he felt something odd in his gut, and it was a feeling that he just couldn’t explain, other than the fact that he’d never quite felt it before.
“Right?” she said.
“What? The deer?”
“Yes.” Skyler looked at him like he just didn’t get it. “Of course, the deer! Aren’t they amazing? I love their spindly legs and their little white tails.”
“Not really. They’re all over the place. And they break the fences. I am forever repairing fences that they have broken with their...what did you call them? Spindly legs?”
Skyler ignored his complaints as they rode toward the deer; it was interesting seeing the ranch through her eyes. He had always loved this land, but perhaps he had been taking it for granted lately.
“They are tasty, I will say that,” he added.
“Oh!” Skyler winced at the thought. “How could you, Hunter?”
He laughed, something he found himself doing around Skyler. “Easily. Cook ’em right up, add a little barbeque sauce. Finger lickin’ good.”
“I don’t like you anymore.” She turned her head away from him.
As they approached the small herd, the adults lifted their heads, alert, their large ears pointed in their direction. They stood stock-still for a couple of seconds before they raced toward the trees.
“Look!” his companion whispered harshly. “Look!”
So he did. He did look. And he watched. The adult females were singularly focused on reaching the trees, while the babies ran in circles, playing with each other, frolicking in the tall grass. One by one, the babies realized that the adults were in the trees and scurried after them as fast as their dainty legs would take them. He had seen that image hundreds of thousands of times since he was a young boy, but he couldn’t remember just stopping and really watching them. He couldn’t remember just stopping and appreciating the unique beauty of the animal.
Skyler turned her face toward him, her eyes shining with happiness and joy. He found himself thinking a lot about the cuteness of Skyler’s oval face. The features of her face were refined and petite; her lips were bow-shaped and her nose was small and straight. He had thought, at first, that her eyes were too large for her face, giving her an odd look. But now he thought they were perfect for her. He didn’t care about her shorn hair; in fact, the new growth made her resemble a pixie or a sprite. When he looked at her, he found himself wanting to keep right on looking. He supposed her felt about Skyler the way she felt about those deer: he was fascinated.
Up over a hill and down the other side, the homestead of his eldest brother, Bruce, and his wife, Savannah, was visible in the valley. A pack of misfit dogs, all rescued from one place or another by his brother and sister-in-law, came barreling toward them, tails wagging, barking loudly and persistently.
The pack of dogs followed them as they rode toward the house that Bruce had built with his own hands for the love of his life, Savannah. In the field beyond the house, Bruce was on his tractor mowing and he could see Savannah, with her long, wavy bright red hair, working in the garden behind the house. Hunter’s niece, Amanda, just shy of her fifth birthday, spotted him in the distance and started to jump up and down and yell his name.
Savannah stood up, saw them and waved her arms. Following her daughter’s lead, his sister-in-law left the garden so she could meet them in front of the house.
“Uncle Hunter!” Amanda had a head full of russet-brown curls, greenish-blue eyes and a face as pretty as her mother’s.
As usual, Savannah was in jeans, boots, a loose T-shirt and a big, floppy hat to keep the sun off of her neck.
“Hi!” Savannah greeted them. “We were hoping you’d stop by!”
Hunter made quick introductions, wishing he could get down off the horse and give his niece a proper hug.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Skyler said.
“Same here,” Savannah said. “We’ve all been real excited to have you here for the summer. Did you have a chance to try the lemonade I made for you?”
“The lemonade!” his companion exclaimed. “I have never tasted anything that good. Thank you so much for making me a pitcher.”
“It was my pleasure,” his sister-in-law said. “I’ll make more anytime you want and send it along with Hunter.”
“Uncle Hunter!” Amanda was swinging from his boot while Zodiac didn’t move an inch. “Come and play with me.”
Savannah wrangled her daughter. “Come here, wild child. Uncle Hunter can’t play right now.”
“Why not?” his niece asked with a pout that he found irresistible.
“I’ll come and play with you soon,” he promised. “I’m going to take her over to meet Bruce and then swing by my place...”
“What place?” Savannah laughed, holding on to her daughter’s hands and twirling her in a circle.
“It’s rustic,” Hunter said.
“Rustic?!” His sister-in-law’s voice went way up on the question. “You don’t have indoor plumbing! Or a roof! Or walls!”
“Minor details.”
She said to Skyler, “It’s been a lot of big talk and zero action over there at Hunter’s place.”
“I’ve just been waiting for the right woman to come along and then I’ll build her a house just like Bruce built for you.”
“Well, it’s not from a lack of options. You’ve got to commit, Hunter. Find the right one and commit.” Savannah waved them off.
“’Bye, Uncle Hunter!” Amanda ran beside them, her chubby legs pumping furiously. “I love you.”
“I love you, Princess Amanda!”
The truth of the matter was that he came from a family of m
arrying men. Four of his elder brothers were already married and he always wanted to join the ranks of married Brand men. Lately, he had been casually dating the daughter of a rancher who owned the large cattle spread that shared Sugar Creek’s entire southern border. Like him, Brandy McGregor had Montana in her blood. She was a cattleman’s daughter and understood what that kind of life entailed. She was as pretty as the day was long, with willowy legs, naturally buxom and thick, light brown hair. She had been on the rodeo circuit with him, and even though she had been four years behind him in school, they shared the same tight-knit group of friends.
Bruce stopped mowing long enough for Hunter to introduce Skyler and then his older brother went right back to work. Hunter understood it—there was only so much daylight a man was afforded each day and always more work to get done than daylight would allow.
“He’s got a lot of field left to cut,” Hunter explained.
“I see that.” Skyler seemed to be sitting straighter in the saddle, her chin up, her shoulders back.
“You feeling okay or do we need to head back?”
“No. I always want to go forward. Never back. Only forward.”
* * *
“Wow!” Skyler said. “I really need to come up with a new word to use. But...wow.”
“Do you like it?”
“Like it? I love it! Can we stop and take a look around?”
“We’ve got the time,” Hunter said. “I planned on getting back to the fence tomorrow if the weather holds.”
Skyler swung her leg over the saddle, took her foot out of the stirrup and then slid down to the ground. When she landed, her knees ached and she realized that her entire backside was sore. She winced as she straightened up, feeling like she was in her eighties instead of just approaching thirty. Her annoying aches and pains were soon forgotten as her attention was drawn to the stake of Sugar Creek land that Hunter had claimed for his own.
“You can just drop her reins.” Hunter walked up beside her. “Dream is trained to ground tie.”
Skyler dropped the horse’s reins, gave her a pat on her neck and then walked toward the cluster of ancient oak trees at the top of a small hill.