Animal Heart (Beast & Beauty)

by M, Jessie

  “We'll get the gas on the way back. Fancy those pancakes Maddy?”

  “You bet. It's the only reason I came,” she laughed.

  They drove a minute further along the wide main street until Maddy saw the sign for Betty's in bright blue lights above the diner. They drew to a stop outside. It was a fairly modern looking place. She smiled at Lucas, hoping to get a reaction, but he simply turned away and looked out of the window instead.

  They entered and a small middle aged and somewhat plump woman with a blond bun and a spotless white frilly apron called out to them.

  “Well hello there boys! How's my favorite hunks doin'?”

  “I'm good Betty. How's yourself?” Aden replied with a little grin of greeting as he approached the counter, taking a seat.

  “I'm always good. What about you Lukey my love? You look a bit peaky, if you don't mind me sayin'. Never mind. A nice plate of my special stack will put some pep in your step, eh?”

  “Not hungry Bet. Just coffee for me,” Lucas said, wearily taking a seat next to Maddy.

  “I'll have your special, though,” Aden said quickly. “With double whipped cream.”

  “What about your little lady?” Betty asked, looking at her appraisingly. “Where did you find this cute little thing?” she asked, addressing Aden directly.

  “Ha ha...” Maddy laughed loudly at being called cute. “I'm Maddy Jones. I'm a guest at the ranch and I'll have coffee and your special too. As long as it's got maple syrup on it."

  “You bet it has. On it, in it, and under it,” Betty added with a big smile. “How's things at Heart ranch?” Betty asked, busying herself with the orders and coffees.

  “Just great,” muttered Lucas.

  “Oh come on, what's up boy?” she pressed.

  “Nothing I want to discuss in public,” he said sulkily, casting an eye at Aden.

  “Lukeyyyy! That's unusual for you. Can't normally shut you up. Unless you're eatin'. Must be something real bad, eh?” Betty probed none too subtly.

  The door swung open with a squeak and they all turned to see who had arrived. Aden sighed deeply. Not in a good way either, Maddy thought.

  “Hello there Bill. What'll it be?” Betty called out as he took a seat at the far end of the counter, around the corner.

  “My usual cappuccino and a piece of your apple and raisin cake. Make it to go, and fast.”

  Maddy observed the rather overweight, bald and red faced man who had taken up residence and smiled at him. He scowled at her in response and she was completely taken aback at the looks of hatred he was throwing their way.

  “Tell me, how's the hay burners doin' Carr,” he spat at Aden.

  “Real good Mayor, real good,” Aden replied pleasantly.

  “I love a success story. That I do. Especially on my patch.”

  “Success is my middle name, didn't you know?”

  “Reaping the dollars are 'ya?”

  “It's been a really good season.”

  “Well how about that! How amazing, I'd never have believed it. In fact, I don't.”

  “Leave it out. I'm trying to have a pleasant afternoon.”

  “Oh well, pardon me! I'm so sorry to spoil it.”

  “Yeah, I bet you are.”

  “You don't fool me, boy... You know, I'm wondering over and over, what the hell you lot get up to out there... I think you're up to no damn good, that's what. That little ranch is a cover for something, ain't it? One day I'll catch you dealing in some kind of illegal business, don't you think I won't. I'll find out what you stow away in that yard of Mick's...”

  “I've told you before, not that it's any of your business, it's emergency supplies, that's all. Ski stuff, two motor sleds, and equipment in case we get caught out by snow unexpectedly.”

  “So you've said, I don't believe that little piece of fiction either.”

  “That, My dear Mayor, is your problem. Go deal with it!”

  “Boys, boys, cut it out, eh?” Betty said, slapping down their pancake specials with a loud clatter.

  Maddy looked at Aden, his features taut with restraint, and Mayor Bill's florid, horrible sneering face.

  She was in the middle of a major dispute here and felt more than uncomfortable.

  “Surely you have something better to do than wind Aden up?” Lucas said hotly in Aden's defence.

  “There's nothin' I like more than what I'm doin' now,” the Mayor said with an evil grin.

  “Oh go fuck yourself. Make it twice,” Lucas added nastily.

  “Watchit boy. You know I'm real friendly with our lady Mountie, the honorable Sergeant Philomena Stevens. Remember her? Well, you should, being as she's my fuckin' wife! She'll whip you in jail for the slightest indiscretion.”

  “Oh go poke it mister big shot,” Maddy piped up, absolutely furious at Mayor Bill's disgusting behavior, even though she hadn't a clue as to why he was behaving this way.

  “Keep your little slut in order,” growled out Mayor Bill as picked up his cake and coffee and left his seat

  “Shut your filthy mouth.” Aden spun off his stool and turned to face him in a rage as he passed.

  “Hit a nerve have I...? Well how about that? That's soooo interestin'. I love a bit of female ammo... It's the best ammo of all. Be seein' 'ya Mr Carr. Hope your spindle legs all die with the horse flu. Pretty soon'd be good. Be seeing 'ya too Betty... Put that on my tab darlin'.” The door swung closed and peace descended once more.

  “Jesus, he's an evil bastard,” Betty said with a sigh. They all sighed with her, blowing out deeply.

  “The devil incarnate,” Lucas added with a laugh.

  “With bells and whistles,” Maddy said and they all burst into mild hysterics. “What the hell?”

  They finished their wonderful maple syrup covered special cinnamon pancakes, and superb frothy coffees, and finally left Betty's with a cheery farewell and a promise to be back soon.

  Maddy settled in the truck for the return journey, contentedly full, and secretly rather pleased to be wedged between two very handsome men who were fighting over her.

  After filling up the gasoline tanks, they finally set off towards the ranch.

  She even managed to remain calm as Aden hurtled around the hillsides at his alarmingly fast rate, with their extra supplies of highly explosive fuel on board. Half way back she dared to raise her burning question with Aden.

  “Why does the Mayor hate you so much?”

  “We snatched the ranch from under his nose. He really wanted it. Plus we're out-of-towners.”

  “But you only came from Calgary... It's literally next door!” she pointed out.

  “We might as well have been from Timbuktu,” Lucas added. “He's a touch insular in his outlook.”

  “Right... So what did he want the ranch for? I can hardly see him out on a horse, riding the trails!” she laughed.

  “Not for any particular reason I know of. He buys up any land around here. It's his personal little empire,” Aden informed her.

  “So he wants to own Heart?”

  “I guess so. But we outbid him. Luckily the owners were out-of-towners too and weren't subject to his persuasion. Money talks...” Aden added pointedly.

  “So he's a touch annoyed.”

  “Absolutely fucking furious and has been for five whole years,” Lucas said with his usual flair. They all laughed, united for a moment in their dislike of Mayor William Stevens.

  * * *

  She sat at the table feeling very uncomfortable. She'd chosen to sit next to Aden. Now she wished she hadn't. Lucas had planted himself firmly at her other side, like a possessive sentinel guarding her virtue. Not that his intentions were particularly virtuous either. Across the table, Mia and Charlene scowled at her menacingly. She looked up and tried to smile and start a conversation with Grace, but she was equally unfriendly, albeit not openly hostile like the other two were.

  She came to a sudden decision. She was going home tomorrow. She would have her one last big day out and set
off after four in the afternoon. Her presence was causing problems here and she had no idea how to diffuse the situation. There was no point dragging it out, it wouldn't be much fun if it carried on like this. She might as well pack it all in now. It sucked, but there it was. She could chalk it up to experience and ensure she never went on horse a riding vacation without Jade ever again.

  She had also come to another decision. Tomorrow morning at dawn she would ride Storm. Aden could complain as much as he liked after the event, she didn't care about that. But it was a burning obsession with her, to ride such a wickedly fast horse as his. So what if he was unpredictable? At least she knew that and could allow for it. Just one fast fling in the saddle with him was all she really wanted from this vacation now.

  She ate her meal with her eyes downcast, making polite conversation with Jamie, Lucas, and Aden, when they spoke to her. Then she rose and made her excuses, feigning a headache. She crept off to bed with a Blade vampire movie to while away the hours. Once in her room, she opened her bottle of wine and ate her bar of chocolate to cheer herself up. Very soon she found she had put away the whole bottle. She put it down to her stressful day. Lulled into a drink-induced tiredness, she checked the alarm with bleary eyes and sank down, under the warm and welcoming duvet, drifting off quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  She stuck out her hand and switched off the beeping alarm. It was still quite dark outside. She was almost tempted to continue laying there and go back to sleep again, but she knew she'd regret the missed opportunity if she did. With great effort she pulled herself out of the warmth of the bed and washed and dressed, finally brushing out her hair.

  She opened her window and slipped through and down to the ground below, walking quickly towards the stable yard. As she pushed the gate open, it squeaked noisily, giving her a hot flashover in fear of discovery. Her heart was racing. She knew she shouldn't be doing this and that made it all the more exciting. She approached Storm's stable and unlocked the top part of the split door. He stood and shook himself and came to greet her with a quiet whinny.

  “Hello boy,” she said, hugging his broad neck. “Fancy an early morning run?” She giggled as his soft mouth and whiskers tickled her neck. She stroked him for a moment and then left for the tack room, situated at the end of the stable block. She gathered the saddle pad, bridle, bit, and reins and returned to tack Storm up in his stable. Then she led him outside and over to the tack room where she heaved his large saddle out and with some difficulty managed to get it up on his back. Her heart was pounding like mad, desperate to get away and on with her clandestine ride. After strapping him up, and adjusting the high set stirrups to her length, she was done. She led him out of the yard and across to the grass to dull the noise his clattering hooves made. Walking slowly past the ranch house, she looked and listened. There was no sign of anyone up yet. Just a half hour was all she wanted. She could be back in bed before they were. The beautiful pink and blue streaks of dawn lit up the horizon, the first glimpse of the sun appearing in a blaze of light, as she finally mounted Storm and bounded off along the trail towards the woods.

  Her whole body lit up with a fire. How smoothly he rode and with such a long even stride. She marvelled at the beauty of Aden's horse, becoming all too aware of why he was so possessive of him. He was like driving a high end sports car, a Porsche or a Lotus, perfectly tuned and responsive. She urged him on hard as he plunged into the tree line ahead. She was fully prepared for his infamous unpredictability as he thundered along the trail in the semi darkness. He leapt the brook beautifully and shortly after that they took the right hand fork in the path, up an incline towards the rocky outcrops of the low hills nearby. Just another five minutes and then she would turn and make her way back at a really fast pace.

  There was a loud screech above her head and she slowed to listen. It sounded like an eagle, but she couldn't be sure. It came again, and again. It sounded like there could be more than one. She led Storm towards the sound. If she could see an eagle's nest that would be the icing on the cake.

  They wound their way through the trees which began to thin out, and soon they arrived in a large clearing. She knew she shouldn't go off trail like this, just in case she became lost, but she trusted Storm's homing instinct. He'd make his way back to the trail easily enough. She was sure of it.

  The screeches and cries sounded ahead, and she cautiously walked towards the tall sheer face of rock at the side of the clearing. She looked up and caught sight of it. The nest. A large messy tangle of twigs sat on a high ledge. A beautiful Bald Eagle sat perched upon it. She saw its white head and hooked bright yellow beak as it sat looking out proudly, surveying its territory. She was so enraptured by the sight a massive smile of joy broke out on her face. If it couldn't get any better, a large flapping of wings beating above her head drew her attention as a second eagle came in to land on the nest. She sighed in delight.

  She sidled a little closer to get a better view of the nesting ledge. Storm made a loud whinnying sound and jittered, as if he was suddenly aware of the two large birds of prey much too close to him for comfort. She tried to calm him by patting him gently and soothing him with soft words, and for a moment he relaxed. She urged him forward a few steps more, patting him reassuringly until they stood directly beneath the nest. She was captivated by the sight of them, and sat still with her mouth open, staring in wonder.

  Storm whinnied again and began pawing the ground sporadically with his hoof. He was obviously telling her he wanted to leave. The two eagles, now aware of their presence so close by their nest, flapped their wings and rose together, sending down a small avalanche of twigs and pieces of rock on top of them. The horse reared beneath her in alarm, but she held on tight, for dear life. A large piece of stone suddenly hit her on the top of her head. Momentarily stunned and surprised, she lost her grip and started to fall in terror, landing with a hard thump on her back.

  A flurry of massive wings, screeches, whinnying and hooves ensued, surrounding her from all directions as Storm shot away, with one of her feet caught in the stirrup. Her back and head bumped agonisingly over the rough rock strewn ground before her foot came free from her boot with a loud snap of bone that caused her to scream out in shocked pain. She was sent sliding down a bank and rolling over and over, out of control and terrified. Her neck suddenly whipped sideways, in an alarming fashion, and with another acutely painful snap. She came to rest as her head hit something sharp and hard.

  Tasting blood, parts of her life flashed before her eyes in slow motion. She prepared to die. An inner peace descending upon her as everything faded and went black.

  Aden walked out to the stable to feed and water the horses. He'd started late today after having a strong word with the women in private. He'd made it quite clear he wouldn't tolerate any more sulking or bad behavior towards guests at the dining table, no matter what their personal feelings were. He'd been disgusted at how they'd treated Maddy at dinner. He'd left his remonstrations until the morning as he couldn't trust himself not to lose his temper with them last night.

  And Lucas.

  For God's sake! Where was his pride?

  He was pining after Maddy as if he were a lovesick puppy. It wasn't on. Much to his delight, she'd chosen to sit next to him at the table. That should have been a good enough sign to Lucas whose company she wanted and preferred. But no, he obviously wanted to make a fool of himself. He'd told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't to come out on the trail with them today. No more of his ridiculous embarrassing behavior. Then of course, they'd had words. Exceptionally strong words. He tried not to remember them, but unfortunately they flooded his mind like an open sewer of obscenity.

  He turned the corner and was surprised to see the yard gate open. He was sure he'd closed it last night, he was always so careful with things like that. He shrugged as he walked into the stable yard. He was momentarily confused. Because there stood Storm, to one side, next to his stall, fully tacked up.

  Who had done thi
s?

  Then his mind whirred into action. He felt the horse's flank. He was damp and hot. He'd already been ridden.

  “Maddy?” he called out, preparing to tick her off big time. He checked in the tack room and Storm's stall. Satisfied she wasn't there, he went back to the ranch-house to find her. He put his head inside the kitchen.

  “Seen Maddy?” he asked Shane.

  “Nope, not yet.”

  He continued along the corridor to her room and knocked loudly. There was no reply. He was starting to get concerned. He entered the lobby and plucked her spare key from the hook. Returning to her room, he opened the door. The room was empty. Her bed was made and the window was open.

  Now he really was concerned.

  Where the hell was she?

  He picked up the t-shirt she'd been wearing the day before, which was lying on the floor, and walked back to the main reception area. He said good morning calmly to the two remaining guests, who were leaving a little later. He wished them a safe journey as pleasantly as he could, and then, his heart beating madly, he summoned Rebel and Fire to heel and left the ranch for the yard. He rubbed their noses in her t-shirt thoroughly and leapt up on Storm.

  “Find...” he growled out to the dogs and they all shot out of the gate as fast as they could. He had a feeling growing inside of him. A very, very bad feeling.

  The stupid, stubborn, girl... I'll never forgive myself if anything's happened to her. I should have let her ride him while I was there... I should have guessed she'd do something like this.

  The dogs raced ahead, criss-crossing each other on the trail ahead.

  “Find...” he called out again, urging them on.

  He was praying he would see her wandering back any moment. That she'd just taken a small tumble and was unharmed. But there was no sign of her.

  They veered off to the right fork of the trail and he thundered behind them, his heart beating so wildly, he felt it would burst through his chest. The dogs began to slow and sniff their way through the trees to Eagle clearing. He didn't like to disturb the eagles normally, Storm wasn't that keen on them either, since they'd dived at him once before, but he didn't care fuck all about that right now.