The Accountant

Chapter 9

Hunter ran outside the house as fast as he can. He is petrified at what Shadow might do to Selena, who is obviously unaware of the danger she is in right now. He can't bear seeing her hurt again. He shuddered when he thought of how Selena passed out in pain when Dr. Winston twisted her ankle to place not so long ago. They were outside the house when Dave suddenly stopped him by grabbing his upper torso. He already knew the reason why Hunter suddenly ran outside because he is now looking at the corral's direction.

"Wait, Hunter. Look!" Dave said. There was an utter surprise in his voice. They are now looking at Selena.

Incredibly, Shadow is nuzzling Selena's neck, and they can hear her giggle and cooing while stroking the black horse's face. Even the other men nearby were stunned at what's going on. They seem at a loss on what to do next. They know firsthand how stubborn and dangerous Shadow can be, but this woman - a total stranger to Shadow, is obviously talking and playing with her like they've known each other forever.

Hunter is more relieved than stunned. At least Selena is safe, that's all that matters to him now. He took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment. But now that his fear has subsided, he can't help but be mad at this woman for making him worry so much. He slowly walk up to her. Her full attention is on Shadow that she didn't notice him approach.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hunter barked at Selena.

Selena looked behind her and saw Hunter's angry face. "I'm sorry, I was just being friendly with this horse." For some reason, Selena feels guilty. She actually didn't know if other people are allowed to touch the horses. It was just on impulse that she rubbed the horse's mane as the horse nuzzled her neck. "I hope it's alright." She added as she saw how upset Hunter is. Why is he so mad? Maybe nobody is allowed to touch the horses. Agh. How could she be so careless. She should have asked permission first.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to walk up to a horse you're not familiar with?" Hunter's voice rose up in anger. "You could've hurt yourself! How careless could you be?"

Selena felt embarrassed, she noticed there were other people around, Dave looked away. How could he berate her like this in front of all these people? If he's worried, why wouldn't he just tell her? "I didn't think the horse would hurt me." She willed herself not to cry, so she look back at the horse. She saw the horse looking at her, too. As if to defend her, the horse suddenly neighed and jump up, kicking its front legs in the air. In what seemed like a split second, Hunter grabbed and locked her in his arms as he half carried and half dragged her away from the corral fence. Selena had no idea what was going on, all she can hear are horses neighing, men's frantic voices, and Hunter's rapid heart beat close to her face.

He loosened his hold but didn't let her go. "Are you okay?" He asked as he look down on her.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Selena asked in confusion.

"I thought Shadow was going to kick you or something." He said, his breathing ragged.

"Whose Shadow?" Selena asked.

"The horse. The black horse."

"I don't think Shadow would want to hurt me." Selena reasoned. She could still hear and feel Hunter's heartbeat racing. The horse's sudden movement must've startled him. She wriggled out of Hunter's arms and walked back to the corral to where Shadow is. The other men are frantically calming down the other horses. "Sshhh...hey there, Shadow. It's alright, calm down now... come on..." she said softly, extending her hand towards the horse.

"Selena, wait..." Hunter tried to stop her, but he became fixated as he watched what Selena is doing. He couldn't believe Selena is gently coaxing Shadow to calm down. What's more unbelievable is how Shadow, his most ferocious horse, is slowly calming her neighing into a mild snort. She also stopped jumping around and is now standing face to face with Selena, who is gently rubbing the horse's neck. When Shadow calmed down, the other horses inside the corral also quieted down. How can Selena have this effect on his horse when they had just met for the first time? He is both in awe and bewildered.