A bucket of grain was the only thing that was going to keep Demon from pinning her against the fence. Bribery worked best with this black-coated beast. As she brushed his thickening coat out, she lifted her gaze time and time again to where Ian and Josiah were preparing the venison and wrapping it in brown paper. They talked low and easy, but she couldn’t hear anything from here.
Demon tried to bite her when she put the saddle blanket on him, but he always did that, so she was ready and dodged his teeth. Irritated, he kicked, as if his near miss put him in a worse mood, and she rolled her eyes at what a little monster he could be. He was the taller of her two horses, so she had to give the saddle a strong swing upward to get it on. Demon pawed the dirt near the fence where she’d tied him, but at least the bucket of grain distracted him enough that he didn’t try to bite her again.
Milo was much better behaved and always had been. He was a chestnut horse with a big white blaze down his nose. He didn’t need the bribery, but she gave him a bucket of food to munch on to be fair. She could’ve sworn Demon was glaring at her the entire time she sang to Milo and saddled him, but she didn’t care. Ian was going to handle that horse’s foul mood, and she was going to have a nice, peaceful trail drive with her dependable horse.
She was finished before the men, so she left the horses tied to the fence and ready while she went inside and packed another backpack of food for Ian’s ravenous appetite. They would only be roughing it one night, but it still required preparation, so she busied herself with packing them so Ian wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Supplies sitting next to the guns outside, she rushed in and changed her clothes. Thermal pants under her jeans, two pairs of wool socks in her hiking boots, and a double layer of sweaters under her winter jacket. She glanced at herself in the mirror, and it shocked her to a stop. Her cheeks were filling out and tinged the rosy color that had left her during the hard years. She stood taller and didn’t have her chin to her chest, staring down at the ground like she used to do. The dark circles under her eyes had disappeared, and deep within her strange-colored eyes, she saw something she’d never seen before and almost didn’t recognize. Pride.
She’d taken a deer, and respectfully. It had been a good, clean, painless shot, and her effort would help to keep her and Ian fed this winter. And as she stared at the stranger reflected in the mirror, something within her clicked into place. She could do this. No longer was she living each day thinking this winter would be her last. Her confidence in her own abilities were growing.
Ripping her gaze away from the mirror glass, she pulled a dark green winter hat over her ears, then tugged her warmest work gloves on and left the house to pack the horses’ saddlebags.
Ian’s lessons repeated in her mind as she checked the weapons one last time for safety before she slid them into the leather sheaths on the saddles and strapped them into place. And when Milo and Demon were ready, she allowed them a good drink, then pulled them behind her out of the gate. Josiah waved as he trotted toward his truck, a black trash bag of meat dangling from his other hand. “I’ll meet you there. I’ve got them penned up on the south side of my property.”
“Okay, we’ll see you tonight.”
“Yep!” Josiah nodded his farewell to Ian, who was locking up the freezer.
Ian gave a soft whistle, and Miki left the bowl of food he’d just devoured on the porch and trotted toward them.
Demon lurched to the side as Ian put his foot in the stirrup, but that moody gelding was no match for him. Ian swung over the saddle smoothly and jerked his reins as the beast reached back to nip his leg. Of course he knew how to handle himself on a horse. There was likely nothing Ian Silver couldn’t do.
Ian gave a troubled look up at the storm clouds, then back at her. “You ready?” But his eyes looked different. Hazy. Tired.
Dread snaked through her, but she nodded. “Ready.”
A stark sense of urgency was a constant companion as she led Ian toward Josiah’s homestead. She pointed out the landmarks along the way. Even though it was only a twenty mile journey, it was easy to get lost in Alaskan wilderness like this. And out here, getting lost meant death. Everything out here was designed to kill the weak. Weather and predators were king, and mistakes meant dying alone in the unforgiving wilderness.
Miki made it a mile before he tired out and Elyse zipped him up in her jacket. He fought it at first, but he settled against her chest soon enough. The smooth gait of her horse lulled her into a quiet comfort as she and Ian rode along in silence. His lack of speaking was more troubling when highlighted by the way he slumped in the saddle, then straightened his spine, then slumped again.
He wasn’t saying it out loud, but she could see it clear as day. His body was preparing for the long sleep. He’d told her he would get tired at the end. No, not tired, exhausted, as if he’d taken tens of sleeping pills all at once. It would get worse and worse until he couldn’t stay awake anymore. Sometimes it happened slowly, but more often, it happened fast.