Unbridled Hearts

6. Chills

Willow sat frozen in place, staring in disbelief at the horrifying sight before her. A grizzly. A grizzly, standing angrily not three yards away.

It reared up on its hind legs to an impressive height and swiped its paw through the air, its long black claws coming down just mere feet away from Belle's neck, causing her horse to shy sideways and whinny. The bear let out a ferocious roar, sending fear throughout Willow's whole body, making her heart race and her breath catch in her throat.

Where the hell are you when I actually need you, Harley!? She screamed inside her head.

If I die it's totally on you and I will haunt you till you join me. 

She frantically scanned her surroundings, her heart racing as she saw nothing but open fields, the trees were too far away to make a run for it, and the safety of the house was all the way back through the forest. Behind the bear.

Just as panic began to consume her, she caught a faint sound of movement behind her. Slowly, holding her breath, she turned her head, keeping an eye on the bear as she did.

Harley was leading his horse back up a little hill she hadn't seen before, water dripping from its mouth. He didn't abandon me! He's here!

"Harley!" She whisper-screamed.

The bear stood lazily scratching its chest, scrutinizing her, sizing her up, deciding if I would taste good probably.

"Harley!" She called louder.

He kept staring out over the horizon, occasionally giving his horse a pat.

He can't hear me! I'll have to be louder.

She sucked in a breath, watching the bear cautiously, then, she screamed.

She screamed over and over until her lungs burned with the effort and her head became light. Please, God, let him hear me. She silently prayed.

The next thing that sounded through her ears was the loud bang of a shotgun going off.

She instinctively ducked her head into Belle's neck and shrieked in fear.

"Willow!" She heard someone yell, her ears were still ringing from the gun and she couldn't tell who it was.

"Willow! Get out of there!" Said the voice.

She raised her head an inch and wiped the sweat from her brow. Looking up, she saw Harley beside her aiming the shotgun to the sky and firing again, hollering as he did. Only then did Willow realize the bear was retreating, it came down on all four with a thud and turned to lumber off into the darkening woods.

"Oh thank goodness!" She let out the breath she had been holding and jumped out of her saddle, leaping into Harley's arms.

"You saved me!" She cried.

He grunted and hugged her back in response.

"Come on," He said. "Let's get back to the house."

Willow nodded inhaling his earthy scent as her head rested against his chest. Wait, his chest!? She pushed away from him awkwardly and scratched her arm in embarrassment.

I can't believe I just did that. Raging emotions or not, there is NO hugging the rugged, good-smelling, sexy- No!

He stared down at her from his much taller height with a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher before he turned his back towards her and stowed the gun away.

* * *

Harley heard a faint noise behind him and turned in curiosity, but what he saw knocked the air from his lungs and made his body freeze in horror.

A full-grown grizzly standing on its hind paws and growling ferociously. That wasn't what had him near a heart attack. He had seen dozens of grizzlies while working the farm, they were part of nature, a piece of the land. No, what scared him half senseless and made him want to forget the If-You-Encounter-A-bear training from his Boy Scout days was the small woman on a horse that lurched and whinnied in fear.

"Harley!" She yelled.

The bear came crashing down to all fours to take a swipe at her, its massive claws tearing through the air in anticipation of human flesh.

He mentally hit himself for not moving sooner and leapt up on Cypress' back, pulling his shotgun out as he rode towards Willow and the angry carnivore.

"Willow!" He alerted her that he was coming and got his shotgun ready.

The animal stood to its full height when it saw him coming and scratched its chest, annoyed. Harley raised his shotgun to the sky and fired.

A scream sounded through the air, followed by the ear-splitting sound of the bear's roar. He raised the gun and fired again, the bear curled its lip at the smell of the bullets discharging and came back down to its feet with a heavy thud. It looked them over one more time before ambling off into the woods.

He watched it go, climbing off his horse and turning to Willow.

She sat stock still, blinking over at the bear, before seeming to snap out of it. As soon as she realized the danger was no longer there, she jumped out of Belle's saddle and ran over to Harley, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

"You saved me." She breathed.

After a moment of holding her, an awkward silence filled the air between them. She pushed away from him and rubbed her arm awkwardly, her cheeks flushed pink.

Harley got lost in thought momentarily while his gaze raked over her body, checking for any wounds. He pulled himself out of his daze and put his gun away.

He sighed, "Are you alright?"

"Ye-Yes, yes I'm alright." She stuttered.

He gave a curt nod of his head and went to collect Belle, who was grazing on grass a few feet away like nothing had happened. That horse could stand still on an earthquake.

Harley brought her over to where Willow stood staring off into the woods. She was most likely wondering if they should take that path back. It would take longer, but they'd have to go the other way. That bear was most likely female, which meant cubs were near by. And judging by how much the small woman by his side was shaking, another encounter wouldn't be good.

"Come on, let's go this way." He helped her mount and grabbed the rains in his hand, leading her horse in one hand and his own in the other.

She was shaking atop Belle's back and that wasn't helping their progress any. After making slow movements towards the ranch for about an hour he heard a faint grunt from behind him. Turning in the saddle he saw Willow slip from hers and barely make it to the edge of the trail before emptying the contents of this mornings breakfast from her stomach. He sighed and slid from from his horse, coming up behind her he placed his hand on her shoulder and brushed her hair aside, which was tangled from the day's events.

"I'm sorry," she rasped once she got her bearings.

"For what? You have nothing to apologize for."

"No, you don't understand-"

"Look, let's just get back home, okay?"

"Okay." She said shakily.

Harley helped her to her feet and held her under her arms so she wouldn't collapse again.

She eyed Belle's back wearily and moved to get in the saddle.

"Come on, you can ride with me." She barely had a chance to squeak in protest before he lifted her over his own horse and mounted behind her. She leaned back against him and closed her eyes in exhaustion, resting her head against his chest. Once he was sure she wouldn't fall he squeezed Cypress into a steady walk, continuing the long journey back.

Dun Dun! Well, looks like Harley can be sweet when he wants to. Read to find out what happens next and don't forget to vote!

Xxauthor