Chelsea was torn from her dreams by the sound of something flying across the room. Her eyes flew open and she shot out of bed, looking every which way, close to panic. A storm raged outside, and she had opened the windows before she went to bed.
Now, her curtains flailed around in the air and rain was beginning to puddle on the floor. A huge gust of wind had knocked a vase from her nightstand. It had shattered on the floor in a spray of water, and the Pinkcat flowers that had been inside it were caught up in the breeze, now flitting around the room.
Chelsea took in the scene for a moment before her eyes went wide. "The cows!" she shrieked. "The cows are out there!" She had left them out overnight. It was the first day of spring, and they'd been cooped up all winter, forced to stay inside the barn. She wanted to calm them down, and Toro had predicted that it would be sunny the next day.
Toro had been wrong.
Chelsea flung open her door and tore out into the night, still wearing a black tank top and plaid pajama bottoms. Her feet were bare. But she didn't have time.
As soon as she exited her home, the wind and the rain seemed to be battering her from all directions, making it hard to even walk. Still, she dug her feet deep into the soil and pushed herself forward, hoping that her cows were still all right. Maybe they'd even found their way back into the barn.
But when she reached the other end of her property, she saw all four cows struggling against the wind, fighting to get back toward the barn. She began pushing on the cows' rumps, shoving them back into the barn. Soon, 3 of them were inside, but Cream stood against the side of the barn, mooing and groaning, eyes wild as she looked at Chelsea.
"Come here, girl," Chelsea coaxed. "Come on, Cream, let's get inside." But most of her voice was lost in the wind and thunder, and she was close to tears. She walked over to Cream and reached out to the crazed cow, but Cream charged her. Chelsea stumbled backward, landing in the mud, while Cream backed up again to cower against the side of the barn.
Every time Chelsea drew near, Cream would attack her, too frightened to do anything else. And all around them, a few of the trees that edged Chelsea's property began to lean, and a few fell. Branches snapped off. Lightning hit an ancient oak and it erupted into flames, only to be doused quickly by the rain.
Chelsea stood and bolted back across the field, stumbling once or twice, but always rising to her feet again. She reached the stable and slipped inside. Her two dogs shivered in the corner. One of them, Snowfall, was long-legged and lean, with long, shaggy white fur. She was whimpering softly to herself. The other one, Nightfall, was shorter, but much more muscular, and very fiesty. He was growling quietly at the storm.
But Chelsea ignored them. She went straight toward the sleek black horse that dozed in the center of the stable. "Cyclone!" she snapped. "Up!" The horse opened its eyes, blinked, then focused on Chelsea. He trotted over to her, unafraid of the storm that raged outside. Chelsea smiled through her tears. She mounted Cyclone without getting a saddle, and they bolted off into the night.
Chelsea only wanted to get help. But she knew she couldn't get through the storm quickly enough on her own. So she got Cyclone, the huge, burly horse, who was tough as nails.
They rode into town, both squinting against the wind and rain. Each drop struck Chelsea's skin with such force, it felt like needles were being driven into her.
Her first thought was to go to Toro's. But Toro was too old, and most likely weak, to be out in the storm. Natalie was to violent to coax cream into the barn, and Elliot was too afraid of animals. So instead, Chelsea went on to Mirabelle's.
She quickly dismounted and shoved open the door. No one was in the main room. Chelsea went on into the part of the building that Mirabelle and Julia lived in. She went knocking on their bedroom doors.
Mirabelle quickly emerged from one of the doors, looking a bit flustered in her pale purple nightgown. Then out came Julia, looking groggy, but not surprised. Chelsea began explaining. "I left my cows out overnight--"
"In this storm?" Mirabelle demanded.
"I didn't know it would happen!" Chelsea yelled, and then calmed herself. "Anyway, I got three of them inside, but Cream is to terrified to move. She attacks me whenever I come close."
"Oh," Julia said, "I remember when we sold Cream to you. She was a gentle little thing... But almost anything could spook her."
Chelsea nodded, pleased that the two understood. Suddenly a tall figure emerged from another one of the doors in the hallway. "What's going on?" he asked.
He was tall and lean, but muscular, with sun-tanned skin and bright eyes. He looked a little foreboding, in black jeans, a black shirt and gloves, and a black cowboy hat. His silver hair was straight and messy, sticking out every which way.
But Chelsea didn't have time to judge him by his appearance. Instead, she quickly explained the scenario with growing impatience.
"Okay," the man said when Chelsea was finished, "Mirabelle and Julia, you stay here. I'll go help her." He then rushed out the door.
Chelsea stood there for a moment, a bit stunned, until Julia snapped, "Go!"
So she followed the strange man out the door. The wind and rain had only grown harder, lightning flashed and thunder sounded every few seconds. The man was already mounted on Cyclone.
Chelsea hopped on behind him, grabbing fistfuls of his vest, and they rode off. He seemed to know where her ranch was. "What's your name?" Chelsea shouted over the storm.
The man was silent for a second as he pushed Cyclone to go as fast as possible. Then he answered. "I'm Vaughn."