Page 97 of Saddle and Bound

There's a notification from the ranch's security app: some horses are out of the main enclosure. But what immediately catches my attention are Rosie's notifications. A missed call and a message.

With trembling hands, I open the chat. There's a voice message. Her voice, anxious but alive, fills the locker room: "Alex, it's me. I'm fine, but there's a horse outside the fence. I'm trying to catch it. If you hear this, come help me. I'm heading toward the woods east of the ranch."

Relief mingles with concern. Rosie has responded to me. But now she's out there, alone, chasing after a horse.

"Guys!" I shout, already frantically getting dressed. "We have an emergency!"

Chapter 63

Rosie

The wind strikes my face like liquid steel, each gust a sharp reminder of my precarious pursuit. The escaped horse remains ahead, a dark silhouette dancing just beyond reach, mocking my desperate chase. My heart thunders, a raw symphony of adrenaline and fear. "Come on, you can do this," I whisper, the words as much for myself as for the powerful creature beneath me. The handful of riding lessons I've taken suddenly feel woefully inadequate against the urgency of this moment.

The terrain shifts, growing treacherous as we approach the forest's edge. The horse accelerates, and I'm struck by our velocity, a sudden, stomach-dropping realization of our speed. Panic begins to bloom like a dark flower in my chest.

"Whoa, slow down," I stammer, pulling tentatively on the reins. But the horse, intoxicated by the chase, seems deaf to my pleas.

Trees blur into a green-brown smear along the path. My breath comes in ragged gasps, sweaty hands sliding desperately on leather reins. "Too fast," my mind screams, terror rising like a tide. Without warning, a rabbit darts from the undergrowth, crossing our path. Startled, my horse rears up violently—a sudden, terrible vertical motion.

Everything happens in a heartbeat. I lose my grip, my body flung backward. For one suspended moment, I'm airborne, weightless, disconnected. Then, impact.

A searing pain explodes in my head as I strike the ground. The world spins in dizzying, nauseating circles. I try to move, to cry out, but my body lies unresponsive, a broken marionette.

The last thing I see before darkness claims me is the sunset sky above, achingly beautiful, utterly indifferent.

Then silence. Then darkness.

Chapter 64

Alex

My heart pounds in my chest as I run breathlessly toward the woods east of the ranch. Rosie's message echoes in my head, mixing with my worst fears.

From the device connected to our app, we can see that all the horses are out of the enclosure. Consequently, we don't even waste time going to saddle one to be faster. The mini quads are on the other side of the ranch, so we'd lose just as much time. In silent agreement, we all run on foot, hoping to make it in time. I don't understand what happened; I was the last one to enter the stables. Horse training is my responsibility. Diego was at his training on the other side with the bulls. Fran had the day off. Chris was in the office reviewing the season's scheduled competitions. Ergo, I was the one who locked up the horses, and despite my mind being crowded with thoughts of Rosie, I'm one hundred percent certain I locked them in.

The only other staff members who have access are the veterinarians and sports managers. But right now, that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that Rosie is riding a horse chasing another one, and she doesn't have the expertise to do it. And all the horses are out.

"Let's split up!" I shout to Chris, Fran, and Diego. "Cover more ground!" I see their nods of agreement before they head in different directions.

In an instant, I'm alone with my fear.

"Faster, damn it!" I mentally scream at myself, pushing my body to its limit. The cool evening air burns my lungs, but I don't slow down. I can't. Trees whiz by in my peripheral vision as I enter the woods. "Rosie!" I shout, my voice broken from running and terror. Only silence answers me, amplifying the anguish that grips me.

I stumble on a root, falling hard. The sharp pain in my knee is immediately overshadowed by desperation.

I get up in an instant, ignoring the blood trickling down my leg. "Rosie! Where are you?" My voice echoes among the trees, desperate and trembling.

Every passing second is agony. My mind produces increasingly terrible scenarios.

Rosie hurt, Rosie in danger, Rosie needing me and I'm not there.

"Please, please, let her be okay," I whisper, a desperate prayer to whoever might be listening.

I try to force my mind not to remember past traumas.

I try to file away the memory of my father lying lifeless on the ground.

I try not to think about the fact that if Rosie had the brilliant idea to saddle a horse, it's because I taught her how to do it.

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