I leaned against the feed bin for support while I waited for the nauseous feeling to pass. Once it did I continued to scoop food into buckets. The doctor had told me that my morning sickness would stop soon but I still got little bouts.
I went from stall to stall giving feed to the horses. Fern lay just inside the door of the barn. Bindi was in the stall; she was lying down with her head down. I sighed and entered.
"Oh, Bindi. I know you miss your Mother but it will be ok. I am going to take care of you." I murmured.
She was even skinner. Her hips stuck out like coat hangers and I could see every rib. I had only managed to get her to drink a tiny amount in the two days Bindi had come to me. I gave her a scratch and left the stall. I walked out of the barn and over to a small pen.
"Hey, Babushka. Time to come into the barn," I called out to the mare.
The mare was a black appaloosa. I had rescued Babushka a few weeks ago when her owner had died and she had been left to fend for herself. Slowly she had begun to put weight on. I led her into the barn and was about to walk right past Bindi when Bindi stood and nickered. Babushka stuck her head over the door and sniffed Bindi. For the first time, Bindi looked alive and interested.
"Aren't you a good girl Babushka," I praised her.
Without even realizing it Babushka had gone from rescued to a rescuer. I would never know what it was but something about Babushka had encouraged to come out of her shell.
"Come on girl, let's get you in a stall," I started to walk forward but Babushka stood rock still.
I gave the lead a gentle tug and Babushka reluctantly began to walk forward. Once she was in a stall I made my way up to the house to warm a bottle for Bindi. Maybe now that she had a friend she might start to drink. When I reached the house I noticed a car parked out the front.
"Amy! How are you?" a familiar voice greeted me.
"Ahmed?! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed with surprise.
"Well I came to tell you some news," Ahmed explained.
"Why don't you come inside and you can tell me," I suggested.
We walked up to the house in comfortable silence.
"I didn't know you had a dog," Ahmed remarked.
"That is Fern. I just got her. So what is the news?" I inquired eagerly.
"Well, I have decided to return to my country for a while. I had a wonderful time here but I think it is time to return home," Ahmed smiled, "thank you, Amy. You did an amazing job with the horses. I wish you the best of luck,"
"Wow, that is great news. I loved working with the horses, they were amazing. I hope everything goes well when you return home," I answered.
As Ahmed drove away I felt like I was closing a chapter in my life. It had been a wonderful experience and I had got the chance to see what it would be like working with high-end horses. But I knew that I'd rather work with lost horses, last chance horses.
"Come on Fern, let's see if Bindi will have a drink," I started back to the barn.
Fern went running ahead. Babushka was trying to reach Bindi through the stall divider. I entered Bindi's stall and offered her the bottle. She took a sip then turned her head away. Babushka nickered encouragement.
"Oh Bindi, you need to start to drink more," I encouraged.
I sighed, stood and walked to Babushka's stall.
"Ok Babushka, I need your help. Can you help me?" I whispered.
I walked her to Bindi. She stuck her nose out and sniffed Bindi. Bindi lifted her head and sniffed the mare in return. It was like Bindi thought she was her mother.
"Ok Bindi, let's try this again," I sighed.
Babushka nuzzled Bindi. Bindi slowly began to suckle then when she realized that it was tasty began to drink faster. In less than five minutes the bottle had been drained. Bindi let out a big sigh as if she was letting all of her troubles out then flopped into the straw. Babushka stood over her like a proud mother. I was surprised how much Bindi had changed in such a short time. I left them to bond and saddled up Spartan.
"Come on Fern," I whistled, mounting Spartan.
It was only a short ride to Heartland. As I rode up to the barn I was greeted by a familiar sight. Grandpa was working on his old beat up truck, Dad was explained his latest idea to Grandpa who seemed to be only half-listening. Georgie was taking Phoenix over some jumps. Katie and Lisa were in the veggie patch. It was such a familiar sight, that hadn't seemed to change much. In the fields, horses grazed. There were a few less since I had moved to my own ranch. But a few permanent residents were still around. I slipped off Spartan's back and walked him into the barn and his old stall. Horses stood with their heads over the stall doors.
"Hey, old boy. How are you doing?" I softly said to Copper.
He stuffed his nose into my shirt enjoying the rub.
"Amy?" a voice said behind me.
I turned around and realized that it was Grandpa. He was covered in car grease.
"Lou said that dinner is in ten minutes," Grandpa explained.
I nodded and tried not to show the nerviness on my face. I could feel myself becoming faint. I took a deep breath and hoped that it would pass.
"Are you alright? Lately, you seemed to of been a bit sick lately," Grandpa asked worriedly.
I went to reply then the world went dark.
Hey, Guys. Hope you enjoyed chapter 12 and the cliffhanger ;).
Sorry for taking a while to update, had some things going on, Hopefully, I can post more often now :)
Thanks gulp78 for wonderful proofreading and editing and thanks to all the readers for their patience
