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"I think you're bullshitting me right now," she said and he laughed a little.
"It seems like you learn quickly," he said and was silent for a while.
"What is the matter?" She asked him.
"Let's just say that I did something stupid out of anger and maybe a little bit of greed and now…maybe I'm regretting it a little but I have chosen this path and backing down now would be foolish and cowardly. That's all I can tell you at the moment," he said.
There was a heaviness to his person that let her know that this matter was not as light as he made it and it was probably best that she did not know all the details that were in it.
"Alright," she Said and he dipped his head, probably in thanks for her not asking any further.
Lee heard hooves pounding behind her and she turned to look and it was then that she saw two riders coming after them and she looked at Austin whose face was eerily calm but in a way that suggested that something dangerous was about to happen.
"I'm sorry," he said to her and before she could even reply, he raised his hand and she flinched, thinking he was going to hit her but he slapped her horse, scaring it in the opposite direction then he galloped off with the black stallion still in tow. Shewatched him ride off in the opposite direction and she turned her horse and started riding for the hills. She could make her way back from there.
The men who were chasing them split up and one chased her. She looked back and an involuntary Yélo escaped her. She bent low in the saddle so that it seemed like she was almost lying flat, and she urged her mare forward. Her heart thundering in her chest as the mare's hooves thundered against the earth.
It seemed like each time Lee turned, the man was gaining on her and she knew that he would catch her soon enough. She felt her heart beating against her chest and fear, unlike anything she had ever known threatened to overtake her. She didn't know what these men wanted to do and they seemed angry enough as it was. She turned around and saw that he was closer than ever. He soon overtook her and gripped her reins.
Lee tried to knock off his hand but a whack across her face made her almost fall off the saddle then the man yanked on the reins and her horse pulled up, standing on its hind hooves then stopped and the buck finally threw her off the saddle and against the ground. She felt the wind leave her and she lay gasping on the ground, not sure which way was up and which was down. She tried to stand but she was extremely dizzy and ended up falling back on the grass.
"Stay still!" She heard a man yell at her and she lay back down on the grass, paralyzed by fear as she looked up at the blurry image of a man on a brown stallion holding a shotgun that was pointed at her.
Don't shoot!" She screamed in terror.
"Please don't shoot," she screamed at the man who didn't seem to want to reply. She lay there panting and trembling as she wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into.
†
It had been a couple of hours and Lee sat by the river, hearing the water against the rocks and holding a piece of wet cloth to her head. Her vision was clear and except for a few bruises, she was okay. A man was standing before her, leaning against one of the trees with a severe expression on his face. He didn't seem to be too pleased as he stared at her. He was handsome in a rugged way with light brown eyes and a sharp chin that was covered in stubble. He had a thick black mustache with broad shoulders and a lean physique. His skin was dark in the manner of someone who spent most of his time in the outdoors and his hair was long and tied back away from his face.
"You decided to speak yet?" Another man asked in a gruff, yet quiet voice. He was slightly shorter than the younger man who looked to be about 6'5". They bore a strong resemblance, the same brown eyes and sharp chin. It was clear that they were father and son.
She looked at the older man who seemed to be in his fifties and had a calm energy about him. The younger was fierce and seemed to have a lot of restrained anger within him. There was a faint smile on his face that creeped her out because none of it went to his eyes, which were terribly fierce.
"I don't…I don't even understand half of what you said," she said to the man who looked at the younger one then back at her.
"What do you know of the man you were riding with?" He asked Lee and she shrugged. A part of her was terribly afraid of thedeductions they might have made and what she wanted more than anything was to convince them that she had nothing to do with whatever was happening.
"I know that his name is Austin Butler and he told me that he is a ranch hand in search of a black stallion. That's all I know about him. I was lost and he offered to show me a way out when he found the horse and that was what he was doing when the two of you showed up.
"That seems like one hell of a convenient story," the younger one said.
"Easy Hayden," the older man said and turned to look at her.
“You’re telling me that you went out for a ride and mysteriously got lost in these parts then he showed up, conveniently, and tried to help you find your way back while looking for the horse?" He asked and she nodded.
"That is exactly what happened. I mean look at me. Do I look like I was prepared for any of this? I had already slept alone in these woods before he showed up. I have no food and no water in my saddle," I said to the elderly man who looked at the younger then sighed.
"I see," he said and stood then clicked his finger at the one he called Hayden.
"Don't move an inch," Hayden said. I was already beginning to thoroughly dislike him. I remembered his hand across my face and felt the rage shoot through my spine, but I was also terrified of him. He was a big man and looked like he was also a very angry one.
He and his father muttered to each other for a couple of minutes then Hayden looked back at her.
"You're in pretty rough shape. We would like to pick up his trail right now, but I don't think he's going anywhere in a hurry. There are eyes searching for him and that horse and there are other things he needs to be careful about so we can find him soon, but you will have to come along with us," he said and she stared up at him then shook her head.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I told you all I know. I told you that I was lost, and he tried to help and…."
