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He was the one who’d pushed to set her free again but he hadn’t expected the sadness that had accompanied him on the ride. Legacy had become his pal while she’d been staying at the ranch. He’d gotten used to greeting her first thing in the morning, offering her carrots in exchange for a chat. Now he might never see her again.
“You were right. It’s definitely time.” Tess pulled Dreamer to a stop at the top of the ridge and waited for him to catch up. “She’s ready. Look at her.”
Yes, ever since they’d left the ranch, Legacy had moved with a different energy—fluid and purposeful instead of frantic and rigid like she was when she paced inside the fences back at the ranch. He knew the horse belonged out here—in the wide-open spaces, free to roam. But his gut still clenched. What if the herd had traveled too far away? What if they rejected her?
“We’ll have to take her back to the ranch if they don’t accept her in again, right?” He wasn’t hoping, exactly. But he and Legacy had developed a bond. Somehow the horse seemed to understand him… or at least sense his feelings. And she trusted him. Even though she clearly yearned for her freedom, she hadn’t fought his lead on the entire trek back up to the high meadow this morning.
“Yes, if the herd rejects her, we’ll take her back to the ranch.” Judging from Tess’s empathetic smile, she could sense his feelings too. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Silas scanned the meadow, his eyes searching for the other horses. “So how does this work exactly?” They were supposed to simply let go of the lead rope and she’d run away from them?Great.Now his heart clenched as much as his stomach. He wasn’t used to feeling this kind of emotion.
“I thought we’d set up camp near the pond for the day.” Tess nudged Dreamer to move again. “We’ll say goodbye and let Legacy run and then we’ll wait to see what happens. When it comes to wild animals, you can’t have too much of an agenda.”
“I’ve never liked waiting.” Silas held his horse back, trailing behind at a much slower pace again. He’d never minded goodbyes, until now apparently. “How are we gonna know she’s okay?” With anyone else, he might’ve been embarrassed to ask but Tess had his number. She clearly already knew he’d gotten attached to this horse.
“I’m hoping we’ll see the herd.” She slowed Dreamer up again, patiently waiting for his horse and Legacy to trudge in line with her. “We’ll give her a while and then maybe we’ll ride around a bit. I know the herd tends to spend a lot of time right here in the meadow too, and according to our patrols, there haven’t been any gunshots to scare them off.”
“Right. Sounds good.” Silas watched the pond as they approached. In reality this sounded awful. He was just supposed to let go of that rope and be done with Legacy?
“This is a good spot.” Tess pulled Dreamer to a stop and dismounted near the water’s edge. Not far from Jace’s memorial, he couldn’t help but notice.
Silas hadn’t visited the memorial much. He’d never been one for monuments. He saw Jace everywhere else—in Morgan’s and Willow’s smiles and laughter, in the banter between him and Thatch and Aiden. Those are the places his friend still lived.
Keeping ahold of Legacy’s lead rope, Silas slid off the saddle and onto the ground.
“That’s amazing.” Tess watched him from a few feet away. “Legacy totally trusts you. She’s not pulling or fighting the lead rope even though she wants to.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to.” Silas ran his hand down the horse’s flank as he’d done every morning. “Maybe she liked life at the ranch better. Maybe she liked being in a place where she’s fed and taken care of and she doesn’t have to worry about getting hit by bullets.” Without knowing who had shot her, they couldn’t ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
Tess walked closer, the sway in her hips almost enough to distract him from the sadness dragging him down. “You were the one who said Legacy needed her freedom.” The woman stood toe to toe with him. “Remember? You said she shouldn’t be confined by fences. She should be free.”
Yes, he had said all of those things. Maybe because he had wanted freedom for himself. Freedom to go. Freedom not to care so much for someone who might not end up loving him. “Maybe thereisfreedom in having one true home.” He looked into Tess’s eyes as he said the words, his chest lifting.
Before either of them could speak, Legacy whinnied and tossed her head, shaking out her mane.
“She wants to go.” Silas turned back to the horse. And he had to let her be free. “Here.” He dug a few carrots out of the saddle bag attached to his horse and held them out. “You be careful out there,” he murmured, fully aware of how silly he sounded talking this way to a horse. But Legacy wasn’t just any horse. She was a miracle horse. She’d survived a gunshot wound. And even though she’d been hurt by a man, she’d trusted Silas. She’d shown a resilience he envied.
The horse’s whiskers brushed against his hand as she gobbled the carrots he offered. “You can always come back to the ranch,” he told her. Like she could really understand him. “You come back if you need anything.”
Tess moved to his side and snuck an arm around his waist. “I have a feeling she’ll never go too far from here,” she murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Legacy.”
“I hope not.” He gave the horse one more good scrubbing along her neck and then carefully removed the halter and lead rope. “Bye, Legacy.” He stepped back, giving the horse permission to go.
Tess stayed by his side, squeezing his hand. “She’ll be fine. I know she will. I’ve never seen a stronger horse.”
Silas nodded but he kept his jaw clenched so no rogue tears would slip out. He’d never gotten attached to an animal. He’d never been allowed to have pets. But this horse had changed his life. She’d brought him and Tess together. She’d shown him that he could open up and feel something.
Legacy took a few steps, as though tentatively testing out her freedom. And then, he could’ve sworn she gazed directly at him before bolting in the opposite direction, her mane and tail flying in the wind behind her. At the edge of the woods, the horse stopped again, turning as if offering him one last goodbye. Then she trotted into the trees and out of sight.
“So what now?” He turned back to Tess, looking for a distraction from the small empty space that had opened up inside of him.
“Now we set up camp.” She unclipped one of the saddle bags. “I came prepared. I have plenty of food for lunch and dinner, everything we need to start a fire, and sleeping bags in case we have to spend all day tomorrow out here too.”
Silas stole the bag out of her hands and tossed it on the ground. “I want to spend as much time as possible with you.” He took her hands and pulled her to him. “I can’t wait to sleep under the stars with you.” This woman. Good God. He was always afraid to let himself look at her too long—because it was so hard to believe that she could be his and he could be hers. That maybe… just maybe there was a true home for him in this world. With Tess. With Morgan and Willow. Aiden was right. They had to be his priority. “I’m going to tell Fletch I can’t go to Afghanistan.”
“Really?” Tess rested her hands on his shoulders, gazing up at him with tears gathering in her eyes.
“I can’t go.” Not with this whole new part of his life starting. “There’s nothing more important to me than being here for you and the girls. Nothing.” Being a soldier used to be the most meaningful thing in his life, but that had changed. “If I go, I’ll lose time with all of you. And I want to show the girls how much I care about them. I want to bond with them so they’ll accept me.”
