Hunter cleaned up the dishes as I watched before grabbing the blanket I had been using from the couch, “Hey Gray?”

“Yeah?”

“Do ya want to watch the sunset with me? I do it every night.”

“Sure,” I smiled, carefully getting up and following him to the back deck.

He took a seat on the couch and patted the spot next to him and I sat down, fidgeting with my sleeves. He threw the blanket over both of us, covering our legs, and sighed happily.

“Thank ya. It’s nice to sit with someone,” he smiled at me before looking back out at the trees, watching the clouds roll through the sky.

“I agree. Have you always been on the farm?”

“After Mama taught Hazel and me for the day, Zee would go with her to cook dinner and Dad would bring me out here to help Grandpa startin’ when I was 5. I rode on my old horse Chief until he wasn’t able to take the weight anymore and we just let him age in the pasture, walkin’ around eatin’ grass all day. Grandpa taught me all about how to care for the cows and groom them and the horses. Take care of the chickens. I’m thinkin’ of gettin’ some goats for the empty pasture over there,” he pointed to my left, “just break down the fence between them and the cows. They can live together but I ain’t decided yet.”

“That sounds like a good way to live. I was only on Granddad’s farm when the school would close for the summer so my mom could work extra shifts to save up money. They didn’t get along, my Grandad was disappointed in her for having me as a teen. But he let her stay until she was 18 and I was two. Then we moved to Billings. Lived in a women’s shelter for a year. She was able to get an apartment, then a house. Even working 4 jobs, she always made sure I knew how much she loved me. But I raised myself. She couldn’t be there. I don’t hate her for it, I understood, but I needed my mom and she simply couldn’t be there.”

“Ya never had your dad?”

“Oh I know who he is but they… it was inappropriate. He was a teacher at her high school. That’s all. I have my mom's last name.”

“What was her name?”

“Natalie. Natalie Georgia Walker. She was only 37.”

“That’s so young,” he whispered, “Gray… God, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. She’s watching over me. Always taking care of me. That’s why she had life insurance. It just took time for things to settle. My Granddad’s farm finally sold right before I lost her and the sale for that, the money she was getting as his only child, I have to wait for that to transfer to my name. I’m an only child as well… the last of the Walkers. They’re still taking care of me, even if they’re gone.”

“That’s what family is supposed to do,” Hunter ran his hand along the back of the couch, resting his arm behind me, “that’s what we’re doin’ for you. I found ya for a reason, Gray. That’s what I’m choosin’ to believe.”

“I think so too,” I smiled at him and turned back to watch as the sun fell behind the ridge of the mountains, “Oh. The sky looks incredible out here,” I gasped. The clouds had turned a deep sunburnt orange, the leftover snow on the ground matching the sky and a happy sigh escaped me, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Hunter gently rubbed the top of my back and I turned to look at him, “I’m glad ya like it. I thought it might cheer ya up. We can’t see the stars tonight, clouds are too thick, but it’s amazin’ durin’ the summer.”

“I can’t wait.”

We sat there for a while longer, watching everything go dark and the lights around the house suddenly turned on, bathing everything in a warm, yellow glow.

“Whoa!” I looked over at one of the lights, “what in the world?”

“As soon as it gets dark out here, they turn on. I need to be able to see the dogs when they’re running around. I turn them off before bed though. Once I head inside.”

There was a crash of thunder followed by lightning and it started to pour rain.

“I thought you said it was going to snow!” I yelled over the sudden maelstrom.

“It’s supposed to tonight. This is strange. Let’s go inside. It ain’t a good idea to be out here when it’s heavy like this.”

We rushed into the house and Hunter locked the doors, leaving the lights outside on. Tossing the blanket onto the couch, he kicked his boots off, leaving them by the back door.

“Will we lose power?” I chewed on my lip.

“Nah. I use solar panels. They’ve been chargin’. We’ll be fine. Unless the entire grid in the area goes down. But even then, we’ll have power for a bit. I have flashlights and battery lanterns in every room. If it does go down, we can just set them up. It’ll be okay.”

“Okay. Um… just in case can I take a shower now?”

“We need to take your bandages off first and cover the wounds. I’ll do your arms and throat. Just take care of your leg and side. That’d be inappropriate of me,” he walked to the front door and grabbed two bags, carrying them to the dining table and taking a seat, “this one,” he pointed to a small paper bag, “has all your medical supplies from the hospital. This,” he pointed to the other, a large cloth bag, “is a gift from Hazel, her wife, and Mama.”

Taking a seat next to him, I carefully pulled my sleeves up, hissing as the material ran across the bandages, “this sucks! They hurt so bad.”

“Swellings goin’ down,” he sighed, “oh shit hang on,” running over to the sink, he quickly scrubbed his hands before coming back to me, “can’t let ‘em get infected.”

Slowly, Hunter started unwrapping the bandages and I let out a gentle cry when I saw the wounds on my forearms. They ran from my inner wrist to nearly my inner elbow, clearly deeper than I realized.

“Holy…” he whispered and started carefully cleaning blood that stained my skin, “I… I saw the cuts. I knew that it was a lot of blood but this is so much worse than I thought.”

“They’re going to heal ugly. People are going to think I tried to kill myself,” I started to cry, hanging my head.

“Let ‘em think what they want. People will always judge and make assumptions. But you know the truth, I do, my family does and that’s what matters. Scars are just proof we’ve lived, Grayson. You lived through a traumatic experience. Most people wouldn’t have. Dad told me that the one on your thigh nicked an… artery I think. Ya should have bled to death but ya didn’t.”

“Why didn’t I?” I finally lifted my head, studying him as he focused on placing the clear bandages properly.

“I put pressure directly above the cut so the blood wouldn’t keep flowin’ there. That’s why it hurt so badly. I’m sorry for that. But I knew what to do and I wanted to make sure that ya lived.”

“You… really did save my life then…”

“I suppose I did,” he nodded, “but ya don’t owe me anythin’ for that other than keepin’ me company and helpin’ me clean sometimes. That’s all,” he finished placing the clear bandages along my arms, ensuring they were secure before reaching up and slowly removing the wrap around my throat, “oh this one is already healin’. Good. I just want to clean it a little. You have blood and chlorhexidine on ya.”

“For someone who doesn’t work in the medical field, you sure know a lot,” I hissed when a bit of the rubbing alcohol he was using hit my cut.

“Sorry. It dripped. Anyway, I do a lot of the care for the animals. They get little wounds and things like that all the time. Also, my Dad is a surgeon, and Zee is an emergency room nurse. So I learned a lot from them. I also get hurt a lot workin’ out in the pastures. Cut myself, hit myself with tools. I do my best, but accidents happen. Alright, I’m done,” he set what he was using down and wiped a tear from my cheek, “ya keep cryin’. I know it was scary. I know that the last bit of yer life has been insanely difficult, Gray. But you’re safe now. I swear it. I will keep you safe.”

“I… want to believe you, Hunter. But it takes time. I need time to adjust. I haven’t consciously slept in a bed in almost a year. Eaten good food, showered regularly. I haven’t had a home to take care of. I’m injured right now, severely for the first time in my life, and I just… don’t know what to do with myself now that I’m not trying to live day by day. I can look forward to things and it’s fucking terrifying. I just feel like I have no direction.”

“First. Shower. While ya do that, I’ll change the sheets in your room. Tomorrow, when ya get up, whenever ya do, I’ll load up the back of my truck with deliveries and we’ll head into town. If ya don’t feel up to that, you can stay here. I have a house phone, ya can call me if ya get lonely or scared. I’ll leave my number for ya. But, if you’re feelin’ up to it, I can take you into town. We can get flowers, and I’ll make a small marker for Natalie out by the trees. I know she’s not with ya anymore, but we can put it next to Grandpa and Grandma so ya have a space to talk to her here. I think you need that. Ya lost your mom, then the entire world fell down around ya. Have ya had proper closure?”

“N… no.”

“Then we’ll get it for ya. Okay? But for tonight,” he pushed my hair gently behind my ear, “just shower and sleep. If ya get scared, if ya need somethin’, knock on my door. I’m a light sleeper, I’ll hear ya.”

“Okay,” I sniffled and carefully wiped my eyes, “I don’t look so good right now. I’m worried I’ll scare people in town… but I want to go with you.”

“No one will say anythin’. They all know me and my Dad. We’ll stop at a few houses between here and Livingston, then I’ll pick up the dogs, show ya the library where Mama works, and head to Bozeman. We can go to a store there and get whatever ya want. Not need. Want. Anythin’ okay?”

“Are… are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you, Hunter. You’re a good man.”

“I like to think so,” he laughed softly, “come with me, Gray. I’ll show you your bathroom.”

Getting to my feet, I grabbed the bags and followed after him, my arms stinging but feeling better now that they were unwrapped.

“Alright so,” he opened a door on the right side of the hallway, “this is your bathroom slash guest bathroom. But mostly yours. Only my parents and Hazel come over here. Behind the door on your left is your bedroom. It’ll be ready when you’re done. Take your time okay? I’ll be on the couch. I gotta head to sleep soon, but I want to at least make sure you’re okay before I do. Towels, washcloths, extra soap, and toothbrushes are in the closet on the right. Put your dirty clothes in the basket next to the sink. I wash everythin’ on Saturday.”

“So organized. Thank you, Hunter.”

“Don’t forget to unwrap your leg and side and cover ‘em before ya get in or I’ll have to take ya back to the hospital and my Dad will yell at me for not remindin’ you. He’s scary.”

“You’re like half a foot taller than him. How in the world can he scare you?”

“I was raised to respect my parents. They deserve that. They were good to me and Hazel. So I make sure to live my life in a way they can be proud of. He scares me because I was a shit as a kid, so I got in trouble a lot. I hate the sound of his voice when he yells at me. Even now, I jump and stand a little taller. But I love my parents. Mama is my best friend.”

“You’re so sweet,” I smiled up at him and a blush once again graced his features.

“Take your shower. Please. You’re gonna kill me.”

“Fine, fine,” laughing, I walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

The bathroom walls matched the rest of the house but the tiling in the shower was a glittery blue, sparkling in the lights. The counter was a beautiful white marble, with a large round mirror above it.

“Beautiful,” I whispered softly, looking around before pulling my shirt off carefully to take the wrapping from my ribs. It was easy enough and when I looked at myself in the mirror I let out a quiet cry.

My eyes were swollen, a mix of trauma and crying, my already porcelain skin pasty. The freckles that littered my body seemed to be lighter, hiding, and my ashy blonde waves were knotted severely, clearly uncared for.

“I should cut my hair,” I whispered and started cleaning around the sutures on my ribs carefully before covering it.

Once that was done, I started taking my pants off and came to the quick realization that I couldn’t do that while standing. Bending my knee pulled on the sutures in my thigh, causing pain to shoot through me. Taking a seat on the toilet, I slowly pulled my pants the rest of the way down and unwrapped my thigh, gasping softly when I realized how badly bruised it was.

“Jesus,” sighing, I copied what I had done to my ribs, what I had watched Hunter do for my arms, and started the shower.

After grabbing a towel from the closet, I laid it on the counter and climbed in, the warm water shocking my system. It had been so long since I took a true warm shower and I stood there, savoring the way it ran down my spine.

Cleaning myself was difficult with my arms, but I managed to after a bit, my hair finally unknotted and I shut the water off, getting out and drying myself quickly. Chewing my lip, I started to put the pastel yellow sweatsuit on when my gaze fell on the cloth bag that Hunter had said was for me.

Opening it, I found a few more sweat outfits, a pair of jeans, a pack of clean boxers and socks, a large sweater, and a couple of shirts that were clearly Hazel’s old clothes but would fit me fine.

Changing quickly, I set my dirty clothes in the basket that Hunter had told me about, brushed my teeth, and headed into the living room with my bags.

Hunter was sitting on the couch, reading a book, a gentle smile on his face and he failed to notice that I was standing there. Walking over quietly, I sat next to him, making him jump before closing his book with a laugh.

“Ya scared me!”

“Sorry, you were so caught up I didn’t want to interrupt you,” laughing softly, I tilted my head back against the couch, “it’s so nice to be clean oh my god.”

“I’m glad,” he ran his fingers through my hair, “I set up your room.”

"Tomorrow, when we're in town… can you take me to get a haircut? I never let it get this long and it's bothering me."

"Whatever ya want," with a smile, he gently rubbed my cheek with his thumb and I closed my eyes savoring his warmth.

"You're very touchy," I whispered.

"Ain't been around anyone that doesn't panic when I do. I can stop though."

"Don't. I like it. I've never gotten attention or affection before."

"Me either. I hate to do this but I have to get up early. I need sleep. There's a TV in your room, a nice soft bed."

"Okay," nodding, I got to my feet when he did and followed him down the hallway. As soon as he opened the door to my new bedroom I gasped, "Holy. Shit."

This is my room?