Wild Horses

The woods were silent as the morning mist filtered through the trees. The air was crisp and clean with a cold bite to it, signaling that winter was soon approaching. It was nearing on December in a few days, the last traces of November finally fading away. It had been a warmer fall than usual; typically the cool autumn climate would have given way to the Montana snows well before Thanksgiving, but the warmer air halted progress of the changing seasons.

Treva stood quiet and still among the bare trees. She had a rifle in her hands, the butt resting against her shoulder as she trained her eyes ahead, waiting. She was aware of the presence behind her, though he made no noise. Being alone with Brian in the shelter of the forest had at first seemed daunting to Treva -- she wasn't sure if he would use the time to make any more advances on her. But Zach had told her with a reassuring grin that it was fine that morning when the idea of a hunting trip had been brought up, and insisted he stay behind to tend to a few things on the ranch.

Zach viewed the situation as an opportunity for Treva to prove her feelings for him. If Brian advanced on her and Treva accepted, Zach would know they had nothing. But if Brian advanced and Treva declined, then Zach would know that what Treva felt for him was real. It was a test, and Zach was quite sure what the outcome would be.

Brian, on the other hand, viewed the situation differently than expected of him. He had come to the conclusion that Treva wasn't accepting his previous advances because he was coming on too strongly. Perhaps he'd frightened her with his actions; after all, Treva seemed to be a very quiet girl. So maybe he was going about winning her affection the entirely wrong way. And so Brian decided to take things slower: he'd gain Treva's trust and friendship, and move from there.

Which was why Brian had acted quite tame while he and Treva took the horses down to the forest before making their way on foot. While she thought his actions were uncharacteristic, Treva appreciated the fact that she could spend time with Brian without feeling uncomfortable. She felt like she could be more open around him, and she liked that feeling. She'd wanted to get along with both Brian and Zach from the start, only the former always seemed to make it too difficult for her to do so.

Quietly breathing out, her breath turning to steam before her eyes, Treva patiently waited. Having finally learned to shoot and be decent at it, she wanted to try and put it to use.

Suddenly she heard a twig snap. It didn't come from behind her, so she knew it wasn't Brian. Training her eyes, Treva tried to focus in the shaded distance, trying to capture any movement with her eyes.

And there it was. Before Treva, about two-hundred feet away, a young buck made his presence known. His head was down as he grazed through the foliage. Taking a deep breath in, Treva tightened her grip on the rifle, her finger beginning to squeeze the trigger. Behind her, Brian grinned. He could see what was about to happen before his eyes.

Pulling the trigger, Treva almost closed her eyes at the sound but managed to keep looking. The buck didn't even know it was coming, and within moments had dropped to the ground with a thud. Quickly Treva made her way over to the dying creature, Brian hot on her trail. Treva crouched down to get a better look.

Placing a friendly hand on her shoulder, Brian got down next to her. "Good shot," he commended, and Treva looked over her shoulder to smile at him. "Let's get him back to the barn."

It took awhile, but Treva and Brian were able to carry the dead buck back through the forest in the direction they had come. Some ten minutes later they were back on the ranch, being greeted by Zach as he looked up from his place at the chopping block.

Seeing his face, Treva smiled and dismounted Shadow, making quick strides over to Zach as he lowered his ax to the ground. Stealing a glance at Brian and seeing the buck strapped onto Bandit, Zach made the connection.

"You look quite proud," he commented to Treva, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Treva smiled wider.

"I shot a deer. I actually got one, all by myself," she gushed, wanting nothing more than to kiss Zach in her excitement. She could see the look in his eyes mirroring that he wanted to do the same.

"Zach, you wanna help me gut it?" Brian asked as he turned toward the barn.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," Zach answered, receiving a nod before Brian turned away completely. Zach waited until he was certain no one was around to see them together before he turned to Treva again. "So..."

"So," Treva replied with a smile when Zach paused. She took a step closer to him, looking up into his clear green eyes, and smiled again. Reaching out Zach took her hand, lacing his fingers with her own before he leaned down and kissed her.

Back inside the house, both John and Clarisse were stood looking out a window in the kitchen. Clarisse smiled to herself as she saw the exchange of affection between her daughter and Zach. Turning to face her, John sighed.

"I knew it was going to happen eventually," he said, though he wasn't angry in the slightest. Clarisse nodded.

"She's growing up. It was bound to," she replied before turning back to the window. Treva and Zach had broken apart, but they were still close and Clarisse could see the looks each of them had in their eyes. And truthfully, she couldn't have been happier.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soft light shone in through Treva's bedroom window early one morning, about a week later. It woke her gently, her eyes barely fluttering open. She was about to roll over and attempt falling back asleep when something out the window caught her eye. Peering out the glass panes from her bed, Treva's lips turned upward into a smile and she slowly sat up, pulling back the covers. The moment her bare feet touched the cold wood floor, she shivered but stood anyway, quickly making her way across the room to the window.

Before her, on the other side of the glass, little flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky, blanketing the ground and everything in sight. Treva had seen snow before, but never had she realized how beautiful it was.

Smiling once more, Treva turned and grabbed a blanket off her bed, wrapping herself init before heading for the door. Silently she crept down the hall. She wasn't sure if anyone else was awake, but she didn't want to risk waking anyone. When she reached Zach's bedroom door, she paused. Knowing that Zach and Brian shared a room, Treva wondered if Brian was awake or even inside. She wanted to see Zach on a more personal level, but knew she couldn't if Brian was in there. She and Zach still wanted their relationship kept a secret.

Taking a breath, Treva turned the handle and slowly opened the door. The first thing she saw was Brian's empty bed, which relieved her. When she looked at Zach's bed, she noticed he was sitting up, awake, and there was something in his hands he was concentrating on. When Zach saw her, his eyes widened and he quickly hid what he was holding in the drawer of the small table next to his bed.

"I didn't know you were awake," Treva said, nigh above a whisper as she stepped further into the room, closing the door carefully behind her. "What was that in your hands?"

"What do you mean?" Zach asked, noticeably blushing. He hoped Treva hadn't seen what he'd been working on. He wanted it to be a secret until the right time came. Treva smiled at his bashfulness as she stood at the edge of his bed.

"You had something in your hands. You hid it in here," she answered, reaching out to open the drawer. Heart beating rapidly, Zach reached out and caught her hand in his own.

"It was nothing," he brushed off, hoping Treva wouldn't question further.

"You can't hide it from me," she said, her voice full of light laughter, causing Zach to smile. Gently he pulled her toward him until Treva had straddled his lap, her hands on his strong shoulders.

As Zach's hands gripped her thing waist, Treva leaned in and kissed his plump lips. Though she saw him every day, she still seemed to miss him when they were apart. The thought of that made her stomach fill with nervous, tingly butterflies.

Pulling away from the simple kiss, Treva rested her forehead against Zach's, her fingers playing with the baby hairs at the base of his neck. She smiled, looking straight into the green pools of his eyes as Zach was mesmerized in her own crystal clear blues.

"It's snowing outside," she whispered against his lips.

"First snow of the year." Feeling her breath puffing against his lips, Zach leaned in, closing the gap between them and kissed her again, gently sucking her lower lip between his. Treva's breath hitched in her throat and she slowly opened to him, enjoying the feeling of his tongue pressing against her own.

Zach couldn't deny the way he felt for her. It was strong, strong enough to knock the wind out of his lungs, leaving him breathless. He'd never felt this way emotionally in his entire life, and it thrilled him as much as it scared him.

"It's beautiful," Treva remarked after the kiss had ended, looking to her left out the window and at the still-falling snow. Placing his hand gently on her jaw, Zach turned her to look at him again.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, and Treva blushed. Zach only hoped she felt for him the same way he felt for her. Because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it bottled up inside much longer.