Damnit! Why the hell did I have to get so worked up and provoke her? She was running Star at full speed and completely off trail in another direction. We were about to reach our stopping point and turn back, so she was going further up than planned. I kicked Cash harder and leaned more forward to get him to go faster.

I had only started working as a guide for the horseback rides about two months prior to fill in for Hank while he was on leave. I had guided a few rides by then, but I had not explored any more of the territory. There had been no need really, nor time. If I rode, it was back at my ranch and not far into the mountains.

She needed to listen to me and stop, so that we didn't get more off course. But it didn't look like she was slowing down anytime soon and that seemed to piss me off more than the fact that I had no idea what was in the area.

We were going further up into the mountains and started to venture more into the wooded areas again. It thankfully slowed both of the horses due to the incline and rougher terrain. When she came to a full stop, she hopped down and stormed off. I quickly got down and followed her.

"Hey! Grace!" She kept walking. What the hell was with her? "Grace! Would you please stop walking off? You have no clue where we're at. Hell, I have no clue. We need to get back to the trail."

She stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.

"Why do you have to be so rude!? Why can't you ever just mind your business!?"

I stormed closer, anger settling deep inside me. "Why in the hell do you have to be so stubborn!? Why can't you just listen!?"

"Why do you have to make me be stubborn in the first place!?" She matched my stride and pointed a finger into my chest. That's when I noticed her tear stained cheeks. Shit.

I sighed, lifting my hat up and running my hand through my hair. "Look, I am sorry okay? I should have minded my business. But we really need to get back to the horses and on the trail again."

She stood there absentmindedly for a minute before nodding her head in agreement. We walked back toward the horses, and my heart dropped.

"Where are they? Colt, where did the horses go?"

Panic was evident in her tone, as she looked at me for the answer. But my attention was elsewhere.

"Grace. I need you to listen to me carefully. Back away. Slowly."

"What? What are you talking about?" She looked in the direction I was staring at and gasped.

About thirty feet in front of us stood a big, bull moose. It was at a standstill, staring directly at us. It looked as if we were disrupting it in whatever it was busy doing. Its' ears were turned backed, and its' hair was raised--all a clear sign of aggression. While moose weren't usually ones to act aggressively, that didn't mean they wouldn't if they felt it was necessary.

"Grace, this is important. I am ninety-nine percent sure that moose is about to charge at us. If I say run, you run. Do you understand?"

She nodded, then spoke up. "Yes."

We slowly started backing up, but it did not appease the beast. He started grunting and stomping his feet. In the blink of an eye, he was charging at us.

"Run!!" I yelled, grabbing her hand and darting away from the charging bull. We ran at full speed, trying to dodge the trees, limbs, and rocks surrounding us, losing my hat in the process. The giant moose was gaining distance; there was no way we were going to outrun it. We were covering a good amount of space, but so was he. I knew if he wanted to catch up, he easily could have. It seemed he was enjoying the chase.

Grace's hand was still in mine when she tripped, and we both went tumbling down a small hill, landing tangled in each other. I looked over to see the moose had luckily stopped its' charge as if the chase was all a bluff. It stomped the ground a couple of times and walked off.

I looked back at Grace; she laid partially on top of me, her legs entwined in mine. We stared at each other, our breathing labored. Her cheeks were flush from the run, and that was the first time I really saw her eyes. They were a beautiful bright emerald with golden flecks that drew you in.

Noticing a leaf stuck in her hair, I lifted my hand and pulled it out, unintentionally brushing my palm against her cheek as I did so.

A jolt ran through me, and just like that, the trance we were in broke. We scrambled to get unstuck, standing up and brushing any debris off. I took in our surroundings. We were in the midst of thick brush.

"That was...that was a moose? We were just charged by a moose? You didn't say there were moose out here!" She shrieked.

"Yeah, well I also didn't mention the bobcats. Figured bears and mountain lions was good enough."

"Our horses Colt! What are we going to do? Where even are we?" She asked as she began looking around in a panic.

"How the hell should I know? You got us so far off the trail, there's no damn telling."

"Well why are your horses just running off like that!?"

"They were probably running from the same damn thing we were running from! That damn moose! Why the hell did you run off like that!?" I yelled. Fuck was she maddening!

"Well maybe if you weren't such a jerk, I wouldn't have!" She threw her arms up in the air before placing her palms in her face to stifle a short scream. A moment passed before she spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I should not have taken off like that. It wasn't only what you had said. You just happened to say it at the wrong time."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath in. Fighting wasn't going to solve anything.

"I'm sorry too. I was being a jerk. Truthfully, your relationship is none of my business. I don't have a right to judge it."

She stared at me for a moment and then nodded. Her hands went to her hips as she surveyed our surroundings once more.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

I needed a minute to think. The trail headed up north east and then looped back down south to the lodge. When we got off course from Grace's impromptu horseback run, we headed more north west. But when we ran from the moose, I had absolutely no idea the direction we headed. I also had no notion of the distance. In all, we couldn't have been more than maybe three or four miles off course.

It sounded promising but direction was everything out here, and if you weren't going the right way, it didn't matter how far you strayed. That, and the fact that the terrain was unknown to me. I could only hope we would run into the horses on the way; they were probably heading back toward home themselves.

Cash, you chickenshit.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "Alright. For now, we're just going to head south. We're too far up the mountain for comfort. The higher up we are, the more wildlife we'll run into. They don't start making their way down until about mid fall when the cooler weather hits."

"I definitely don't want another run in with a moose or... oh my gosh! What if we run into a bear? Or a mountain lion? Why am I now preferring another run in with a moose instead?"

"Don't worry, I have--." Fuck. My gun.

"Damnit! My gun is in my holster. The holster that's on that fucking horse's saddle!"

"You mean to tell me we are lost, in Wyoming's wilderness without any food, water, or way to defend ourselves? Great!" She pulled her hair back and tied it into a ponytail with the hair band on her wrist. She looked toward me, adjusted her shoulder bag, and gave me a tight grin. "Let's get going then, shall we?"

She walked past me, beginning our descent. I couldn't help but be in awe. She had surprised me earlier when she saddled the horse by herself, and then seeing how she handled Star on the run. Hell, she surprised me by showing up on a horseback ride in the first place. I didn't peg her the type to get her hands dirty, yet there she was, in a situation we were both now stuck in, adapting better than most. I had to hand it to her. I turned to follow her and began the long journey we had ahead of us.

Uh-oh! Looks like our characters are in a bit of a scary situation. Let's see if they can find their way back to the trail with no issues!🤞

Does anyone have any stories about getting lost? I'd love to hear!👉

It can definitely be scary, especially if you're in a dangerous place. Or like me and completely directionally challenged😬

Stay safe, stay kind, stay authentically you!💕

-Allie