Wild Horses by Miracle1901.pdf

Wild Horses by Miracle1901

~Bella~

Sitting on the pasture fence and looking out over my land was something that always took my

breath away. The rolling hills, the mountains, the tall green grass that swayed when the wind

blew… it was all amazingly beautiful, but what made it so much more amazing were the

horses that grazed on the grass across the land. I was the owner of a thousand acre horse ranch

in Montana, and I had the best job I could ever dream of. I ran the ranch, I trained the horses, I

get to ride and marvel in their beauty all day, every day.

I watched my daughter perched next to me and saw the same loving wonder flit across her

face as well. I got pregnant with her when I was eighteen years old, and she is by far the best

thing that had ever happened to me. Her father and I never married, but had been together for

the entire ten years of her life. She always watched the horses like they were most amazing

thing she had ever seen and she would sit for hours, probably the entire night, watching them.

“You ready to help me turn the horses in, Lilly?” I asked her, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, but I get to lead Blaze and Ghost!” she said with her head held high and a blissful smile

on her face.

“I don’t know about that, are you sure can manage both of them? You know they are both big

guys,” I teased, knowing full well that she could handle any horse out here just as well as I or

any of the ranch hands could.

“Pfft, I can handle any horse out here!” she exclaimed as if she were reading my mind. She

ran over to the barn and grabbed all the halters and lead ropes and headed back towards me,

handing me three of the halters.

“Alright, kid, you go grab Blaze and Ghost, I’ll grab Cash, Quattro, and Chaos,” I told her,

but she was already walking towards them with a treat in hand so that Ghost didn’t run when

she tried to put the halter on him.

“Easy boy,” she crooned as she slowed her pace when she got closer to the massive grey

horse. “That’s a good boy,” she sighed as she slipped the lead rope around his long slender

neck so that he would stay put.

Like an expert, she eased the halter over his nose, and I’ll be damned if the horse that hates

affection and runs from everyone didn’t drop his head so she could reach up to fasten it

behind his ears. Blaze was easy for her because he didn’t care where you took him, as long as

he got to eat his grain and hay every day.

“She is a natural with them; I guess she gets that from her mother,” a rich velvet voice said

from behind me, causing me to jump and squeak a bit, which in turn spooked Chaos.

“Shit,” I groaned, knowing it would take me an hour to calm the skittish horse down.

“Sorry Ms. Swan, didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll take care of Chaos,” Edward, one of the ranch

hands, offered.

“It’s alright, I’ll get him. It’s no big deal,” I said, and in reality it was a great excuse to avoid

going back in the house to deal with James, Lilly’s father – if you could even call him that.

Oh, how do I describe Edward Cullen? Words like ‘attractive’, ‘good looking’, ‘cute’…yeah

those didn’t even come close to the magnificence of Edward. He had this crazy, untamable

bronze hair that almost glowed when the sun hit it, and green eyes that were so intense it was

almost like he could see into your soul. Being a ranch hand was hard work, and it got hot

during the day, which meant that Edward took his shirt off. Yeah, I admit that I often looked,

and what woman in their right mind wouldn’t look at a man in a pair of nice fitting jeans?

That’s what I thought: every woman in their right mind would, especially since said man had

a freaking eight pack and that damn V that just begged for you to follow it down with your

hands.

“Ms. Swan?” Edward asked, suddenly making me realize that I was daydreaming about him

and not listening to a word he was saying.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, slightly embarrassed. “And how many times to do I have to ask

you to please call me Bella?” I said, smirking at him over my shoulder while I calmed Chaos

down by rubbing his nose.

Edward has been working here for two years and is by far the best help I could ever ask for.

“I asked what time did you want to start working on getting the horse’s shoes squared away?”

he asked with a little grin as he pushed his baseball hat up a bit.

“Oh, I’ll be at the barn around seven, maybe earlier – just come down when you can,” I said

as I finally got Chaos to stand still long enough to put the halter on him.

Edward and the other ranch hand lived in the bunk house that sat about a half mile from the

main house.

“I’ll be there a bit earlier than that so that I can feed and through hay. I’m sure Lilly will be

there bright and early as well.” He laughed as we both watched Lilly lead the two massive

horses towards the barn.

“If she is a bother, just call me and I’ll make sure she stays out of the way.”

“Oh, no not at all; she is a big help. She is about the only one that can keep Ghost there from

tearing the stall apart in the mornings,” Edward said with a little shake of his head.

“You mean a ten year old girl can handle that horse better than your six foot two self?” I

teased as I patted Chaos on the neck.

“Like I said, she is a natural around them, and her and Ghost seem to have a special bond,” he

said with an adoring smile.

Edward reached for the other two lead ropes, and as he grasped them in his large hand he

brushed his fingers against my wrist. I met his intense eyes for a brief moment, causing my

heart to flutter a little.

“Mom!” Lilly shouted, shaking me out of my green-eye induced trance. “Are you coming?”

I smiled at Edward and started walking towards the barn, leading the young horse behind me.

“I’m coming!” I called, shaking my head a little.

I don’t know why, but I had felt a connection with Edward from the moment that he stepped

foot on my property. He was amazing with the horses and equally amazing with Lilly; he

teaches her things in a way that her father never bothered to. I wouldn’t trade her for anything

in the world, but James on the other hand was a different story.

“Hey, Mr. Edward!” she said with a sweet smile. “You going to let me feed in the morning?”

“Sure kid, but you know they like to eat early. And don’t call me Mr. Edward, it makes me

feel old,” he said, ruffling her long chestnut hair as he led the other two horses to their stalls.

“I know, I’ll probably be up before any of you anyway,” Lilly said with a smug smile on her

face. She was right: she was always the first person in the barn every morning and I always

had to drag her back up to the house in the evenings.

We both laughed at her enthusiasm as we locked up the stall doors.

“Come on, Lilly, let’s get back up to the house so I can start dinner,” I said, putting my arm

around her little shoulders and pulling her close to my side.

“OK, see you in the morning, Edward!” Lilly said, waving as we walked out of the barn and

towards the house.

“Bright and early! Ms…um…Bella, see you around,” he said, waving back as he finished

throwing the hay bales into the stalls.

The closer we got to the house, the more tense I became, and I could feel Lilly tense as well

as I had my arm around her shoulders. Not knowing what we were walking into each day was

terrifying: would he be just the lazy piece of shit he had always been or would he be the

raging drunk that haunted my dreams at night? I had been trying to get him out of my house

and off my land for so long, but he started threatening to take Lilly away if I tried, repeatedly

telling me to, and I quote, ‘Stop acting like a stupid bitch’.

“Mom?” Lilly asked in a sad tone, with her brown eyes cast down to the gravel walk way.

“What is it, sweetie?” I asked as I pulled her to a stop and kneeled down so I was eye level

with her.

“Why do you let him stay here? I don’t want him to be my dad, and I don’t want him to hurt

you anymore,” she said softly, and I could hear her sniffle.

I pulled her chin up with my fingers and brushed her hair out of her face. She had tears welled

up in her eyes. How do I answer her questions? She was ten years old – the only thing she

should be worried about in life is what to wear tomorrow, or in her case, which saddle she

wants to use for the day. She shouldn’t have to worry about whether her father was going to

hit her mom or not.

My own tears started to sting my eyes as I pulled her into a tight hug. How on God’s green

earth anyone could not love this child was beyond me. James hardly acknowledged her

presence unless it was to threaten to take her away from me.

“Lilly, I know things are hard right now, but I promise you that I will make it better…I’ll

make this right,” I said, pulling back to look her in the eyes. I meant every word: my daughter

would not grow up to see the things that go on in that house.

“I wish Edward was my dad,” she sighed, looking back towards the barn where he was

locking up for the night.

I didn’t know what to say to that, other than “me too”, but I didn’t think that would be

appropriate to say to a ten year old child. I pulled her into another hug, and we both took a

deep breath and turned to walk towards the house.

When we made it to the door I took another deep breath and turned the knob. As soon as we

walked into the house and I saw the beer cans on the coffee table, I knew that it was going to

be a bad night. I turned to Lilly and kneeled down close to her.

“Listen to me, Lilly. If things get bad tonight, I want you to go out your window and run

straight to the bunk house. Do you hear me?” I said in a whisper.

She nodded and I saw fear in her eyes, but it passed quickly and was replaced by

determination.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, Momma…I love you,” she whispered as she placed her hands

on each side of my face and kissed my cheek.

“I love you too, baby, more than anything,” I said, trying to hold back the tears.

I kissed her on the forehead and stood up in time to see James stumble through the kitchen

door.

“Where the hell is my food?” he shouted, confirming my thoughts about it being a bad night.

“I am about to start cooking now,” I said with my head down as I rushed into the kitchen. I

hated letting him see my fear, but I was trying to avoid any issues while Lilly was in the

room. He just grunted and headed off to the shower.

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