Authors Note
I know the last chapter was stupid but THERE WAS ACTUALLY A POINT TO IT. I foreshadowed a bit for Baldwin Prince (sequel) and since everyone has been begging me to get Amy and Ty back together I started in that direction. But, I got half the amount of reviews I normally get. There is only one chapter left after this one and I want lots of reviews!
And, I believe I said this in the last chapter but I'll say it again anyway, I completely guessed on Baldwin Prince's time and I realize that it is way off. Make up your own, knock yourselves out.
Thanks to Shawna and Annette. Shawna for giving me a perfect idea on what to do about Daniel, and Annette for giving me the idea of how it should lead to Shawna's idea. And another thanks to Annette for telling me the most perfect Amy/Ty song which will appear in this chapter or the next one. I think this one. I had to buy it on iTunes just for this chapter and it completely messed up my iTunes play list. Now I have one song by a female artist, something I was determined to never EVER do. I fixed it by buying two other songs that I liked though and I'll have to buy like three new CDs over the weekend now. -Steph
Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke. The song belongs to whoever it belongs to but that's not me.
Commander In Chief
Chapter 19
Amy's POV
The day before the show
"Ugh," I groaned as another math problem danced wickedly before my eyes. I looked at the clock that sat on my desk, 11:34 pm. I sighed and slammed the text book shut, locking my worksheet in. I shoved the book to the side of my desk and rested my head in my arms. I was about to fall asleep right then and there when my door burst open.
"Hey, Ames," Alex announced himself.
"Hey, Alex. What's up?" I asked as I lifted my head. I yawned widely on the last word.
"I just went out and got the mail, I forgot to do it earlier," he said with a shrug.
"Okay…" I wasn't quite sure why Alex had found it necessary to tell me all of this.
"Oh, right," Alex shook his head. "This came for you," he held out a single, thin white envelope. My name and address was scrawled across the front in near chicken scratch.
"Thanks," I took the envelope from his outstretched hand. I dropped it carelessly on the top of my desk.
"Yup, well, I'm going to go do… something."
I looked at him questionably. "Okay, you… do that."
Alex grinned widely. "What time are you leaving tomorrow, you know, for the show?" he asked me.
"8:30 maybe," I said with a shrug.
"Okay, well if you don't need me to come I'll stay here and work Arty a little." Arty, or Artemis as was his full name, was Alex's horse. He had recently been lame so Alex was skipping out on the end of the show season this year.
"Cool, I'll be back by three, I hope."
"Kay, night, Ames," Alex said as he turned to leave my room.
"Night, Alex," I called after him. Alex waved quickly before he shut the door behind him. Once I was alone again I looked back to the letter that was sitting on my desk.
I picked it up and looked at both front and back carefully, checking for a return address. There wasn't one. Weird.
I shrugged lightly and decided to just open it. I tried to open it without tearing up the envelope or anything but that hardly worked. I can never seem to open an envelope up neatly.
Inside there was a single piece of white, printer paper. The paper was folded and none too neatly at that. It was folded into the tradition style of three thirds but the thirds weren't even and the ends didn't meet. I unfolded the paper and read.
If you know what's good for you and that stupid horse of yours, stay away from the show grounds tomorrow. If you value the life of your horse and that of your stupid boyfriends as well, you will scratch or not show up. I'm not set high on hurting you and your horse, what will I get from that? Nothing. You're just a nobody. But, on the other hand, your boyfriend is a whole other issue. Now, what would people say if you, Amy Fleming, were found guilty of the death of a fucking Baldwin horse? Because you can believe me, that's exactly what it'll look like. You're a nice girl, a very pretty girl too, and I know you would not want to see any harm some to that horse, Commander In Chief. I'm fucking tired of the free rein the Baldwin's have had over everything, why do you think your boyfriend rose so quickly? Not because he has talent, hell no. It's because he has a pretty face, a pretty horse and a powerful name. Maybe he is good, but all that has come from outrageously priced trainers that his mommy and daddy hired for him. You ruined my plans last time; you did not take the warning. Now, I could care less about you, you're no problem to beat. But, I can guarantee that if the boyfriend of yours shows up here tomorrow with that horse then he'll have worse to pay for it then a sprained arm. But, by all means show up. I'll get the blue ribbon and I'll get to have some fun.
You should know I always come prepared. You have been warned.
After I was done reading the letter I just starred at it. Then, thinking that I had imagined its contents I read it again, slower this time. But it still said the same thing.
There was no signature but I knew who had sent it. Daniel.
Now he was not only threatening Sundance and Commander In Chief, but Ty and I as well.
No matter how mad I was at Ty I could still admit that everything he had said about Ty was a lie. Well, maybe it was true that he had world class trainers helping him along the way but even a blind man could tell that he had real talent.
And threatening to kill Chief? And then frame me? How could anyone do that?
To my horror, I felt tears start to slide down my cheeks. My cheeks flushed despite the fact that I was completely and utterly alone.
I crumpled up the letter in my hands and threw it as hard as I could across my room. It was only paper and didn't go very far. It fluttered uselessly down to the carpeted floor.
But now the question was what was I going to do?
Was Daniel actually serious about saying he would kill Chief?
My mind turned towards yes. Yes, he was serious and he was going to kill Chief. All because of a stupid show that would hardly even matter in a year from now!
I laughed bitterly through my tears.
Commander In Chief
When I woke up the next morning the sun was streaming through my windows. I lifted my head out of my arms groggily and looked around. I was still in my clothes from school that I had worn yesterday and I was sitting at my desk… no wonder my neck was stiff.
I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I looked around my room and my eyes fell on the still crumpled piece of paper lying in the middle of my room, forgotten. I leapt out of my chair so fast that it fell over in my wake.
Right before I fell asleep I was… going to call Ty. Shit. Shit. I'd have to call him before…
I looked at the clock and let out a little yelp of shock. It was already 7:30! Ty would already be there. I had to be at the show grounds in one hour! And I still had to get the trailer ready, braid Sunny, groom him, and make sure all of his tack was good and… take a shower, eat breakfast, get myself ready.
Bypassing the fact that I'm sure my hair looked like a rats nest, I ran down the stairs and out of the house at a breakneck speed. I skidded into the barn and down the aisle to Sunny's stall.
"Oh my God, I'm so, so, so, so screwed," I mumbled as I fumbled for the latch.
"Hello, Miss Amy," I yelped in surprise and jumped backwards at the playful sounding voice.
I peered into the stall to see Ben just straightening up. "Oh, hi, Ben," I grinned sheepishly despite myself.
"Running a little late?" he asked me, amusement present in his voice.
"Oh my God! Yes!" I cried in exasperation. "I still have to braid Sunny and groom him and get all his stuff and the trailer ready and take a shower and…" I started rattling off all of the things I had to do. I stopped midrant because Ben was laughing at me. I glared at him; I found nothing even remotely amusing about the issue on hand. "What's so funny?"
Ben just kept laughing but pointed at Sunny when my eyes narrowed.
I looked over Sunny, who was munching on his hay contently in the corner. He already wore his traveling blanket and his legs were wrapped and… his main and tail were fully braided!
"Thank you so so much, Ben!" I squealed and threw my arms around his wide shoulders.
Ben patted my back somewhat awkwardly. "It was no problem," he assured me with a grin once I let him go. "The trailers taken care of and Sunny's about ready to go. You should go and get yourself ready," he eyed me up and down and I suddenly felt self-conscious of my wrinkly shirt and horrible hair. I probably had morning breath too. Yuck.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" I yelled as I fled the barn. I was breathing heavily by the time I reached my house again. That was quite a ways to run and I'd done it twice. Another glance at my watch told me I only had forty-five minutes left.
I ran into the shower and once the water was hot I stepped under it. I let the warm water run over my body soothingly, momentarily calming all of my nerves and relaxing my muscles. Once that was done I jumped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy blue towel around my body and wound another around my dripping hair. I brushed my teeth, put on deodorant and did all my other bathroom stuff before dashing back into my room. I pulled on my tan Ariat low-rise show breeches and a white t-shirt; I dug around my drawers and found another Heartland sweatshirt.
I brushed my still damp hair and eyed the hairdryer. But another glance at my clock had my just pulling it back into a ponytail.
I grabbed the garment bag that held my show shirt and blazer, the boot bag and the helmet bag the contained my good, showing helmet. My arms laden with equipment, I bounded back down the stairs. I only stopped to pull on my muck boots and to grab my trusty messenger bag that held everything I would need, magazines, cell phone, money, iPod, keys, the works. After I had dumped all of my stuff in the cab of the pickup truck that was waiting by the barn with a two horse trailer hooked to the back, I ran back into the barn.
Ben was just leading Sunny down the aisle. "Hey!" I gasped as I stopped in front of him.
Ben shook his head at my appearance; I didn't look bad physically anymore… well maybe that's not completely true. My face was probably a little red from running around like a possessed woman but other then that…
"I didn't know what saddle or anything you wanted to use," Ben informed me.
"I'll get them," I said to his retreating back and Sunny's rump.
I ran into the tack room and grabbed the saddle bag, bridle bag, girth bag, and saddle pad bag that all help Sunny's show tack. I dashed back to the truck and saw that Ben was just securing Sunny in the inside. I stashed all of the tack in the little tack room in the trailer and then helped Ben close the ramp.
"Thank you so much for all the help, Ben," I thanked him yet again. But really, without Ben here I would have been running around like a chicken with its head cut, as opposed to a possessed woman.
"No problem, I'm happy to help," Ben tried to shrug off my apology. "You should be going though," he told me, trying to change the topic.
I looked at my watch, 8:35. "You're a lifesaver, Ben. I owe you," I told him as I climbed into the cab. I felt around under the seat and pulled out the key. I stuck it into the ignition and started the car.
Ben waved as I drove away.
Half an hour later I was pulling into the show grounds. I parked among all the other trailers and quickly went to sign in. When I got back to my trailer I took Sunny out and tied him to the outside of the trailer.
For the first time since I'd woken up the morning I stopped for a few minutes. I looked around the show grounds. I saw a big, bay horse with a dark green blanket that said… oh crap.
My original plan of action had been completely forgotten during my busy last hour and a half.
I gave Sunny a final pat and then started in Ty's direction. I opened my mouth to call out his name but my greeting died on my lips and morphed into a scream that was cut short as a hand clapped over my mouth from behind. My original fright had been the arm that snaked around my waist from behind.
I was pulled backwards. The person didn't stop until we were on the opposite side of my trailer, Sunny was on the other side. I had parked next to the fence so all that was near us was fence and open fields.
My captor let go of my waist momentarily and threw me back against the trailer. I gasped in pain as my head snapped back into the hard, steel side of the trailer.
"Don't say a word," a venomous voice hissed at me.
I looked up and saw Daniel standing in front of me. He was wearing his show outfit and his dark hair was ruffled and messy. His blazer has patched at the elbows and his tan breeches had clearly seen better days. He stood at least a head taller then me, Ty's height. Ty was muscular and fit and all but this guy was… he was more defined. Up close he was scary and I starred at him with an open mouth.
"I warned you to stay away," he spat at me. "I know you got my note," he added.
"I…" I started to say but stopped with a gasp as his open palm cracked across my face. Tears automatically rose to my eyes but I refused to show him the satisfaction of crying.
"It was all you," I said in a low voice. "You poisoned Sunny and Chief…" I accused him.
"Nice work, Detective Fleming," he cackled.
"Why do you…"
"Shut up!" he told me firmly. He didn't yell, that would risk attracting attention and just because no one could see us that didn't mean they couldn't hear us.
"TY!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could. I doubt he even heard me since my call was cut short as Daniel's hand snapped over my mouth once again. I yelled against his hand but it was muffled and he just pressed down harder.
"I said shut UP!"
I glared up at him defiantly.
"You didn't do as I asked," he hissed. "You were supposed to keep Ty," he said Ty's name like it was some kind of curse or something, "Away from here. You'll pay for it now."
He took his hand off of my mouth. "Please, no. Don't hurt Chief," I begged him.
"The situation was in your hands and you chose to do nothing about."
"I… please…"
"How do you think Ty will feel when he finds out that you killed his prized horse? You know, I did some research and do you want to know how much Commander In Chief is worth? Over three million dollars." Daniel smirked at my expression and continued. "Do you have three million dollars to pay for his horse? And you can know right off the bat that the punishment will be so much worse because you killed a Baldwin horse, as opposed to say, my Amber. She's every bit as good as Commander In Chief but is she worth three million dollars? NO! And do you know why? Because she doesn't look right, she's not a sports horse and I don't have a powerful name. Lawson, no one's heard of my family."
"Look," I tried to say calmly. "Just because Ty has a good horse…" I froze, I had worded that wrong.
"Try again," Daniel hissed at me, his dark eyes blazing.
"Can't you just admit that Ty is maybe a little tiny bit better then you?" this was not what Daniel wanted to hear either so I continued in a rush before he could stop me. "You can't kill every horse that is better then yours."
"I'm not going to kill any horse," Daniel said with a smirk. "You are."
"No, I…"
"Now, to frame you…" he mussed to himself.
"You're sick!" I burst out suddenly.
Daniel glared at me. I took a step forwards only to be pushed roughly back into the side of the trailer. On the other side of the trailer I could tell Sundance was becoming restless from the raised voices and he let out a loud, long, sharp, piercing whinny.
"That stupid horse," Daniel growled. "I should…" he fingered something on the inside of his jacket.
"No! Leave Sunny alone! And Chief! They never did anything to you!" I cried out helplessly.
"They've done more then you know," Daniel's dark eyes burned into me.
"Isn't there anything else you can do? Do whatever you want! Just don't hurt Sunny or Chief… or Ty," I pleaded.
"Hmmm," Daniel revealed in the look on my face. "It's too late to not do anything to the horse but…"
"What did you do to Chief?" I asked in horror.
Daniel went on as though he hadn't heard me. "… I suppose I'll leave him alone if… you go out with me and you're mine for one night, and you'll do whatever I want without complaint."
I shuddered at the lust filled look in his eyes. He brushed his hand across my cheek and shuddered again in repulsion. "No…" I choked out.
"Well then," Daniel straightened up.
"What are you going to do?" I asked fearfully.
"Like I'd tell you," Daniel laughed. "You'll find out soon enough. But until then I can't have you running to you your little boyfriend, can I?" I looked at him tentatively and the look of pure pleasure on his face was enough to make me cringe.
Before I knew what was happening I was on the ground and had one arm bent behind my back in a painful position. Daniel's knee pressed into the small of my back and I squirmed in pain. My attempts to get away were done so in vain, Daniel was too strong. I tried to yell out but only succeeded in getting a mouthful of grass. Daniel pushed my face back into the ground.
"Now, you," he addressed me smugly, "Are going to stay here until informed otherwise. If you try anything, anything at all, it will be a piece of cake to make your death look like a suicide, you got it." I was unable to say anything and even if I could have I wouldn't have. "I said, you got it?" Daniel asked again in a firmer voice.
I mumbled my agreement into the grass.
"Good, you'll stay put," he said. "God forbid something happen to your precious Ty," he laughed.
Then, thankfully, the weight lifted off of my back and head and I heard his boot clad feet walk away. I took in a deep breath and sat up. I spat out all of the grass in disgust and pulled myself to my feet. I crept along the side of my trailer until I got to the back end. I peered around it James-Bond-style. I saw Daniel's retreating back; he was heading in the opposite direction from Ty's trailer.
Then surprisingly enough I saw Ty step out from behind one of the trailers that was near by mine. I shied back behind my trailer but not fast enough. Ty caught my sight and held my eyes with his green emeralds. My heart practically broke at the pain in his eyes. He held up one finger in my direction, the universal sign for 'one minute', before he dashed off to his trailer. I watched him usher Chief into the trailers confines and then latch up the ramp.
I turned back around and leant back against my trailer, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do now. Ty had obviously heard my whole exchange with Daniel. I was tempted to follow his lead and put Sunny back in the trailer but Daniel… if he saw Sunny away he'd know I'd done something.
"Amy," I spun around in surprise at the low voice that addressed me.
"Ty!" I gasped and, without thinking, I threw my arms around his broad shoulders and held onto him as if he was the lifesaver to my drowning person. Ty's arms wrapped around my waist and he held onto me just as tight. I buried my face into his chest and the comfortable material of the worn Baldwin Ways sweatshirt he wore with a pair of dark jeans before he changed into his show clothes welcomed me, as did his scent. Ty's head was nestled into my neck and my hair.
I didn't know I'd missed him this much but…
"Ty," I managed to croak out, "I'm sor…"
"Shhh," Ty silenced me by placing a finger across my lips. "I know, let's talk later though."
All I could do was nod dumbly in agreement.
"Did you hear all of that?" I asked him after a moment of silence had passed between us.
"Yes," Ty answered simply.
"All of it?"
"Yes."
"Oh," was all I could manage to say. I'd known he had heard it all but it was still embarrassing.
"Stay here," Ty told me. "I'll go find Daniel."
"What? No way! I'm not staying here and letting you take care of him all by yourself!" I burst out indignantly.
Ty look frustrated. "Just stay here and in five minutes call the cops, tell then about Daniel," he insisted.
I glared at Ty for several seconds before I loosened up my facial muscles. I sighed and said, "Fine."
"Good," Ty said, seemingly pleased.
"Just… watch out for him," I warned Ty softly. "He's… I don't know, dangerous," I finally concluded.
"I'll be fine," Ty assured me and then he was dashing off towards the water trough, where Daniel was standing with his back turned to us. He appeared to be talking on his cell phone.
I sighed again and leant back against the trailer. Then I realized how stupid I was being at that moment. I looked around the trailer, Ty was approaching Daniel steadily and Daniel still had his back turned. I took the chance and quickly unbolted the ramp to the trailer and eased it down to the ground. I staggered slightly under the immense weight if it but I managed.
I ran around to Sunny's head and quickly untied him. Sunny butted me with his head and his ears pricked forwards. I led him to the back of the trailer and he stopped. He didn't understand why he was going back into the trailer when he hadn't even done anything yet!
"Please, Sunny," I pleaded softly into his ear. "Just for a little while, you'll still get to jump later, boy. Please," Sunny shook his head around but stepped up into the trailer regardless. I hurriedly clipped him to one of the rungs in the first stall and gave him a quick pat before stepping out of the trailer. I somehow managed to lift the ramp into place and bolt it shut again.
I looked hurriedly back in the direction of the water trough and my heart sank. I watched Daniel aim a punch at Ty's head. Ty dodged it easily and sunk his fist into Daniel's stomach, knocking the breath out of him and he stumbled backwards.
I hurried over to the truck and extracted my cell phone from my bag. I fumbled with it but managed to punch in the three digits that everyone in America knows: 911
The shifted my weight from foot to foot impatiently as the phone rang three times. Before a woman answered and started to rattle off her usual, polite greeting. I cut her off. "I'm at the Jefferson County Show Grounds (a/n: made that one up) and there's this guy, Daniel Lawson. He threatened me and my… boyfriend and our horses. He's already said he was going to kill one!" I told her hastily.
"Oh dear…" the women muttered. "Can I have your name?"
"Amy Fleming," I answered automatically.
"And your boyfriends?"
"Ty Baldwin."
"Well, Amy, what is happening right now?" she asked me.
I looked back over to Ty and Daniel.
"Well, uh, Daniel already threatened me and Ty heard all of it so now they're kind of, uh, fighting," I didn't see any other way to describe it. Besides, I'm pretty sure that punching each other and trying to kill each other constitutes as fighting.
"Okay. Amy, don't worry about it, I'm calling for officers as we speak, they should be with you in no more then ten minutes. They'll take Daniel and question him. Now, is there anything else you can tell me about the situation?"
"Uh, well, Daniel already poisoned both my horse and Ty's at previous shows. We were both injured as a result," I quickly told her. I winced as Daniel got one punch on Ty. I internally cheered as Ty got him in the side of the head. They were starting to gather a crowd by now.
"Do you have any proof that it was he who poisoned your horses?" the woman asked me.
"Yeah. He admitted it to me and he sent me a note last night threatening to kill Ty's horse if we came today," I rushed.
"Thank you, Amy," the woman said. "Officers will be there shortly, everything will be fine," she assured me.
"Thank you. Bye." I hung up the phone a sprinted in Ty and Daniel's direction.
"Hey watch it, girlie!" a man grumbled as I bumped into him in my haste.
"Oh! Sorry, sir!" I called apologetically behind me.
Daniel caught sight of me racing towards them. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU STAY WHERE I LEFT YOU!" he roared.
I ignored him and ran to Ty's side. I clutched him arm. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
Ty shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. "I'm fine. Did you…?"
"Yeah. They're on their way," I reported back to him.
"Good."
"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked, outraged.
"The police are coming, maybe you can tell them your nice little story of how you were going to kill Ty's horse and blame it on me!" I taunted him.
Daniel blanched. "Why you little whore…" he breathed and made a movement towards me.
Ty's arm shot out of nowhere and connected with Daniel's nose sharply. There was a snapping noise and I winced, we all know what that was. Blood spurted out of his nose and down his face and dripped on his white shirt. He fell over onto his back and clutched his face.
"Would you like to say that again?" Ty asked Daniel in an icy voice. Daniel glared up at Ty. Ty's hand was still balled into a fist.
"Bastard," Daniel told Ty quite clearly.
"I'm a bastard?" Ty asked sounding baffled. "Well if I'm a bastard then I don't even want to think about what that makes you."
Daniel was speechless; all he could do was glare at Ty. Score for Ty! GO TY!
"I believe," Ty began again in that annoyingly calm voice of his, "That you just insulted my girlfriend. You owe her an apology." I grinned stupidly despite the situation. Ty had called me his girlfriend! That had to mean something, right?
"Bite me," Daniel spat.
"Wrong answer," Ty kicked in the ribs. Daniel yelped.
"Suck my dick you mother…" Daniel began. (a/n: sorry but I HAD to put that in)
My eyes widened. I looked at Ty to see how would take that insult. But, all Ty did was rock back onto his heels. "Are we going to insult each others mothers now?" I laughed at Ty's laid back comment. "Would like some 'your mama' jokes? (a/n: that's for you Gracie because you said something about 'your mama' jokes in one of your reviews!) I've got one for you. Yo mama so fat she got baptized at Sea World."
It was amazing the control Ty had. It was quite entertaining too. I had to make a serious effort not to let my giggles become full fledged laughs.
"Or maybe that wasn't good enough," Ty said calmly to a fuming mad Daniel. "How about this one, yo mama so ugly she makes Michael Jackson look like Brad Pitt."
Daniel heaved himself to his feet and let his hands ball to fists at his sides. I guess he didn't take well to loosing.
"Give it up, Daniel," Ty growled in a low voice. "You're done. The police are coming."
"I'm not done until I say I'm done," Daniel growled back.
"What are you tal…" I froze. Daniel reached a hand into the pocket of his navy blue show blazer and withdrew a small, silver object that glinted in the bright sunlight. My eyes widened as he pointed the gun at us. Ty was resorted to speechlessness as well.
"Ha," Daniel said triumphantly. "Shall I shoot your girlfriend?" he turned the gun so that it was pointing at me. I gulped.
Ty grabbed me and shoved me behind him. I clutched the back of his sweatshirt.
"Think you're brave?" Daniel asked loudly. People were starring wide eyed in horror. "I'd be all too happy to kill you right now, Baldwin. I hate Baldwin's; you're all spoiled rich brats. One less on this planet would be a good thing!" Daniel roared. "What good does the lot of you do? Show that you can run horses around a track!"
"TY!" a high voice screamed. I peered behind me, my heart thudded. Ty's mom, Liz. A hand flew to her mouth as she saw what was happening. Her clear blue eyes filled with tears. I felt Ty tense; he knew it was her too. "Don't hurt my son!" she yelled. "You hear? You don't know who you're dealing with!"
All Daniel did was laugh. He threw back his head and laughed insanely.
"You say I'm not brave but what about you?" Ty asked in a voice that was, in my opinion, way too calm for the situation. Daniel faltered at the calmness in Ty's voice, he wasn't expecting it either. "I protect someone I love and you stand there holding a gun to my head. If you were brave, if you were serious about killing me, you would have shot me twenty times by now. Who's the brave one? Really?"
"Shut up!" Daniel barked. The hand holding the little, silver gun shook a little.
The sound of sirens was just hearable in the distance. They still had a ways to reach us.
"Looks like they're too late to help you. So sad," Daniel said in a mock regretful voice. "Say good bye to your girlfriend and mommy," Daniel laughed and raised the gun a little higher.
I wanted to move, to help Ty, but I couldn't do anything. I was frozen, I couldn't move. I was clutching Ty's back and had my head buried in his back. I could not break the position for the life of me.
I waited for a gun shot that I knew was going to come no matter what I did or how much I prayed it wouldn't.
What I did hear, however, was the sound of wood hitting a skull, a grunt and a thud.
"It's okay," Ty breathed. His voice reverberated through his back and it comforted me.
I took lifted my head and unclenched Ty's sweatshirt. I stepped to his side.
Sure enough, everything was okay. Just like Ty had said.
Daniel was lying on the ground moaning, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. And standing over him was none other then Lee, Ty's brother, holding a block of wood. It looked like the link to a fence.
"Ty!" Lee called over to him, a mischievous grin on his face. Ty went over to his brother; I bent down and retrieved the little gun that was lying in the long grass.
Ty and Lee had a short, hushed conversation and then picked up Daniel between the two of them and hefted him over to the water trough. The swung him back and forth a few times before they let him fall into the water.
Splash!
Water shot up everywhere and splashed onto Lee and Ty. Daniel waved his arms around like a deranged duck and sputtered up water.
Just at that moment, five red, white and blue cop cars with flashing lights and sirens blaring skidded to a halt in front of us.
Daniel was carried away kicking and screaming. I looked at my watch. My class was in half an hour. I disappeared from Ty's side before he could say anything and got Sunny ready. After all, I did promise him that I would let him jump.
Commander In Chief
"And third place in class number 243, High Junior Jumpers, goes to… Pamela Faria and her horse, Golden Star!"
a girl that was about a year younger ten me rode into the ring on a beautiful palomino Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. The horse had a star, a creamy white mane and tail and a shinning golden coat. His rider, unlike Daniel, grinned widely as her name was announced and the applause came loud.
"Second place goes to… Amy Fleming and her horse, Sundance !" my name rang out across the arena.
I trotted into the ring on Sunny proudly to all of the cheering. First place would have been nice but considering all I've been through in the past month or so, second was perfectly fine for me.
"And first place goes to… Ty Baldwin and his horse, Commander In Chief! Our returning champion, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said loudly as Ty trotted into the ring. I could easily see that this was right for him and Chief… well Chief just thrived in the environment.
The judges had us line up in the middle of the arena and took their photos and handed out ribbons and prize money. Ty took his lap of honor and Chief looked perfect. I couldn't believe that I had actually gotten the chance to work with him, even if it wasn't needed.
Ty came back to the center of the ring and we waited for the judges to say it was okay to leave the arena. Just as we were about to exit, a new song blared from the big speakers. Everytime We Touch, by Cascada. Interesting choice whoever decided to play it but it was fitting, somehow.
I glanced over and saw Ty watching me with a grin.
I smiled back and mouthed the first verse…
I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me.
I still feel your touch in my dreams.
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why.
Without you it's hard to survive.
Ty laughed and smiled again. We left the ring then and Ty and I headed over to the water trough. We dismounted and let our horses get a much deserved drink. It was silent between for several moments.
Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.
I need you by my side.
Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.
Can't you hear my heart beat so.
I can't let you go.
I want you in my life.
"Hi, I'm Ty and this is my horse, Chief," Ty surprised me by saying suddenly.
I looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Ty? What are you doing? I know who you are," I said slowly. Was he going crazy or something? God I hope not.
"Amy and Sundance, nice to meet you," he said next. I somewhat caught onto what he was doing and I watched him carefully to see what he was going to do. "I'll call your horse Sunny if you call mine Chief," he insisted.
"Ty, you don't have to…"
"Just moved here from England, you say? How interesting! So your family owns a horse rehabilitation center?"
Your arms are my castle; your heart is my sky.
They wipe away tears that I cry.
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.
You make me rise when I fall.
"Ty, you don't have to do this," I laughed.
"It's just like the day we met, do you remember?" he faced me and his emerald green eyes sparkled joyfully.
"Of course I remember! How could I not?"
"Sunny bumped some water on Chief and you apologized," Ty recalled. "I introduced myself and you introduced yourself. I asked you if you were new here because I hadn't seen you around before and you said yes, you had just moved from England and your family owned a horse rehabilitation center there and decided to expand to the US. Then we competed and you were surprised when the announcer announced my name and you saw me ride into the ring. we met back here and sponged and toweled off Sunny and Chief. And then you started a water fight," Ty laughed. He flicked some water on me.
"Hey!" I laughed loudly and reciprocated his action.
Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.
I need you by my side.
Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.
Can't you hear my heart beat so
I can't let you go.
I want you in my life.
"So, what was all that about anyway, Ty?" I asked him.
"Well I…" Ty paused. "Can we start over?"
I smiled softly and then looked up to meet his eyes. They held a bit of fear, fear of rejection I realized with a start. When I spoke next, the smile that lighted Ty's face was worth everything. I knew his smile was reflected on my face. "Yes."
Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.
And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast.
I want this to last.
I need you by my side.
a/n: there ya go! It's long! In case you're wondering, Shawna gave the water trough thing and Annette gave me the idea of Daniel threatening Amy and Ty hearing and then beating him up. The rest I came up with. Except for the song, that was thanks to Annette too, but I can't tell you how many times I've listened to it while writing this chapter. I'm going to SCREAM if I hear it one more time! One more chapter left, sad. Hope you liked it and review! -Steph