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“I was going to tell you,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “It’s complicated.” He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Will you come over tonight? Please. So I can explain?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Besides, I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything.”
Before he could respond, I dug my heels into Cody’s sides and loped off into the dusty landscape.
***
IHAVE NO IDEA HOWlong Cody and I rocked along, enjoying the steady canter across the bleak desert. It was only as the sun no longer bothered me that I wondered about the time. Patting my pockets for my phone, I pulled it out only to realise it was dead.
“Shit.”
We slowed to a walk and I allowed him to pick his own path between the dry plants and green vegetation. I glanced around at my surroundings, trying to pick out parts which I recognised. I whipped my head around to look behind me.
Nothing.
I recognised nothing out here. Had I really been that wrapped up in my own thoughts that I’d lost all sense of direction? I was so sure I’d taken the trail to the cookout area where we’d taken the draft horses.
In front of me sat beautiful towering hills, their red setting contrasting against the pale-yellow sunset hiding behind them. Daylight was fading fast and I didn’t want to be out here in the dark, alone. I began to panic then as I realised I was on my own, no phone, and no idea of where I was. Perhaps Cody knew the way home?
I loosened my reins and patted his neck. He pricked his ears but only continued to meander forwards. I thought back over the way we’d come. We’d circled around the bottom of a steep hill before trekking out through a bunch of cacti. Then...I struggled to remember. My thoughts had been entirely consumed with Ben, Brady, and Brady’s city wife. I should have paid better attention or at best, heeded Brady’s warning not to wander too far.
Cody’s coat glistened with a soft sheen of sweat. I couldn’t push him much more to try and get us back before dark. Judging from the twilight and buzzing of night time insects, I calculated roughly just under an hour before all light was lost.
“Sorry, boy,” I said, kissing to him. “We need to cover as much ground as we can before it gets dark.”
He snorted but lulled us into a steady lope. After several minutes, we came across a huge pile of rocks. It loomed over us, easily two storeys high. The shadows it cast darkened our forwards path causing apprehension to catch my breath. Several bushes edged its perimeter, making the whole scene just a little creepier.
A sense of fear pricked at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Cody came to a sudden stop.
Then I panicked.
His ears shot forwards and he snorted, pawing at the ground. I gulped, a dry lump lodged in my throat. I looked to the right at the mound of stone. There was nothing there.
“Come on boy,” I said, pushing him forwards. “It’s fine. Just some shadows.”
He shook his head and snorted again before running backwards a few steps.
“Cody, come on.”
I pushed him on again. He took one step forwards before spinning around. He snatched at the bit, yanking my arms. A spiral of toxicity began to develop as the more nervous I became, the jitterier he became. We fought for several minutes as I tried everything from backing up, side-passing, and loping past the A shaped mound, but every time, he would stop at the same point and stamp his front feet, each time with more frustration.
I sighed and dismounted, the only thing left to try. As soon as my feet touched the ground, a low growl grumbled through the eerie silence. Cody stilled, his entire body quivering.
A fresh sweat broke out all over me. I froze to the spot. The bushes behind me rustled. I squeezed my eyes shut but knew I had to look. I had to know what I was facing.
Turning around to glance across the dusky landscape, a dawning horror clawed at me. Here was Mother Nature’s lethal ugliness to match her serene beauty. She’d treated me to the amazing depths of her wonderful landscape and now it was my time to face the horrific reality of being out here—a snarling mountain lion.
