Montana Refuge. Alice Sharpe

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       Chapter Three

      Tyler finished hauling the last sack of grain into the barn. He was so preoccupied that the last thing in the world he felt like doing was facing a room full of strangers who expected and deserved a friendly chat. He just couldn’t do it. Instead, he sent Mele, one of the wranglers, to give the orientation talk. He’d make up for his no-show at suppertime.

      Why had she come back here?

      Because she’s desperate. She’s in trouble.

      And why was that his problem? She’d stood right over there that last day and told him she felt as if she’d been swallowed by his life, she needed one of her own, she had to leave, there was no hope for them, he should forget about her and all their plans and find someone new. There would be no babies, there would be no future.

      She’d cut him open and pulled out his heart.

      He cleaned out a few of the horse stalls, attacking the chore like a man possessed. He was restless inside and out and couldn’t wait to hit the trail. The cattle were mostly corralled nearby waiting for the morning when they’d head up toward the mountains. All day his wranglers had been giving riding and roping instructions to the guests, showing them training films, preparing them for tomorrow. The air on the ranch seemed to crackle with energy as everyone geared up for the upcoming ride.

      He had a million things to do to get ready and here he was trying to come to grips with memories he’d worked a year at forgetting.

      Julie.

      He’d known in his heart that marrying her was a mistake. She was a town girl, her parents owned a florist shop and she’d worked in it since she was twelve. He’d looked at her work ethic and been impressed. He’d looked at her long legs and big brown eyes and been consumed with desire. She looked good, she smelled good, she’d seemed genuinely fascinated in just about every word he uttered. They’d dated through college and she’d moved out of her folks’ house and onto the ranch a week after graduation, the brand-new Mrs. Tyler Hunt, exchanging one life for another.

      And it had been good for a while.

      Peering out the barn door, he looked toward the cabins and thought about walking up to number eight and talking to her. Hear her out. Give her advice or money or whatever she needed. Then sign the damn divorce papers and get it over with. He should have done it months before. Inertia had kept him tied to her.

      He stood straight, heaved a deep breath and actually walked a step in her direction. Then he stopped. No. He couldn’t do it.

      * * *

      SHE LOOKED OUT the window again. Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

      Should she stay tucked in this room out of sight? There was an obvious allure to that plan. The four walls felt safe. Still, staring at them wasn’t going to resolve anything and if the giant raw boil festering in her gut was any indication, sitting still a moment longer was going to be her undoing.

      He didn’t want her here, that much was clear, but maybe she could go outside for a while and just avoid him. Was her horse still on the ranch or had Tyler sold him? If Babylon was here, would Tyler come unglued if she took him out for an hour or two? Would he even have to know?

      But he would; the man knew everything that went on here. The only mystery to Tyler Hunt had been his wife.

      Opening the door, Julie was surprised to find the sun had dipped lower in the sky. Sunset was at eight-thirty or so this time of year, and evenings could get chilly. She went back inside and retrieved her red raincoat which she’d spent hours on the bus repairing with a sewing kit she bought along the way. The garment was expensive, though, or had been when she bought it in a boutique. No one would mistake it for couture anymore unless they were a big fan of the pieced-together Frankenstein look.

      A glance up at the mountains revealed the snow had melted, but probably not that long before. Of course it had melted; Tyler wouldn’t be moving the herd if it hadn’t.

      She’d helped with a few of the cattle drives when they were first married five years before. Then she hadn’t been able to stand being away from Tyler for very long and those nights under the stars or cuddled in his tent still awakened twinges she doubted would ever completely go away.

      Sooner or later, she’d just stopped going. He’d called her spoiled and immature for not wanting to help, and she’d wanted to snap his head off. Was it immature to like different things, to want more out of life than cows and mountains?

      The only one in the horse barn was Lenny, the farrier, and he was busy clipping the hooves of a palomino Julie didn’t recognize. She returned his smile of greeting and walked down to Babylon’s stall. Sure enough, the big red gelding was still there, his white blaze as blinding as always, his huge brown eyes alert and soft at the same time. He whinnied when he saw her and she offered him the apple she’d taken from the barrel as she entered the barn.

      “How have you been?” she said as he dispatched the apple in a couple of bites. “Are you mad at me, too?”

      The horse sniffed her hands for more produce and she stroked his head. “Want to sneak away for a while?”

      The horse whinnied again and Julie opened the stall door. It was while she fastened a lead to his halter that she noticed a jacket hanging from a hook on the outside of the stall and beneath it, next to a stool, a pair of boots.

      Her jacket, her boots, both still sitting here after a whole year as though she’d taken them off yesterday.

      She looped the lead around a post and sat down on the stool, turning each boot upside down to make sure it wasn’t home to a spider or two, then exchanged her casual leather shoes for the boots. They fit as they always had, like a second skin. Babylon snuffled her hair as though in approval.

      Next she shook out the denim jacket and exchanged it for the red one. “I’m back, at least for tonight,” she told the horse, and led him to the area they used for saddling.

      Waving off the help of a new wrangler, Julie saddled Babylon before leading him out of the barn. She rode toward the river, not as comfortable and accomplished a rider as Tyler, but Babylon was an easy horse with a smooth gait and an even temperament.