Soon Ashley whistled again and they were back to work. This time, Adam was more sure of what he was doing. The cattle didn’t seem to care what he did so long as he didn’t stop them from munching. He looked up at one point to see Ashley patting one of the animals like you would a dog. He wondered if she had names for all of them. That would be rather silly, seeing as they were being reared for meat.

His eyes wandered to her a few times as he worked. She had no right looking as good as she did in jeans and a shirt. He found himself imagining her dressed up to go to one of his gigs. Then he closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he’d be allowed another gig ever again. His brothers had told him they were done with him.

He moved quicker, trying to force his concentration back to the job at hand. It looked like they would soon be done. He hoped so as he was tired and his body was aching, not that he would admit that to anyone.

“Right, saddle up. We’re done,” Ashley shouted finally.

They made their way slowly to the edge of the field without issue. They were almost safe when Tyler flicked his lighter in the face of one of the animals. The steer reacted and ran, causing the animals around it to also run.

“Get out. Go on, get.” Mack rode in on his horse, screaming at Adam and Ashley as he headed toward Tyler who stood transfixed, staring at the animals, a look of horror on his face. Adam turned to go, expecting Ashley to lead but instead, she went after Mack.

“I’ll get Tyler. You get the herd,” she shouted to Mack.

Adam couldn’t follow them, sensing he would only cause more trouble. Instead, he headed for where they had left their horses. Tyler had tied his horse to the tree against the advice of Ashley. Adam sprinted as fast as he could toward the horse, which was rearing now, its eyes rolling with fear. The other horses had already run away.

“It’s okay, buddy. I am just going to untie you. Shhh shhh,” Adam said to the horse and then started humming a tune with no idea whether it would work or not. But his voice seemed to calm the horse down. He untied it and let it run. The horse didn’t go too far—it seemed to sense the cattle had calmed down. Adam didn’t move from the trees, figuring if the stampede started up again, he would climb up rather than try to outrun the herd.

* * *

It took less than ten minutes for Mack and Ashley’s combined efforts to get Tyler out of the field and to calm the herd. Thankfully a full-on stampede was averted. Ashley and Tyler walked toward Adam. Well, Ashley walked, pushing Tyler who stumbled.

“That has to be the most irresponsible thing any idiot has ever done. What on earth were you thinking?” Ashley hissed at Tyler as Mack joined them.

Adam stared at Tyler, waiting for an apology at the very least. The other man stayed silent.

“You’re done. Nobody like you should be allowed within forty feet of any animal. What the heck did you do that for?” Mack shouted at Tyler.

“I thought it would be fun. I had no idea. I swear.”

“Fun? Are you serious? Have you any idea of the type of injuries inflicted in a stampede? You’re lucky if you die straight off. Most suffer agonizing injuries and die while waiting for rescue. Some make it to a hospital. Most don’t,” Mack snapped.

“Jeez, I said I was sorry. No harm was done.”

Mack looked as if he were going to explode. Ashley put her hand on his arm.

“Go, round up our horses. Please. I’ll wait with these two.”

Mack rode off. Then Ashley turned on Tyler.

“You are a self-centered excuse of a man. Mack is worth a hundred of you. His wife is in a wheelchair because her horse bolted. Someone like you thought it would be funny to see what setting off a firework would do. People like you just don’t care about anyone other than themselves, do you?”

Adam hung back, not wanting to get in the line of attack. Her eyes were like fire, her nostrils flaring as she gave Tyler the roasting he deserved.

“I said I was sorry. I shouldn’t be here in the first place. If my attorney hadn’t screwed up I would have gotten off.”

“Can you hear yourself? You were found guilty because you were guilty. The only person to blame is yourself.” Ashley gave him a withering look. Then she turned her focus to Adam. He took a step back, despite himself.

“That was brave of you. Irresponsible, but brave.”

“What?”

“The horse. I saw you sprint towards it to untie it. Greybird is a good horse but any animal that size in a state of panic should be avoided. She could have kicked you, killed you even.”

“I didn’t think about that. I just saw she was scared and thought she’d have a better chance if she was free.”

He thought her eyes softened as she looked at him. “She shouldn’t have been tied up in the first place. Most animals have better odds of outrunning a stampede than a human does. Why didn’t you run away?”

“I’ve never been a fast runner. I figured I could climb the tree if they came towards me.”

She smiled, but he got the sense that the trees wouldn’t have saved him. He was thankful she didn’t point that out. At least he had some dignity left.