excerpt
Cougar
The Circle H Ranch
Willow Springs, Montana
It was noon the next day by the time Joel returned to the ranch
from Cindy’s place. Fortunately, it was a Sunday and there were
not any plans for work. Thanks to the foresight of his father, the
pastures were configured so that they had their own natural springs
that continued to run even in the driest years, so there was lots of
good grass in the fields for his equine friends to feast on.
After a lovely breakfast with Cindy, Joel had bid her goodbye,
leaving Cindy to retrieve little Lila from her grandmother’s care.
The day went by quickly, and other than a little clean up
around the yard, including firing up the lawn mower, cutting the
grass around the house, and watering the flowers, Joel spent most
of the day reveling in the activities of the previous night—and
what a night it had been!
As he climbed into his own bed, he could still smell the fragrance
of Cindy on his skin. He was thinking that he may never
shower again, and then Joel pleasantly drifted off to sleep with
memories of the previous night dancing in his mind.
The scream could only be described as blood curdling. He had
never heard anything like it before. He woke in an instant and
was soon joined in the bedroom by Buddy, who was so terrified
that he was shaking.
There the scream was again. Joel didn’t know what it was,
but he sure didn’t like it. As he climbed into his jeans and
threw on his shirt, he didn’t have a clue of what he was about
Manolis Aligizakis 