Last Day

Jason smiled his approval at Katie's choice. It was a warm day and it would be a perfect evening for a bike ride. "Okay. It's a date." His smile widened as he saw her admiring the ring. The look on her face... he wanted to remember it forever.

Getting to his feet with her, he wobbled unsteadily for a moment, leaning on the tree. He shook his head at the strange wave of dizziness. Maybe he'd just gotten up too fast. He bent to pick up the rest of his sub for later and used the tree to brace himself. If he didn't know any better, he'd say his sugar was crashing, but he'd just eaten, so that couldn't be it. He just shook his head again and waited for it to pass. 


Pete sighed and sat on the edge of the table in the meeting room. He explained the whole thing again, already growing tired of the process. 

"We're not accusing you or anyone else. We just need to question everybody here for the record." He searched Sapphire's face. "As far as your profile goes, you've got a lot of reason to want these guys dead, what with all that's happened to your brother. So... do you know anything at all about these shootings?"


The ride back to the ranch was a little quieter, but Dylan had gotten over Sparky's teasing, so the atmosphere was light again. Chatter and laughter filled part of the long ride home  and Dylan got them all back to the ranch in one piece. It was almost suppertime, but with some help from the other guys, the hay got all unloaded before the evening meal. 

The only complaint Hunter had was that the day had gone by too quickly. After supper, a few stuck around for some games, but tiredness came all too soon. Walking to the bunkhouses with Ryan and Dylan as they aimed for bed, Hunter bid them both goodnight, and found himself alone for the first time that day. And in a strange way... it almost felt too quiet to go to sleep. As tired as he was, he tossed and turned for quite a while before finally being able to shut his mind off enough to go to sleep. And before he knew it, the rooster was crowing.

After dragging himself out of bed and showering and dressing, Hunter pulled on his boots and donned his jacket. Out in the porch, he took a deep breath of the morning air. It felt warmer today and there were few clouds in the sky, promising a beautiful day ahead. It was disappointing that this would be the last full day here. It felt like he'd just arrived. Maybe he wouldn't wait so long to come back again. 

Stepping off the porch, he glanced to the next bunk, wondering if Ryan would want to be woken up. Maybe. But she deserved to sleep late, too. He hoped her absence meant she'd slept well, and if that were the case,  he wanted her to get as much good rest as she could. Finally making up his mind, he aimed for the barn. He'd help with chores before going to breakfast.