To Thine Own Self

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pungent odor. Without warning, a peccary and her two babies burst from the brush and darted immediately in front of Ed.

Ed snorted and side-stepped as the peccaries raced ahead of them, squealing a protest at being interrupted. Alex was momentarily taken by surprise, but appeared to have no problem maintaining his erect status in the saddle. He patted Ed on the neck and spoke in a soothing manner. Ed immediately settled down.

Rob whistled. "That would have sent me to the ground. Are stallions always skittish like that?"

Alex glanced up at him. "Not necessarily and Ed never has been until recently."

He made no attempt to explain. He urged Ed ahead with a gentle nudge of the knees, and followed the peccary.

Aaron fell in behind him. "I thought Arkansas had its own wild hogs. Isn't a razorback a wild hog?"

Alex answered without looking back at Aaron. "If you're talking about the two-legged ones, that's debatable. As for the four-legged ones, they're actually feral hogs - descendents of early livestock that went wild. The peccary is the only native wild pig in the United States."

Felipa giggled. "Alex," she chided. "You shouldn't talk that way about your football team."

He glanced back at her and grinned. "They're not my team. I'm a feral Texan."

They all had their laugh, but to Carmen it wasn't that funny. That was the first time Alex had ever referred to himself as a Texan in her presence. It left her feeling insecure.

Felipa gave Carmen a comforting smile. "He jokes."

Carmen nodded and smiled in return. Yes, he was joking, and she had referred to him as a Texan many times. He was born and raised in Texas. Did he want to go back?

Felipa and the others had drifted ahead of her when she glanced up to see Gerald watching her. He pulled his horse close and patted her on the back.

"He's an Arkie now."

Carmen forced a smile. "I know."

It wasn't her intent to solicit sympathy from anyone, much less her paying guests. Yet no one other than Felipa seemed to have noticed. Maybe Gerald was intuitive - or maybe only he and Felipa were looking her way when Alex spoke. She'd have to be more careful in the future. It wouldn't hurt to adopt a more positive outlook. Alex had done nothing to indicate he was unhappy with things the way they were now - and yet, he was definitely troubled about something.