The broken beta - healed by innocence

Dreams

*Briony*

I wake up to the sound of thunder and groan. "Not another storm."

"Not a storm, a stampede," Wade says with urgency in his voice as he rolls away from me. "Get up."

I rise to my feet, while the full moon plays hide-and-seek with the shadows. He grabs my hand and tugs me toward a tree. "What are you doing?" I ask.

"Need to get you off the ground. Grab that branch," he orders as he swings me upward.

I follow his instructions and scramble into the tree. "Aren't you coming?" I yell as the thunder grows louder.

I'm not sure he hears me as he races to the mules and frees them from their hobbles. Then he releases his horse and starts running back toward the tree.

In a jump he turns into a large black Wolf, one side of its face is marred by scars and the eye missing.

Terror sweeps through my heart as the tree begins to shake and the air reverberates around me. "Hurry!"

The wolf lunges toward the tree, turns back to Wade in the air, he grabs a branch, and swings to safety just as the herd reaches the outskirts of our small camp.

I tighten my hold on the tree limb as the horses rush under me. The moon sheathes their backs in pale light, outlining their muscles as they bunch and stretch with their movements. Their manes whip through the breeze. Their galloping hooves pound the earth and stamp out the campfire. Their frantic neighs fill the night.

I watch, mesmerized by their beauty, their singular purpose. The last horse shines the brightest, the color of the moon. It comes to a staggering stop, rises on its hindquarters, throws its head back, and neighs defiantly before continuing on, following the herd.

When the thundering hooves fall into an eerie silence, Wade slides down the tree. He holds up a hand and waits, as though testing the night. I can sense the tenseness in his stance. Slowly, he reaches for me. "Come on."

I ease down, and he wraps his hands around my waist. I can feel the trembling in his fingers, feel my own body shaking. I collapse against him and listen to the pounding of his heart.

"That was incredible," I say on an escaping breath.

"Yeah, it was," he says quietly as he leads me back to the remains of our campfire.

I sit on the ground and watch as he works to bring the fire back to life. "That last horse... I have never seen a horse the color of the moon," I say in awe.

"Palomino. That shade of coloring is called palomino." He says.

"She was beautiful." I sigh.

He lifts his head. "He."

I scoot toward Wade. "He? How could you tell?"

"The pride in the way he held himself. And the fact that he was last. That was his band of mares." He explains.

"I always expected the stallion to be the fastest. He couldn't even keep up with the others." I am confused.

Wade chuckles low. "He's fast. He was putting himself between the mares and danger. The first horse that came through would have been his favored mare. She's the fastest, strongest, probably the smartest of his brood."

As the fire begins to crackle, he gazes into the darkness where the retreating mustangs had disappeared. I sense a wistfulness about him, as though he wishes he could have galloped along beside them.

The mules and Sorrel have moved out of harm's way. As they meander back to camp, Wade secures them for the night. He is quiet, contemplative when he rejoins me by the fire, lays down beside me, and takes me into his arms.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask.

His hold on me tightens. "The beauty of those mustangs."

"Who do you think they belong to?" I ask.

"The land. Right now, they just belong to the land. They're wild and they're free." He sighs.

I can’t help but ask. "Are you going to capture them?"

"Nah, I need to get you to Chase." His voice reflects mourning and loss.

"Will you come back for them?" I ask.

He tenses slightly. "Might. Wild mustangs usually stay in the same area for a while."

"And if they move on before you get back here?" I enquire.

He shrugs as much as he is able with me in his arms. "There'll be others."

I lift myself up on an elbow and meet his gaze. “You told me once that the wild ones are becoming rare, that’s why you’re breeding them. If I weren't here, would you take the time to capture them?”

“If you weren't here, I wouldn't be here. I never would have left my place, never would have seen them, never would have known they existed... so I never would have had them anyway.” He points out.

I smile and touch his rough jaw. “But I am here, and you do know they exist. When you left the ranch for Fort Worth, did anything slow you down?”

He furrows his brow. “No.”

“And yet going back, we have had one mishap after another.” I say.

He chuckles low. “Mishap?”

“All right. We have had one catastrophe after another. Maybe these horses are your destiny, are the reason this journey has been so difficult. They would give you fine horses to raise. How can you leave without at least trying to capture them?” I ask.

I think he might have shoved me aside if I was not wrapped so snugly within his duster.

“We’ve lost too much time already.” He presses my face into his shoulder. “Go to sleep.”

“Then I’m grateful for every incident that slowed us down. Just seeing those magnificent horses was worth it. Don’t you agree?” I smile at him.

Silence is his answer. I wonder if he has wanted other things in his life but put his desires aside in favor of someone else’s. A horse’s whinny breaks through the silence. Beneath my cheek, Wade’s heart thuds rapidly.

“Do you think that’s him?” I whisper.

“Yep.” He mumbles.

I sigh. “And you’re going to let him go?”

“Briony?” I hear the frustration in his voice. “It’s not like I can ride out and rope him and be done with it. Capturing mustangs the way I do is slow going.”

I come back up on my elbow. “How do you capture them?”

He sighs deeply. “I become one of them.”

A warm smile creeps over my face. “I would love to see that.”

“Well, you’re not gonna. I need to get you to Chase. Now go to sleep.” He tells me.

I snuggle back against him. “What color did you say he was?”

“Palomino.” He says.

“And the first horse that ran through, his favorite mare was the same color, wasn’t she?” I ask.

A sigh and a; “Yep.”

“And their manes looked silver in the moonlight.” I sigh.

“They were silver.” He says.

I can’t help it. “They ran so incredibly fast. Have you ever seen horses run that fast?”

He holds his silence.

“I like the way he threw his head back.” I say.

“You’re aggravating, you know that? I’m trying to forget I ever saw them, and you won’t stop talkin’ about them.” He groans.

“If you don’t capture them while we’re here, you might lose them forever.” I rise back onto my elbow and cradle his unshaven cheek in my hand. “Sometimes, we only get one chance to realize our dreams.”

He threads his fingers through my hair, holding my face immobile. “I don’t deserve dreams,” he growls through gritted teeth.

“Everyone deserves a dream. Chase wants a son. Our staying here a couple more days won’t stop him from obtaining what he desires. Your dream is to raise horses. Don’t let Chase’s dream overshadow yours. Yours is just as important. Those horses could be part of it.” I place my hand over his. He turns his palm, intertwining his fingers with mine, and brings the back of my hand to his lips.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he says, his voice taut.

I hear the palomino stallion whinny in the far distance. “I’m pledged to your brother, but that doesn’t mean I have closed my heart to other dreams. If I’m with you when you capture the horses, then I’ll become part of your dream as well. And years from now, someone will ride a magnificent palomino horse because we dared to reach for the dream... and we will be remembered.”