Page 31 of Whispers Of Horses

My mother’s eyes narrowed on my face. “So, you lied. You finally meet a kind, respectful young man who also shares your love of animals, and you chase him away first chance you get.”

I cringed at the tone of her voice. Beside me, Samantha patted my hand. “He really is nice, Callie. You should have seen the way he looked at you the other night at the restaurant. I think he’s in…”

Hell NO. I cut her off before she could finish. “Don’t you even go there Sam. No way. We hardly know one another. The fact is, he’s too perfect, too good looking, and it will only be a matter of time before he cheats, or grows bored, or…or…”

My mom sighed loudly. “Or finds out that you can communicate with animals through your feelings?”

I literally felt my face fall. Planting my head loudly onto the surface of the table, I grumbled, “Exactly.”

My mom roared with laughter behind me. “Don’t be a coward, Callie. Honestly, I don’t think that’s the last we’ll see of Mathis. He’s made of tougher stuff than that. If Samantha’s right about how he feels about you, he’ll be back. Mark my words.”

17

My head pounded and my body ached. I felt like crap, inside and out. My emotions were still whirling, and my brain refused to process any of it. Yanking on a dirty pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, I threw my hair into a ponytail and shoved my cowgirl hat on top of the mess I didn’t have the patience to tame. Stalking down the stairs with the ball of fluff whining behind me, I hightailed it out of the house, skipping breakfast, and I headed straight to the barn. It was time to test this “gift-curse” I’d been given. My mom was right. I had been acting like a coward since the moment I got home, hiding from all the truths staring me straight in the face.

There were a great many things I wanted to do, so many things I wanted to say to people, but I was always meek little Callie, keeping my mouth shut, and I was tired of it. Heading down the long walkway of the barn, I smiled at how clean it was, how fresh the shavings and hay smelled. Like a well-oiled machine, this ranch was run with perfection. Every ranch hand knew their job, and because of my father’s fairness, they did it with pride. I recalled my daddy telling me once about living life as a hired hand, getting paid horse shit-as he’d say, and always moving from one ranch to another. When he and my ma had taken the money, he had saved from his bull riding days and invested in raising horses and cattle on this ranch, he’d known he would treat anyone who came to work for him better than he had always been treated. It was one of the many things I loved and respected about the kind of man my dad was.

Pizazz stuck her nose out as I started to pass her stall, letting out a little squeal of indignation that I wasn’t going to stop. Pausing, I reached out and ran my hand along the long bridge of her nose. “Hey girl. I gotta do something right now, but we’ll go for a ride in a bit.” With a soft kiss on her velvety soft muzzle, I moved away, aware of the fluff ball who struggled to keep up and stay right on my heels.

The last stall door on the isle seemed so far away, each step I made bringing me closer to a monumental moment in my life, a moment where I would test my unique ability to feel and communicate with animals through emotions. A moment that could very well spell disaster for me. The stallion my brother had bought was a wild card. He was dangerous, ill-tempered, and aggressive. I had been researching his background and breeding, and although his bloodline was reputed to be high-strung, I hadn’t come across any evidence of this aggression. So, the question bothering me was whether this was his inherit nature or was it something else. Had he been mistreated as a youngster, causing him to mistrust humans so much? I had to figure it out. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt by him, and I didn’t want to risk breeding foals with such a bad temper.

When the seemingly infinite stretch to his door finally ended, I looked into the dim recess of the box stall, and although it appeared empty, I knew better. I knew that the darkest black I saw in there was a twelve-hundred-plus pound stallion. Dark Temptation was as still as the morning air, silent, and ominous. I felt the staccato of my heart increase as I stared into the stall, my breathing increasing despite my efforts to be calm. I needed to calm down. I needed to project a calm, relaxed emotion to this horse, or this could all go very badly. The stallion’s tail shifted, a soft, featherlight sound in the quite around us. Looking down at the fluff-ball at my feet, I said softly, but firmly, “Stay, Billy.”

Ignoring the puppy’s whine, I softly unlatched the stall door as I took a deep breath to fortify my nerves. The dark silhouette within the dim stall shifted in agitation, and I was buffeted by an onslaught of fear so palpable, I actually stumbled. So, now I knew. It was fear that drove his aggression after all. I think that’s what I had been afraid of most. It’s one thing to have a horse born with an ill temper, but when a horse has been mistreated to the point of becoming dangerous, that was something not so easily fixed.

Opening the door a fraction, I made sure the stall guard was in place, to prevent the horse from shoving his way out. I could just make out the white of the stallion’s eyes as he snorted his nostrils and pawed angrily on the floor of the stall. Dust from the shavings created a slight haze in the dawning light the rose slowly through the window behind the horse, allowing me to see his outline more clearly. My nerves were a rioting mess, and my stomach lurched the farther the door inched open. My heart pounded in my chest, and I worried it might actually pound right through my rib cage, I was that scared. I was no greenhorn. I knew how dangerous a horse like this could be, but I needed to know if there was any way to undo the damage that had been done by another human hand.

Fear, anxiety, and anger all hit me as the horse became more and more nervous. The emotions he exuded seemed to funnel their way into me, to the point that my fear was quickly heightening, as though fed by the emotions he was feeling. Breathing deeply and slowly, I spoke soft words to the horse in the hopes of calming him, but I moved no closer. The stallion was thrashing about at the far end of the stall, rearing, pawing and lifting his hind legs in warning. I could see that his ears were pinned flat to his head, and he wasn’t going to allow me to touch him. My gift worked best with physical touch. Disappointed, I started to back out of the stall, when I remembered the way Pizazz and I had felt one another without touch. Was that just a fluke? Was I only able to do that with her because of our bond? Lifting my chin-yet careful to maintain a non-threatening stance-I took another step forward.

It was now or never. Time to take a leap of faith and test this thing that had plagued my life and driven me so far from home. I sought that inner place inside of me, I’m not sure if it was my heart, my soul, or some other place, but I imagined tapping into my abilities, shrouding myself and the horse in serenity, in protection, and in trust. Slowly, I felt my heartbeat calm and soften. Slowly, the horse stopped thrashing, his ears still flicked back and forth wildly, and his nostrils still blew large breaths of air. Closing my eyes, I disregarded the danger of what I was doing, and gave myself over to this magic that lived inside of me. The stall stilled in quiet. I could hear his breathing and mine. I could actuallyfeelour collective hearts beating. Slowly, I lifted my hand, still talking in a soft comforting voice, and held it out there in offering.

The only sounds reaching my ears were our own, as if the noise of the other horses chewing hay and swishing tails had receded from existence. I felt like we were isolated in our own little bubble, just this horse and me. He and I were aware of only each other as my ability worked its magic and he felt the safety and reassurance I offered him. I could still feel his fear, but it seemed blanketed by waves of calmness I was causing. Finally, I did hear a noise. The sound of muscles shifting and hooves touching down softly, nearly noiselessly onto the fine softness of pine shavings. And then, the most extraordinary moment in my life. Whiskers brushed the knuckles of my outstretched hand, and I held my breath in amazement. With my eyes still closed, I waited for him to finish the act. After what felt like an eternity of breathlessness, but was actually mere seconds, his velvet muzzle brushed my hand, quivering in trepidation.

At that precise moment, images struck my mind, things I wished I could unsee, abuse so terrible, I wanted to find those men and hang them. My hand began to tremble, my heartbeat increased, and tears flooded my closed eyes. With a flutter, they opened, and I stared into the deep liquid pools of ebony facing me. All I saw there, reflected back at me through the terrible images was pain, and hate.

As if a switched had been clicked, the stallion changed. His eyes rolled back, and he lunged out at me. At that exact moment, bootsteps hit the cement of the isle, and Cody’s voice echoed down the corridor. “Hey Callie, You in here…What the Fu…Callie!!”

The voice of a man had triggered the hatred and pain that lived in this horse, and with my concentration broken, I was no longer in a safe situation. I ducked to the side, narrowly missing the strong teeth of the horse as they snapped closed on thin air. Cody grabbed my arm, yanking me roughly away from the stall, and slamming the door closed on the hooves of the stallion which now pawed dangerously against it.

“What the hell is wrong with you! You could have gotten yourself killed, you idiot!” Cody’s voice was raised in fright, but all it was doing was agitating the stallion more.

Shoving away from my overprotective brother, I yanked my shirt back in place and squared my shoulders at him, ignoring the group of men who had come sprinting around the corner at the commotion.

“Damn it, Cody. I had it under control until you came and startled him! Where the hell did you get that horse? I want the names of his last owners so I can go gut the sons of bitches who hurt him!”

Cody stared at me for a moment, his hazel eyes studying me as though I’d lost my mind. “Callie, what the hell are you rambling about? Under control? Are you freaking out of your mind? That stallion could have killed you! That’s it, I’m calling the vet. That animal needs to be destroyed!”

My heart plummeted into my stomach. “No! Don’t you dare. I swear, if you lay one hand on that horse, I’ll, I’ll…”

Cody’s eyes blazed at me. “You’ll what Callie? You know damn well that horse is an accident waiting to happen. Just because you have this girlish fantasy that you’ve got some special gift with animals doesn’t mean you do!”

My heart stopped altogether, and hot angry tears stung my eyes. I felt my face flush in anger and the fact that the ranch hands were all there to witness this just made it worse. I opened my mouth to scream at my brother, when my father’s voice cut me off. I hung my head, because I was so sure he would side with my brother just like the last time we’d been in a situation like this.

“Cody, that’s enough. Callie…”

I couldn’t take it. I knew what he was going to say. Déjà vu flashed through me, bringing along with it the memory of the day I’d fallen off Pizazz at the town rodeo and embarrassed my whole family because I told them I could feel her thoughts. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

“Save it! I don’t need to hear my family call me crazy again! God damned it, why can’t you all just believe me?” my voice broke on a sob, Billy the Kid let out a mournful howl at my feet, and Pizazz pounded on her stall door down the aisle and released an angry whinny.

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