Chapter 1

Audra waited and watched with bated breath, holding the stopwatch in her hand. "Come on. Come on! Let him go!" She murmured, glancing at the time then back up at the horse and rider racing across the meadow. "Come on! Just a little faster! You can make it!"

The horse was a pure black horse, black as the darkest midnight and riding on his back was a young woman, her brown hair whipped about by the breeze. They were racing. Racing against the clock. "Come on, come on!" The rider encouraged, tapping the horse with her heels. "Faster boy. Faster!"

The turn was just up ahead now and she guided him through it, holding in reserve a little of his speed for the final sprint. They were coming out of the turn now and leaning down over his neck, she made a kissing sound at him as she nudged her heels into his sides. At her cue, the horse shot forward into his top speed, the rider no longer holding him back as they thundered towards the finish line. She nudged him again, the horse giving its all and they sped past the makeshift finish line.

Stopping the stopwatch as the horse and rider flew past her, Audra squealed with excitement as she jumped up and down, laughing. "You did it! You did it!" She cheered as the rider slowed and turned her horse, trotting back to her. "You took four seconds off your previous time!"

Millie beamed as she halted Tomahawk off to the side of Audra and patted her stallion on the shoulder. "Well done boy. Good job."

"You two are so going to give Nick a run for his money." Audra exclaimed as she returned the watch to her pocket, looking up at her. "In the past week, Tomahawk's taken twenty-five seconds off his time since last Sunday. You two really make a great team."

"It's all this one, I'm afraid. I can't take much credit. He's the one doing all the work." Tomahawk was breathing hard but no harder than he should after a two and a half mile gallop. "What time did we make it in?"

"Three minutes and fifty seven seconds."

Millie nodded and took a carrot piece from her pocket to give her horse. "That's not bad at all. When we first started training three weeks ago, we started at just over five minutes."

"You're doing a great job conditioning him. He's never looked better." Audra spoke the truth, Tomahawk had never looked better. The stallion's coat shone like newly conditioned leather and his muscles rippled beneath his skin. He was a magnificent example of an equine, truly a sight to behold. "I think you've got a shot at winning."

"I hope so." Millie offered Tomahawk another piece as Audra gathered up the reins of the horse grazing behind her and mounted. "I don't know if we've got a chance though. I mean, Tomahawk's a mustang. I know he's fast, but he's only a mustang. This race is drawing in the best of the best. These are professional riders who are experienced with horses that are proper full blooded race horses. I've never raced before, apart from messing about with your brothers. I've got no racing experience and neither does Tomahawk."

"You have got to stop undercutting yourself Millie! I've been watching you and believe me, you are a better rider then some people I've seen riding in that race over the years. You and Tomahawk are going to do great. I can feel it."

"Yeah, but what about Nick?"

"What about Nick?"

"I've got a feeling that brother of yours is up to something. We're just a little over two weeks away from the race and he still hasn't chosen a horse to ride or even started bringing one into work. Coco's a good horse, but he's no race horse. He's a cow pony. I can't imagine he'll be riding him if he wants a chance at winning."

"Yeah…" Audra frowned, pondering over the valid point that Millie had made. "You're right. Usually by now he'd already have a horse in work. Last year, he rode Gladiator, that horse was fast but still only fast enough for second. He started working him two months before the race."

"See? That's what I mean. He's got something up his sleeve." She replied, the two of them walking their horses across the meadow back to the main road leading to the ranch. "Heath's had Charger in work as long as I've been conditioning this guy but Nick…"

"You know what… I bet he's brought a new horse. You remember that trip he made a couple months back that he was so secretive about? Wouldn't even let Heath go with him. I'd bet that's what he did. He's brought a new horse to race."

"If that's the case, Tomahawk and I might as well pull out now-"

"No way, Millie! I'm not going to let you do that. You're going to race and you are going to win."

Millie chuckled. "And why are you backing me and not one of your brothers to win?

"Well Nick, he can with being taken down a peg or two. Heath, well, Charger's a good horse but in my opinion, and I could be wrong, but in my opinion, I really think you and Tomahawk stand the best chance to win. My backing is on you, all the way."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence you have in us."

"Believe me, I think you do have a shot at winning. If Tomahawk keeps improving at the rate that he is, soon you'll be able to do this circuit in three and a half minutes. That's got to count for something."

"Yeah, yeah I guess so."

Audra chuckled. "You've got to have a little faith in yourself and Tomahawk."

"I know. I just don't want to get my hopes up too high. It'll be our first race. I don't expect that we'll win."

"You've got to shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll still land among the stars."

"What?" She laughed. "Oh you've been reading too many of those dime novels again."

"There's nothing wrong with a little culture." Audra replied with a wink. "Alright, so we've run Tomahawk today and timed him, what else are we doing this morning before we head home?"

"We're going to start creating a desire for winning in Tomahawk. How fast is that little pony of yours?" She questioned, looking at the chestnut mare that Audra had chosen to ride for the day.

"Flame's not really that fast, but she'll do her best."

"That's all we need her to do. We're going to have a race. I'm going to hold Tomahawk back and I want you to really push Flame hard. Then I'm going to let Tomahawk go so that he can catch up to her and overtake her. That way, it'll keep creating a desire in him to actually want to win."

Audra looked over at her. She'd never heard of training a horse to race like this before but it made sense. "Where'd you learn about doing that?"

"I grew up on a ranch, remember? We didn't just raise horses, we raced them also. The winnings helped keep us going during the drought. That's where I learnt how to condition a horse for racin'."

"Alright, well, you're ready?" She questioned, bringing her mare to a halt.

Stopping Tomahawk beside her, Millie nodded. "Ready."

Waiting on the train, Nick checked his watch again with impatience. The train was late; again. He had things that needed to be done back at the ranch but he was waiting on something mighty special to arrive. Not wanting to spoil the surprise, he'd chosen to come and pick it up himself rather than get a ranch hand or Heath to collect it instead. Thinking about his brother, he chuckled to himself. Oh Heath was going to spit chips when he saw what he had brought.

The race was going to be his in the bag.

"Watin' on something Nick?"

He turned at the voice to see Zack Morton standing behind him. "Yeah, you might say that. You?"

He nodded. "Got some packages arriving for the ranch. If this train ever pulls in." He remarked, looking up the railway line where still no train appeared in the distance. "Oh ah, how's training for the race comin' along?" He questioned, turning back to Nick. "You know, we've won this race two years in a row and I'm aimin' to go for a third this year. This year, we've got ourselves a real winner. A mighty fine runner if I do say so myself."

"Well now, is that a fact?" Nick folded his arms across his chest. "I'm afraid you might just find that your winnin' streak has come to an end, my boy. This year… Oh this year, the Barkley's are coming home with the cup."

"Really now? And how are you plannin' on doin' that?"

"I might just have gotten myself a real winner too."

"One of your ranch ponies?"

Realizing that he was baiting him into giving up his game, Nick just chuckled. "Oh you're just gonna have to wait and find out with the rest of Stockton. But believe me, this year, this year the Barkley's are going to win."

"Well, I've got a thousand to say that we win the race."

"And I've got five that says you don't."

"Thousand?" Zack repeated.

"Thousand." Nick affirmed.

He smiled. "We got a bet?"

"You got you a bet." He agreed. "Both you and Jed runnin' this year?"

Zack nodded. "And both on some pretty fine horse flesh. How many of you Barkley's are racin' this year?"

"Just Heath and I." In the distance, the train whistle blew. "That girl of Jarrod's though, she's plannin' to run her little mustang too."

"You're lettin' a girl ride for ya? You really just want to give that money away."

Nick laughed. "Oh believe me, it's just to appease her. I'm the one who's gonna win this year."

"Whatever you say, Barkley. Whatever you say. I'll see you around."

"Yep. See you around."

Zack left and Nick waited on the platform, the train finally pulling into the station. Making his way down to the livestock car, he waited as they began to unload. There were a couple of horses being transported today, horses coming in early for the race but Nick didn't pay much attention to them. None of them looked anything like the one he'd purchased.

As the next horse was led down the ramp, Nick recognized him in an instant and walked up to the man leading it. "Nick Barkley. This here's my horse." He pulled out his bill of sale to provide proof of ownership and handed it to him.

The man nodded, checking the paperwork over before handing it back. "You've got yourself a mighty fine piece of horse-flesh here, Mister Barkley. Been transportin' horses for years and never seen one like this one."

"I know."

"Now, if you'll just sign here-" He waved over the conductor who carried a clipboard of the delivery dockets. "then we're all done here."

Taking the pen handed to him, Nick signed and handed the clipboard back, the conductor moving on to the next person.

The man ran his hand over the horse's neck. If only he could own a horse like him… "Mighty fine horse Mister, mighty fine." He exclaimed, handing him the lead-rope. "You runnin' him in the Sweepstakes?"

"That's the plan." Nick rubbed the horse's forehead.

"I might just place a bet or two on you."

"You just do that now. And thanks for seein' him here safely."

"Best of luck to you."

Nick nodded and began leading his horse through the crowd and over to where Coco was tied. Oh yes, this year, the race was in the bag.

And he, Nick Barkley, was going to win.

At the sound of hoof-beats arriving back in the ranch yard, Heath looked up from his work to see Audra and Millie had returned from their morning ride. "How'd Tomahawk go?" He questioned as he left his work and went over to them, the two girls dismounting.

"He's going well." Millie replied, patting the stallion's neck. "We're making real progress."

"Good, that's good." He also gave the mustang a pat, Tomahawk turning his head to sniff his pockets in search of treats.

"We just realized something." Audra said as they led the horses to the barn to un-tack and brush them down. "Nick keeps going on about how he's going to win the race this year, but he's not preparing a horse."

"Do you know what he's up to Heath?" Millie questioned. "Surely he must have mentioned to you who he's planning to ride."

Heath frowned as he thought for a moment. "No, no he hasn't said anything to me."

"See?" She turned to Audra. "I told you Nick's up to something."

"I take it then that you're still planning on riding."

Millie nodded as she loosened the stallion's cinch. "I've got to talk to Jarrod first though, he has to give his permission. He sent your mother a telegram yesterday, he'll be home sometime in the next few days. The case he's been working on went on longer than he was expecting it too." With the cinch undone, Millie slid the saddle and saddle cloth off the stallion's back and placed it on the nearest stall wall. "There's nothing in the rules saying that a woman can't race. The only thing it does say is that you have to be over twelve to ride and I'm fifteen so… I can't see any reason why I couldn't ride."

"Well, it's a dangerous race. I've been told men have been injured or killed riding in it."

"It's no more dangerous than what I've been doing everyday with you and Nick for the past month. I can keep up with the both of you and the best of the hands."

"Why don't we just wait and see what Jarrod says?"

"I suppose so." She sighed, brushing away the sweat marks. "Audra, have you ridden in the race?"

Audra shook her head, also in the process of brushing down her pony. "I was going to ride Firefly a few years back but when she fell and injured herself, I couldn't ride her anymore. I haven't really wanted to race, I prefer to watch."

Hearing hoof-beats, Heath glanced around and saw Nick riding into the ranch yard, ponying another horse. "Well, I think we've just gotten our answer to your earlier question."

Both Millie and Audra looked up, Millie raising her eyebrows as she saw the horse beside Coco. "Wow."

"I'd say." Heath agreed as Nick dismounted Coco and tied him up. "That's no ranch horse."

"Not even close." Audra added. "I was right. He must have brought him on that little trip he took a couple months back."

As Nick led his new horse into the barn, the two stallions saw each other and locked eyes, the sorrel beginning to snort and paw the ground in challenge to Tomahawk. "Easy, easy boy." Millie held her mustang back as Nick kept his horse moving on to the farthest stall, her stallion snorting back in reply. "Steady."

"New horse?" Heath questioned, approaching the stall as Nick tied the rugged horse up.

"New horse." Nick affirmed, patting him on the neck. "And he's a winner."

Audra had returned her horse to its stall and joined them. "He's big." He was a tall horse, the tallest she'd seen. She turned to her brother. "He's bigger than any other horse we've got here."

"Yep. Seventeen hands to be exact."

Tying Tomahawk up securely, Millie came to inspect the latest arrival to the ranch. "Nick, he's no cow pony." She exclaimed, her eyebrows raised as she looked at the sorrel stallion. He was big and with a girth as wide and as deep as his, he had plenty of staying power. "What's he for?" She questioned, having the distinct feeling she knew exactly what reason had brought this horse to the ranch.

"Oh, he's definitely no cow pony. He's a racehorse." Nick replied proudly. "A genuine, papered, Kentucky Thoroughbred racehorse."

"Oh boy…." Heath muttered beneath his breath.

"And he's our ticket to beatin' the Morton's this year. I guarantee you, he's gonna run rings around whatever they've got runnin'."

"He's gorgeous." Audra went to pat him, the stallion pinning his ears as he snapped his teeth at her. She jumped back in surprise, not having been expecting him to react that way. "Woah, easy boy."

"Just step back Audra." Nick had grabbed the stallion's halter. "He's not used to you."

"No Nick, that's not him just not being used to her." Heath had been watching the horse closely the whole time and what he saw, he didn't like. That horse appeared like a stick of dynamite about to go off. "That horse has a mean streak. Audra, Millie, you both don't go near this horse. He's dangerous."

Audra nodded, still in shock that the animal had tried to bite her. "I best get up to the house. I've got things to do." She looked back at the stallion. "There's no way I'm going near him, believe me."

"I'll go check on her later." Nick said as he rubbed the stallion's neck, Audra leaving the barn. "But Millie, as Heath says, don't come near him."

"Gladly." Millie agreed without hesitation. She had noticed the same things as Heath and she had instantly taken a disliking to the animal. He might be a Kentucky Thoroughbred but she sure didn't like his temper. She wasn't one to dislike an animal without reason but the moment she had laid eyes on him, she couldn't help the feeling that he was trouble. "What's he like running?"

"Oh he's wonderful. The fastest horse I've ever seen. I watched him race three times before I bought him, he won every race. None of the other horses came close to him."

"And what did you pay for this fine, magnificent animal?" Heath questioned skeptically.

"Two thousand dollars."

Millie's jaw dropped open.

Heath let out a low whistle with his eyebrows raised. "You sure he's worth that Nick?"

"He's worth it." Nick rubbed the stallion's forehead. "Believe me, he'll be worth every dollar it took to purchase him when we wipe the smiles off the Morton's faces after we win."

Millie sat in her room later that night, working on another drawing with her kitten curled up on her lap. She'd had a tiring day, having been out working with Nick and Heath for the remainder of the morning with her afternoon taken up with the continued training of three colts and a filly that Nick had assigned her too. It was a good tired however, the tired that came after a satisfying day of hard work. Now, as she wound down for bed, she relaxed as she drew, this time a drawing of Audra with her mare, Firefly.

Firefly was due to foal soon and Audra was understandably worried about her mare. Firefly had been a gift to her from her father for her twelfth birthday, only a couple months before he'd been killed by the railroad. The mare was her last connection with him and understandably, Audra was concerned for her. The mare had been retired from riding after a serious accident when Audra was nearly fifteen and they had been trying to breed a foal from her without success for the last few years. This time though, she had carried her foal almost to full term and as her expected due date arrived, Audra grew more worried.

Miracle, her kitten curled up on her lap, purred loudly as she continued to draw, one hand drawing while the other scratched beneath her chin. Miracle wasn't a little kitten anymore; she was just over five months old now and was growing quickly. Honestly, Millie didn't know how she would have made it through the past months without her. Miracle was a genuine little ray of sunshine in her life and she brought her unsurpassed joy. When she was inside, the kitten was her constant companion and could always be found wherever she was. They had a strong bond and the kitten just always seemed to know when she was feeling down or upset for she would come over to her, jump onto her lap and promptly curl up to sleep. Having the kitten with her had a calming effect on her and as the months had slipped by, Millie slowly was beginning to lose her wariness and come out of her shell.

Nick having given her the kitten for Christmas meant more to her then he could ever know. Having the kitten she felt had changed her life. Her nightmares had become less frequent and if she did have a nightmare, Miracle was there to comfort her. She wasn't alone anymore. She didn't feel alone. She had Miracle now.

While she was making progress, in the back of her mind, Millie knew things couldn't last forever the way they were. When the two months of temporary custody had come to an end, Jarrod had requested to be granted her custody permanently. The judge decided that he would grant another six months of temporary custody, which at the end of, he'd re-evaluate. Again, for now, Millie was safe for another few months. It was early March now and Spring was only just around the corner. She'd be safe here until August.

Then what? She didn't know for certain. Jarrod hoped that after that time, the judge would be willing to give him permanent custody. The first two months had gone well, no serious issues had arisen and Millie was finding her footing with them. She'd started to trust them more, started to come out of her shell. She was nowhere near as shy and hesitant as she had been when she'd first arrived; she was really beginning to blossom.

Even so though, Millie still hadn't revealed to the family anymore about her past then she'd told Jarrod at Christmas. It wasn't that she didn't trust them now, it was the fact that she didn't want Cade to find her. If she told them, they would send her back. She knew that. While she knew they probably wouldn't want to, it was the law. She just couldn't take that chance. She was happy here. She had found a good home at last. The Barkleys, they treated her well. She was beginning to feel like part of the family.

Most importantly, they made her feel safe.

As she spent more time with them, she'd grown closer to all of them. Jarrod, as expected, had to be away a lot with his work and she stayed behind at the ranch. When he was gone, Millie missed him but knew it couldn't be helped. He had his work, he couldn't stay home just because of her. He'd been gone for the last month, working on a case that seemed to be dragging out endlessly but finally, he would be home within the next few days. While he had been gone, Millie had been practicing her writing and had written him letters with Audra's help. They weren't perfect but she was getting better at it and Jarrod always replied back to her when he got the chance. When he did arrive home though, she knew she'd need to talk to him about riding in the race and she just hoped that he would be willing to allow her to enter.

In Jarrod's absence, she had started to bond with both Nick and Heath, something which when Jarrod heard about in one of his letters from Victoria, pleased him greatly. She'd taken a real shine to Nick, something that was a bit surprising given his nature. It had taken her time to get used to his mannerisms and for the first few weeks, whenever he raised his voice she'd jump but slowly, it began to bother her less. Underneath, Nick had a big heart and Millie had come to adore him. Nick at the same time, had taken her under his wing and on most days, Millie could be found tagging along with him as he worked around the ranch.

In Heath, Millie had found a friend. Because of his vastly different upbringing compared to the Barkelys, they shared a lot in common, though Heath didn't know that yet. The more she learned about him though, the more she could relate. He was always quiet about his past, he never mentioned it really and mostly what Millie knew had come from Audra. She knew about him being Tom Barkley's bastard son but apart from a few other tid-bits here and there, she'd come to realize she didn't really know him that well at all. She didn't know who his mother was, but when he spoke of her, it was with fondness. He'd seemed close to his mother, something she wished that she'd had. He was a private person, like herself and that fitted her just fine. She did enjoy his company immensely though, finding that he had even more knowledge of training horses then Hosea did and he had been more than willing to teach her what he knew.

Being out working with the men most days didn't leave Millie much time for socializing with the women but both she and Audra had become good friends. With Jarrod away in San Francisco, Audra had taken on Millie's schooling lessons. Every day after supper, Audra worked with Millie for an hour or two on her reading and writing. Math and other subjects could wait, firstly she needed to be confident with her reading and writing. Slowly she was improving at both. While she and Audra were vastly different in their tastes and likes, they shared a common interest in a few things and Millie did enjoy the time they spent together.

Lastly, there was Victoria. Millie had come to admire her in the time that she'd been with them.

The more time she spent with Victoria, the closer she was becoming to her. She'd taken her under her wing just like Nick had and in her, Millie had found a mother figure. She was someone she could look up to, someone she could model herself after. When she saw Victoria Barkley, she saw someone she wanted to grow up to be like. Victoria was a strong woman, she'd come to be after the hardships she had endured. Like herself, Victoria had lost her parents young and she understood what it was like to grow up without them. Her life hadn't always been easy either, she'd had her fair share of troubles but she'd come out of them strengthened. Victoria Barkley was certainly no shrinking violet. What she was though, was a force of nature and not one to be reckoned with.

As a yawn escaped her Millie realized that it was time for her to get some sleep. It was late; how late she wasn't certain but she was tired. Tomorrow would be another early morning. First, she'd work Tomahawk before breakfast then come in to eat. Afterwards, she'd give him his proper workout with Audra if she was available then once that was over, she'd spend the rest of the morning with Nick and Heath. They'd head in for dinner at noon then the rest of the afternoon would be spent with training those four three year olds.

Closing her sketchbook she picked Miracle up and stood. Her kitten yawned as she carried her over to her bed and placed her down, dimming the light before crawling beneath the covers. Listening to the purrs of her kitten curled up beside her, Millie drifted off to sleep.

Yes. Life was good.