Half a Cowboy - Andrew Grey Page 0,1

building was indeed a barn, and Ben heard the shuffling of animals inside. He paused at the door before trying to open it, hoping to hell he wouldn’t get eaten by a huge dog once he entered. Then again, anything was better than freezing to death. He pulled, and the door swung toward him, leading to a cavern of darkness. Ben stepped inside and closed the door, standing still as beasts moved in the shadows around him.

Nothing touched him, and he closed his eyes to help force them to adjust. When he opened them again, there was just enough light coming in through the windows to illuminate the outlines of where he was.

It was noticeably warmer inside. He stomped his feet, which ached, but he did it again to rid them of the snow, and brushed his legs off as well. Slowly he walked down the center of the barn, large shapes looming out of the darkness toward him. Horses—they were horses. He sighed a little and inhaled the scent of fresh hay tinged with droppings. Okay, so it wasn’t as fresh-smelling as he might have liked. But it was warm—well, warmer. He looked around for something, anything, to wrap himself up in.

At the far end, there was a workbench under a window with horsey stuff hung above it and what looked like some folded blankets. They were probably for the animals, but Ben was too cold to care. He lifted two of them and turned to find a place where he could lie down. He was so worn out, his eyes kept drooping and his legs shook. He needed to get warm.

He turned into a dark space with maybe straw on the floor. It seemed dry and clean, so he spread a blanket on the top and lay on it after taking off his boots, pulling the other over him as he shook from head to toe. His feet and hands ached and he was thirsty and still cold, but the blankets helped.

Doing his best to let go of some of his fear, he closed his eyes, willing himself to warm up between the blankets, which smelled like the horses around him. Not that he minded. They didn’t seem interested in him, and Ben realized that it was their heat that was keeping the barn warm. At least he was no longer freezing. He figured that as soon as the light came in through the windows, he could venture out into the day and figure out his next steps. He needed to put as much distance behind him as he could as quickly as possible. He had made it this far. If he could get to one of the big California cities, he could blend in, find work, and become a face in the crowd where no one would know he had been a criminal’s plaything. No one would be able to find him, and he would be safe. Taking a deep breath, he finally relaxed as the cold that had gripped him so deeply seemed to lose its hold.

SOMETHING DEEP in Ben’s dreams shifted. Doors creaked, and he heard footsteps. He tried to figure out where they were coming from, along with the insistent tapping sound that he couldn’t place. He burrowed deeper into the blankets, desperate to keep the intense cold he knew was waiting out there for him at bay for a little while longer.

“Would you like to tell me what you’re doing here?”

The deep, rough voice cut through Ben’s dream and yanked him to full reality. His memory returned in a rush, and he jumped up, nearly tripping over his own aching feet. He had intended to be gone by now, but he must have slept deeper than he intended.

“Answer me.”

“I….” He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I… the car…. I was freezing….” His knees buckled under him, and he ended up back on the floor of what he now saw was a horse stall.

His head swam, and the world around him seemed to spin as bells rang in his ears. He tried to get up again and this time managed to stand and even take a few steps without falling down, but it took all his willpower to keep on his feet and pull on his boots.

“Those were your footsteps in the snow?” the stranger asked. Ben nodded, slowly turning to face him. “What were you doing to my horses?”

“Nothing.” He held on to one of the stall walls. “Just getting