Wild Horses

It seemed that as soon as Treva and Zach got to know each other, she was more willing to come outside. Knowing she finally had someone her own age to talk to, someone to keep her from being alone, she didn't feel quite so timid. She'd taken a liking to both Zach and Brian, and it amazed her how different the two older boys were.

Brian seemed very confident and sure of himself, perhaps even cocky at certain times, but there was a charm about him - something that drew her toward him for the simple reason of wanting to know more. And then there was Zach. He was softer spoken than Brian, perhaps with an air of uncertainty about him. His confidence waned in comparison to Brian's - until he and Treva were alone, at least. It was like there were two sides of Zach. When he was with Treva, he seemed sure of every movement he made, of every word he spoke. And when he was around Brian, it seemed, he was more likely to shy away, hiding in Brian's shadow. And yet, the two were like brothers.

Despite the charm Brian's personality exuded, and the instant attraction to his good looks and disposition, Treva couldn't help but feel that he was too dangerous for her. Perhaps it was because she got to know Zach first, but she felt something more for the quieter of the two. Maybe it was because he was more like she was. Treva had never been very outspoken in all her sixteen years, but that was also due to the saying that children should be seen and not heard. In her city society, Treva knew her place.

But there was also a sense of real compassion for nature and the wilderness that she found in Zach, and in a way his spirit calmed her, making Treva feel safe and welcomed. There was just something she couldn't describe about how she felt with Zach.

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

Standing out on the front porch of the house, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders to keep out the chilled autumn air, Clarisse watched her daughter closely. She'd noticed Treva going outside, spending time with the boys. And while normally she would have worried about Treva getting into a certain kind of trouble with those boys, she knew her daughter needed this. Treva had never really taken an interest in boys back in Manhattan, but now she was maturing. Clarisse knew Treva would be safe with Zach and Brian.

Smiling, she watched as Treva slowly walked around the ranch, closer to the house with the two older boys. Seeing the smile on her daughter's face made her happy - Treva was finally warming up to Montana and the new lifestyle she'd been thrown into.

Hearing the boards of the veranda creak under the weight of another Clarisse turned, looking over to see her husband, John. He came up behind her, one arm out to lean against a support beam. Kissing his wife, he pulled away slowly with a smile, watching as Clarisse turned again. He followed her gaze and caught sight of Treva and the boys, a look of genuine content on her face.

"She's finally getting used to it," he said with a sigh of contentment.

"Yes, she is. I was worried she was going to hate us for this," Clarisse practically whispered, leaning back into her husband's warmth. "I'm glad she's finally finding her place here."

Nodding in agreement, John stayed silent. From where he was he could see the way the boys looked at his daughter. Both gazes were different, but John could see they held attraction. But then he saw Treva's gaze, a certain look that was only reflected onto the shorter, quieter boy. Sighing, he knew this day would come: the day where Treva wasn't his little girl anymore. The day where one boy would slowly begin to win her heart.

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

Sliding open the large door, Brian put his muscles to good use. He turned once it was open and Treva could smell the scent of horses, hay, and other things. It smelled of life.

"This is the horse barn," Brian explained, and Treva chuckled, having already known this but accepting his introduction to it anyway. Brian headed into the barn, which was much darker than the outside world, but with the door open light was able to pour in. Zach followed after his friend slowly, not wanting to leave Treva behind.

Stepping inside, Treva was met with rows of horse stalls, one down each side of the barn with a space between. There were only five horses in total: the four that belonged to the Bakers, and the one that the Dawns had brought with them on their journey. Each horse was a different color. The Dawns' horse was a ruddy shade of chestnut, nothing unique about it. The horse in the stall next to the chestnut (which had no name), resembled a deep shade of chocolate with a white marking on its muzzle, almost like a diamond. The horse looked much older than the rest, but strong all the same.

"That was the horse we came here with," Zach said quietly, noticing Treva looking at the old mare. "She was much younger back then," he added with a small laugh. Glancing up ahead, Treva noticed Brian enter the farthest stall down the left side, disappearing from view.

"Does she have a name?" she asked, stepping up to the stall, Zach moving with her. He nodded, reaching out to rub the horse's nose.

"Delilah. My mother named her," he said, keeping his voice very soft.

Moving down further to the first horse on the left side, Treva came face to face with a beautiful white horse, with a grey nose and greying ears, deep black eyes gazing back at her. "Who's this?" she asked, reaching out to smooth her hand over the horse's neck and looking over her should at Zach who came up beside her.

"This was Matthew's, my brother's, horse," he said, leaning one arm on the ledge of the stall. "Name's Twitch." Winging her eyebrows in question, Treva saw the smile grow on Zach's lips. "Watch his tail."

Craning her neck around Treva looked at the long grey and white tail, seeing the horse flick it to the side, repeating the motion seconds later, like a nervous twitch. Smiling, she looked back at Zach, and caught a subtle wink from him. Pressing her lips together, she felt her cheeks grow hot and quickly turned away, moving down to the stall diagonally across from where Brian had entered.

"Hi Shadow," she whispered with a fond smile, reaching out to touch the soft black hair like she had the first time, only with more confidence. The horse snorted, sending its warm breath over her face, tickling her skin. Hearing a whinny from behind her, Treva looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened at the beauty of the last horse.

It was multicolored, with splatters of chestnut brown and bright white, small patches of a cream color here and there. The horse looked like it had been carelessly painted, but it was gorgeous. From where she stood, Treva could see a wild look in its bright eyes, daring her to take a step closer. She saw Brian in the stall with the horse and could automatically tell that it was his. Looking up as he heard her come near, Brian smiled at Treva, continuing to groom the coat of his stallion.

"That's Bandit," Zach said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his tan trousers as he stepped up to the paint. "He was a wild horse. Brian tamed him."

"Did you really?" Treva asked, wondering if it was hard to accomplish. Seeing the still-wild look of the tamed horse told her it was.

"I sure did. About three years back," Brian explained, moving closer to the two on the other side of the stall.

"...Why 'Bandit'?" she then asked, looking at Brian with curiosity, and he smirked - a look that made Treva's stomach feel nervous in an entirely good way.

"Cuz he'll try and steal any food he can."

"...Can I touch him?"

"Well sure," Brian answered, running his fingers through the horse's mane. Feeling slightly intimidated, Treva slowly reached out her hand. Bandit lifted his head as she came closer and before she knew what to do, he started to lightly nibble her hand with his lips. The sensation tickled, causing Treva to laugh, the two boys as well.

"He was hoping you had food, but you're probably delicious anyway," Brian said, eyes trained on Treva's face, catching her blush as she looked down. He could see she was clearly flustered and smirked, looking back at Bandit. He never did catch the nervous glance Zach shot at him. "Do you want to ride him?"

Hearing the question, Treva looked up nervously, eyes wide as she looked from Bandit to Brian. "Um...I - I don't-" she stuttered. Touching a horse was one thing. Riding one was completely different. She didn't know how.

"Oh come on. If you want, I'll ride with you," Brian offered, and Treva swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. She nodded.

"Well, in that case, I'm going to have to get you some proper riding clothes. You can't really ride in a dress. At least not comfortably, I would imagine," Zach said, looking at Treva's attire.

"Alright, I'll get him ready to go while you guys run inside," Brian said, stepping out of the stall to join them. Nodding, Zach led Treva out of the barn and back toward the house. Once inside, he headed up the stairs to the second floor, moving down the hall, away from Treva's room, she noticed. Turning into a room on the right, she realized they were in the bedroom her parents had taken up.

Seeing Zach kneeled in front of the old wooden trunk at the foot of the bed, she furrowed her brow. "What are you doing?"

"These clothes were my brother's. I figure you're small enough that they'll fit you. And maybe once you can ride, the three of us can go down into Billings and get you your own clothes," Zach said, pulling out a pair of trousers that looked much like his own, and a white shirt to match. Setting them on the bed and closing the trunk, he stood and faced Treva. "I'll wait for you in the hall."

Nodding, she watched Zach go, turning back to the bed as she began unfastening her dress. She was left in her shapely corset and bloomers, and while she knew she would be more comfortable without the corset top she opted to keep it on, protecting her modesty. She slipped on the trousers first. They were a bit baggy around the legs. But Zach was right - her curved hips were still slim enough that the pants fit around her waist, albeit snuggly. She then pulled on the white shirt, feeling the smooth, worn material brush her arms before buttoning up the front. Realizing how thing the shirt was, Treva was thankful she had kept the corset on. Tucking the shirt loosely into the waist of the trousers, she entered the hall, seeing Zach leaning against the wall waiting as promised.

Once they had reached the barn, Bandit was already saddled and ready to go, waiting in the pasture with Brian who had placed a leather-hide brown cowboy hat on his head to shade his eyes from the sun. Treva smiled, thinking he looked just like one of the cowboys she'd seen in picture books back home.

"Alright. You ready?" he asked, and Treva nodded, still feeling a little nervous. "Okay, you're going to have to get on first, because if I do, you'll end up kicking me when you swing your leg over." Seeing the sudden look of panic in Treva's eyes at the prospect of being alone on the horse, Brian laughed. "Don't worry. Zach will help you up and I'll keep Bandit steady. You'll be fine up there by yourself, I promise," he said, sending her a smile of encouragement, and Treva nodded slowly, stepping closer to Bandit.

"Grab the knob on the saddle with both hands - that's what you're going to pull yourself up with - and put your right foot in the stirrup to help push off," Zach instructed and Treva nodded, holding the knob with both hands and putting her foot into the stirrup like he'd told her. She smiled to herself when Zach stood close behind her, his hands securely on her hips as he intended to help lift her up.

"Start pulling yourself up," Zach said, his mouth right by her ear, and she did, feeling her arms strain as Zach helped lift her, his grip tightening slightly. Once she felt she was high enough, Treva swung her left leg up and over, and she was in the saddle. Looking down, the ground seemed very far down.

"When I get up there, it's going to be a tight fit. Just a warning," Brian said as he moved down to the saddle, patting Bandit's nose as he moved. Zach could hear the smugness in Brian's words and wish that he was the one that Treva was riding with.

Pulling her feet out of the stirrups to allow Brian to use them, Treva watched and she was amazed at how fast and easy it was for Brian to pull himself up behind her. He was right: it was a tight fit. Her back was pressed tightly into his chest, his arms around her as he took the reigns.

"You good to go?" Brian asked, and Treva felt his breath cascade down her neck as she nodded. Digging his heels into the horse's ribs, Brian encouraged Bandit to go, quickly moving him into a trot.

Treva was amazed at the feeling of the horse's power beneath her, against her legs, the movements trailing up into her body as the wind whipped her hair. Seeing her smile, Brian urged Bandit into a canter, feeling his legs move faster beneath both of them. Treva felt it too, the same way she felt her heart beat quicken in exhilaration, her smile growing as Brian led Bandit around the large pasture, moving around the cattle that were grazing.

"What do you think?" Brian asked over the pounding of the hooves, his lips almost against Treva's ear.

"It's amazing!" She could feel his lips move down toward her neck as she spoke, forming a smile against her skin.

"Do you want to go faster?" he asked, and Treva nodded. "Hyah!" he shouted once he picked his head up, flicking the reigns like a whip and digging his heels a bit harder into the paint's coat, and Bandit surged forward, going full speed.

Feeling her heart almost beat in half-time with the pounding of Bandit's hooves on the hard packed ground, Treva knew what Zach meant when he had told her once that sometimes he felt like he was a part of Shadow, part of his body. She felt that way now, too.

She felt alive.