She took him to spend the weekend at the ranch. Her parents were like the rocks of Big Bend, He could hardly believe they were real. They were as much a part of the desert as the cactus and the dry gulleys, Sunday morning he asked if he might take a horse and ride into the desert. He felt a great need to be alone. He did not tell them he had never been on a properly saddled horse. He had ridden the nags on the farm and knew he could handle the animal. Her mother packed him a lunch and he left, riding south. The sky, the earth, and Lafe in between. He let himself feel happy, If it would only never end, he could ride thus forever. As soon as the ranch was out of sight, he felt the world belonged to him, had been made for him. He wanted to get off the horse and run. He scanned the distant horizon and could find not a single sign of humanity. He was alone. He felt at peace.
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