Page 265 of Assassin

“Because you can ride him, he’s your horse now. If you fight, and get better, when you leave, you’ll take him with you.”

Gamble blinked.

“I can’t take that horse. He’s a thoroughbred. He’s valuable.”

Poe shrugged.

“And so are you. You’ll be valuable together. Look at him, Gamble,” he said.

When the man looked over, the horse wasn’t far from his side, and he was calmly eating some flowers from the clover.

“No one can control him. When my brother died, Diablo stopped living. He’s like you. Frozen in time. I’m going to help set you both free. I want you to have him. My brother would want his horse to go to another strong soldier who deserved it,” he said.

“Poe,” he said, using his name. It was rare, and it wasn’t lost on the man.

“From my heart to yours,” he said, touching Gamble’s chest. “Now, the road you choose is yours.”

When he stood, he lifted Gamble’s chin with his fingers.

“I have faith in you. I believe in you and everything that lives in your heart. You will make the right choice. The future is yours if you take a leap of faith. If you choose to say goodbye, then I’ll accept that. It will hurt a part of me, and I’ll miss our journey together, but I understand. I can’t force you to live for anyone but yourself.”

Then, he set his face free.

Gamble watched him walk away, swing himself up into the saddle, and turn Honey back toward the house.

“If you change your mind, Gamble, and want to see what the adventure holds, come find me and we’ll take it together. Then, you can find the answers to all your questions—the ones only you can answer,” he said, and then nudged Honey in her sides.

She started galloping away, and Gamble watched the man bouncing away in the saddle.

The whole time, he was so confused.

He’d wanted to die, but now after what happened in that dream…

He wanted to live. Something had woken up, and there was calm there.

Suddenly, he wanted to feel that warmth and happiness again. It wasn’t lost on him that he’d never really had that fulfilled happiness with Storm.

He always took care of her.

Babied her.

Held her up.

With what happened, he didn’t have to be the strong one. Poe was stronger than him, and had kept him afloat.

Diablo moved closer, standing right next to him. When he nudged him hard, he stared up into his eyes.

“What do I do?” he asked. “Now, I have so many more questions than before. This time, they are ones I don’t have the answers to.”

The horse tried to eat some of his hair, and it felt like kisses on his head.

“You miss Hemmingway, huh?” he asked.

The horse didn’t answer, but he never left his side.

And now, Gamble had a choice to make. Die because he lost his wife and child, or live because there was still some life left in him.

Chapter Twenty

---