“Something’s going on in the yard. I’ll go check.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t have time to reassure him, I just jogged down the stairs and out the door.
There was a light on in Theo’s cabin and I saw the black shadow of Bucky running past me toward the dirt road.
Theo and Lake appeared, sleep-mussed but clearly startled awake, too.
My military training kicked in after all these years, and my senses went on high alert. I couldn’t hear anything new, which was either good or really bad.
“What’s going on?” I asked quietly, and Theo pointed toward the gate to the property.
We kept walking toward the gate, Lake tagging along behind us.
Bucky loped to us from the darkness, looking…worried?
“What is it, boy?” Theo asked, and Bucky whined, then turned and started back toward the others.
I held out my hand for Theo’s flashlight, and he handed it to me without question.
I let the light sweep from side to side, trying to see what the dogs were doing. Then suddenly I saw them gathered around something on the ground on the other side of the gate.
“There!” I darted toward the gate, never minding that I didn’t have shoes on. I’d worry about that later.
I vaulted the gate and came to a stop next to the dogs. “It’s okay, girlies, we’re here.” I held the light steady on them to see better.
Rose and Blanche were standing guard while Sophia and Dorothy licked…a foal.
The others caught up with me and Lake gasped. “Is that…?”
“That’s a foal. Call Sebastian,” Theo told him, and came to gently move the dogs away from the baby.
“Doesn’t look very old,” I stated, crouching next to the poor animal.
“Nope. Less than a week, I’d say. Really bad condition, too.”
Theo picked the foal up and started toward the stable.
“Want me to check around?” I gestured toward the road.
“Nah, no use. They’re long gone.”
“Who’s long gone?” Lake fell into step beside Theo. “Seb is coming.”
“Good. And whoever dumped this one.”
I took the lead to show them the light. “What breed do you think it is?” When we got to the office building with a light on the corner, I handed the flashlight to Lake.
Theo hummed. “Horse, not a pony, that’s about all I can tell.”
“I’ll go turn the lights on.” I jogged ahead to prep a stall.
It was time to dig through my memory on what we did in these situations. This definitely wasn’t how I’d expected my first night back to go, but it was a horse rescue, and we had a horse to rescue.
Chapter 7
Rey
