Everything was quiet in the barn save for the gentle sounds of the horses in their stalls. Outside, a full moon shone against a starry, cloudless sky. It was a perfect night. A beautiful night. The air was cool and crisp, a gentle breeze slightly blowing in through the open doors…

They had lost.

'Maddie-' Geri started, walking into the barn with a plate of food in hand, the teenager sitting on a bale of hay outside one of the stalls. Maddie turned to look at her for a moment as she walked in then stood, busying herself with the pretense of checking one of the horses over again. 'You've been going at it for hours honey. Why don't you come inside? I'll take over.'

Maddie shook her head. 'It's fine. I've got it under control.' She replied, letting herself back into the broodmares box. 'If that plate is for me you could have saved yourself the trouble, I'm not hungry.'

'You haven't eaten all day, you need to have something.'

She sighed heavily, knowing Geri wouldn't let it rest until she got her way. 'Alright. Stick it on the table over there and I'll eat it when I sit down again.'

Geri did as she requested then returned back to her, leaning against the stall door frame. 'How are they?'

'Skylar seems to be the one that's recovered the quickest.' Carefully she unhooked the IV line from the needle in the mare's neck and placed the cap back on it before hanging it up with the bag. 'The rest seem to be managing okay.'

Geri watched Maddie work, the teen grabbing a lead rope to clip onto the mare's halter and led her out of the stall once more to walk her up and down the alleyway. 'You know this isn't your fault-'

'Isn't it?' She interrupted angrily, stopping Bonny as she turned to her. 'I fed the horses moldy grain. You saw it there in the feed bin. How could I have been so stupid as to not realize it was bad last night?'

'We-we all make mistakes Maddie…'

Maddie bit her lip, shaking her head as she asked the mare to walk on again. 'And look what this mistake cost.'

Geri stood back while Maddie walked the mare up and down the length of the barn again, at a loss to know what to do. What could she say? There wasn't anything she could do or say that would make the situation any better. Stella and August were just as quiet and withdrawn in the house and Maddie… Maddie was shouldering the blame when the horse's colicing was just an unfortunate and horrible occurrence.

When her phone vibrated with the ten minute timer, Maddie returned the mare to her stall and hooked her back up to the IV. Geri was right, she had been going at it for hours but who else was there to help? It was Saturday night, all the ranch hands were off and even if they weren't, she highly doubted any of them would have come to help anyway with what had just happened… Giving Bonny a pat and some comforting words she left the stall, turning to Geri as she closed the door behind her. 'Have-have you heard anything bout Grampa?'

Geri shook her head. 'Not yet. I'm sure we'll hear something soon.'

Maddie nodded, hanging Bonny's lead outside her stall again.

'Maddie… Is there anything I can do to help?'

Fighting back the urge to reply with sarcasm she sighed softly as she walked to Chopper's stall, Geri walking with her. 'I just need space right now, okay? I know you mean well but…'

'It's alright. I understand.'

'Besides, Stella and August need you more.' She said, grabbing Chopper's lead on her way into his box. 'I'll be fine.' Chopper showed a slight interest in her this time as she walked in which was a very promising sign. 'Hey boy…'

'I'll come check on you later, okay?'

Maddie nodded, rubbing Chopper's neck as Geri left. After she had gone she rested her head against the gelding for a moment, just taking a moment for herself. God…. What a day…

Her eyes misted with tears again as she pulled back, speaking softly to Chopper as she unhooked his IV then led him out into the barn to walk him just as she had with Bonny. Not only had they lost the ranch but as she had been racing Dan, Denise had showed up to arrest Bonham for her fathers murder. How on earth she had come to that conclusion without solid evidence was beyond her but whatever Denise had must have been enough for Bonham was still being held in custody.

The events following the race had been a blur to her as it had sunk in that she'd lost. Adding too that to was Bonham's arrest and shaken was the best word to describe how everyone felt. At least the Davidson's had been half polite enough to refrain from gloating too much and had left shortly after, obviously to go celebrate their win.

Maddie hadn't been able to look any of her family in the eye, unable to speak to them and had occupied herself with caring for Bel. A short time after, Abeline, Cordell and Liam had left to head into Austin to find out what was going on and Geri had stayed back to keep an eye on the kids for them.

In a way she was thankful Bonham hadn't been there to see Dan win. How could she face him knowing that she was the reason why they had lost the ranch?

Her fault…

Her fault…

Chopper was returned to his stall as his walk came to an end and after taking down his vitals and recording them, Maddie sank down on the straw bale outside his door, burying her face in her hands. She didn't have any tears left to cry but she was exhausted. Emotionally, mentally, physically. She felt more drained and empty then she had ever felt her entire life…

'Maddie?'

At her name being called she raised her head, surprise written on her face as Colton came walking through the barn. 'C-Colton… I uh… What-what are you doing here?'

'I had to see you. Mind if I take a seat?'

She shrugged, moving over on the bale to allow him space to sit down.

Colton sighed heavily. 'I-I don't even know where to begin.'

At that, Maddie rested her head back against the stall wall and let out a hollow chuckle. 'What did you really come here for Colton? To gloat? I'm not really in the mood to celebrate your family's victory if you haven't noticed.'

'No, no.' He went to place a hand on her knee but she turned away and he sighed softly. 'Maddie. I'm sorry.'

'Sorry?' She stood and walked away a few paces to compose herself before she really lost it. 'H-how is sorry going to fix all this?' She questioned as she turned to him. 'I never wanted to hurt you Colton, I never wanted to hurt your family despite everything they've done to mine. I thought… I thought that maybe we could make it work.., That maybe, despite everything, somehow, someway, we could actually make it work and bring peace to our families. And now-' She looked away for a moment, her eyes filling with tears again. 'Now I'm losing the only home I've ever known because of some stupid century old feud between our families, my grandfather is in jail accused of murder and my family, the only family I've ever known, is falling apart and breaking right before my very eyes and it's my fault. My own damn fault. So no. You don't get to come here and say sorry and hope to fix this. Fix us.' Tears were running down her cheeks again, unable to hold her frustration and anger back at him any longer. 'It doesn't work like that Colton.'

As Maddie turned away from him, Colton rose and slowly approached her. 'Maddie… I never meant for any of this to happen.' He said softly as he placed his hand on her shoulder, her crying tearing his heart in two. 'I never wanted any of this.' She looked back at him after a moment, tears still rolling down her cheeks. 'I never wanted to hurt you either.'

'But you did.' Maddie cried. 'You have. You told your mom about the lantern and now my grandfather is in jail and going to be tried for murder. I know he didn't kill Marv Davidson but your mom is so bent on hurting us. Why? It was an accident. Why does she want revenge so badly?'

Colton shrugged, sighing softly. 'I don't… I don't know. If I… If I could take back what I did…'

'It's too late for that.' She sobbed. 'It's not fair and it's not right.' She turned away from him again, kicking angrily at a hay bale in the aisle. 'I just wanted to be happy, for the first time in my life, be actually happy and now… My family doesn't have a home because of me.'

'Maddie, don't blame yourself-'

'Why? Why not?' Her voice rose, breaking with emotion. 'Who else is there to blame? I feed the horses moldy grain. I made them sick. Dad couldn't race Chopper because of me. Grampa lost Ace, his best stallion and his ranch too.' She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to punch something into oblivion but all she could do was sink to her knees, burying her face in her hands again.

Colton knelt down beside her, rubbing her back gently and Maddie wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight. He had no words for her, nothing he could say. She was right. She was right in everything that she said. About him. About his family…

'I-I'm sorry.' She pulled away when she had it together again. 'Y-you wouldn't care anyway.'

'That's not true. I do care, Maddie.'

'Then why didn't you do something? Anything?'

He had no answer for her and after a moment, Maddie turned away from him again. 'Maddie… Is this too broken to be fixed?'

'I don't know…' She replied softly after a long pause, staring out through the open door into the night. 'But Colton, I can't. Not right now. I just need time…' Her voice shook as she glanced back at him. 'I do care for you Colton. I-I wanted this to work. Us-to work… It can't… Not now…'

Colton nodded. 'You… You were right.' He started after there had been silence between them for a minute or two. 'I-I did come here for a reason.' Maddie looked back up at him. 'I did try. I tried to fix what I could. I spoke to my Grandma. She's gonna let you keep Bel.'

With everything that had happened, Maddie hadn't even considered the possibility that she could lose her mare too into the bargain. 'I guess…' She struggled to keep her voice even as she replied. 'I guess a thank you is in order then. Heaven knows where I'm gonna keep her though…' Rising to her feet once more she went to check on the other broodmare for a moment then turned back to him. 'You better leave. Your folks won't be pleased if they find out you came here to see me.'

'My folks…' He started as he got up and followed her. 'They're too busy drinking and toasting to notice I left.'

'Huh. How considerate of them.'

'Yeah…' Colton agreed with a sigh. 'I couldn't stomach it anymore. You have to believe me when I say I never meant for this to happen. Things just escalated so quickly and I said things I wish I could take back…'

'Stella told me what happened yesterday.'

'Then you know what I mean.'

Maddie nodded soberly. 'Words spoken are more powerful then we give them credit for.' She was about to add something else when a noise almost like something falling heavily sounded from a stall down from Blue's. They both looked at each other for a moment then hurried down to the sound.

Skylar was down, the mare shivering violently.

'Oh god.' Maddie uttered with horror, her fingers struggling to get the door unlocked for a moment. Finally sliding the bolt across she flung the door open, dropping to her knees beside the mare. Colton stood in the doorway with a look of horror on his face, frozen.

'It's okay…' Skylar was cold to touch, the mare struggling to get back up. 'Ssssh.' Maddie comforted softly as she stroked her cheek and neck. 'Sssh, it's okay… It's okay….' After a moment the mare seemed to settle and she looked up at Colton. 'Call the vet. The number is on the board outside. Tell them Skylar is down.'

He nodded and pulled his phone out before disappearing from view.

Maddie turned back to the mare. 'Easy… Easy girl… It's okay.' She spoke gently, wishing she could do something, anything, to ease the pain the mare was in. She had been doing so well, she'd even had a little bit to eat when the vet had said it was okay to offer her food again. She'd looked fine just half an hour ago when she had checked her last…

As she sat there in the sawdust beside the suffering horse the realization came to her that Skylar wasn't going to recover from this. It was just this feeling that washed over her, gazing into the mare's eyes. Her mind flashed back to earlier in the day. To Ace. Skylar had gone down just like him.

Skylar was in agony.

There was nothing that could be done for her.

'The vet can't get here till the morning.' Colton reported as he returned to the stall, Maddie looking up at him. 'I'm sorry Maddie, I tried. There's no one to come.'

Maddie made no reply as she looked back at the mare, stroking her gently.

After a moment he walked over to her, joining her at the mare's side. 'What can I do?'

'Stay-stay here… With her.' Her voice shook again as she turned to him. 'Keep her calm. Talk to her.'

'Where-where are you going?' He asked, Maddie heading to the door.

Maddie stopped in the doorway, unable to look at him. 'Skylar won't last until morning. She-she can't suffer.' She paused for a moment to compose herself before she continued. 'I will be back shortly.'

Closing the door behind her she took a seat on the hay bale outside and pulled out her phone. She rang Abeline, Cordell and Liam each, twice, with no answer. With a shaky sigh she returned her phone to her pocket. Even if one of them had picked up they still wouldn't get there within an hour. Skylar couldn't be asked to struggle through another hour of agony.

Stepping out into the cool night air she took a deep breath, a surprising sense of calm and rationalization washing over her. Like Bonham had said about Ace, there hadn't been any other choice. She didn't have any other choice. Feelings and emotions would come later but right now she had to focus on what she had to do. There would be time for those later. Skylar couldn't be allowed to suffer anymore.

Geri was on the couch reading something as she walked into the living room but Maddie didn't say a word to her, walking straight to the rifle cabinet in the hallway. An uneasy quiet came over the room as Geri watched her open the door and pick up the .38 rifle.

Geri stood and walked over closer to Maddie. 'Maddie?'

'The vet can't get here till morning.' She replied with relative calm, taking a box of ammunition down from the shelf. 'I can't let her suffer.'

'Your father will have to be home soon. Why don't you let him do it?'

Maddie shook her head. 'Dad could be hours yet. I tried ringing but I couldn't get through to any of them.' She slipped a bullet into the chamber. 'If there was any other way…'

'Which one is it?' She questioned after a moment.

'Skylar.' Another bullet went in just in case the first didn't do the job then she closed the chamber and returned the ammunition to the shelf.

Geri shook her head. 'Emily's horse…'

Maddie nodded, closing the cabinet. 'Where are Stella and August?'

'I tucked them into bed half an hour ago.' She replied. 'Maddie, are you sure you can do this?'

'Don't have much of a choice. Either I do it or…' She sighed softly. 'As if this day couldn't get any worse than it already has.'

'You're sure? Absolutely sure that this is the only solution?'

'I saw how Ace was this morning. Vet said it sounded like his stomach ruptured. Everything with Skylar points to exactly the same thing having happened with her.' She looked over at Geri. 'I'm sorry. I need to go.'

'Will you need help?'

The last thing she wanted was for Geri to find out she had Colton with her. 'No. I'll manage on my own. Grampa taught me what to do. If… If Stella and August wake up-'

'I'll look after them.'

'Thank you.'

Maddie headed back out to the barn, grabbing a cloth from the tack room on her way through. Gently she placed the rifle down on the hay bale outside the stall so Skylar didn't see it then opened the door. 'How's she doing?'

'She's alright.' Colton looked up as Maddie walked into the stall, kneeling down beside the mare again. 'You sure you can do this?'

'You ever put a horse down?'

He shook his head.

'Me either.' She said softly, running a hand down the mare's sweat soaked neck. 'Grampa made sure I knew what to do in case I ever needed to put one down but I didn't think I'd ever have to do it.'

Colton watched her stroking the mare, speaking to her calmly as Maddie gently blindfolded Skylar. 'Is there anything I can do?'

'Be a shoulder to cry on when it's done.' She replied matter-factually. 'But you can do something. There's some scissors in the tack room on the bench. If you could grab those I'd be grateful.'

He nodded and left, Maddie returning her attention to the mare. 'It'll be over shortly Skylar…' She soothed softly, the mare struggling to breath as she lay in the sawdust. 'There'll be no more pain…'

Waiting for Colton to return she said her goodbyes and when he came back with the scissors she cut a decent amount off the mare's tail to keep. Handing the lock of her tail and the scissors back to him their eyes met, Maddie turning away after a moment and walked out of the stall to grab the rifle. 'Here-' She handed him a pair of ear plugs from her pocket. 'You'll need these.'

When she'd put her own ear plugs in she picked up the rifle, taking a deep breath before walking back into the stall. Crouching down beside Skylar who had started to struggle again in her absence, she calmed the mare once more with a gentle touch and quiet words. When Skylar lay still again she stood and took a couple steps back as she raised the rifle.

Taking a deep breath, she aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger.

Colton flinched as the shot echoed around the barn, Maddie lowering the rifle as the mare jerked a couple times and lay still.

It was over.

Lowering the rifle she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder and looked up at Colton. He didn't say anything, just stood there with her and for once the entire evening she was grateful he was here with her. She turned back to the mare after a moment and handed him the rifle as she knelt to make sure Skylar was gone. Brown eyes stared blankly past her when she removed the blindfold and she knew the mare was no longer in pain.

She stayed there with Skylar for a moment then rose again and Colton handed her back the rifle then they both stepped out of the stall and she closed the door behind her. No longer needing her ear plugs she pulled them out after placing the rifle down, tears in her eyes as she lent back against the closed door.

Just how much more were they going to lose?