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It was a warm summer evening, and you and Micah had decided to take your horses out for some exercise. It was mostly because you had been feeling cooped up in camp, nursing a wound leftover from Blackwater, but now you were healed and couldn’t wait to stretch your legs. Micah had offered to go with you as long as ‘you don’t do anything stupid’. Pfft, like you would ever…
A cool breeze ruffled your clothes as you looked up, taking in the fields around you. You weren’t wandering too far from camp, just exploring the fields and forest surrounding the area. Micah was at your side on Baylock, filling the silence with some old robbery story you’ve heard before around the campfire, but you didn’t mind.
Micah finished his story with the same ending you’ve heard before, something about how he alone had saved himself and the other men he was pulling the job with with his gunslinging skills. You smiled, shaking your head as you rolled your eyes affectionately. You didn’t doubt Micah’s ability, but sometimes you swear he exaggerated the stories to try and impress you.
“Why don’t you tell me a new story, Micah?” you asked, teasing him gently as you steered your horse along the path beside his.
“Hmm… ain’t got much new stuff,” he confessed.
“Not recent stuff, just… stuff I haven’t heard before,” you went on. “Something you haven’t told me yet.”
You stopped your horse to let Micah ahead of you as he crossed a narrow bridge over a stream, and you watched Baylock’s hooves carefully navigate his way across. You smiled to yourself and nudged your horse to follow.
“How about how you got Baylock?” you asked when you caught up. “There’s gotta be a story there.”
“Tsk, not a very exciting one,” he scoffed.
“Doesn’t have to be exciting to be interesting.”
“Fine,” Micah grumbled, leading Baylock off the trail.
You tilted your head curiously and followed after him through a small patch of trees to a clearing where the stream you had just crossed wound back around to make a small pond. Micah dismounted Baylock so you followed his lead, hopping off your horse to join him as he sat by the pond.
You sat down next to Micah, watching as his gaze was trained on the water’s surface. You heard a rustle behind you and glanced back to see Baylock and your horse start to graze on the nearby plants.
“Baylock’s not my first horse,” Micah started, drawing your attention back to him.
You rested your hands in your lap and settled in to hear the story, following Micah’s gaze to the water as fish darted beneath the surface.
“Correction, Baylock’s not the first horse I’ve rode,” Micah sighed, leaning back on his elbows as he relaxed. “No, that was an old Kentucky Saddler, and I had to let her go when me and the old man almost got caught one time. I stole her from some farm back in West Elizabeth, I don’t know. I was young and I needed a horse, any horse. She did the job, but there wasn’t anything special about her.”
You scoffed softly.
“What?” He turned to you, grinning. “It’s true, she wasn’t special. Not to me. Just like any old horse.”
“Anyway,” Micah went on, shifting one leg over the other as he leaned back. “We made away with the money, more money than I had ever seen at that age.”
Micah sighed, glancing up at the sky. You shifted and settled in closer beside him, leaning back on the ground to get more comfortable to listen to him.
“My old man never paid full price for anything in his life. At least, not very much. But he always told me that a good horse was just as important as a good gun. So he told me to take my share and go pick out the best horse I could find.”
You looked back over at Baylock as the horse nosed through the grass, and instinctively relaxed against Micah’s side. Micah was solid against your back as you leaned on him, and he didn’t seem to mind as he continued talking.
“I must have visited half a dozen stables,” Micah sighed, watching as clouds slowly drifted by above you. “Looking at all kinds of horses. All with all different kinds of breed, strength, speed, temperament..”
You felt Micah’s head tilt against yours, and you realized he had turned to look at Baylock.
“He wasn’t the strongest horse,” Micah confessed. “He wasn’t the fastest, and he sure as hell wasn’t the friendliest.”
“I saw him in the field, out all by himself. None of the other horses would go near him.” Micah’s weight grew heavier against you, and his arm settled around you as you both watched Baylock.
“I was told he was antisocial. He didn’t like humans very much, and he liked other horses even less. But he had this… this interesting face marking, and when I met him, he seemed to look into my soul. It was unnerving… I just had to have him. A horse that could unsettle a man who’s seen death is a horse I wanted.”
Micah shifted against you again and you let him get closer, resting his chin on top of your head.
“He’s a beautiful beast,” he murmured. “Must have been with me 15 years, now. Took some time to break him in n’ get him to trust me, but he’s the best horse I’ve ever had. Probably the best I ever will have.”
“He is beautiful,” you agreed, watching as Baylock's muzzle brushed the ground as he picked out the best pieces of flora to chew on. “He's a fine horse.”
“He's the best horse. Strong, fast, ain't afraid of nothing,” Micah embellished. You both knew Baylock was still a nervous horse, he just calmed down easily when Micah was there.
You tipped your head back and let it rest against Micah's shoulder.
“Thank you for telling me,” you whispered. “That was a nice story.”
“Glad I could entertain you,” he huffed. “You want to keep moving now?”
“No.” You shook your head. “I'd like to stay here awhile. Watch the horses for a bit, listen to the water.”
“Sounds dull.”
“Why, Mr. Bell, you insult me,” you chuckled, tipping your head back. “You think my company is dull?”
You slid your hand onto his leg and squeezed his knee, making him break out in a grin and duck his head down to meet yours. He brushed his nose against yours as he smiled, meeting your eyes.
“I suppose not,” he murmured.
You smiled back, closing your eyes as you pressed your forehead to his and listened to the content sound of nature around you.