Lost

Levi grinned at Karl's singing, glad at least he wasn't the only one grooving. He didn't often see her this relaxed, but when he did, she made him smile. 

Seeing the sticky note, his eyes widened. "Oh, you are amazing." Grabbing it, he stuck it to his forehead before shooting back over to his own desk. "I remember now! He said the shade of green reminded him of pea soup and he hates pea soup." He fiddled on his computer with some different colors. "Where would I be without you?" He paused and glanced over at Karla again. "Probably losing clients left and right. And dead. 'Cause Dad would kill me." 

After taking a long swig of Mountain Dew, he clapped his hands together. "Alright... let's get this done..." 

...Midnight. Levi's eyes were only halfway open. He sat on the floor now with pieces of scratch paper strewn around him. His sketch pad was in hand, his pencil moving faster than his brain was as he drew out another idea for the project. Leaning back against the wall, he paused his sketching as his eyes fell shut. Opening them wide again, he took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. It was only midnight and there was a lot more work left to get done. An all-nighter was never going to work at this rate, but he had to get this finished.

Groaning, he flopped over on his side. "Karla!" he wailed. "Is there any coffee left?"


Jason grinned and pulled Katie close so he could give her a kiss. "Trouble never bothered me..." His eyes glinted with mischief as he let her go and he put his helmet back on. "Hop on and hang on." 

It was a perfect evening for a ride, just as anticipated. Traffic was light, and he took the long route to the lake, willing to freely admit he liked having Katie behind him with her arms around him as he took the curves in the road. Eventually they did make it to the lake where they grabbed some fast food and took it down to the little beach. 

Sitting cross-legged in the sand, Jason sighed and looked out at the water where the sun was just starting to set. "Mm... brilliant idea to come here tonight." 


Hunter just grinned a little and took another sip of coffee. In a few days, once they were back in Nevada, her excitement would naturally fade. And that was okay. It had been kind of nice to be wanted that much this week though. 

"How about we get you up on Buttons again this morning? We gotta take at least one picture of you on a horse for Eli." His smile widened. "He might not believe you otherwise. And maybe... if you're feeling adventurous... you could join me on Bonzai and we can go a little faster than a walk." He wasn't sure if she'd feel up to that or not, but it was worth a try. 


Jim knew it was breakfast time. He could just catch the faint smell of bacon. And there weren't very many sounds in the ranch yard, which meant most everybody was inside now. He walked slowly, his hand running along the fence. He'd managed to get himself outside this morning, and had walked a straight line until he'd run into the fence. His knee still hurt, but at least he hadn't wandered off in some other direction. He'd followed the fence, but now reached the corner post. That meant there was no more guidance from here to the barns. There were just other buildings, vehicles and who knew what else between here and there. He could envision the layout but that was a far cry from actually seeing it and judging distance. 

He took a deep breath. Becky would kill him if she knew he was out here. He'd told her he was just going to stay put inside but after she'd left, he'd changed his mind. Stepping away from the fence, it felt like he was stepping out into oblivion. And after a few feet, he wasn't sure if he'd turned or not. Was he still walking a straight line? He didn't know. His palms began to sweat. 

Walking a little further, his foot caught a water hose that had been coiled up on the ground. Stumbling and finally falling, he winced as his shoulder hit a water bucket. He knew where he was now. Near one of the pastures where the water tank was. It didn't make him feel much better though. Picking himself up, now he couldn't remember which direction he'd been walking. Great. Had he gotten turned around? He didn't know. Walking again, he ran into a fence. Hitting his knee. Again. He growled at himself. He'd just backtracked. Turning around, he tried again. 

It was a good five minutes before he began to wonder just where he'd gone. He hadn't hit or run into anything. His feet were still in short grass, so he wasn't too far off base, but... he should have run into another fence or building by now... right? His heart pounded in his chest. The more fearful he became, the more disoriented he felt. 

He had no idea he was behind the garage, aiming for the row of bunkhouses instead of the barns. Stopping and just standing still, he tried to sense where he was, but it was little use. He was lost.