Luke

My phone rang early, much earlier than my alarm was set to go off. I picked it up, slid from the bed to not wake Candace, and listened as Jackson barked orders about a storm coming in. A bad one.

Fuck. I didn’t want to leave, not yet. I wanted to wake up with Candace in my arms and enjoy that moment we created the night before, but Jackson was insistent that I get to the stables and help with the nervous horses.

I slid into bed for another quick moment, hoping to wake Candace just enough to tell her where I was going. I kissed her gently on her cheek. She snored softly, sweetly, and rolled to her side.

I slid out, deciding it was better to let her sleep, and quickly dressed. I looked for something to write on, but there was nothing in any of the drawers except some silverware and a lighter.

I went outside to look in my truck, and the wind nearly knocked me sideways. I didn’t have time to write a note. I’d have to call her when it was time for her to wake up and explain why I left so abruptly.

I pulled my truck to the barn and ran inside. Tom was already there, trying his best to calm the horses.

“We have to get them moved to the main stable,” he insisted.

The large main stables were a half mile away, and the horses were not going to cooperate with leaving the comfort of dry and safe enclosures.

“They can’t be kept here just until it passes?” I asked.

“Jackson insists, and I agree. The storm is going to be long and hard, and this stable may not hold them. They start freaking out, one good kick, and they are loose,” Tom explained.

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.

I hadn’t been here long enough to know any different, and Tom and Jackson were the ones in charge when it came to the horses.

“How do we move them?” I asked.

“There are trailers past the main office, and Jackson should be here soon with a couple more,” Tom replied.

I nodded and headed back out into the cold rain and harsh winds to my truck. The windshield wipers would barely keep up with the rain pouring down, making it damn near impossible to see.

My phone rang as I reached the trailers. There were two, both singles, and only one would connect to the hitch on my truck. Fuck. This was going to be a long, slow job if Jackson didn’t show soon.

I looked in my seat at the glowing screen. It was Jackson. Thank God.

“Where are you?” I answered.

“I’m going to be a while. The roof just blew off my chicken coop here. I have to get these clucking hens to the barn before my wife has an aneurysm,” he scoffed.

“Okay, well, all I have is a single trailer,” I shouted into the phone, the wind swirling so loud I could barely hear.

“Do what you can, just get it fucking done soon,” Jackson yelled, and then either hung up or lost connection.

The rain beat me like tiny knives as I connected the trailer. By the time I made it back to the stables, my body was soaked, my muscles ached from the cold, and my motivation knowing Jackson was going to be late was dropping fast.

“The horses are getting rowdy,” Tom informed me of the obvious.

I helped him move the horses from the back stall into the front to keep them from knocking down the weakest wall.

“Who’s first?” I asked.

Tom gripped the reigns of one of the larger stallions, one he feared could do the most damage if spooked just right.

He helped me load him into the trailer, but he couldn’t come with me to unload, saying he had to stay here and make sure he kept the others calm.

I made the trip alone, the drive nearly pitch black, and once there, the horse was a maniac to get out of the trailer. I backed up as close as I could to the stables, hoping the horse would prefer to escape the tiny box, but he didn’t. He kicked, slammed into the trailer, and neighed like he was cursing me out.

I finally got a good grip on him and jerked him out of the trailer into safety.

Four more trips just like that one were done, and I thought I would fall over and fucking die right there from the strain, the cold, and the pain in the ass horses that refused to be helped.

Finally, other people started to populate the ranch, a guy at the main stables ready to help unload and one more truck to haul another trailer.

Jackson finally arrived, loading the last two horses in his trailer, and we all drove to the main stables together, taking turns helping each other with our loads.

Candace hadn’t appeared in the barn yet, but I assumed the storm would keep her from walking. I tried calling while I waited my turn to back my trailer to the stables, but she didn’t answer.

Someone slapped the back of my trailer, signaling it was my turn. I backed up as close as I could get and jumped out of the truck. I was so grateful this was the last horse. I needed to dry off, ease my muscles with a hot shower, and find Candace.

About the time I opened the trailer door, the lightning and thunder started to worsen. The horse inside was spooked, and started kicking the side of the trailer, rearing up and banging her head on the top in a panic.

The guys rushed to help, Jackson included, but no one could get close to her. I tried Tom’s techniques, talking softly to the horse, but it wasn’t buying my game.

One more loud thunder roared in the sky, and the horse came out of the trailer, kicking hard and knocking it to its side. Instead of running for the dry shelter that was right fucking there, the damn horse took off in the rain, running like a lunatic.

“We got to get her,” Jackson yelled, motioning for me to jump in his truck.

We drove for what felt like hours until we finally found her, and then it wasn’t a picnic. She was tangled up in a bush, tiny branches rolling all over her legs where she’d done circles in her panicked state.

It was past lunchtime when we finally got the horse unattached from the vines and into the shelter.

Jackson was right; the storm was getting worse, and there was no way to get any work done.

“Go on home, but keep your phone on,” he insisted, and then helped me unhitch the mangled trailer from my truck so I could leave.

I called Candace again with no answer, so I drove there instead of going home.

I knocked on the door, not wanting to bust in like an intruder. This was her place now, her own place, and the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel like I overstepped boundaries.

I banged hard, called again, no answer either way. My heart started to race, and I knew I had to bust in. I pushed open the door, fearing the worse, and found Candace curled up on the floor in the corner of the front room, a blanket wrapped around her tight enough that I could see her shaking with fear.