Saving Grace

Chapter 9: Colt

She surprised me with her answer. But that seemed about right, because she had been surprising me. She wasn't the typical city girl I had first pegged her out to be. In fact, she wasn't like most girls at all. Most would be freaking out over every bug or complaining nonstop about our situation, but she hadn't.

Depsite the circumstances, it seemed she felt at home where we were, and it was hard to imagine her feeling more at home in the city. Especially when I watched her riding Star; it was as if she belonged up there.

I knew exactly what she meant about things getting too loud. Shit was constantly too loud in my head to not understand. Noise only made it worse. Being out working on the ranch or riding were about the only things that drowned both the noise and demons out.

"So, you came out here for some peace and quiet...any reason in particular that some solitude was necessary?"

"I don't know...it's just--." She paused for a moment and then met my awaiting gaze. "You ever get the feeling you're chasing something, but you don't know what? That something is missing, but you're not sure what it is?"

Her words sliced through me like a knife. I stared at that woman in front of me, wondering what could be so turned around in her life, that she felt as lost as I did. Except, I wasn't chasing anything, I was running away from something. And something was missing, but I knew exactly what. It wasn't something I talked about though.

"Something about here made you feel you would find what was missing. Why is that?"

She scooted closer to me, and turned her face away from mine. She leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes.

"Horses. The last time I felt whole and the last time I felt free, I was on one." She covered her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn.

"You used to ride?"

"All the time."

"Who taught you to ride Grace?" I asked. With her eyes still shut, she lazily smiled. Slowly, she nestled her head on my shoulder, causing my breath to hitch.

"My Daddy." She murmured and fell swiftly to sleep.

I stayed completely still, afraid to move and wake her. The exhaustion from the day finally claimed her. I stared at her asleep and replayed her words, wondering what the story behind it all was. For some reason beyond my understanding, I needed to know. I needed to know what made her feel less than what she was; what made her feel so lost, she had to travel across the country to find what she was missing.

Slowly, I wrapped my arm around her and scooted us down to where her head was resting on my chest. It would get colder through the night, and our body warmth would be needed. I tucked my other arm behind my head for a chance at comfort and closed my eyes. Sounds of wildlife surrounded us, proving it was going to be a long and uneasy night.

******

I awoke with a crick in my neck, and a slight headache. I slowly opened my eyes and confusion took hold as I took in my surroundings. I felt a weight on my chest, and I looked down to see Grace asleep on me. Wait, Grace? Shit. Events of yesterday poured through my mind, and I groaned.

Her hair was sprawled across her face, so I reached out and moved the loose strands away. I felt Grace stir beneath me and watched as she lifted her head, looking around until her wide eyes landed on mine. Damn, she was beautiful even in the early morning. She jumped up, hitting her head on the tree limbs we had leaned against the tree for shelter.

"Ouch, damnit." She cursed, grabbing her head. I slowly sat up and moved her hands away to see how bad she got it. She eyed me surprised, but didn't move away.

"You know, I'm starting to think you have an affinity for hitting your head." I smirked, not missing the glare she sent my way. "Well, you're not bleeding. Are you okay?" I searched her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just momentarily forgot where I was. I kinda hoped this was all a dream."

"More like nightmare. But trust me, me too."

"I'm uh, I'm sorry I fell asleep on you." She tucked her hair behind her ear and avoided my gaze, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't be." I insisted. She snapped her head up and looked at me with gaping eyes. "We needed the warmth. It got pretty cold last night." I shrugged.

"Oh. Right. How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby."

"You know babies don't actually sleep great, right?"

"Exactly." I winked, and she laughed.

I peered out of our makeshift shelter to be sure there weren't any predators awaiting, and crawled out. Grace soon followed. She adjusted her bag and threw her disheveled hair back up in a bun.

"You ready to start walking again?"

"Like we have a choice." She smirked. "Um, but actually Colt...first, I kind of need to...you know..." She stammered out, her cheeks crimson.

"Pee, you mean? You have to pee?"

"Could you say it in any less embarrassing way?" She groaned, covering her face with her hands.

I laughed at her coyness. She walked behind the shelter, and I went a few feet to relieve myself as well.

When she was done, she came back from around the shelter with her arms folded across her chest and a shy smile painted on her face.

"Can I let you in on a little secret?"

I raised my brow, regarding her question with curiosity.

"Is it the dirty kind of secret?"

She chuckled and shook her head.

"I've always wanted to do that."

I tilted my head, studying her.

"Do what? Pee in the woods?" I asked, both surprised and confused.

She blushed. It was so damn cute, I couldn't stand it. There she was, brazen enough to tell me she had always wanted to pee outside, yet completely shy about it.

"I don't know why really. I guess because it's so taboo. Definitely not the proper thing for a lady to do."

"Peeing outdoors is taboo?" I chuckled.

She brought her hand up to her face and let out a small laugh.

"I guess you wouldn't understand."

"Well considering I pee in the great outdoors all the time, maybe not. But, I do get how it is for you. You have been missing out." I winked and took a couple of steps until she was directly in front of me. I leaned forward, my face hovering over hers, and peered into her startled eyes. "Grace Campbell," I paused for effect, placing my hand on my chest, "I am honored to have been the person you peed outside for the first time with."

Her eyes grew wide, matching her lips as they cracked into a smile. She busted out laughing and lightly shoved me away.

"You are ridiculous Colt."

"True." I held out my hand for her to take. "Come on, let's get going."

She hesitantly grabbed my hand and we started our trek. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but we were most definitely lost. After walking for around two hours yesterday and still not finding our way back to at least the trail, I knew we must have been going in the wrong direction.

Since there were no visible landmarks, and nothing but thick woods, I had looked at the sky last night to see if I could find the North star and get a sense of direction that way. If I was right in looking at it, then we had indeed been going the wrong way. So, not only did we have to make up the hours of going in the wrong direction, we then had to finish whatever miles we had made up the mountain in the first place. I was cursing myself for getting so turned around.

I don't know how we managed to do it, but I was no expert when it came to navigation. I could not even be sure I was following the whole "North Star" thing correctly, but I had my gut instinct, and I was going to listen to it. Looking at Grace, and her trusting face, I knew I had to. I was going to get her out of our mess. I was going to save her, even if it was the last thing I did.