Zidan

Listen to Alec talk Misty's heart went out to him. Alec had made a big mistake and now he was paying the price and his heart was breaking. He loved this woman so much and Misty didn't think Ryan was wrong it was her right to turn Alec away but she just felt bad for her brother in law that had had to learn the hard way. 

   "There is no right answer Alec, and I know it hurts, boy do I know. To love someone but know you can't be with them anymore. Maybe for different reasons but it still hurts a great deal."

Giving his shoulder a rub before handing him a tissue form the much used tissue box Misty lets out a small sigh. Having Carson leave was hard, and taking the steps she needed to, to protect herself and her unborn child had hurt just as much if not more. Yes she sure did understand the pain.

   "It will take a while to let go but that shouldn't stop you from living. There is so much more to life if you just open your eyes and not walk in the pasts shadows. We gotta move on, be strong, and fight. I know you can do it Alec, I believe in you."

Giving a laugh at both the boys Ryan takes a bit of her pizza and just shakes her head. Sometimes she really couldn't believe them and how they went at each other. For people who didn't know them they might think they never got along at all but Ryan new differently.

Looking over at her dog Ryan gives a laugh. She'd enjoyed his company since bring him home a few days back. He was full of energy and learning quickly even if some of the stuff was bad habits. It was her first puppy and she figured it was her right to spoil him. 

   "Zidan come here."

Wiggling her fingers so the puppy could come over Ryan gives a small giggle feeling the tiny licking on her fingers. Patting the dog on the head and taking a pepperoni from her pizza she holds it up and looks at him.

   "Sit...sit...sit....good boy, here ya go."

Giving him the treat Ryan laughs watching him munch on it as if he was just given a big steak. All in all the puppy really was alot better than she thought he was going to be. No perfect but better than she had heard from other people.

Once the pepperoni was gone Zidan stands and walks over to his little doggie bed and lays down. Looking at all three of the people in the room licking his lips before laying his head down on his paws his eyes still on Ryan.

   "He's got your big puppy dog eyes Tal. To cute to resist."

Giving a shake of her head and letting a smile spread across her face Katie grabs some of the shampoo and nail file she had come into the supply room for. Turning back around she looks between both of them before taking a few steps forward leaning in to them. Looking from side to side as if wondering if anyone might hear them she whispers.

    "Hunter and I we....we..."

Katie lets a silence linger for a small moment before a grin breaks her lips.

   "...We are ok, no one is hurt and life will go on. Don't worry he didn't take me off to try and murder me."

Turning around and throwing a smile over her shoulder Katie leaves the supply room and both men still wondering. It wasn't her place to tell what happened with Hunter. No one was harmed, and no one at the ranch was in danger. Everything would be ok, and things would work out like they always did.  

My Idea

Hearing Misty enter the house and her idea for supper, Alec wanted to answer, but he remains quiet instead. His stomach was hungry, but his spirit was broken, causing an ache that subdued the hunger.

As Misty sits next to him on the couch, he doesn't move. He was embarrassed for her to find him like this, yet at the same time, he didn't care. Her hand on his shoulder was perhaps more comfort than she knew. That simple touch. 

Did he want to talk about it? Yes. No. He didn't know. He shakes his head. Then rethinks it an nods. Just remaining with his head on the pillow, he tries to swallow the lump in his throat. At least the tears had stopped again for now, though his cheeks were still damp, his eyes still red. 

"I called Ryan today," he explains softly. "Just... just to leave a message and I told her I was sorry." He pauses, finally letting his gaze drift up to Misty. He didn't understand how he felt. Yesterday he'd been fine - he'd worked around the house, he'd laughed, he'd talked and he'd felt relatively good. Today he was miserable again. The emotional roller coaster was exhausting. "I just... I wanna forget... or not care... or just stop thinking about her and... and I can't. I miss her so much..." His voice cracks and his eyes drop as he tries to maintain control. 

"I know she's happy. I know Tal's a good guy and... and she deserves to have somebody like him who doesn't mess things up all the time like me. I just..." He sighs, moving past the wave of emotions as his voice regains its strength. "I don't know how to let it go I guess." 

"Hey now...." Eli shakes a finger at Tal and Ryan. "No making out in front of the brother, remember? I don't care what time of year it is." 

Tal snickers. "Like we'd want you watching." 

Digging into the food and hearing Ryan's comment, both men speak at the same time. 

"It was my idea." 

Eli scowls teasingly at Tal, receiving the same look right back at him. "Okay... maybe it was a colla...coll... cal... bor... It was both our ideas." 

Tal leans over to Ryan, speaking "quietly" which was loud enough for Eli to hear. "It was a collaborative effort." 

Eli's eyes narrow. "Oh, shut up." 

Laughing, Tal shakes his head. Starting in on a chicken wing, he sighs with approval. "Yep... fine idea. Definitely a..." Feeling a nudge on his leg, he looks down to see the pup staring up at him with big eyes. "Oh no... no, this is my supper, not yours. I shoulda known your mother would teach you that look before you were taken." 

"Uh..." Sparky blinks and looks to Mick then Katie before giving her a little grin. "Can't we stare at our favorite niece?" 

"Right." Mick nods, giving Katie a teasing wink. "We need to have that privilege because what we can't do is say 'Katie, where on earth were you and Hunter?' because you're a grown woman and it's really none of our business even though we want to know." 

Sparky rolls his eyes. "Well that was tactful." 

Mick shrugs, a small smile on his lips as he studies Katie. "As if you didn't already know that's what we were thinking. Chock it up to your overprotective uncles." 

Good Idea

Sitting down once again and getting bumped by Tal a grin forms on Ryan's face. She was upset, her stomach in knots and she didn't feel hungry but for Eli and Tal's sake she wouldn't let on to any of that. They both had been through enough along with her, her own emotions didn't need to add to it.

   "Clumsy huh?"

Leaning over Ryan turns Tal's head twords her and places a kiss on his lips letting it linger for a moment before pulling away and looking at him. Just looking into his eyes for a long second she finally looks away.

   "Dang kiss sneak out of nowhere don't they. You gotta watch out, I hear this time of year is the worse."

Grabbing a slice of pizza and putting it onto her plate along with some wings. Ryan looks down at it for a moment. She really was hungry but at the same time she wasn't. Dang is Alec why did you have to call? Everything was fine, she was feeling great till you did. There was just something about his voice, something about the way it cracked that bothered her. Why she didn't know but maybe somewhere even though she hated what he had done to everyone especially Tal she still cared.

Finally taking a bite of her pizza Ryan can't help the murmur of pleasure. It really did taste good pizza always tasted good to her but today it seemed extra good. Maybe it was a good thing she deiced to eat it after all.

   "Alright whomever idea this was...it was a good one. Man this is good."

   "Alec I hope you don't mind I grabbed us stuff to make subs for dinner and some movies. Thought it would be something nice to do since its just the two of us tonight."

Walking in the house and closing the door behind her Misty makes her way down the long hallway and into the kitchen. Setting the stuff down on the counter she than wonders into the living room. Seeing Alec curled up on the couch and hearing his sniffs Misty's head breaks for him. Though there situations where different she still understood how a broken heart felt and her own went out to him. Just when you thought crying was not possible anymore, more tears would come.

Coming around to the other side of the couch and sitting down on the edge Misty lays a hang on Alec's shoulder. There was nothing she could say that would make him feel better this whole thing would just have to run its course. With a broken heart thats just how it was till it was healed.

   "Hey...you wanna talk about it?"

Almost having Sparky run into her Katie takes a few steps backwards before moving to the side slightly. Giving Sparky a little smile and nods to him.

   "Morning."

Moving past him to grab a few things from the supply room Katie could feel eyes on her and in a way it drove her crazy. If someone wanted to know something why didn't they just ask, they really didn't need to stare.

Turning around and looking at bother her Uncles she gives a grin and cocks her head for a moment looking between them. Finally shaking it and rolling her eyes.

   "Did you guys need something or is it just fun to stair and drive me up the wall?"

Clumsy Me

The apartment was quiet. Too quiet. Tal wanders into the living room and eases carefully down on the couch, only looking over at Eli after a moment or two. 

Eli still held the plates his sister had given him. He'd caught her glance and knew that Alec's message had hit her hard enough that she needed to leave the room - which wasn't something that happened often to a cool cat like her. And he wasn't sure which was worse - the fact that Alec called or the fact that it bothered Ryan like it had. His eyes meet Tal's and all he can do is sigh. 

Did Tal have anything to worry about? Surely not. He couldn't help that little sick feeling in the pit of his stomach though. He didn't like Alec - was scared of him. He didn't like what Alec had done to Ryan. And he didn't like seeing pain in Ryan's gaze. Why did Alec have to call her at all? Didn't he know when to leave well enough alone? Didn't he know when to stop? Was he stupid enough to think that a little display of emotion was going to gain him back his friends? It irked Tal to no end.

Making an effort to go about dinner as usual, Eli opens up the pizza and wings and throws the movie in the DVD player. He knew Ryan and he knew that she would not want to discuss what had just happened. And that was okay with him for now. He didn't want the evening to be ruined either. Seated again when Ryan returns, he grins. "See? Flock. Herd. Who cares as long as we get to eat it?"

As Ryan sits down, Tal reaches over in front of her for a slice of pizza, "accidentally" bumping her with his elbow. "Oops, sorry." Another nudge comes as he retrieves the slice. "Whoops." Knocking a napkin off the table, he bends to get it, whacking Ryan's leg on the way. "Oh, sorry again." Straightening, he gives her a speedy kiss to the cheek, while a teasing glint sparks in his eyes. "Oops. Clumsy me..." 

Alone in the living room, Alec lies curled up on Misty's couch. The tears had long since dried, leaving his eyes swollen and aching. He knew he needed to get up. Misty would be home soon. He knew she wasn't doing anything with Jason tonight because he'd heard Jason tell her yesterday that he was going out with some friends tonight and they'd done lunch instead. Any minute now, Misty would walk through that door, and if Alec didn't get up, he'd just be giving her more stress and worry. But... his body just didn't want to move. His grip on his pillow tightens. 

What had he expected after calling Ryan? What had he expected to feel? He hadn't wanted to risk talking to her directly, yet now he was left wondering if she'd even gotten the message, let alone what she thought or felt about it. Not that he thought she'd call back - he hadn't even left a phone number. It was all just... hard. And he just didn't know how to  fill the hole in his heart. No matter how busy he kept himself during the day, in the end, the hole was still there, still empty, still bleeding. 

Another cursed tear escapes. He'd thought he'd had none left. Apparently he'd been wrong.

Mick just studies Katie, not really sure about her answer. He knew she wasn't lying, but why she wouldn't explain any more, he didn't know. He hadn't yet checked the log of the security cameras to see what time she and Hunter had left, but he wasn't in the habit of doing things like that either when there was no danger. Everybody here had a right to their own privacy. Even so... something just didn't feel right this morning. 

"There's still plenty of work left to do," he assures. "You can check the board, or talk to Eric - he was up with the sun this morning and started feeding." 

It was just a few minutes later when Mick was in the barn's supply room that Sparky entered, shutting the door partway. "Hey, Mick?"

Mick looks up in question. Why did Sparky have concern in his eyes. "Yeah?" 

"I just met Hunter on the way to his bunk. Asked him if he wanted to help exercise some of the horses this afternoon."

"And...?" Why was Sparky keeping his voice low? Mick leaned in a little closer, confused. 

Sparky shrugs. "Did you find out why he and Katie were gone?"

"No. Katie wouldn't tell me. I didn't ask her outright though. She just said things were fine and I let it drop. Why?" 

"Oh." 

Mick waits. Was anyone outside the room listening? He couldn't tell with the door half shut. "Well?" 

"I don't wanna accuse anybody of anything..." Sparky hesitates. "But if ever a man smelled like smoke and booze, it was Hunter a few minutes ago." 

Mick sighs deeply. "From what I know, he liked the bar life back in Nevada. Not sure why he'd take off now though or why Katie was gone with him." 

"I don't know either. I guess I'm not worried about Katie, but I know Hunter's seemed kinda strung out the last few days."

"Mm-hm. He hasn't been sleeping well, but that's all I know." Mick shakes his head. Had Hunter been here long enough now that he was settling in and letting his bad habits surface? "Katie's smart - if anything is wrong, she'll tell somebody. I wanna keep an eye on Hunter though. I like him a lot but I don't want any trouble either."

"Agreed." Sparky grabs a pitchfork and turns to leave, almost running into Katie as he exits the supply room. "Whoops. Sorry." He laughs and tips his hat to her. "Good morning."