Agent Out of Time

The grandson stood out like a wolf among sheep and my eyes appreciated the subtleties of character that radiated out from him. He was big like me, and it wasn't a beefed up on steroids combined with crazy workouts big either. It was a natural bigness with strength to go along with it. Even relaxed against the corral post he looked coiled and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. He was ready for action, which bespoke of a long-term exposure to danger.

It was hard to relax after a life like that, I should know, as I'd lived like that myself once upon a time. You truly never do get over the feeling of needing to be vigilant, in order to avoid a bullet in the back. In some ways I thought he was already aware of me, if the supple tensing across his shoulders was to be interpreted right. I had to say I liked what I saw in this grandson of Ted's. This man was a warrior. It had been some time since I'd truly seen another one of my own kind.

I stepped up to the corral fencing and slowly his gaze turned to study me. There was no contempt in his eyes in regard to my evident age and unlikelihood of me being a threat to his more ebullient youth. He measured me indepthly with his eyes and I had to admit to myself that I had not expected to receive such a compliment today. He looked away, but it wasn't a dismissal or sign of disrespect. I rather got the idea that he was content to share his space with me, until I proved threatening. This was I had to admit rather fun, what a head thinker he was!

It was an old game that I hadn't played in a long time. Something attracted his gaze and all his focus left me. Curiosity drove me to see what had so captured his attention. But of course it was my granddaughter, Deshavi. I might have known, the day had been unraveling rather oddly and now this was yet one more surprise to add to the growing list.

I glanced back at the young warrior, only to see him locked into a course that could only see him into ship wrecked disaster. It was reminiscent of somebody accelerating into a sharp curve with no guard rails and a sudden flat tire. Did I warn him or let him find out for himself how treacherous the waters could be?

His hand visibly tightened on the railing and as a whole his body seemed to be seized by some powerful urge. My eyes flickered back over to Deshavi and I could've beaten her. It was bad enough how inviting she made herself look with the clothes that she wore, but this was unseemly, as it was distasteful for an unmarried girl to act toward a stranger. To start, her jeans looked as if they'd been poured onto her legs. In the process of saddling her mount she'd dropped something clumsily, only Deshavi wasn't clumsy by nature at all. She had bent completely over directly in front of Ted's grandson and it was a siren's call to outright for any red blooded man to ignore.