Page 36

Claire

T he day had arrived. I was finally going to Summerhurst.

My stomach was full of butterflies. I’d heard so much about it that it’d almost achieved mythical status in my mind. The last safe place , John had once called it. I could only hope that in time, I’d come to feel the same safety and adoration for the homestead as he and Kimmy did.

It was cold out, but thankfully nowhere near as brutal as the Wasteland.

Bruce graciously offered to drive us over in his truck, since John said that walking would’ve taken over an hour.

He would also be making multiple trips to deliver John and Kimmy’s farm animals, who had been living at Dreamspring while they were gone.

Sarah had been kind enough to pack up a giant crate of food for us to take back.

“That’ll get you started, anyway,” she said to John and Kimmy before we left.

John protested a little at the sheer amount of food she was giving away, but Kimmy just enveloped her in a huge hug.

Asha stared at the basket, impassive, but exchanged a look with me that said she didn’t know how to interpret Sarah’s generosity .

“It’s nothing,” Sarah scoffed at John over Kimmy’s shoulder. “The whole Valley had a great harvest last year, and without you, there wouldn’t be any more of those to come. Now, go. You all have a lot to do.”

It still amazed me a little to see a working vehicle parked outside, and know that John and Kimmy had one, too. I hadn’t seen such a thing since I’d left the Cave. I was looking forward to the ride, but just as I was following Kimmy and Asha towards the red pick-up, John stepped in my path.

“You and I are taking a different route,” he said, holding out his hand to me. “Come on.”

I frowned. “You said Bruce was driving.”

“He’s driving them, yeah,” he replied with a grin. “The way we’re taking is more fun.”

“Why do I feel like it’s not going to be much fun for me?”

He laughed and took my hand. “Don’t be such a chicken. Where’s your sense of adventure, compound girl?”

I gave him a skeptical look but allowed him to lead me to a large wooden building some way from the house. I hesitated at the threshold, but he didn’t let me linger, pulling me along.

Inside, the smell of hay was followed by soft clicking sounds that turned out to be horses. There were two of them boxed up in stalls, surrounded by perhaps half a dozen empty ones. The door to a paddock at the back of the building was open.

I’d only ever seen pictures of horses before, and that didn’t do them justice.

The first horse was huge and mostly white, except for silvery grey patches on its snout and legs.

It was the fussier of the two, making the strange clicking noises that now had an air of impatience.

The second was smaller, with a coat of rich, deep brown and soulful brown eyes that seemed to watch me with curiosity.

“They’re beautiful,” I said, awed.

John smiled and pressed a kiss against my hand before heading over to the white horse.

“Hey,” he murmured, extending a hand toward the animal’s wide neck. “You remember me, girl?”

The horse blew air through her nose onto John’s face as if in response, and John chuckled .

“This is Ghost,” he said to me, stroking the horse’s nose. Ghost leaned into his hand, seeming pleased by his attention. “She’s mine. The other one is Kimmy’s, and she’s called Bella.”

He held his free hand out to me, motioning for me to come closer. I bit my lip, a little nervous in the presence of such strong animals. All it would take was one good kick if they were feeling temperamental.

“They don’t bite,” John said. “Just like me, remember? Scary at first, but mostly harmless.”

I snorted at that, but slowly moved forward and took his hand.

He tugged me closer to Ghost, lifting my hand to touch her snout.

Her coat was soft and shiny, her eyes a deep ebony, and I decided I’d never seen a more beautiful creature anywhere.

She turned her head toward me, allowing me to pet her, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.

“Here,” John said, and he produced a dried carrot from his pocket. “Lay your hand out flat.”

I did as he instructed, and Ghost devoured the vegetable in one bite, lapping at my hand with her long, slobbery tongue. I giggled at the way it tickled my palm.

“She likes you,” John said, a smile in his voice.

I beamed. “I like her, too.”

“Ready to ride her home?”

“What?” I squeaked. “From here?”

He nodded. “I’ll help you. Come on.”

He went through the process of reining up and saddling Ghost, narrating for my benefit. Unfortunately, I was too nervous to absorb much as I watched him lead the big beast out the back door and into the paddock.

The paddock was huge, and four other horses wandered in the distance. John fetched a block from inside the stable and placed it next to Ghost, who stood waiting patiently.

“Ready?” he asked, and I gulped.

“No, but I don’t think I’ll ever be,” I replied. “Just show me what to do.”

He took over, helping me up onto the block and then coaxing me into lifting my leg over. After a few seconds’ hesitation, I managed to hoist myself up. I smiled a little, thinking of what my former self, living inside concrete walls, would think if she could see me now .

“Look at that,” John said, smiling too. “You're up on a horse. How do you feel?”

“Good, I think,” I replied, and was surprised that it was true. “What now?”

“Sit up straight,” he said, reaching up to adjust me. “Keep your shoulders back. And make sure that your feet are facing inwards. You want to be hugging the horse with your legs.”

After a few more adjustments and showing me how to hold the reins, he said,

“Okay, I think we're ready to start moving.”

“You sure?” I asked uncertainly. “I don't know what I'm doing.”

John raised an eyebrow. “And sitting here is gonna help you learn?”

“Point taken,” I said with a sigh. “Show me how this thing works, Wastelander.”

He chuckled, then made a clicking noise with his tongue. Ghost started walking slowly forward. I shot him an inquisitive look.

“You can do that to make them walk,” he clarified. “Or squeeze her sides with your legs.”

I nodded, and he continued to instruct me, helping me turn left and right with the reins. After several minutes, I felt confident enough to start turning on my own.

“Good,” John encouraged, watching me. “You’re a natural, sweetheart.”

I flushed with pleasure. I hadn’t been a natural at anything yet in the Wasteland, but this was different. It felt easy, pleasant even, and Ghost was well-trained in picking up on my cues. I breathed in the cool Valley air and felt peace and exhilaration, all at once.

John helped me coax Ghost into a trot, and though I was initially nervous, I soon enjoyed the faster pace. What’s more, he beamed with pride at my progress, which would’ve been enough to get me to mount even the wildest horse. After letting me get used to riding, we headed toward Summerhurst.

John took the reins and led Ghost back into the stable. He put reins on Bella and led her out to the front, letting me follow on Ghost’s back. Once outside, he surprised me by hoisting himself up behind me.

“I’m just here to supervise,” he said, his voice tinged with amusement. “Turns out you barely even need me. ”

I laughed. “Don’t speak too soon; there’s still the entire ride home.”

John kept a hold on Bella’s reins to keep her with us, and we rode at a relatively slow pace out to the woods, following a trail towards Summerhurst. Thankfully, there wasn’t nearly as much snow in the Valley as outside it.

“Technically,” John said, pointing ahead of us at a tree marked with a red X, “once we cross that, we’ll be on Summerhurst land.”

We rode for about fifteen more minutes. I'd never seen the woods on horseback, and I quite enjoyed the experience, especially because my fiancé’s warm, firm body was pressed up against mine the whole time. I leaned back into him, and he kissed my hair as we began to climb the side of a slope.

“Once we reach the top of this hill,” John said, “you’ll see it.”

My stomach jumped as we reached the summit, and the landscape that stretched out before us took my breath away.

In the distance, across several fields, there stood an enormous white farmhouse, almost blending into the snowy landscape, except for sunlight glinting off the glass windows.

It was two storeys, with dark shutters on all the windows, and the biggest porch I'd ever seen, which wrapped around the whole house, supported by white columns.

I could just make out a faded red front door.

Off to the side, there was a large red barn and a collection of other, smaller buildings.

The place was huge in comparison to any home I'd ever seen back in the compound.

I was suddenly aware that my mouth was hanging open, because John chuckled.

“You lived here?” I managed.

“You like it?” he asked a little shyly, smiling.

“It's...incredible,” I said, my eyes wide, and he kissed my cheek before urging Ghost and Bella on.

We approached a series of outbuildings, which John pointed out for me as we went.

“Storage,” he said, gesturing at a squat, grey building, then counted off the tall, white brick buildings near it. “Utility shed. Distillery. Workshop. The mill is on the opposite end of the property, because that’s where the river is.”

I felt like my eyes were bugging out of my head as we passed each of them .

“Obviously, the barn,” John continued, pointing at the big red building ahead of us, then at a smaller, brown building next to it. “Stable for the horses, which is where we’re headed. The chicken coop is on the other side. We’ll have to spend some time getting the animals settled back in today.”