waved goodbye from the door. “’Night, ladies,” he drawled with a twang. “Y’all be good, now.”
“Goodnight,” they chorused.
Jake stepped out in to the winter chill and paused on the front porch of the Big House, breathing in the pure, crisp air. God, he loved living here, loved Open Skies Ranch, loved Julie. For the first time in his almost-thirty-six years on this earth, Jake felt like he was exactly where he was meant to be, doing what he should be doing, with the right people. The right person.
Even through the closed door, he heard their laughter behind him and he smiled again. Julie had her best friend and sister back now, he knew, and her happiness added to his own. He had never wanted to please anyone more than himself before – not this way – and that’s how he knew that Julie was the one for him. Long-term; forever.
He started to walk down towards the stables, to the small private cabin that was located about twenty paces from the stable doors and which he had called home for the past seven years. He loved his small, snug space; it was all golden wood and big windows and simple, sturdy furniture. Julie liked it down there, too, and stayed over often. She loved the Big House, with its space and airiness, but she said that his cabin was just so much like him, with its unassuming strength and quiet light, and she loved to wake up there, warm and safe.
As Jake approached the stables, he heard something in the distance, in the open prairie beyond the fence that enclosed the corral area. He paused and squinted in to the darkness. He waited.
A soft whisper, then cracking; something was brushing and moving the powder and breaking the hard snow hidden beneath. There was no wind at all, the prairie was black and silent, the stars very bright overhead. Jake held his breath and strained to place that sound. Footsteps? Yes. But not human – these were too light, too careful, too hesitant. Some kind of animal.
In his seven years at Open Skies, Jake had seen many coyotes on the prairie and wandering around the Rockies. They generally stayed away from the ranch and the hotel, and Manny and his staff were careful with the waste from the restaurant kitchens. Coyotes often scavenged through human garbage, looking for food. It was the depths of a hard, freezing winter now, and Jake wondered if coyotes were venturing closer to where they knew people were, hunting for an open garbage bag, left in a moment of carelessness.
He swung open the fence door, headed in to the massive corral. He heard some of the horses moving around in the stables. They sounded restless and agitated and Jake was suddenly more alert: animals were always more attuned to danger than humans. If the horses were worried and sensed something was wrong, then he’d be willing to bet that they were right. He grabbed a flashlight from the small wooden box that Phil kept outside, and flicked it on. Its powerful beam cut through the darkness like a knife, and he swung it around.
About a hundred yards away, he saw a glint and trained the light that way. That’s when he saw them: silver eyes. Unmoving, unblinking. His breath stopped for a second as he realized that he was being steadily watched. He stood still and stared right back.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness now and he saw clearly what was out there: a wolf. A gray wolf, from what he could pick up in the flashlight beam. This was unreal – Jake had heard that some lone wolves had been spotted in the Colorado Rockies, but he’d never seen any himself. And what was this animal doing so close to the ranch?
Slowly, he backed away, reached for the stables door handle behind him without taking his gaze off those eyes still observing him from beyond the fence. He knew there was no way a wolf would be able to get in to the stables – Dave, Julie’s father, had built a stable as impregnable as Fort Knox – but still. A desperate, hungry animal may well try.
When the horses saw Jake come in,
“Goodnight,” they chorused.
Jake stepped out in to the winter chill and paused on the front porch of the Big House, breathing in the pure, crisp air. God, he loved living here, loved Open Skies Ranch, loved Julie. For the first time in his almost-thirty-six years on this earth, Jake felt like he was exactly where he was meant to be, doing what he should be doing, with the right people. The right person.
Even through the closed door, he heard their laughter behind him and he smiled again. Julie had her best friend and sister back now, he knew, and her happiness added to his own. He had never wanted to please anyone more than himself before – not this way – and that’s how he knew that Julie was the one for him. Long-term; forever.
He started to walk down towards the stables, to the small private cabin that was located about twenty paces from the stable doors and which he had called home for the past seven years. He loved his small, snug space; it was all golden wood and big windows and simple, sturdy furniture. Julie liked it down there, too, and stayed over often. She loved the Big House, with its space and airiness, but she said that his cabin was just so much like him, with its unassuming strength and quiet light, and she loved to wake up there, warm and safe.
As Jake approached the stables, he heard something in the distance, in the open prairie beyond the fence that enclosed the corral area. He paused and squinted in to the darkness. He waited.
A soft whisper, then cracking; something was brushing and moving the powder and breaking the hard snow hidden beneath. There was no wind at all, the prairie was black and silent, the stars very bright overhead. Jake held his breath and strained to place that sound. Footsteps? Yes. But not human – these were too light, too careful, too hesitant. Some kind of animal.
In his seven years at Open Skies, Jake had seen many coyotes on the prairie and wandering around the Rockies. They generally stayed away from the ranch and the hotel, and Manny and his staff were careful with the waste from the restaurant kitchens. Coyotes often scavenged through human garbage, looking for food. It was the depths of a hard, freezing winter now, and Jake wondered if coyotes were venturing closer to where they knew people were, hunting for an open garbage bag, left in a moment of carelessness.
He swung open the fence door, headed in to the massive corral. He heard some of the horses moving around in the stables. They sounded restless and agitated and Jake was suddenly more alert: animals were always more attuned to danger than humans. If the horses were worried and sensed something was wrong, then he’d be willing to bet that they were right. He grabbed a flashlight from the small wooden box that Phil kept outside, and flicked it on. Its powerful beam cut through the darkness like a knife, and he swung it around.
About a hundred yards away, he saw a glint and trained the light that way. That’s when he saw them: silver eyes. Unmoving, unblinking. His breath stopped for a second as he realized that he was being steadily watched. He stood still and stared right back.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness now and he saw clearly what was out there: a wolf. A gray wolf, from what he could pick up in the flashlight beam. This was unreal – Jake had heard that some lone wolves had been spotted in the Colorado Rockies, but he’d never seen any himself. And what was this animal doing so close to the ranch?
Slowly, he backed away, reached for the stables door handle behind him without taking his gaze off those eyes still observing him from beyond the fence. He knew there was no way a wolf would be able to get in to the stables – Dave, Julie’s father, had built a stable as impregnable as Fort Knox – but still. A desperate, hungry animal may well try.
When the horses saw Jake come in,
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