(FICTION) (Thanks to Judy Hendrickson, awesome newsletter subscriber, for the idea for the story. This is Part 3 of the story. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.)

Lavender followed Grant the horse down the side of the mountain for a minute before he stopped and looked around. “My rider fell off somewhere around these raspberry bushes,” Grant said, “but he’s gone.”

Grant continued to limp along on his sore forefoot, more cautiously now. Just as Lavender began to create a recipe in her head for fixing a sore horse foot, Grant stopped again.

“Hoy! Who goes there?” called out a rather British-sounding man just ahead.

Lavender stepped around Grant and found there a tall, muscular man, walking in their direction with his arms out, feeling around as though he couldn’t see.

“Answer me, or I’ll shoot!” the man said.

“What’s his name?” the witch asked the horse out of the side of her mouth.

“Trigger,” answered the horse.

“Mr. Trigger! ‘Tis I, Lavender Quill of the mountains. I’m here with your horse, Grant, and I’ve come to take you to my home to heal you.”

“With Grant?” the man said incredulously. “How do you know my horse’s name is Grant?”

“Don’t tell him you can hear me talk,” Grant whispered to her. “He’ll stop trusting you and we’ll be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere forever.”

Lavender cleared her throat. “Um … er … It was a wild guess,” she said as confidently as she could.

“Jolly good,” Mr. Trigger said. “Let us be off then.” The man felt his way forward with his arms still outstretched, causing Lavender to dodge this way and that so as not to be grabbed in an inappropriate place. When he got hold of Grant’s reins, he made to get on the horse.

“Perhaps you should walk,” Lavender suggested. “Your horse has a sore foot.”

“A sore foot?” Mr. Trigger said, aghast. “Then I shall return the favor so bestowed upon me by my gallant steed.” At that, he turned and bent at the knees, picked up Grant like he was a giant scarf, and said, “Lead the way!”

(To be continued.)

(Judy’s prompt was “Lavender Quill, a solitary witch that is into crystals, candles, herbs and crochet (hidden spells she weaves for friends and family), is alone at the cabin after her parents both died three years ago.  She finds a man out on a trail, hurt and unconscious.  Grant is a marine sharpshooter who saw too much and wants to find solace in the quiet mountain, but someone is after him and he managed to get away after a desperate chase.  She uses her skills to patch up his wounds and he slowly comes around.  With her visions and other gifts, she assists him in getting to the truth and forms a bond with him, as he gets under her skin and awakens her soul.  Together, they get the bad guys and help each other heal on the mountain.”

This would make an awesome novel! Me being me, and keeping it a short story, I plan to turn the idea on its head a bit. Hope you don’t mind, Judy! *waves to Judy*)

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