Dead silence followed as Bonham and Abeline walked onto the lawn then a flurry of commotion as the teenagers bolted.

Stella and August looked at each other.

Maddie held her throbbing arm close to her chest, taking refuge behind the two Walker kids.

'Don't trip and fall and break your necks.' Abeline called out as the teenagers bolted to the cars parked in the drive.

'Mind explaining what the hell is going on here?' Bonham questioned, looking at the three teenagers as their 'friends' quickly deserted them. 'Anyone?'

'I had nothing to do with this at all.' Maddie quickly interjected. 'Just want to make that clear. Go ahead you two. It was your idea.'

They both glared at her.

Maddie returned it with a dirty look of her own.

Bonham folded his arms across his chest and cleared his throat. 'Well? I'm waiting.'

'I... um...' Stella gulped uncomfortably, fiddling with the ring she was wearing on her finger. 'We kinda had some friends over for a party.'

'I can see that.' Rubbish littered the lawn, not to mention the keg and empty bottles of booze strewn about. 'You know, Trey told me today so many things about you two that made me proud. Seeing what you've managed to do to this ranch in mere hours... Well... I don't feel so proud right now.'

Both Stella and August were silent.

'I told them it was a bad idea.' Maddie spoke up after a moment. 'But they wouldn't listen to me.'

He turned to her, taking a moment to look her up and down. 'And just what happened to you, young lady?'

'Could we perhaps talk about that on the way to the ER?' She held up a bloodied arm, her wound having bled through the bandage a bit. Probably didn't help that she'd been using it to block punches in a fist fight... 'I think this is gonna need stitches.'

Bonham was speechless, shaking his head and he turned away before he really lost his temper.

'This isn't going to slide, you two.' Abeline took over, pointing a finger at both of them. 'You can explain what has happened here to your father, I'm sure he will have plenty to say. First though, both of you can come pick up the fishing gear from the truck and put the fish away. Then you both can clean up this mess. I want this place to be spotless by the time we get back. Understood?' They both nodded. 'Good. I hope you both can manage to do that without creating more chaos. You've earned yourselves a month of mucking out the stables for letting your friends run amok. Hope it was worth it. I'm sure too that your father will give out his own punishments for this.'

After hearing Abeline's speech to her grandchildren, Maddie wasn't looking forward to the trip to the hospital at all. When they found out how she'd gotten hurt... Bel was looking at a one way ticket to the forever grassy meadows.

Abeline turned to Maddie. 'You, young lady, let's go.'

The five of them headed to where the truck was parked, Maddie doing her best not to show a visible limp but it was plain to anyone she had a sore leg. Without a word Bonham helped her get into the backseat then he and Abeline started unloading the gear.

Maddie rested her head against the headrest while she waited.

She was going to be in for it as well.

It was hardly her fault though, she couldn't let her horse pound that drunken idiot into pulp even though he would have fully deserved it. She hadn't invited him over.. She had tried to stop Stella and August and told them it wasn't right in the first place.

As her mind put the pieces together, she sighed heavily.

It was her fault.

She should have just rung Bonham and told him what they were doing.

All this could have been avoided.

It was her fault...

A couple minutes later Bonham and Abeline climbed into the truck. Bonham started the engine and after a moment they were headed down the drive. He glanced up at the revision mirror to speak to Maddie. 'What happened young lady?'

She sighed heavily, putting her seat belt on. 'It's a long story...'

'We've got half an hour before we reach Austin.' Abeline looked back at her. 'I'm sure you won't need that long to explain.'

'Um... well...' She took another deep breath. 'After you guys left Stella and August invited their friends over for a party. I told them it wasn't a good idea and that we should just do the chore list we'd been left with. They didn't listen so I carried on with the chores by myself. Got almost half of them finished too, without help.' She paused for a moment. 'Went out to have a break and check on Bel, she was upset from the noise and the people so I asked Stella to turn the music down. Went back to Bel, they didn't and when I went back to ask again, Stella and August went for a walk with a few friends.' Carefully omitting the fact that she'd been trespassing on the Davidson's land too while she narrated the events of the evening.

'Caught up with them then one of the girls came to tell us that her brother was going to try to ride Bel.' Bonham glanced up at the mirror and she could see he wasn't happy about that. 'When I got to the yard, Rick was chasing Bel with a lunge whip. Guess when you're drunk you think it's funny to beat other creatures. He got stuck into your bourbon by the way.' She added. 'Bel went to charge him so I intervened and he managed to get out of the yard. As you can see, I got banged up in the process.'

'Bel did this to you?'

Maddie swallowed hard at his question and nodded. 'It wasn't her fault though. I told Stella to keep her friends away from Bel, that she was off limits and when she and August left the party unattended, that's how he had the chance to get in with her.' She swallowed again. 'He worked her up, really worked her up. She's got marks on her where he hit her. It's no wonder she went for him, she had enough of him abusing her. I just got in the way.'

Abeline cast a look at her husband, noting the look on his face.

'I managed to calm her though and once everyone left us alone, she calmed right down to her normal self. She didn't mean to hurt me. Honest. I couldn't let her hurt that idiot either though he deserved it.'

Bonham was silent.

Maddie squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

'What happened before we turned up?' Abeline questioned after a moment. 'Looked like there was a fight or something going on.'

'I mightn't have let Bel have a go at him but he wasn't going to get away with hurting my horse.' She replied strongly. 'He got what he deserved and I'm proud of it. I'm not sorry and it doesn't matter what punishments you give me or what you say, that won't change. He abused Bel, he deserved to get beat up.'

Cordell had been at The Side Step with Larry when his mother rang to tell him they had taken Maddie into the ER. Though Abeline had assured him that she was okay and that she wasn't badly injured, he didn't waste any time and had headed straight for the hospital.

A nurse at the desk instructed him where to find her and he quickly hurried to the room she was waiting in. 'Maddie girl-' He started, seeing her torn and dirty clothes. Around her arm was a bloodied bandage and her left eye appeared to be swelling up. 'What happened to you?'

'I'm okay, I'm not hurt too bad.' She assured him as she hugged him back. 'You didn't have to come, your mom and dad are looking after me. They just ducked out for a moment to go grab some dinner...'

'When my little baby girl is in the hospital, that's the only place I'm gonna be.' He replied, pressing a kiss to her head before smoothing her hair back. 'What happened honey?'

'It's a long story...' She sighed heavily. 'Which involves Stella and August too.'

'S-Stella and August?'

Maddie patted the space on the mattress beside her. 'You better sit down.' When Cordell was seated beside her, she repeated to him exactly what she had said to Bonham and Abeline. Cordell didn't say a word while she told him about what had taken place and when she came to the part about Bel, she prepared herself that he was going to get angry with her. He didn't though, he let her keep talking and she glanced up at him every now and then to read his facial expression. He looked upset and worried but not angry to her relief. 'It wasn't Bel's fault.' She said in conclusion. 'You've seen how I've been working with her and never once has she shown aggression towards me. She didn't mean to hurt me, it just happened.' She waited, Cordell still remaining silent. 'Please don't be angry with me.'

'I-I'm not... angry... with you honey.' He replied slowly after a moment, placing a hand on her cheek. 'I'm just... so glad you are alright.'

She smiled sadly, taking his hand in hers. 'I did try to stop Stella and August from having their friends over, I knew it wouldn't end well.' She paused for a moment. 'What about Bel though? Will you make me get rid of her for what happened?'

'I'll have to think about that... okay? I-I won't give you an answer right now. I um... I'll have to speak to Dad... About her though.'

'It wasn't her fault though.'

'No, no I know that baby girl, I do. Okay? I just... If she were to turn on you... I don't want you to get hurt. Look what happened, and this was an accident.'

Maddie nodded, dropping her gaze away from him. 'I understand. I'll respect any decision you make about her.'

'I know... I know how much Bel means to you honey. I won't make a decision until I've thought it over for a good while. Promise.' Cordell assured her. 'But I'll have to choose what I feel is right.'

She nodded again, looking back at him after a moment. Her eyes were glistening with tears and her voice broke with emotion slightly when she finally spoke. 'I trust... you'll make the right decision.'

It was late by the time Maddie was ready to be discharged from the ER, Bonham and Abeline heading home a couple hours earlier while Cordell stayed with her. In her right arm she'd ended up with twenty-three stitches but she was thankful it hadn't been worse. They'd had to do x-rays on her hip and leg too but luckily nothing was broken. Apart from having extensive bruising and the bite, she was okay.

It could have been much, much worse though.

As they were walking out of the hospital however, Rick had been in the waiting area with his parents, waiting to be seen to. He'd recognized her instantly and she had too, quite amused to see the nice black eyes he was sporting. Upon him pointing her out to his parents, his father had gotten up and confronted him right in the middle of the waiting room in front of the other patients.

Maddie took refuge close to Cordell, frightened by the way the man was carrying on.

Rick's father, Mark, hardly let Cordell get a word in, going off at him about what a dangerous horse they had on the property and how it had attacked his son. Cordell tried to reason with him but there was no reasoning with the man. He was furious. As Maddie listened to him rage on, it became clear to her that Rick had hardly told his father the truth about his injuries.

Rick sat with his arms folded, a smug look on his face.

You bastard... She glared at him. He'd told his father his injuries were from Bel and not from the fistfight he'd initiated with her. Mark wouldn't listen to Cordell trying to explain what had actually happened and it wasn't long before hospital security came to break it up.

'You haven't heard the last of this!' Mark threatened as Cordell and Maddie walked out of the room. 'That horse will be put down if it's the last thing I do.'

'He lied to him, Cordell...' Maddie started quietly, looking up at him. 'Bel didn't hurt him. Bel didn't touch him. It was me... And now she's getting the blame.'

Cordell placed his arm around her shoulders as they walked out into the car park. 'I-I'll take care of this, okay? I don't want you to worry about it. It's been a long day, let's just go home and get you into bed.'

She nodded soberly as he helped her climb into the truck. Cordell closed the passenger door then climbed into the driver's seat and a moment later they were on their way back home. Silence was the only sound in the car as they made the drive back, Maddie staring blankly out the window into the darkness.

Cordell glanced over at Maddie, wishing he knew what to do. The confrontation with the boys father had clearly upset the teen, especially with Mark threatening to have Bel put down. The question was, should the horse be put down though? At the same time, he didn't believe it was up to Mark to make that decision. It had been the actions of his son that had caused the whole incident in the first place yet Mark wouldn't listen to reason.

He had tried to explain to him what had happened but even so Mark didn't believe him. He believed the story which his son had told him and wouldn't accept anything else as the truth. Inwardly, he heaved a high sigh. It wasn't a nice situation at all to have to deal with, especially when it was his kids to blame.

Stella and August were going to be in for a very long, very thorough and very uncomfortable conversation with him about what had taken place. Yes, there was the fact that Maddie should have just rang someone to tell them what was going on and it could have been avoided in the first place but Stella and August had to be held accountable for their own actions. They knew what they were doing was wrong and they had done it anyway.

He glanced over at Maddie as the teen began to sniffle and could take a guess that she was crying. When he placed a hand on hers, she turned to him and he could see the tears slipping down her face in the streetlights.

'You won't let him put her down, will you?'

'It's not his decision or call to make.' Cordell replied to her question. 'Maddie, we-I-I will get to the bottom of this, okay?'

'But will Bel have to be put down?'

'Maddie... I-I don't know...'

She nodded, turning to look out the window again.

'Maddie... I'm sorry...'

The teen didn't reply, the remainder of their trip made in silence. When they finally arrived at home again Cordell helped her out of the car and into the house.

'Maddie, Maddie, we are so sorry.' Stella said as she came into the house. 'We didn't mean for all this to happen.'

'But it did.' Maddie replied, looking at both her and August. 'I don't even care that I was hurt, the only thing I care about is that Bel is going to be the one that has to pay because of what you did.'

'I told them to stay away from her-'

'But you shouldn't have brought them here in the first place!' She cut her off. 'Don't you remember the last time kids and alcohol were together? Lorado, remember? How on earth did you think that having a bunch of kids over while your grandparents were gone, underage drinking, was a good idea in the first place?'

Neither Stella or August replied to her.

Maddie looked up to Cordell who had been watching their exchange silently. 'I want to go to bed. I'm excused?'

He nodded. 'You want me to come tuck you in?'

She shook her head. 'I need some time to myself. Goodnight.'

Cordell gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead then she limped her way out of the room. 'We-we are going to have a long and thorough discussion, you and I-'

Abilene and Bonham had come into the dining room when they had arrived home and she spoke to them briefly then carried on her way to her bedroom. When she was finally alone, she let the tears flow behind her closed door. Bel meant everything to her. She had been doing so well with her training too, they were almost to the point where she was going to attempt sitting on her back and now this had happened...

She couldn't lose her.

If they were going to have her horse destroyed then she needed a back up plan.

There was no way she was going to stand by and have her horse put to sleep.

'Are you alright here Maddie, do you need anything?'

Maddie shook her head at Abeline's question, the teen curled up on the couch to do her schoolwork the next morning. 'I'm fine, thank you.' She replied and Abeline left the room once more. Staring blankly at her computer screen, she sighed heavily. With her mind as jumbled as it was, was there any point trying to concentrate on her schoolwork?

Both Stella and August had come to see her before school, their father prompting a very thorough apology to her from each of them. She had accepted their apology though she was still very angry with them. It would take more than just a few 'I'm sorry's' to make up for what they had done though it was a good place to start.

When she had gotten out of bed, she'd been in so much agony from her leg that there was no way she would be able to do her chores. As soon as Abeline saw how much she was limping when she walked from her room, she'd sent her to the couch under rest orders and had gone to get her some ice packs. When he found out, Cordell had informed Stella and August that as part of their punishment, they'd be doing her chores as well as their own until Maddie was able to do them again.

With a glance at the time, Maddie sighed heavily. It was going to be a long day...

She was halfway through her fourth math lesson when she heard the sound of a vehicle outside and quickly got up to see who it was. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized who was in the driver's seat, a gasp escaping her lips seeing him with a rifle. There was only one explanation. He was here for Bel.

Maddie jumped off the couch, limping as fast as she could to the back room where Bonham and Abeline were talking. 'Rick's father is here-' She stated, both of them turning to her. 'and he's got a rifle.'

Bonham looked at Abeline. 'Take Maddie to her room and you both stay there.'

'Bon-' She started worriedly but he cut her off.

'I'll go talk to him.' He assured her. 'Go.'

Maddie looked up at Abeline worriedly as Bonham quickly headed out of the room. 'He's going to put Bel down.'

'Bonham won't let him hurt her.' Abeline consoled gently, her arm around the teen's shoulder as she guided the girl to her room. 'It's not up to him to decide what happens to her.' She closed the door of the room behind them, Maddie limping over to her bed. 'Bon will take care of things.'

They waited.

Finally, Bonham returned. 'Bel is safe, for now.' He reported to Maddie, the teen sighing with relief. 'But we're going to be in for trouble.'

'Bon...'

Bonham turned around as Abeline walked up to him, joining him at the fence of the mustangs yard. 'How's Maddie?

'Upset. Worried.' She rested her arms on the rail of the fence like her husband was doing. There was something in his expression that worried her and she could tell that he hadn't said everything in front of Maddie. 'What is it?'

'He's threatening to sue if we don't put Bel down.' He replied, looking back at the mare. Bel stood in her yard quietly watching them, her tail swishing away a couple of flies that were annoying her.

Abeline sighed. 'What will you do?'

'I-I don't know... I rang Cordell, left him a message. Rang Liam, he's on his way home so we can talk. Those damn kids...' He brought a clenched fist down on the rail.

Abeline placed a hand on his arm. 'Whatever you chose with Bel, I think Maddie should be allowed to voice her opinion too. She's been doing so well with her, her getting hurt yesterday was an accident. It'd break her heart to lose her.'

'I know. That's why I rang Liam. If we've got any chance of fighting this, I think we need to try.'

'And Bel?'

'She shouldn't have to be put down for that boy's own stupidity.' Bonham replied firmly. 'But if she is aggressive...' He sighed. 'We can't keep an aggressive horse, regardless of the circumstances that caused it. In that case, it'd be in her best interest to be put down.'

Bel ambled over closer to investigate, both of them moving back from the fence as she tried to sniff them.

After a moment, Bonham picked up the halter and lead rope he'd dropped onto the ground. Without either of them saying anything he walked into the yard and started to approach the mare.

Bel took a step back, tossing her head a little at the strange man walking towards her. Only Maddie ever handled her though Colton had helped her a couple times. She'd never been handled by this guy before... She snorted nervously, trying to judge if he was going to hurt her or not.

'It's okay Bel. You're okay...' He spoke gently to her as he used the same method he'd witnessed Maddie use on the mare. Halter and lead rope slung over his shoulder, he started moving her around the yard and getting her to face up. The mare was wary and slightly anxious but didn't respond aggressively towards him being in her space.

While Bonham worked with Bel, Abeline watched quietly from the fence. She could see the mare was uncertain about him being in the yard with her but she wasn't bolting around the yard as she had the day Maddie had brought her home. She was calmer though worried and she could almost watch the cogs turning over in the mare's head. Was this person to be trusted?

Watching Bel closely, Bonham started moving in towards her the way Maddie had trained her. The mare was calmer by the time he was a few feet from her, her body language softer and accepting of him in her space. When he withdrew from her, she took two steps closer to him. Approaching her once more she reached out to sniff him and he let her have a brief sniff before turning to walk away.

Without losing a beat, Bel started after him.

He stopped after a few yards and the mare stopped behind him. She sniffed him for a good while and even explored his jacket with her lips for a brief moment. Bonham stood still, letting her have a good look at him. When she pulled away, he turned to her and gently touched the side of her nostril as Maddie had when she'd first touched her. Bel blew softly on his hand then he carefully placed a hand on her cheek.

Bel didn't flinch as he began to pat her and Abeline let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. So far, so good.

Still talking softly to her he began to rub her face like he'd seen Maddie, rubbing beneath both her eyes. The mare closed her eyes and lent against him, resting her head against his chest. There was no malice or hate in the mare towards humans. She was just scared until she learned who she could trust.

After haltering her he began to touch her all over, the mare even allowing him to lift her hooves without argument. She was quiet and calm when he led her around the yard and even continued to follow him once he'd removed the halter. Not once did she show even the faintest hint of aggression towards him. Apart from being nervous at the start, no one would have known by her behavior that she had been running wild less than a month ago.

As Bonham rubbed her forehead he knew there was no way he could allow the mare to be put down. She was a gentle soul who had been mistreated and let down by humans and it was no wonder she had responded to aggression with aggression. It wasn't her fault at all, just like Maddie had said.

Somehow they just needed to convince Mark that the mare wasn't to blame.

Maddie stood with her ear to the closed door, trying to hear the conversation going on in the living room. Liam had left work to come speak with Bonham about Bel and what had happened that morning with Rick's father and she'd been sent to her room while he spoke with his parents. Even though she tried, she couldn't hear anything and so returned to her bed with a huge sigh.

It wasn't Bel's fault.

I really shouldn't have beaten him up... She thought sadly as Bubbles came back over to her, the cat nudging her to ask for pats. If only I had controlled my temper, none of this would have happened.

When she had seen what he'd done to Bel though, she'd seen red. An uncontrollable rage had come over her and she had enjoyed laying it into Rick. The thought alone that she had enjoyed beating the older boy up frightened her. By nature she was quiet and gentle, preferring to keep the peace rather than cause an argument and her beating him up went against all that. She had enjoyed it though and relished seeing the look of fear in his eyes.

A shiver ran up her spine as it dawned on her that she was becoming like her father.

No. She had vowed that she wouldn't let how he had treated her cause her to mistreat others yet look what she had done. She had done exactly that. It was Bel though that was going to pay the price for her actions.

Her phone began to ring and she reached over to pick it up, trying to plaster a fake smile on her face as she answered the call. 'Hi Colton. How's you trip away going?'

'Not bad, how's things there?'

'Ah...' She let out a hollow laugh. 'Next question? To answer though, not great... Long long story.'

'It wouldn't have anything to do with the video that's been posted on the internet, would it?'

Maddie frowned. 'What video?'

'You haven't seen it?'

'No. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.'

Colton clicked share on the video and sent the link to her. 'I've just sent it to you. It'll come through in a moment.'

'Alright...' She waited and after a few seconds the link came through her Messenger. Wild Horse Attacks Humans was the title and she let out a gasp as she started playing the video. It only took a moment for it to register that it was Bel in the video, her mare bolting around the yard while Rick chased her with the lunge whip. 'Oh my God...' She breathed out as she kept watching, bile rising in her throat as Bel was struck again and again with the whip. One of the girls that had been filming had uploaded the video to her you-tube channel and the video had gone viral.

'You still there Maddie?'

'Yeah, I'm here.' She replied, her voice breaking. 'Have you watched all of this?'

'No. I saw the first few seconds then rang you. What happened?'

'Stella and August had a few friends over yesterday-' The video came to the part where she had shown up and she cringed for what she knew was about to happen. 'One of them got drunk and this video is the result.' The mare charged, shivers running up her spine as she watched the attack. It looked as terrible as it had felt and as she kept watching, she realized just how damn lucky she was that she hadn't been killed. Bel's front hooves had landed mere inches from her head the second time she knocked her down. If she hadn't rolled out of the way... 'I can't believe this was posted online.'

'Are you alright?'

He must have been watching the rest of the video along with her. 'I'm fine, got a nice lot of stitches in my arm and bad bruises but I'm fine.' A thought came to mind as the video kept playing. Maybe she had the proof she needed now to prove that it hadn't been Bel's fault. That she had been provoked. On the other hand, if Cordell and the others saw how close she'd come to being killed, they'd probably say the mare needed to be put down. It was a chance though to maybe clear Bel but a very slim chance at that. 'Thanks for sending this to me, Colton. I need to go-' At least whoever had recorded the video had left in the part where she had calmed Bel down and the mare was quiet again but cut it off before she had gotten mad at the crowd. 'Thanks again. I'll talk to you later.'

Quickly ending the call she limped out of her room and into the living room, Bonham, Abeline and Liam turning to her when she walked in. 'Sorry for interrupting, but I might have something here to prove Bel wasn't in the wrong.'