by A. D. Ryan
As promised, Madison stayed on this side of the pen as the horse made his rounds. He would run within inches of Madison, stopping and turning abruptly before running away from her and kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake, and she stood as still as stone, never once faltering. Giving Vlad one last pat, I stood up and started walking toward her when I heard two deputies as they emerged from the old run-down barn.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like that before,” one of them said grimly.
The other shook his head. “I know. I’m so glad we got the son of a bitch. We’ve definitely got enough to hold him.”
Morbidly curious, I waited until the two of them were gone before making my way to the barn. The wooden slats of the doors were falling apart and the hinges creaked as I opened one slowly. The sight and smell of what I was met with made my stomach roll, and I immediately slapped a hand over my nose and mouth.
The stalls—if one could even call them that in their condition—were packed with horses. Not just one horse in each stall either. No, Charles had managed to get two or three horses into each one, probably in an effort to hide them and make it look like they were gone. He’d gotten himself in way over his head.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that some of these poor animals were barely standing, having been beaten and malnourished so badly they trembled and their bones jutted out. As I reached the end of the aisle, I even found evidence of a few less fortunate souls. From the smell of everything, these animals had been living in their own filth for weeks, or possibly months.
Having been able to stand as much as I could, I turned and ran from the barn, the sight and smell permanently etched in my brain, and ran right into Madison.
“What were you doing in there?” she asked, craning her neck to look around me.
Not wanting her to get upset by what I found in there, I took her by the upper arms and gently forced her body in the other direction. “It wasn’t good. You don’t want to go in there. Trust me.”
Panicked, she started to fight against me, her will to help these animals so strong it blinded her to the probability that they were beyond help. “What? Why not? What did you see?”
Just as I was about to tell her (because I figured that was easier than her seeing it) Wayne and the chief approached us with my dad. They were deep in conversation as they came to a stop in front of us.
“Unfortunately,” Dad started, “their injuries are far too severe. They’re suffering, and most of them look as though they’re fighting disease. I’d advise putting the whole lot down.”
“You’re sure?” Wayne inquired, shooting a remorseful look over at Madison, who’d clenched my hand in hers upon hearing the vets prognosis. “What the hell was he doing with so many horses if he didn’t know how to take care of them?”
My dad shrugged before coming to the same conclusion Madison had earlier. “My guess? He was probably trying to gentle them to sell, but once you all caught on, he probably planned to sell them for meat.” Madison’s free hand flew to cover her mouth as she gasped sharply. “The potential buyers probably refused to purchase them when saw the sickly conditions of them all, and by that point, Mr. Dalton had gotten himself in too deep.”
The three men conversed a little longer on the conditions of the farm, and Madison glanced back at the stallion standing still in the center of his pen. “What about him?” she asked, almost too quietly for everyone to hear clearly. Turning back to the vet, she nodded back toward the Appaloosa. “The mustang? What about him?”
Dad regarded her question for a minute before responding. “Well, as you saw a minute ago, he wouldn’t even let me near him when I tried to look at the severity of his injuries. I’d be hesitant to release him back into the wild with his injuries because he could get an infection, but I really see no other option.”
“Have him transferred to our ranch,” Madison proposed without pause. “We’ve got an extra training pen, and we’d make sure he was fed and watered daily. When he’s healed, we can assess him from there.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Absolutely not. Madison, it’s too dangerous.”
“I’m not suggesting you let me work with him, I’m not naïve enough to think he’ll ever be anything but wild, but he needs to heal without risk of getting an infection.” She took a quick glance around before continuing. “And clearly, that’s not going to happen here. I won’t go near him, I swear.”
My dad went on to tell us that the longer he was in captivity, the less likely he was to survive in the wild, and Madison nodded in understanding. “I don’t know that it would be a good idea to try and gentle him—especially considering what he’s been through here. He might see being held as a threat,” Dad explained.
“I get that, but he needs to heal. Besides, isn’t that what Grandpa always envisioned? Rescuing and rehabilitating horses was what he founded the ranch on. We’ve gotten away from that over the years, instead focusing more on the profits to be made.”
“She’s right,” I interjected, drawing shocked looks from the four of them. “We can’t release him knowing he might not survive, and he isn’t going to heal here—especially with no one here to care for him or the grounds. If we move him to the ranch, we can put him in the round pen away from the other horses. It’s sturdy and high enough that he wouldn’t be able to jump it in his current condition.”
After a deep discussion on the matter, Wayne agreed to have the mustang transported to the Landry Ranch, but on the condition that Madison not go near him. She was all too willing to agree, knowing that she was doing a little good by being able to save one of Charles’ victims. Wayne called Tom and Jeff to bring the truck and trailer over so they could work on loading the horse while Madison and I took my father to look at Vlad.
“Well, he’s definitely been beaten. I can’t be sure what happened to his leg, it could have been his owner …”
Madison shook her head. “Maybe, but he was in the pen with Charles and the horse was going crazy—obviously. I think that maybe the horse came down on his leg.”
“Hmm, could be. I’ll take him back to my clinic and do a few x-rays. Should I call the pound to come and get him afterward?” Dad looked between us as we thought about it.
Sighing, I shook my head. “No, give us a call, and we’ll figure something out.” Madison smiled, her eyes glistening with tears of gratitude. Or maybe it was hormones. I couldn’t tell the difference anymore. “I’m not saying we’re going to keep him,” I told her. “I’d like to have someone look at him and make sure he’s safe. We’ll discuss our options after that.”
Madison understood. “That’s fair.”
After my dad took Vlad to his vehicle, we went to watch as Wayne, Tom, and Jeff chased the mustang around the pen. I could sense Madison’s frustration, and I knew she wanted to get in there to help, but she didn’t. After another thirty minutes, they were finally able to chase him into the trailer, but he wasn’t an easy haul; the entire drive back to the ranch, he was kicking and rocking the trailer in an effort to get out.
Thankfully the ride wasn’t long, and we had the trailer backing up to the round pen soon enough. Madison hopped out of the truck and opened the gate before Wayne backed the trailer right up to it. Once he was stopped, I climbed up onto back of the trailer, just off to the side, and reached through the fence and trailer to release the door. We all knew that if someone were in the pen with him when they opened the trailer they’d likely be trampled or kicked. It wasn’t a risk any of us were willing to take.
As expected, the minute the trailer door was released, the stallion flew backward, rearing up and calling out before racing around the pen. As Wayne pulled the trailer away, Jeff closed the pen before the horse could fully realize what was happening. He continued to make noise and buck his way around the training pen, causing several of the other horses to respond to him.
“He’ll calm down soon,” Madison assured me, peering through two of the solid posts. “He just needs time to adjust. I’m
going to go and grab some hay and grain for him.”
As soon as she was gone, Wayne, Tom and Jeff came to stand by me as we watched the horse slow to a halt and start to inspect his confines. He didn’t stay stopped for long, taking off like lightning and racing around the pen a few more times.
“Tell me we’re not going to regret this,” I said quietly.
With a laugh, Wayne clapped my back a few times. “Jensen, my boy, if it’s one thing Madison’s good at, it’s bringing home strays.”
“Comforting,” I said with a chuckle.
“This is what she knows. She’s rescued and rehabilitated quite a few horses over the years—never a mustang, mind you—but she’s taken a chance on a few less fortunate horses at some of the auctions we’ve gone to and she’s a miracle worker. You’ll see. She’s got her grandfather’s gift. Even with not being able to go near him right now, she’ll do wonders with him. Just trust in her the way you did back there when she pled her case,” Wayne said. “I’m going to head in for the night. All the horses have been brought in and are good. Just be sure to lock up the barn before you guys go home, all right?”
“Sure thing, Wayne.”
After Wayne, Tom, and Jeff all took off, Madison came out of the barn with a few flakes of hay, a bucket of grain, some baling twine and a carabiner with a sprung gate. She slipped the hay through the thick fence posts before tying the baling twine just above the rung second from the top and attaching the carabiner. Once she was done with that, she carefully climbed up the first two rungs and leaned over to clamp the bucket’s metal handle to the hook and let it fall gently until it hung at a level the mustang would have no trouble reaching.
Upon seeing this, the horse stopped again and stared at the food and then at Madison. “It’s okay, boy,” she urged, taking a few steps back toward me. “Come on, let’s go home and leave him. It’s been a long day for all of us.”
We arrived back at the house to find Bones excited to see us. He followed us through the entry and into the kitchen where I started looking for something to cook for dinner.
“I’m going to go and hop in the shower really quick okay?” she said, kissing my cheek.
I nodded as I started pulling a few vegetables from the crisper and rice from the pantry. Thirty minutes into cooking, Madison emerged from the foggy bathroom in her towel when I stopped her.
“Would you mind watching dinner while I washed up now?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “I’ll just get dressed first.”
As I showered, I thought back on everything that had happened that day, and couldn’t believe just how quickly everything snow-balled. First Kaylie, then everything with Charles, Madison almost getting herself shot … It was just one shit storm after the other, and I would be glad when we went to bed to put it all behind us and start fresh in the morning.
One good thing that came out of today was that we were finally able to get Charles arrested—my only hope now was that he’d go to jail for a long time. The maximum of six years that Tennessee had for crimes against animals just didn’t seem long enough, but I’d take it over nothing at all. Not to mention, he was likely looking at multiple charges, so it’s possible he’d be put away for a long time. We could hope so, anyway.
After rinsing myself off, I hopped out of the shower and headed to our room to put my sleep pants and a sleeveless shirt on before joining Madison for dinner. The sight in the kitchen that greeted me was one of my new favorites: Madison, standing barefoot at the stove preparing dinner while bopping along to the 80s music that played on the radio.
Propelling myself forward, I wrapped my arms around her waist and rubbed her tummy. The baby responded by giving a few nudges, and I smiled. “That’ll never get old.”
Laughing, Madison stirred the veggies. “Well, you’d probably think otherwise if it was your bladder she was pulverizing,” she joked as she turned the burner off. She didn’t move after that. She just stood in my arms for a moment longer. Then I heard the first sob.
Instantly, I turned her around and hugged her. Neither of us spoke for several minutes. My earlier fears rose back up until they were choking me.
“I could have lost you today,” I said, my voice breaking slightly.
“I know.” Her voice was muffled by my chest. “What I did was unforgivable, and I wish that I could take it back. I never meant to scare you or Daddy like that.”
I turned her in my arms quickly and looked into her red-rimmed eyes. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. Do you understand?” Madison started nodding as I pressed my lips firmly to hers, kissing her like it was the first and last time, our mouths opening and our tongues sliding over each other languidly.
Throwing her arms around my neck as we kissed, she held onto me tightly. “Never,” she promised against my lips, her fingers winding up into my hair before she pulled back slightly. “I’m really sorry. I need you to believe that.”
“I do,” I assured her, staring deep into her eyes as our foreheads touched.
“Show me?” She blinked once, her eyes pleading with me as she rose up onto her toes and brushed my lips with hers. “Make love to me.”
With a groan, I was hard almost instantly, and in one fluid move, I scooped Madison up into my arms and carried her to our room where I set her on her feet next to the bed. “I love you so much, Madison,” I told her, cradling her face in my hands. “I can’t imagine a life without you. Ever.”
Madison’s soft intake of air shuddered before I kissed her gently, but with no less passion than before. As our mouths opened, our tongues sweeping over each other’s, we worked to shed the layers of clothes between us until we were pressed together, skin-on-skin, and ready. The passion that hovered in the air was different from any other time because it was infused with fear and solace as well.
But in an instant the mood in the room shifted when Madison froze, her eyes wide and her expression twisting from desire to fear.
“Madi?” Before I could even finish, though, Madison gasped sharply and dropped her eyes to her belly.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, retracting her hands from my body to clutch her stomach.
“Baby?” My eyes moved frantically between hers and her stomach.
“Oh!” Her back hunched slightly, her hands tightening around the fabric of her shirt. When she raised her eyes to mine, I saw the pain she was experiencing and knew without a doubt that this was it. “I think my water just broke.”
Chapter 25. And Baby Makes Three
“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes as wide as saucers when I told him my water broke.
Was he serious? The legs of my pants were practically soaked. “Well, it’s either that, or … oooooh, myyyyy GAAWWD!” I cried out, my body hunching forward into the contraction. “Okay, it’s time. Holy crap, I think it’s time.”
While I wasn’t surprised this happened considering the stressful day I’d had, it still caught me by surprise because I’d been feeling great these last few weeks. Sure, there were some mild contractions here and there, but they were nothing more than Braxton Hicks, so I honestly wasn’t too concerned with going into labor for another few weeks. I felt so good, I even got up early most days to take a little walk around the ranch. Okay, so “waddled” was probably a little more accurate since my stomach had really popped out in the last few months. I couldn’t do much else since our doctor had put me under some pretty heavy restrictions, but it was a sacrifice I happily made for the little bundle who seemed to love stretching my stomach into unnatural shapes that caused me discomfort.
Everything had been going so smoothly, though, that Jensen and I were confident we’d be those typical first-time parents who would be overdue and doing everything they could to induce naturally. However, life would be pretty boring, and we just wouldn’t be us without the threat of everything going belly-up at any moment hanging precariously overhead.
And it seemed that moment was now. Five weeks early.
Without a word, Jensen c
arefully wrapped an arm around my waist and led me from the room and toward the front door. He picked up the bag we’d packed and left there a couple weeks ago in the off-chance I went into labor early. I was suddenly grateful for my paranoia.
“Wait!” I said suddenly.
Jensen stopped and looked at me. “What? Baby, I don’t think we should waste any time here …”
“The dog, should we send them over to Dad’s? Leave him?” I could feel panic starting to bubble and rise, causing my hands to tremble. “How is it we planned for everything but this?!” The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my anxiety wasn’t because of Bones, I knew that, but it was all far too intense. I know I’d said countless times over the weeks that I wasn’t nervous or afraid, but that was before I went into labor. There was going to be a real, live person coming out of places that seemed far too small to handle that sort of thing.
Oh, God …
The look in Jensen’s eyes softened, his panic subsiding in lieu of my own. “Okay, okay. Breathe.” I did as he said, getting lost in the sparkling blue of his eyes. “I’ll run the dog over to your dad and see what he wants to do. But I guarantee you he’s not just going to want to sit around the ranch while his grandchild is being born.”
Feeling some of my fear alleviate, I nodded. “Okay. You’re right. Sorry.”
Jensen smiled, cupping my face in his hands. “Madi, baby, you have nothing to be sorry for.”
I shook my head, my fear taking over completely. “But I do,” I told him. “It’s too soon. I did this. I should’ve been taking it easy. Instead I put myself in multiple situations that only elevated my stress levels.” Just as I was about to continue on my self-deprecating tirade, another contraction started, and I latched onto Jensen’s arm. “Okay,” I said, “I’m done. I think we should go now.”