Page 14 of Unbroken

“For fuck’s sake, it was just a word! I was trying to make a point.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

That maybe if you spent less time clowning around and actually took things seriously, your brother might give you a bigger role than trail assistant.I knew I couldn’t say that to her. As frustrated as I was, I didn’t want to be mean.

We stepped close to each other. Fiona’s hands were squeezed into fists and her eyes were flashing at me. I was trying to figure out if she was going to punch me when screams broke out at the far end of the barn.

We both took off running without even questioning it, and I had already envisioned a thousand horrible scenarios when I was met with the reason for the commotion.

A stallion, one of Shannon’s prize breeders, was out of his stall and running around the barn.

“What the hell?” I asked, glancing at Fiona, who met my look with one of shock.

One of the trail riders ran over, a frantic young woman in tears. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to get a video with him, and I opened his stall. I never thought he’d get out!”

The rest of the group was either glued to the walls or circling the horse like it was a loose dog they could guide back into place. That was a dangerous idea. I knew that one wrong move could result in a punishing kick. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the barn door was wide open.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.

If Fiona and I hadn’t been off in the corner fighting, I might have noticed the woman fiddling with the stall door. Now we had to corral a challenging, confident, loose stallion with an eye for the ladies. Not far from the barn were a number of mares who Shannon was definitelynotplanning on breeding this season. Once Diesel got a shot at them, all the breeding schedules would go out the window.

“Folks, can you line up over there against that wall? Diesel is a powerful horse, and I want y’all to stay safe.”

They complied, and the horse tossed his head a few times. I knew that Diesel was weighing his options: head for the overflowing feed bucket someone had left on the ground or make a break for the open door and the promise of fillies.

“Let me help,” Fiona said softly. “Let’s flank him together.”

I nodded. Even though I was still furious with her flippant attitude, I could admit that I needed her help. There weren’t any other hands nearby and I didn’t dare shout for assistance and risk agitating Diesel further. We broke apart, each moving slowly to keep from startling the horse. Right when we were about to close in, Diesel’s eyes went wild.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” I whispered as I watched the tail flick. “The way he’s going, he’ll run into Belle!”

“No, we can’t let that happen! Shannon’s going to kill us.”

I grabbed a rope and we both took off running outside, knowing full well that there was no way we’d ever catch the stallion before he got to where he was going. All we could do was pray that he’d pause in front of the gate where the mature mare was grazing rather than getting right down to business.

I was shocked that Fiona kept up with me as I ran.

“He’s going to stop when he sees her, I’m sure of it,” I huffed.

The next few minutes were critical because we couldn’t afford to let Diesel romance Belle. She was an experienced mother, but at this point, she was old enough that a pregnancy could be risky. She was also Shannon’s favorite mare, and Fiona’s sister would befuriouswith us if we didn’t stop this.

“Uh-huh, yup,” Fiona said in a thin voice. “Of course he is.”

We both watched as Diesel caught sight of Belle. My racing heartbeat slowed as the horse downshifted to a trot.

“Okay, good, he’s taking it slow. I think we can grab him if she comes over to say hi to him,” I said.

We stopped running as we got closer so we wouldn’t startle Diesel, who seemed so enamored with the pretty mare making eyes at him on the other side of the fence that nothing else mattered.

“That’s it,” I said softly. “Just stay where you are and look at Belle.”

I glanced at Fiona, and she seemed poised to act as well.

We were only about twenty feet away when Diesel gracefully hopped the fence as if it were nothing more than a speed bump.

“No!” we screamed in unison, because we knew exactly what was about to happen before it actually unfolded.

There was nothing we could do as the stallion sidled over to Belle, reared up on his back legs, and then mounted her like he’d been waiting to do it for ages.

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