Chapter Fifty-Four
Shiloh didn't respond verbally to Adam's edict. Her face was a mixture of emotions; guilt, disappointment, defeat. He expected tears, but there were none. Turning away, she shuffled slowly to her side of the bed and sat down with her back toward him, looking down at her hands. He waited where he was for her objection, but she was silent.
"Did the horse do that to you?" he asked crossly, standing with his hands on his hips.
"Not exactly; at least not most of them. The scrape is a bite. He did that today. He pushed me into the fence the first day; that's the bruise on my chest. The rest came from the fence and the ground when I was…jumping over to get away."
"That's how you aggravated your ankle?" She nodded. "Where were Johnny and Tom when this was happening?"
"One was distracting Satan while the other made sure I got over the fence."
"Shiloh, if they had been my men…"
Raising her head, she glanced over her shoulder. "If they had been your men, I…would never have known…for myself."
Those last words with the sound of defeat in her voice immediately deflated his anger. Walking to her side of the bed, he sat down beside her, put his arm around her shoulder and drew her to him, kissing the side of her head. "I'll take him to the breaking corrals tomorrow."
She breathed in deeply. Would it be wrong not to tell him she thought the horse might be too aggressive to break? Satan was one of the strongest horses she had ever seen. In a breaking corral with a saddle on his back and other horses, he could wreak havoc, not only on the horses, but on the men riding them, and especially on the man on his back. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"I intend to keep my promise."
She glanced up at him, then nodded. "I want to be there when you break him."
The sun was just making an appearance when Shiloh walked out to the paddock next to the barn. Adam had already haltered Satan who was tied to the fence and pulling back on the rope. She offered him a carrot, and he calmed down and took the few steps to the fence, gently taking the carrot from her hand. "I don't get you. What is so terrible about doing what you're asked?"
Johnny, Tom and Billy appeared at her side. "We heard Hank and Mr. Cartwright talking in the barn," said Tom. "You're givin' up?"
She winced. "No, not exactly. Just taking a different approach. Once he's broken, we'll try again, and if he still won't accept the training, at least he'll be tame enough for stud." She turned to see frustration on Tom's face and smiled. "Believe me, Tom, I know how you feel. I just don't know how long I could keep jumping over that fence before he caught up to me and did some real damage. Now, today after you feed, I want you all to go down to the new pasture and work on the corral fence. We won't plant pasture grass until Adam has the windmill and irrigation in, but we need that corral ready in the fall. Tom, before you go down to the pasture, would you check Dusty's hoof? Let me know if the split has gotten any worse. Oh, Flower's foal, how is he?"
"I'm afraid he's not gonna make it. He's not nursing, so we're bottle feedin' him, but he's not gaining any weight, and he's still weak." Tom dropped his head and finished quietly. "If he doesn't make it, he'll be the fifth."
Shiloh took his hand. "Tom, we can't save them all. With the number of foals we have this year, we were bound to lose some, and to tell you the truth, five isn't all that bad. Now, go check on Dusty and then get down to the corral. I'll go by the big barn and check the foal in a little while."
"Yes ma'am," he said, turning toward the back corral.
Adam had come out of the barn, and stood watching Shiloh talk to her men. When she took Tom's hand, his head tilted and his brows creased slightly. As Tom left, Adam approached her. "What was that about?"
She smiled as she watched Tom turn the corner around the house toward the back corral. "He's upset. The foal we've been watching probably isn't going to make it."
"It happens. Why is he upset?"
Looking back at him with a frown, she thought his remark was uncharacteristically callous. "Adam, he's never been around a ranch the size of this with the number of horses we have. You might think of him as an uncaring son of a…." she huffed before she finished. "He has a heart as big as Hoss when it comes to these animals. Even the cows. He was lamenting the other day about a calf that didn't make it." Adam grunted, and she looked at him firmly. "He's perfect for working with my horses. With the way he cares for them, I have all the confidence in the world in him."
He gave her a disbelieving look. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," she answered, wilting. When they arrived at the corrals, she chose to sit on her horse rather than hang on the corral fence so she could see over. She stayed back where she wouldn't be in the way of the activities around the corral.
Several horses went into the chute while the men attempted to saddle Satan. Jack Fletcher, one of the hands, and Adam took turns riding. The last horse in the chute came out twisting as he bucked, and quickly sent Jack into the dirt. He got up and walked over to Adam and Hoss, and though she couldn't hear what they were saying, she could tell they were teasing each other relentlessly when Adam walked toward the chute with wide, dimpled grin. In only another moment, the horse came twisting out with Adam now hanging on for the ride. He lasted only a little longer than Jack and was soon on his stomach, pushing himself up off the ground. Shiloh grimaced when she saw him go down. It was as if he were falling in slow motion, bouncing when he hit the ground. Why is it alright for him to come home bruised and sore from getting thrown from a horse, and when I get bruised and beat up from working with a horse, it's completely unacceptable? She dismissed the thought. She knew what his answer would be.
After several tries, the men working with Satan decided they would saddle him in the chute to prevent him from cow-kicking or turning to bite. Adam was sitting on the side, waiting until the men were ready for him to lower himself into the saddle. Shiloh tensed. She hadn't really thought far enough ahead this morning for it to register that Adam would never allow any of his men to ride Satan.
Adam stepped over Satan's back to the gate and hovered over the saddle while he wrapped the rope around his hand. When he eased down onto the saddle, Satan was already trying to buck, slamming Adam's legs into the walls of the chute. As Shiloh watched, he rose up off the saddle again and spoke to the men around him. There were four pick-up men in the corral instead of two, but that gave her no reassurance.
He finally nodded, and began to lower himself to the saddle and just as he seated himself, the gate swung open.
All hell broke loose.
