Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

me.
    "Seriously?" Jax said. "Don't you have, like… stuff?"
    "Nothing I need. I got my wallet in my pocket."
    I snorted. Jax laid a hand on my rump.
    "Wanna come?" Ray asked.
    Oh boy.
    "Where to?"
    "Wherever."
    "Are you asking me to horse rustle with you?" I could hear the grin in Jax's voice.
    "It ain't rustling. The horses are mine."
    I heard something behind me and raised my head. There was a familiar smell in the air.
    Kingston trotted up beside me. "I'll be damned," Ray said. "King followed us."
    "Cute dog," Jax said.
    I tried to ignore King, even sped up. But the dog kept pace with me. And finally I heard him say, "Hi."
    "All this fucking time?" I asked. "I've been trying to talk to you for weeks."
    "I'm shy."
    "No shit."
    "I get nervous around people I like."
    "I haven't been 'people' in a while," I said.
    "We're still people. Even like this."
    "And what the hell do you mean, people you like?"
    "Just… you seem cool. Doggie sixth sense."
    "What's your real name?"
    "Dominic."
    "Well, Dominic," I said. "I don't know what you're doing here. But perhaps you can see my brother Jax and I are in a bit of a pickle."
    Kingston— Dominic— laughed. "Your brother doesn't seem too troubled by the pickle."
    Jax and Ray were once again chatting away on top of me. Jax was spinning a tale about where he'd come from and why he'd run away.
    "No," I agreed. "He's enjoying riding with his arms around Ray's waist and hasn't fully realized the trouble we're in."
    "Do you know what kind of trouble you're in?" he asked.
    "What do you mean?"
    "Outside the barn earlier. I smelled another dog. Big dog. Mean dog."
    "That's what you were growling at?"
    "Yep. Bitch ran off."
    "You're sure she's a… bitch?"
    "In every sense of the word."
    This made me uneasy. The only big mean bitch I knew in this area was Dixie.
    "I think I know her," I said.
    "Any reason she might be looking for you?"
    I explained the incident with Changed for the Better to Dominic. We continued to talk over the next couple of miles. I learned he was a runaway too. He'd showed a few years ago, and now lived on the ranch because he preferred life as a dog to going back and facing the human life he'd left.
    "If you're gonna be a ranch dog, you can do better than Ottsenmeiser," I said.
    "Eh. I get kicked every now and then— by animals and by Ottie. But it's not a bad life. I'm good at herding."
    Jax had reached the climax of his story, which somehow involved a slingshot, a jealous lover, and more than a few parallels to the real story of how he and I had fled Dixie and come to the ranch.
    "See, that's what I want to do," Ray said when Jax was finished. "That's what I'm going to do— pick up and leave. I'm not gonna stay where I'm not treated right. Thanks, Jackson. You've inspired me."
    "You can call me Jax. And hey, anywhere you wanna go— I'm game. Once we find your horse. Of course."
    I let out another fart.
    "I could tell they had it bad for each other before tonight," Dominic said. "That sounds weird to say, since your brother was a horse. But it's true."
    "I know," I said. "Ray thought he'd found his loyal steed. Little did he know his steed spent a great deal of time checking out his—"
    "James," Dominic said quietly.
    "Yeah?"
    "There's someone trailing us."
    I glanced at him. His hackles were up, and he moved slowly, like he was stalking something.
    "Someone? Who?"
    He made a wide circle around me, growling.
    "What's up, King?" Ray asked.
    "The bitch," Dominic said, returning to my side. "And something else— some kind of cat."
    "Where are they?"
    "Close."
    My whole body tensed. Suddenly I didn't want two men on my back. That was seriously going to affect my ability to run, if I needed to run. My human mind knew it would be wrong to throw Ray and Jax and bolt, but the horse part of me wanted to do just that.
    "Big cat," Dominic added.
    I broke into a jog.
    "Easy," Dominic said, keeping pace with me.
    "Easy," Ray and Jax said at the same time.
    I could smell them too— Dixie and Leon, just whiffs at first, but growing stronger. I sidestepped, pulling against the reins until my mouth ached.
    Ray patted my shoulder. "What's wrong, Trig?"
    Something was moving through the grass behind me. I broke into a canter. Ray hauled back on the reins, but I kept going.
    A moment later, I heard barking. Dominic and Dixie collided beside me, and there was a cacophony of growls and snarls.
    "Jesus, King!" Ray said. I reared. "Trig, whoa boy. Easy."
    As soon as my front