The Accountant

Chapter 10

Selena kept herself busy with the foals. She helped Clay, the young man in charge of feeding the young horses, feed Midnight and the other foals. She enjoyed every minute of it. It's already dusk when Dave came inside the barn. Hunter is somewhere outside.

"Hey, Selena, we better go now. The men will start bringing back the horses here for the night." Dave informed Selena.

"Okay, then." Selena said as she got up, smiling at Midnight before she walked towards the barn's entrance. "Where's Hunter?" She hasn't seen him after he left to inspect some of the cows.

"I think he and some of the men are at the northern part of the farm. I believe they are inspecting the place where the men last saw a lone wolf."

"A wolf? Here?" It is hard for Selena to believe that wolves exist in this part of the country.

"Well, yeah. The men have been hunting that wolf for a while now. It has killed a cow this month. One of the men wounded it the last time they saw it." Dave stated, his face grim. It is obvious that he cared about the farm as much as Hunter does. "You go inside the house. I'll get my car first, I parked it at the back of the house. If you'd like a snack, I think there's something in the fridge you can use to make a sandwich."

Selena went inside the house as Dave went to the back. She realized she is indeed hungry, so she went to the kitchen. There's a few loaves of bread on the table. She opened the fridge. Someone must have stock it with a few items of food while they were at the barn. She took out the slices of cold turkey, tomatoes that she found in the chiller, and some cheese. She opened the cupboard and found a bottle of ketchup and mustard.

As she was slicing the bread, she wondered if she should also prepare a sandwich for Hunter. She decided to prepare two sandwiches as she heard a car engine come to life. It must be Dave's car. She's not sure what condiments Hunter likes in his sandwich, so she skipped those from his share.

She was munching on her food when she heard the door opened.

"Selena?" It was Hunter.

"In the kitchen! She called out. She heard his footsteps coming towards the kitchen. "Hey, I made some sandwich. Here..." she placed a plate of sandwich towards Hunter as he sat down. "There's some ketchup and mustard, but I didn't add any to your sandwich. I'm not sure what you'd like." Selena explained.

"It's fine, thanks." He murmured as he squeezed a helping of ketchup and a little mustard, just as what Selena had done with her sandwich earlier.

They were eating silently when Dave came to the kitchen. "Hey guys, I hope it's alright if I go home ahead of you. I promised Lizzy I'd be home early tonight." He said with a grin.

"You go on, Dave. We'd be on our way, too, in a while." Hunter said in between bites of his sandwich.

"Alright, you take care. It's already dark and I noticed a dark cloud coming in earlier. It might drizzle later." Dave warned before he left.

"Say hi to Lizzy for me, Dave!" Selena called out.

"Um, is it true there's a wolf out there?" Selena asked Hunter when they were alone.

"Yes, but our men are hunting it already. I'm sure we'd get it soon."

"Oh, okay." It is scary to think that in a peaceful and beautiful place like this, a wolf lurks in the dark, waiting for its prey. She thought of Shadow and Midnight. It might be a stretch to think that the wolf they are talking about would come this far and hurt the horses, still, it's a scary thought. During those nights that Hunter barely came home, was he hunting the wolf, too? She glanced at him, she imagined him carrying a gun while on a wolf hunt. What if the wolf attacks him? She shuddered at the thought.