The Morgan Clan || A Red Dead Story

Chapter 6; The Roar of Man and Beast

"There you are! I've been worried sick!" Albert ran over to Arthur as he dismounted. His partner grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry, Albert. Ghost and I couldn't find the horses. Somethin's up down the valley." Albert stopped his concerned touching of Arthur's arms and hands to look up at him, his head cocked.

"What do you mean, something's up?" Arthur gave one of his photographer's hands a quick squeeze before rubbing the back of his neck and looking out over the valley.

"I don't know. Somethin' must have spooked the horses either closer to Rock Ridge or up into Mount Shann. Either way they're long gone."

"Could it have been that bounty hunter Jacob told us about," Albert asked. He gave his cowboy's arm a worried squeeze.

"I don't think so. Remember your friend said that he was camped near Owanjila Lake. That's on the other side of the mountain, west of Strawberry," Arthur reasoned.

"What do you think it could have been? A bear? Hunters?"

"Nah. It's somethin' else. With all the bears and cougars around here I would expect the horses to try and defend themselves rather than run away," he shrugged, "but maybe I'm wrong."

"What do we do? Should we go look for them?" Albert's voice rose an octave and his brow furrowed.

"No. Whatever it is is gone. They'll come back in a day or two," Arthur snaked an arm around his partner's waist and pulled him in so that their foreheads were resting against each other.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he used his free hand to ease the worry from Albert's face.

"I know I shouldn't but- but what if they're lost or hurt? I mean if they went up in the mountains they might not survive, especially the foals! I know it's spring, but it is still quite cold up there," Albert's eyes desperately looked into Arthur's, and with a sigh, the cowboy nodded.

"Fine. We'll go lookin' for the horses." The photographer smiled and gave his partner a quick kiss.

"Oh, thank you, Arthur! I'm sure we'll find them!" The determination in his eyes made Arthur's heart jump in his chest. He waved both it and Albert off dismissively.

"Ain't nothin', just doin' my duty as your bodyguard." Albert snorted at that.

"You know I still can't believe Jacob said that. I mean it's true, but still! You're much more than a bodyguard to me and he knows it. If marriage was allowed between two men I would marry you in a heartbeat." Arthur's eyes widened, his hands faltering from Ghost's saddle.

"Albert," was all he could manage. His photographer looked back at him after securing his camera on the back of Shadow's Cast.

"What? I would and you know it, Arthur. We've been together for over three years now."

"Yeah, but- I've never heard you say it."

"Well, now I've said it," he mounted his horse and stared at Arthur as he stared back, "Come on!"

"Right, sorry, just," He swung himself upon Ghost, eyes still wide, "God, I love you." Albert chuckled as he kicked his horse forward.

"And I you, now let's go find those horses!" He kicked Shadow's Cast again and she took off at a canter. Ghost whinnied at a still stunned Arthur and ran forward to follow her friend.

The two men began to circle the base of Mount Shann. Arthur refused to let Albert go any farther than the foothills because he knew if they started up the mountain, they wouldn't be able to get back down before nightfall. So, through the trees they went. Every now and then Albert would call to Arthur about a clue he might've found. Most of them lead to other animals, but some were genuine, leading them hopefully closer to the wild horses.