Chapter 4

With Audra pre-occupied later that morning with caring for her mare and new foal, Millie roped in Jarrod to help her with her stallion's race training. Instead of a two and a half mile run, they ran the five mile loop today, completing it in a time of eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Tomahawk was almost ready, the race now only a few days away. There wasn't much else left that she could do to further improve her mustang's condition and race readiness.

Once training was over, Jarrod and Millie returned home. While Jarrod took care of some things with Nick out in the ranch yard, Millie led Tomahawk back into the barn and tied him in the aisle to remove his tack. Down from them, in the furthest stall, Tempest pawed the ground in frustration and bellowed out a challenge to her stallion. Tomahawk snorted in response, arching his neck and dancing in place as she loosened the cinch and removed the saddle from his back. "Easy boy… Ignore him. He's just causing trouble." She said, running her hand down his neck to calm him. After a moment, Tomahawk's attention returned to her and she took his halter off the hook nearby, swapping it in place of the bridle that was hung up in return. Glancing over at the thoroughbred stallion, she shook her head as she brushed her mustang down now that his tack had been removed. It was just as well she'd learnt from Hosea how to teach a stallion to have manners and had taught Tomahawk by those methods; keeping a stallion that didn't have manners was just a recipe for trouble. Scratching behind his ear, she chuckled as he lent into her hand. "He's just a trouble maker, isn't he? She remarked, pleased that her black, for the most part, was ignoring the sorrel menace. "Why Nick chose a horse like that, I'll never know..."

Tempest continued to put up a fuss, the whites of his eyes visible as he kept turning his head as far as his lead-rope would allow him to look at the other stallion. His nostrils flared as kept pawing at the ground. Hearing the ruckus that he was making, Millie looked over at him again and shook her head. That horse didn't deserve to remain a stallion with that attitude; if she had a horse like him, the first thing that she would do with him was to have him gelded. Hosea had drilled into her the importance of choosing stud's with good temperaments for a sire with a bad temper made for bad foals. If he were here to see him, he'd remark that there were too many stallions in the world that were well mannered to waste time on a rogue like the one putting up suck a ruckus.

After finishing her stallion's grooming after their ride, Millie went to lead Tomahawk back to his stall. As Tempest saw the black stallion being moved he reared back and broke his halter with one quick motion. Spinning around, he was now loose in the barn and nothing was going to get in his way of attacking the other stallion. Before Millie had time to react, the sorrel demon was upon them, the young woman trying to get herself out of the way but she wasn't quick enough. Tempest bit her, knocking her down to the ground as he went for the black. It took her a moment to regain her bearings and as she tried to rise, she realized she was trapped beneath the fighting stallions. She couldn't move for fear of being trampled. She began to scream, curled up into a ball to try and protect herself from being hurt further as the two horses fought over the top of her.

Tomahawk roared and met Tempest with bared teeth, the two stallions rearing up as they both tried to gain a hold of the others withers. Both of them were well matched, despite Tempest's larger size. Being a mustang, growing up in the wild, Tomahawk had more experience fighting and he was fighting back with everything he had against the thoroughbred stallion. They fought on, Millie unable to move herself out of harm's way as hooves and legs surrounded her. She was beneath Tomahawk, her stallion fighting over the top of her in the narrow aisle. One wrong move from either of them and she'd be trampled.

The noise of commotion in the barn reached Jarrod and Nick in the ranch yard, the two of them dropping what they were doing to go investigate what was going on.

It only took them both a moment to take stock of the situation as they came into the doorway, the two stallions fighting on in the aisle while Millie lay precariously beneath them screaming at the top of her lungs. Tomahawk had gotten a grip on Tempest's wither and the mustang was pushing him backwards, his hind hooves mere inches from her head. Millie was frozen in place, if she tried to move, one of them might step on her. If she didn't, it was just as likely that she'd get trampled. Rational thinking had gone out the window for her and not knowing what else to do, she just screamed.

Recovering from the horror of the scenario they were a witness too, Nick went running for his lasso while Jarrod tried to figure a way to get Millie to safety. With the two stallions continuing to fight, Jarrod entered the barn, holding back just out of the way. To get between the two fighting stallions was a sure way of getting hurt but he had to get Millie out from beneath the horses. As he debated how he was going to get her out of harms way, Tomahawk surged forward with his teeth still sunk deeply into his opponents withers. Pushing Tempest backwards, his hind hooves just grazed Millie as he jumped over her and fought the other stallion to the ground. While they fought on Jarrod ran forward and picked up the still screaming young woman, carrying her to safety. Her screaming stopped abruptly after he'd picked her up, her eyes opening as he carried her over to the barrel at the doorway that he set her down on. "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

Millie's heart still beating out of her chest and her throat hoarse from screaming, she nodded as she clutched her heavily bleeding arm. A loud crash caught her attention as Tomahawk pushed Tempest backwards through a stall wall, her stallion appearing to have gotten the upper hand in the fight. "We-we've got to get them separated."

"Don't you move from here. We'll take care of them."

As the words left his mouth, Nick returned with two lassos in hand, one of which he tossed over to Jarrod who easily caught it. "I'll get Tempest." He said as he hurried around the stallions to get a better vantage point to rope his thoroughbred.

Jarrod nodded and making a loop in the lasso, he waited for an opportunity to be able to rope the black. The opportunity quickly came when Tomahawk let go to try getting a better grip on his opponent and he cast the loop out, the lasso settling securely around the mustang's neck. A moment later, Nick's rope also landed around Tempest's neck and with great effort, the two of them pulled the fighting stallions away from each other.

"I'll get this one out to the corral." Nick had wrapped his lasso around one of the posts in the barn to secure his stallion, Tempest fighting against the lasso to the point of choking himself to get back at the mustang. "You got Tomahawk?"

"I've got him." Jarrod also had done the same thing as Nick to secure his horse, the mustang snorting and pawing the ground as he bellowed another challenge to the sorrel. "Easy... Easy boy." He kept back out of the way of the agitated stallion, glancing over at Millie. "You alright sweetheart?"

She nodded, still catching her breath.

Tying the lasso securely around the post, Nick grabbed the nearby bridle and as the thoroughbred stopped his fighting in an attempt to breath with the lasso choking him, he quickly bridled the stallion in order to have better control. "You want to hope your rouge mustang hasn't hurt Tempest." He growled, glancing over at the young woman as he loosened the lasso and removed it from around his horses neck. Tomahawk had given Tempest a right beating by appearances, blood flowing freely from the bite wounds across his withers and on his neck.

At the suggestion that it was Tomahawk who had started the fight, Millie's blood boiled. "My rogue mustang?!" She repeated, her voice going up an octave."My rouge mustang?! Nick, it was Tempest who started it!" Her arm was still bleeding heavily and she held it tightly, trying to stop it. "He broke free and came after Tomahawk. How do you think I got this?" She held up her arm, her sleeve torn and bloody. "That lunatic horse bit me on his way to fight Tomahawk!"

"Nick, get that horse out of here." Jarrod commanded in a low, threatening growl. He was beyond angry at his brother for what had happened. If Nick hadn't purchased such a dangerous animal then this would never have taken place. Tomahawk pawed at the ground again, huffing and puffing another challenge to the sorrel while still being respectful of the lasso holding him back. "Get that red devil out of here this instant."

With Tempest having gotten back a little of his wind, he put up a good fight against Nick as he was led out the back door. After he had gone, Millie slowly climbed down off the barrel and approached her stallion, Jarrod attempting to calm him down. "Easy. Easy boy. You're alright." He stood back, still holding onto the rope as Millie cautiously approached him and bent down to pick up his lead-rope. "Easy. You're alright. Settle down. Settle down. You're okay."

At Millie's soft tones, Tomahawk began to calm down and she finally reached him, rubbing his forehead for a moment before she removed the lasso from around his neck. "Jarrod, can you help me look him over? I hope he didn't get hurt."

"I'm more concerned about you." He said as he joined her, worry evident in both his tone and the expression he wore on his face as he looked at her arm. "Let me have a better look at that arm." After a moment she offered him her left arm and flinched as he tore off the sleeve to look at the wound. Seeing her injury, he shook his head. The wound wasn't the worst that he'd ever seen but it was bad enough. "I think that's gonna need stitches." He told her, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to tie around the wound. "We'll have to take you into town."

"Forget about me, we need to check Tomahawk over first." She replied, holding onto her arm again after he'd tied the handkerchief around it. "If he's been hurt, we're not going to be able to race. Help me look him over and then you can take me in."

Knowing that this was an argument he wouldn't win with her he sighed heavily and turned to the mustang to examine him while Millie kept him calm. Running his hands down the stallion's legs, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. His legs were fine. Moving on, he found a couple bite marks on the horses neck and shoulders but nothing serious and considering how the stallions had really been going for it, he'd come out of the fight relatively unscathed. "I don't think he's hurt too bad, he seems alright to me."

"Oh thank goodness." She breathed with relief. "I was so worried he might have gotten hurt."

"What happened?"

"I just brought him in to un-tack like I always do. Tempest started putting up a fuss but I didn't think much of it, he's always carrying on like that. I'd just finished grooming Tomahawk and was leading him back to his stall when all of a sudden, Tempest broke loose. I didn't even have time to get out of the way. He was just there and there was nothing I could do." She paused for a moment, gingerly rubbing her stallion's forehead with her good hand, holding her injured arm against her chest. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Millie questioned, looking back up at Jarrod. Nick was blaming her for the stallions being able to fight, what if it had been her fault this had happened? She couldn't help but be worried that she was going to be blamed for what had happened between the horses. "I mean, I've been careful this whole time with Tomahawk. I-I'm sorry, I'd have tried to stop them but there was nothing I could do. I'm always careful to never take him anywhere near the Thoroughbred. Please, you've got to believe me-"

"I believe you sweetheart." Jarrod interrupted gently as the young girl began to shake. "Come here. Come here honey."

Sobbing softly, Millie allowed Jarrod to take her in his arms.

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault." He reassured her, pressing a kiss to her messed up hair as she hugged him back. "It's not your fault at all. You didn't do anything wrong." Holding her tight he sent a prayer of thanks heavenward that she hadn't been hurt worse or killed. He couldn't stand the thought of something happening to her... Taking a deep breath he pressed another kiss to her head. "It's not your fault."

Forcing back her sobs, she nodded and after gaining control over herself again, she looked up at him. "I-I just... don't want to get in trouble... with Nick. If something's happened to Tempest, he's gonna be... so mad with me."

"You let me take care of Nick, alright? Don't you worry about it. It wasn't your fault. That horse is trouble, Nick should never have brought him here. He knows better than to purchase a horse like that."

Millie nodded in agreement. "He... He's dangerous. He's got a mean streak in him a mile wide."

"I couldn't agree with you more darlin'." Rubbing her back for a moment, he finally let go of her. "We need to go take care of that wound."

"Not till Tomahawk's been fed and watered, he comes first."

"If that's what it takes to convince you to go inside and see to yourself, then I'll take care of him for you."

"Thank you."

Patting her shoulder, Jarrod left to go get hay and a bucket of feed and Millie led Tomahawk into his stall. Her stallion sniffed at her arm curiously as she tried to tie him up and she had to gently push his muzzle away. "It's alright, I'm alright boy." She assured him, looping his lead-rope back through itself so he didn't step on it. "I'm alright." Rubbing his neck with her good hand, she held her bleeding arm close to her chest. "I'm alright."

Jarrod returned with a large armful of hay tucked beneath one arm and a bucket of feed in the other hand. "I've just mixed up oats and chaff, I wasn't sure what else he's being fed at the moment so I thought I'd just leave it at that."

"That's just fine, thank you."

"I'll get this filled up then it's inside with you, young lady."

She nodded as Jarrod picked up the water bucket from its hook and headed outside to fill it up. As he left, Nick entered the barn again. "Is Tempest alright?" She questioned, an undertone of fear in her voice. She swallowed as Nick came to stand in the empty stall beside her, not daring to look up at him. She'd seen Nick angry before, it wasn't a pretty thing. She was as afraid of his temper as she was of Cade's. "I-I hope he didn't get hurt too bad."

"He'll be stiff and sore for a couple days I reckon but he'll be just fine to race. A few bites and bruises but nothin' serious." Nick paused for a moment, taking notice of the way Millie was shying away from him and he regretted his earlier words to her. "How's ah… How's Tomahawk?"

"He-Jarrod thinks he'll be alright. He doesn't seem to have been hurt." She still wouldn't look at him, instead choosing to focus on rubbing her stallion's neck. "They were both lucky to have not been hurt bad."

"They aren't the only ones to be very lucky, brother Nick." Jarrod exclaimed as he returned with a filled bucket of water. "That horse has got to go. That horse has got to go. I don't care what you do with it, but it is to be off this ranch by tonight."

"But the race-"

"The race, the race, it's always the damn race! Nick, that horse could have killed Millie!" Jarrod roared at him, Tomahawk tossing his head up in surprise. "Have you stopped to think about that?"

Nick sobered and swallowed under the hard gaze of his older brother. "I... I'm sorry, Jarrod."

"Oh, you're sorry... " He repeated. "You are lucky Millie wasn't hurt worse. I'd have made you very sorry you'd ever set eyes on that stallion if he'd done anything worse to her. She's going to need stitches as it is."

"Jarrod, what more do you want from me-"

"Jarrod…" She spoke up softly, hoping to try and defuse the situation before the two brothers ended up fighting over her. "I'm fine, only a little banged up is all. It could have been worse, but it wasn't. Alright?"

Not wanting to make Millie more uncomfortable then she already was, Jarrod forced himself to calm down and save it for later with his brother when she wasn't around. "You haven't heard the last of this, Nick."

He was sure of that. Nick turned to Millie. "Millie, I'm sure sorry 'bout all this. I'm sorry for blamin' your horse when it was obviously the fault of mine and I'm sorry you ended up gettin' hurt by him."

She swallowed. "T-thank you, Nick. But why did you buy that stallion in the first place? I could tell that horse was trouble as soon as I laid eyes on him. He can't stay in the barn, he can't be around other horses. He's gonna have to stay locked up in the corral to stop this happening again. He's too dangerous."

"I want him gone." Jarrod interjected. "I want him off this ranch."

"Jarrod, you have my word. As soon as the race is over, that horse will be outta here. I promise you."

"Gone, Nick." The lawyer's eyes were hard as steel as he looked at his brother. "We'll talk when I get home."

Jarrod sat in the study later that afternoon, working on a case while Millie got some rest upstairs in her room. After stopping in the house to clean and bandage her arm, they'd gone to town so Doctor Merar could look her over. He'd been right in his assumption that the would needed stitches and it had taken eighteen of them to close up the gash that Nick's thoroughbred had given her. Through it, she'd been a brave girl, not so much as even whimpering when the doctor had stitched up her arm. She was lucky that eighteen stitches were all that resulted from the events of the morning. It could have been worse, much worse.

He was angry, no, he was beyond angry. He was furious with Nick for being so irresponsible as to bring an animal with a temperament like that to the ranch. The whole rivalry between them and the Morton's was getting out of hand; the only reason that racehorse had been purchased was in the hopes of being able to beat whatever they were planing to race. It was Nick's ego that had resulted in Millie's stitches but it could have been much worse; it could have also cost her life.

Seeing Millie's brush with death made Jarrod realize just how much he'd come to care for that young woman. These past months, as he'd gotten to know her better and as she had slowly started to adjust to living with them and come out of her shell, he'd been able to create a friendship with her. She'd come to learn she could trust him and every little win that he had with her brought him great happiness. She was starting to really blossom and he'd come to think of her almost like a daughter. He'd come to love that girl and to think that she could have been killed because of Nick's foolishness angered him. He was just thankful, so thankful, that what had happened hadn't turned out worse. Her guardian angel had to have been watching out for her.

"Jarrod…" Nick started as he entered the room, helping himself to a shot of whiskey before he took a seat. "How's Millie?"

"Lucky." Jarrod replied gravely as he placed down the paper he'd been reading to look at his brother. "Very lucky."

"I mean…" He sighed heavily. Despite a few hours having passed, his brother still appeared to be as angry as ever with him and rightly so... "What'd the doc say?"

"She's going to be fine. She's got some bruises and she's going to be feeling quite sore for a little while. For your information, she's now got eighteen stitches in her arm, courtesy of that red devil of yours and she'll need to wear a sling the next few days."

Nick wearily rubbed his face with his hands. "You don't know how terrible I feel about this."

"Oh?" He scoffed. "Well just think how you'd feel if that stallion had killed her. Is winning this race so important to you that you'd endanger someones life?"

After a moment, he shook his head. "I guess you could say things have gotten a little outta hand between us and the Morton's."

"Oh you think so, do you? As if the five thousand dollar bet wasn't enough, this had to happen to make you realize just that."

"Jarrod, you don't need to go makin' me feel worse than I already do."

"No, I think I do. I have never doubted your decisions when it comes to purchasing stock but I am questioning this one now. Surely you would have known that horse was vicious. What were you thinking when you purchased that animal?"

Nick just shook his head. "I was only thinkin' of how a horse like that'd be able to outrun anythin' the Morton's would be ridin'. Yes, I knew he was temperamental but so was his sire and his sire was one of the greatest racehorses of this decade. I thought I could handle him." He let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I thought wrong."

"Apparently. Where is that stallion now?"

"In the corral. I've got him hobbled and I'll be the only one to go near him. If you're serious about me gettin' rid of Tempest right away…" He drew in a breath. "I'll shoot him this afternoon. Means loosin' the bet but…" He shook his head again. "God Jarrod, I feel like such a fool. He could have killed lil Millie and it'd have been my fault."

"I'm glad you've come to that realization so I didn't have to point it out." Jarrod replied, taking a deep breath as he fidgeted with a pencil on his desk. "If you shoot the stallion, you give up all chances of winning' the race. You lose the money on the horse and the bet. Seven thousand dollars." He paused and looked back up at him. "What's the chance that horse will get loose again?"

"Right now, not likely."

"Alright. Then here's what will happen. If you keep him secured, you run him in the race. Afterwards, sell him or if you can't sell him, destroy him. If he does get loose or causes anymore trouble between now and the race, that's it. No second chances. Understood?"

Nick nodded. Given the circumstances, Jarrod was within his right to request how the stallion be dealt with.

"In addition, you're going to help Millie." He continued. "She still wants to race and the doc doesn't believe her injury is severe enough to warrant her sitting it out. She's still allowed to ride but she's going to need help with tacking her horse up and such. You're going to provide that help."

"Alright." Nick agreed. "I'll do it."

"Good. It'd be a shame if she had to pull out now when she's come so far." He opened another file and began flicking through the papers inside. "I think she might actually have a shot at winning this race."

"Jarrod, you've got to be jokin'. That lil mustang of hers? Not a chance."

"No Nick. I'm not. I've seen that horse of hers run and I'm telling you, they stand a very good chance of winning."

After leaving Jarrod to his work, Nick made his way upstairs to go speak with Millie. Coming to her door, it was left ajar and he glanced in. The girl was sitting up in bed with a book in hand, her kitten curled up asleep beside her. "Mind if I come in?"

Looking up, she saw Nick standing in the doorway and motioned for him to join her. "How's Tempest?"

"He's fine, nothing too serious. I checked on Tomahawk for ya too, he's just fine and dandy to."

"Good, I'm glad. Sure was some fight earlier."

"I'd say." Nick agreed as he sat down on her bed beside her. "How's the arm feelin' lil one?"

"Sore." Millie replied honestly as she closed her book and placed it aside. "It's the first time I've had to have stitches. Hurt something bad when he was stitching it up but I've had worse. It's more annoying than anything that I've got to wear this." She lifted her injured arm inside the sling. "How can I do anything with my arm in a sling? Doc says I've gotta wear it for five days. The race is in six. I can't get a saddle on Tomahawk with only one good arm. He said I can still race but if I can't keep him in work, there's no point."

"You just let me worry 'bout that. That's why I'm gonna help you, seein' as you being laid up is my fault anyhow."

She sighed. "Nick, these things happen. It's no one's fault."

"I'm the one who brought that animal. I just… I feel awful 'bout this. I'm so sorry Millie. You gettin' hurt's bad enough but…" He paused, looking down for a moment before turning back to her. "You coulda been killed because I brought that stallion here."

She could see Nick was blaming himself and her earlier anger towards him melted away seeing how deeply it had affected him. Hesitating for a moment, she sat up and gave him a hug. "Nick, it's alright. I'm alright. I forgive you."

He held her tight, pressing a kiss to her head as he felt a lump rising in his throat. Jarrod had been right... God, she had been so lucky. They all had been. If those horses had trampled her... No. He couldn't think of that. There was no point in thinking about what could have been. Millie was here, okay, and she was alright. Kissing her again, he rested his cheek against her head. "Thanks, lil one."