Buckshot pranced beneath me as we stood in the torrential rain watching the headlights dance in the valley below us. Headlights that were not supposed to be there. Our county had had problems with cattle rustling recently, but so far we had been lucky.
"Looks like our lucks changed, huh Buck?" I asked as rage grew within me. My family busted our ass everyday to keep this ranch going and I wasn't about to let five men on fourwheelers ruin it all while I waited for the damn cops to get here.
I dug my heels into Buck's sides and he leaped towards the lights. As he was flying down the hill into the valley I unclipped my pistol and fired off two shots into the air. The headlights immediately flicked out and I heard the fourwheeler engines rev as they took off towards the "gate" they had made by cutting down our fences. I heard two answering gunshots, just as a flash of lightning revealed a man on a dark horse leaping out of the woods in front of me, gun drawn.
Buck skidded to a halt, rearing back a bit in fright. I fought to keep my seat and just as Buck landed on all four feet again I heard the voice of my dreams, and nightmares.
"What the FUCK is wrong with you? Are you insane!?" shouted my ex, and the chief of police, Josh. His pinto stallion, Comanche, danced nervously beneath him.
"No! I'm pissed!" I replied as I tried to steer Buck around them, but Josh was having nothing of it.
"Go back to the ranch, NOW!" he said, his eyes glinting with anger as the lightning flashed overhead. "Me and the boys got this," he said before spinning Comanche and going back into the woods. It was then that I heard more hoof beats coming up from behind. Three of Josh's deputies and four of our ranch hands were riding towards Josh with guns in tow.
As much as I wanted to be down there I knew my presence would distract Josh. He would be too preoccupied with keeping me safe to focus on what he was doing. Slowly I reined Buckshot towards the barns. Once their, I unsaddled him and began to rub him down. I kept glancing anxiously at the clock. It took me nearly a half hour to finish taking care of Buck and put him in the stall. The rain and thunder was so loud I couldn't even hear if there had been gunshots fired or not. I slung Buck's saddle onto the rack and turned, only to collide into a hard, male chest.
Startled, I stumbled backwards, and would have fallen if not for Josh's quick reflexes. He grabbed my arms to steady me, all the while pinning me with a glare that would have had most women, and men, shaking in their boots.
I knew Josh, and I knew he would never physically hurt me, or any other woman for that matter. Josh and I had dated for three years, before I had gone off to college to get my degree in business. The whole long distance thing had been too much for either of us to take at the time and we had called it quits.
I had been home for nearly two months now and this was the first time I had seen Josh. It was actually the first time I had seen him since our break up, and it was stirring up old feelings I had really tried to suppress.
"Girl, what the hell were you thinking, charging in there like that? You could have been fucking killed!" Josh nearly shouted. He took a step towards me and I automatically retreated a step.
