It dawned on me by "ride" she meant horses. "I'll manage," I said. One of my mother's boyfriends had horses. That was Blake, I think. For once, I was grateful for her eclectic tastes.
"Buster and Ladybug are all saddled up," Harold said. "You better let Abby take Bug. Buster's ornery today."
Pat excused herself for a moment, then came back wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. She grabbed a cowboy hat from a hook near the door and heaped another dollop of syrup on Harold's plate of waffles before we left. He reached up and held her hand to his cheek. A moment passed between them that tore at me a little. Whatever history the Bonners had with the Wild Lake packs couldn't have been easy. The price of it was literally written on Harold's face. But, this place felt like sanctuary.
Pat gave Harold a playful smack on the back of his head as he reached over and poured even more syrup on his waffles. "Why don't you just open up a line and clog your arteries directly?"
Harold shook his head. "Says the woman who just served me fried chicken." I laughed. He had a point.
Pat made a circular motion with her hand and led me out of the house. The late April air was clean but brisk. As Harold promised, two of the horses had been saddled and tied off near the fence by the barn. Pat couldn't be more than four foot eleven, tops. But, for her size and shape, she was fast and agile. She untied the reins, placed her foot in the stirrup, and heaved herself into the saddle. She ponied the other horse, a dappled brown, toward me.
"Ladybug, I presume," I said, nuzzling the horse's nose with mine. I'd palmed an apple from the kitchen and held it out for her. Ladybug nodded her head and munched the apple greedily.
"Oh, now you've done it. That old girl will follow you for life now."
I patted Ladybug's nose and heaved myself into the saddle. Pat clicked her tongue and got the horses moving down a trail winding behind the barn. She rode ahead of me. Ladybug's surefooted movements led me to believe I wouldn't have needed Pat as a guide.
"How long have you lived on this property?" I pulled Ladybug alongside Buster.
Pat smiled. "It's been in my family for over a hundred years. My father left it to Harold and me. He passed on, oh, fifty years ago now. And when we're long gone, it'll still be here for the packs."
I don't know what I expected her to say. Maybe it was wrong of me to pry, but knowing what I did, I had to ask. "You want to leave it to Bas?"
Pat clicked her teeth to straighten Buster out. He seemed more inclined to root through wild strawberries on the path then move forward. "Not just Bas. Wild Lake is home to six different packs now. Bas's is just the largest. This place is special. I'm not saying they don't have their differences now and then, but you'll never find a group of packs like them. Allied like they are, I mean. Not wanting to rip each other's throats out. Most packs you'll find are too territorial to roam or hunt on a stretch of land like this so close to each other. And I'm not saying they didn't have to go through hell to get to this point."
"Is that what happened to Harold?" As soon as I said it, it felt too blunt. But, Pat seemed in a talking mood.
She nodded. "That happened when he was a kid. Before my father died. During the pack wars. Harold got in the middle of something he shouldn't have. The Wild Lake packs finally drove out the rival packs, pushed them further south. Every now and again, one of those southern packs will try causing trouble up here, but it's not like it was. Thank the Lord."
Puzzle pieces took shape and realigned in my thoughts. Where did Dale and his pack fit into all of this? If he belonged to a Wild Lake pack, did that mean this harmony Pat described was coming to an end? I wanted to ask her, but hesitated. If I probed her any more, she might start asking why.
We rode through a thicker part of the forest, down the hill until we reached a clearing. I gasped as I saw the lake ahead of us. Seeing it from the air was breathtaking; on horseback it was magical. Clear blue waters framed by deep pine. A large, rocky outcropping formed a natural ledge at the south edge of the lake. The scene would have been pristine. Now, though, whoops, hollers, and splashing cut through the air as Bas's pack dove off the ledge and splashed through the water.
"Jesus H!" Pat called out. "That water can't be any warmer than fifty degrees yet!"
I laughed. Alec stood at the edge of the ledge; he jumped, arcing high in the air, and his naked, muscled profile cut through the water and he disappeared below.
Bas rose up out of the water; fat droplets dripped down his chest as he came toward us. I blushed as my eyes were drawn to his sex. Pat just shook her head and clucked. Buster whinnied and reared his head, as if he were offended by the wall of naked men around him.
Pat pulled back on the reins and turned him. "I'd better head back up to the house. Those fools didn't think to bring clothes or towels. They were probably planning on marching straight up to the house dripping wet and naked like that. You have no idea the war I fight not to have ‘em ruin my damn floors. You wanna stay here or head back up with me?"
Bas had almost reached us. My heart fluttered at his proximity. I laughed and gave Pat a salute. "I think they're basically harmless. I'll head up in a second to give you a hand." She nodded and gave Buster a kick to get him going again.
Bas caught up to me and pulled on Ladybug's reins. I leaned down to give him a kiss. Despite the chill in the air and the near frigid water, Bas's lips were liquid heat.
"How about a swim?"
"No way. No chance. You want me to freeze my tits off?"
Bas laughed and wagged his brow. "I have a few ideas how to keep you warm."
I swatted his shoulder. I thought about dismounting, but didn't trust he wouldn't throw me in the lake just for sport. "I like her," I said. "Pat."
Bas nodded. "I knew you would. She's kind of made a career out of taking care of us. This place is home base for the Wild Lake packs. It's been that way for half a century since her father was alive."
"She told me a little bit about it. She said she's leaving the land to you and the other packs after she and Harold are long gone."
Bas nodded. "That's what she's always said. And that's the thing that's got Congressman Foster twisted in such a knot. There are copper veins running all through this land. A lot of it's state owned, but he's thrown in with some people who don't have our interests at heart. I know I shouldn't be telling you all of this. But you need to know. Environmental conservation isn't his goal."
I swallowed past a lump in my throat. What Pat had told me was just a throwaway comment, but it cut to the heart of everything that tore at me. It became clear that Pat had no idea she didn't have a claim on the land after her death. Which meant Bas didn't either. Either she'd misunderstood her own father's will, or there was something even more sinister going on.
I looked out at the lake. Aaron and Ben were wrestling each other on the ridge. It looked like Ben didn't want to go back in the water, but Aaron had other ideas. Before they could sort it out, Davis came behind them, picked them both up by the scruffs of their necks and pitched them both in. Bas's rich laughter vibrated through me.
Seth watched from the shoreline. Connor and Eli cut through the water, swimming with freestyle strokes at a speed that might set Olympic records. The rest of the pack watched and laughed, cheering one or the other on. They were at peace here. They belonged. The land and lake seemed to nourish them as much as the kill they'd made on the trip up.
"Abby?" Bas reached up, sliding his hand along my thigh. "What are you thinking?"
I let out a breath and smiled. "I was just thinking how wonderful it is watching the pack together like this. This place is kind of magical."
He nodded. "There's no place like it anywhere. At least not in North America. I've heard there are some European packs that live together like this. Not here, though."
"Pat explained some of that. She said there are six packs that call Wild Lake lands home."
"That's in large part due to her. And Harold. Without these lands we'd be fractured. Struggling to find somewhere to hunt and hide when we need to. That's what it's like for the packs down south. We're out in the open here, at least to some extent. Down south, were have to hide more than we do. It's more brutal."