Wild Horses

The breeze flew in from the surrounding hills, ruffling Treva's dress around her legs and her light gold hair about her head as she trudged lightly through the tall grass. She was alone, out on the great expanse of land surrounding the ranch, daring to step farther than the porch for the first time. And she was silently glad she did.

It was breathtaking, everything around her. At first when she had just arrived to Montana, Treva had thought it was dreadfully silent, the air static and void of the sounds of the city, and in a way she was right. The wide open spaces didn't sound anything like Manhattan, because the air was filled with a music all its own. As she walked along, a tune lazily fluttered past her ears, sounds of the grass under her feet, the birds in the trees, and the wind sweeping around her all coming together to make an intricate yet simple tune.

It really was beautiful, being so far away in an isolated little area. Treva was starting to realize that maybe the Bakers had decided to live so removed from the hustle-bustle of Billings because what they had was a place all their own, a place where no one could bother them and they could just be together like a family should be. In the city, it seemed that everyone was in everyone else's business, never leaving anyone alone for more than a minute. Treva remembered how her family always had guests periodically throughout each day, their home filling with friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. And it had never seemed to bother her until that very moment out in the rolling fields, while Treva was all alone. It was as if city folk couldn't survive without copious amounts of socializing with others, and here in Montana, in the great wide wilderness, it was completely different. And Treva liked it.

When it came right down to it, Treva realized that lately, she hadn't been missing home as much. The only thing she wished she could have stayed back in Manhattan for was her friends. Friends she hadn't spoken to in months, since the move. She felt she had no friends to confide in, to talk to on the ranch. The adults certainly didn't count, and Treva had barely spoken two words to either Zach or Brian. And it wasn't that the two boys weren't friendly, Treva just didn't know what to say or what to talk about. She didn't know anything really about life on the ranch, and the boys probably had no knowledge of a large city like New York.

Losing complete track of all time on her walk, Treva had no idea how long she'd been gone. She'd covered quite a distance and had come upon a slow-moving stream, downhill from the ranch. The water was shallow, allowing her to see clear through to the bottom in most places. Standing on the rocks that lined the bed of the stream, Treva stepped out of the tall grass and reeds that tapered down and made way for the stream. From where she was, she could see little fish - minnows - darting around small stones and pebbles, and the sound of the water rushing over the creek bed added to nature's music that was playing all around her. Suddenly another sound caught on, one Treva felt uncertain about, and as the sound got closer she looked all around, trying to find the source. It sounded like heavy footfalls.

Turning around, Treva could see a black stallion tromping straight toward her, Zach in the saddle. Her heard palpitated in her chest at the fear of being completely obliterated by the horse, and she stumbled backwards, slipping on a few rocks smothered with algae. Losing her footing, Treva's arms flailed, doing her no good as she fell, butt-first, down into the cold water, letting out a cry of surprise and shock as she fell.

"Whoa boy," Zach said, trying not to laugh at the sight of Treva sitting in the stream, and he pulled his stallion to a halt before getting off and quickly stepping down onto the rocks.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sticking one hand out toward Treva. She latched on with both of hers, causing Zach to realize how tiny her hands were, and he quickly pulled her to her feet. Sighing at the water trickling down her legs, her skirts heavy now that they were drenched and dripping, Treva regained her footing on the rocks. She realized quickly how close she was to Zach and that her hands were still clasped around his and let go, feeling her cheeks tinge pink in embarrassment.

"Are you okay, Treva?" Zach asked again. Clearing her throat and looking away for a moment, Treva nodded.

"I'm fine," she nearly whispered.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, if that's what I did," he began to apologize, and the midnight-colored horse snorted from behind him, causing Treva to keep her eyes wide and focused on it.

"That's what scared me," she muttered, and Zach looked over his shoulder at the horse, eyebrows raised as he looked back at Treva.

"What? Shadow?" he asked, referring to his stallion. Seeing Treva barely nod, he smiled. "Awh, Shadow's completely harmless," Zach said, turning and walking back to his trusted horse. Placing one hand against the hard, smooth muscles of the neck and the other on the horse's muzzle, lightly stroking the fine, black hairs, he looked softly into the deep, endless eye of the horse gazing back at him. "You wouldn't hurt a fly, would you, boy?" he asked quietly, and Shadow reared his head, his nose pressing up into Zach's hand.

Laughing, he looked back at Treva, who was reluctant to come any closer. "See? He's completely harmless. Come pet him," he urged.

"...I don't want to," Treva said, rooting her feet on the spot.

"Why not?"

"Because...because I'm scared of horses. They're big...and scary," she admitted, looking away again.

"He won't bite you, I promise. You won't get hurt, Treva," Zach assured. Catching the nervous look in her eyes, he smiled. "Come on.... If you don't come over here, I'll go over there and carry you here...," he threatened lightly, but Treva just sighed, feeling her stomach flip over inside her.

Smiling wider, Zach left Shadow and crossed the ten foot distance between himself and Treva, grabbing her hand before she could pull away. He lightly dragged her back over to the black stallion, feeling her finally resist once he was only a few feet from the horse.

"Zach...," she said, her voice trembling, and he stopped, turning to look at her.

"I want you to get over this irrational fear you have of horses, so you can see how beautiful they are as gentle creatures. A horse would never deliberately hurt a human, unless it had reason or was scared," Zach said, his hand gently tightening around Treva's. Staring into his vibrant green eyes that were staring back at her, she felt a sense of trust in him, a sense of security.

Feeling no restraint from her, Zach moved her closer to the horse. Gently raising her hand, he moved his over the back of hers, watching Treva's eyes widen as she was stood right next to the head of Shadow, who was standing completely calm. Gently twining his fingers with Treva's, Zach pulled her hand up to the horse's neck, getting her fingertips to touch. When the horse didn't rear at her or cause her to feel frightened, Treva smoothed her palm against the soft hair, slowly moving down and feeling the thick muscles beneath her hand.

Sensing that she was no longer afraid, Zach let go of Treva's hand, watching as she continued to pet the horse, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

"See? He won't hurt you..." Zach whispered, and Treva looked at him, her smile still showing.

The two walked upstream, Zach pulling Shadow silently behind him. He was excited that he'd gotten Treva close to the stallion, feeling that maybe part of her shell had been cracked away.

"So what was it like growing up on the ranch?" Treva asked, lazily kicking her feet through the tall grass, looking up at Zach on her left.

"Well, no day was ever really the same. There was always something new to discover, something that hadn't been touched or seen or heard before. I don't remember much of the city, since I was so young when we moved out here and built the ranch, and my brother, he didn't know nothin' but the wilderness."

"You have a brother?" she asked curiously, and when she looked up at Zach again she saw a dark look silently creep along his face.

"Had. He was only three years younger than me - born right here on the ranch, and then when he was about twelve or so, he got the influenza during a particularly nasty winter, and the fever killed him," Zach explained, remembering his younger brother, Matthew. Some days he still couldn't believe he was gone. It seemed like it was only yesterday, when it had been three years ago.

"Oh.... I -- I'm sorry. About your brother," Treva said, feeling horrible for asking and making Zach relive the pain of losing his brother.

"It's all right. It couldn't have been helped, the same way Brian's parents couldn't have been helped," Zach mumbled, hoping to move off the subject. When it was silent for some time after, he cleared his throat and figured he'd do it himself.

"So," he sighed, looking down at the young woman walking beside him as she was a few inches shorter than he, "this is the first time I've really ever seen you away from the house."

"Oh..." Treva said. "It took me awhile to adjust, I guess." She didn't really know what to say other than that.

"Do you like it here? Be honest," Zach questioned, and Treva let a grin slip past at the soft country accent that graced his words. She noticed it was stronger than the accent Maria or James had, though she figured that was due to the fact that Zach's parents had lived in the city for many years, while Zach had spent most of his life out in Montana.

"Yes. It's different, but it's too beautiful to not like," Treva answered, taking in a deep breath of fresh air, and Zach smiled.

Maybe Treva's shell wouldn't be so hard to crack after all.