Be His Friend

Jason's eyes widened as Sam listed all the things she had, and the preparations. They'd thought they'd have to use the truck for a while, but the train station was even better. They just hadn't had the means... until now. Could they really trust her? If she was going to betray them, surely she wouldn't have gathered all these things just for show though, right? She would have brought backup with her, right? He hesitated and looked to Katie. 

Hal wouldn't have knowingly put us in danger... this has to be okay. She's giving us a better start than we had, so... I think you're right. If she double crosses us, we'll get out of it.

He looked back to Sam and nodded. "Alright... and thank you." 

The drive to the station seemed to take forever, but in reality, Sam made good time. Before they knew it, they were getting the bags from her car. Jason turned to Sam one more time, his eyes showing how grateful he was. "Thank you again, for all you've done. I hope you don't get into any more trouble because of this. Thank Hal for us as well... and tell him to make sure somebody goes and takes care of Trooper, would you? I was gonna try to get a hold of Wyatt but this is less risky."

He let Katie say her piece as well before looking down at her. "Okay... let's go." Though uncomfortable, he'd successfully put a lid on his emotions for now. They'd have to wait until they were alone or at least in a better position to be able to vent their emotions again. He reached out to take her hand and give it a squeeze. Then picking up their bags, they disappeared with a small crowd into the train station.

Looking at a list of destinations just a few minutes later, Jason tried to process their options. They had decided back at the ranch that they would go to Rosetta's contacts in New Mexico first. It was further away than California, and if they felt anybody was getting close, they'd double back and go to the west coast instead. 

If we take the route to Phoenix... looks like we'll get there in the wee hours of the morning. We'll have to find a hotel til tomorrow morning when we can head to Sante Fe. I don't like the pause in between, but since we've got some cash, we won't have to use credit cards, and that's a huge plus. We also have to get a message to your aunt so she can alert her contacts there.


You've already helped a lot, Zan assured. He gave Destiny a smile. "Just believing in him when no one else would - including me - that's huge. It's gonna take more than just a couple good days of hanging out for him to stand on his own two feet though. But thanks to you..." He took a small dollop of dish soap bubbles and deposited them on her nose. "I see that now." Otherwise, he would probably still not be giving Jett the time of day.


Eric's gaze fell to the floor, then rose to Angel again, a crooked smile forming on his face. "Thanks, Angel." He really did need to talk to Stacy about this. Even though he was scared to death, at least he'd know whether or not he should propose then. "I'll, um... I'll see you later." Turning to leave, he spoke over his shoulder. "And yes, I'll take it easy," he added.


Sparky stopped his route as he saw Ashlee, and his eyebrows rose a little at her request. He was impressed she'd talked to Dylan about this already though. "Sure. I got a bit of time to spare. Trent and Lane just finally got him herded into the corral. I was gonna go see if I could get the leadrope off of him." He gave Ashlee a small smile. "We'll see if I can talk some sense into him, huh?" He turned and aimed towards the corral...

"...Oh, come on!" Sparky threw up his hands as Seven bolted and took off running down the corral fence - again. He was in the confinement at least, but he still had too much room to run. Sparky had been out here for half an hour and had gotten nowhere - he had been inches from getting a hold of the now-tattered leadrope, and the gelding had been too smart. Growling, he turned around and was startled by Mick, who was now leaning on the fence, watching. "How long have you been there?"

Mick grinned. "Let's see... I got here right after, 'You stupid mule!' and right before you thought about throwing your hat at him." The scene had been somewhat amusing, and too intriguing for him not to come see what was really going on.

Sparky rolled his eyes and abandoned his efforts to join Mick on the fence. "I'm sure I've dealt with horses just as ornery, if not worse, but it's been long enough that this guy is driving me nuts." I say we just leave him out here. We'll call it his new stall."

"For three months?"

Sparky sighed. "Yeah, I knew there was something wrong with that idea."

Mick took off his hat to climb between the fence rails. "Give me a few minutes alone with him."

"I thought you were busy with breeding schedules, finances, phone calls, supply runs and... oh yeah, exercising the yearlings."

"Yeah well... a guy's gotta have a little fun once in a while too, doesn't he?"

Sparky held up his hands. "Sure thing, cowboy." He had to admit, he was surprised. Mick usually didn't tolerate these kinds of shenanigans, not to mention, Seven being Dylan's horse just made it worse since Dylan had walked away, leaving them with this mess. Not to mention, Mick hadn't had five minutes to spare lately. Sparky exited the corral and moved a distance away to give them space though. If he really wanted to try and calm the horse rather than take him straight back to the auction, Sparky certainly wouldn't stand in his way.

Mick wandered out to the center of the corral and squatted down in the dirt, simply staying still. Watching. Waiting. Seven continued to run laps, the leadrope flying wildly behind him. He'd skid to a stop at the gate, snort and paw at the ground, then run back the other way again, head and tail up, just to slide in the dirt again, making clouds of dust that stuck to his sweat. And Mick simply stayed.

Coming up to the barn, Eric eased down to sit on some straw bales, cradling his arm. It had been a long time since he'd seen Mick in this mode. A very long time. And it made him smile.

...It had been close to an hour. Mick was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, still in the same spot. Seven had finally ceased his wild running, and was now walking and sometimes trotting along the fence. Now though, he was wandering closer towards the center of the corral, eyeing Mick curiously. It was an additional half hour when Mick, looking at the ground, saw Seven's hooves. The horse smelled his cowboy hat, then moved down a little further to smell his face, and promptly knocked his hat off.

Mick grinned, but didn't move. "You better not step on my hat," he warned in a soft voice.

Seven snorted and ground his teeth, chewing.

Sensing the signs of submission, Mick slowly rose to his feet. Reaching out, he didn't take the rope, but simply ran his hand along Seven's sweaty neck. "What's the matter, hmm?" he crooned. "Why are you giving everybody such a hard time?" For a few seconds, he was lost in a time long ago with another ornery horse. And some days... he still missed him.

Seven heaved a sigh and bobbed his head, rubbing his forehead against Mick. Mick chuckled and scratched under his forelock. "Dylan didn't tell me your favorite spots... is this one of them?" He slowly reached down and took hold of the leadrope with no resistance. "I think you've had plenty exercise today... how about you let a nice young lady give you some TLC, huh?" Instead of holding the rope, he simply slung it over his shoulder after returning his hat to his head. Seven walked right along with him to the gate, waited patiently as it was opened, then followed him to the barn.

Seeing Ashlee now sitting with Eric, Mick gave her a thin smile as he stopped. "Come here." He gestured for her to follow him over to the post where he tied Seven short so he'd be kept still for a bath. He rested his hand on Seven's back as he looked down at Ashlee. He didn't usually have much one-on-one interaction with the girl, but he knew she loved horses and was learning fast under Eric. Aside from a few mishaps here and there - like with Travis - he liked her willingness to work and her lack of fear when in the face of a challenge. He'd watched her more than most people knew.

"Be quiet. Be gentle. He senses Dylan's not here and he's just acting out because of it. My guess is before Dylan found him at the auction, he was handled pretty rough, so all he knows is how to fight back. Dylan was just stubborn enough to gain his respect." Mick gave Ashlee another soft smile. "There's a difference between making friends with Seven and having his respect. Right now... you can be his friend. That means you still need to be on your guard and watch him carefully. Watch his body language and learn to read him. Watch his ears. His tail. The way he moves. Everything leads to his mood and what he's thinking." He nodded and stepped away, trusting the horse not to harm her. "He's all yours."