AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be careful.” Reese took the phone and let herself out of the car.
Gritting my teeth, I followed a beat behind her. The herd of bison were strewn across the meadow, peacefully enjoying their grassy dinner a decent distance from the car. Even though I knew Reese would never get too close, the bison were in heat this time of year, so I wasn’t going to take any chances.
I followed her determined stride until she stopped about forty yards from the closest beast and began snapping pictures.
Not my girlfriend.Herclarificationreplayed over and over again in my mind.
Maybe it wasn’t real, and maybe it wouldn’t last, but while it did, I was determined to show Reese that it was okay to be vulnerable. That it was okay to rely on someone—on me.
I folded my arms, waiting for her to finish up when I heard Arlene cry out from the car. Instantly, we both turned and froze.
A bull, with his piercing horns and glittering black eyes, lazily crossed the road behind our car.He was the size of a tank and must’ve been grazing in the field on the other side and now decided to join the rest of the herd.Which meant he’d have to walk right by us.
“Decker—”
“Don’t move,” I told her in a low voice, slowly angling myself so that Reese was positioned entirely behind my body. “Trust me?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, her fingers curling into the back of my shirt.
I breathed slowly, my eyes locked on the massive beast. I’d been around enough big, irritable bulls in Texas to have a decent plan on how to handle the situation, which wasdon’t fucking move.That was Plan A. Assuming the bison bull only cared about rejoining his friends, he’d walk right by, and we could inch away.
If he cared about us…then Plan B was me distracting him so Reese could safely get back to the car.
“We’re going to stay right here, okay. Nice and still,” I muttered quietly, almost like I did when I called her at night, coaxing her to trust me.
The massive animal meandered toward us—toward its herd—with a little mocking snort that made Reese tremble.
“Just going to let him strut on by, nice and easy,” I continued to talk, hoping she’d focus on my voice and not the two-thousand-pound terror lumbering closer to us.
Twenty feet. Fifteen feet.
“It’s going to be okay. Trust me.”
Ten feet.I felt her shallow breaths against my back.
“Move back slowly when I say,” I murmured, watching the bison until he walked parallel to us. “Now.” I gave her a little nudge with my hand, and she stepped back, and I followed. “Again.” One step at a time, the bison moved forward, and we moved back. Again and again. “Get in the car,” I ordered when we were close enough that she could make a break for it.
I kept moving slowly in case something this way caught his attention, and when the car door shut, it did.
He looked at me with his beady black eyes, and my heart slammed into the front of my chest, my body prepared to sprint for the driver’s side. And then he looked away, the swish of his tail like a softscrew you.
Still, I didn’t give the animal my back until I reached the bumper, at which point I jogged back to the driver’s seat and climbed in.
“Oh my heavens, Decker! I was going to have a heart attack.” Arlene pressed her hand to her chest, her face flushed with worry.
“Did not see that guy coming,” I said with a low chuckle, searching for Reese’s gaze in the rearview. “You okay?”
She nodded silently.
“You were so brave—and so calm. How were you so calm?” Arlene reached for my hand and squeezed as I pulled back onto the road.
“Because you’re supposed to stay calm, Mom,” Reese chimed in. “Panicking is the worst idea.”
“Well, I know that, but he just looked like he knew what he was doing out there, that’s all.”
“I’ve dealt with bulls before. Not bison. Cattle, but their temperaments are similar.”
“Really?”
