A Perplexing Predicament

 by Trinity Santoro

Photo Prompt: Horse of a Different Color

Early Spring 1886. San Joaquin Valley, California

“Firefly, you are the stubbornest horse I’ve ever seen! I said trot!” Andi Carter glared at the gorgeous chestnut stallion, which ignored her… like usual. The six-year-old horse refused to run through his gaits and merely plodded in a circle around Andi.

Calm down, she told herself. Shouting won’t help anything. Andi took a deep breath and let it out. “Alright, Firefly,” she muttered in disgust, unfastening the lead rope with a click. Firefly trotted proudly back to the herd of two-year-old horses.

Andi watched him go with a frown. A week ago, Firefly had appeared a champion, his copper coat glistening and his reddish mane and tail waving in the wind. Her older brother Chad, also the owner of the Circle C ranch, had purchased him and gotten proof of his perfect breeding. Unfortunately, Firefly had previously received very little training and picked up countless bad habits, so Chad had passed the stallion onto Andi and Riley to be trained alongside the two-year-old horses.

“How’s Firefly doing?”

Riley’s tired voice broke into Andi’s thoughts. She shook her head. “Awful,” she admitted. “That horse is so ornery. I don’t care that he’s a ‘champion stallion’. I’m tired of his stubbornness!” she blurted before she could stop herself.

Riley didn’t answer, and Andi regretted her outburst. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’ll keep working with him and see if he comes around. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

Riley sighed. “No, you’re right. He’s keeping us from training the others. We’ll give him one more day.”

***

Firefly never got his second chance. The next day, the chestnut was gone.

Andi and Riley searched the pasture earnestly, but they found no broken fence where Firefly could’ve escaped. They concluded that Firefly had either jumped the fence, or…

Andi shuddered. Or he was let out the gate and stolen. “What do we do?” Andi asked uneasily.

Riley scanned the herd with a frown. “Are there any other horses missing?”

Andi followed his gaze. “Those matching pintos—Buttercup and Daffodil? I don’t see them. Or Velvet, the white filly, and Bruce, the bay.”

Riley nodded. “You’re right. They all have good pedigrees, and anyone that looks at them would know they’re the horses to steal.”

His words sent a shiver down Andi’s spine. “We need to tell Chad that five horses disappeared.”

***

As Andi expected, Chad was furious. “And there’s no sign of them anywhere?”

Riley shook his head. “No broken fence, no open gate. They either jumped or were…”

“Stolen.” Chad’s eyes flashed. “We need to keep watch for thieves. They’ll come back if they know they can easily snitch a horse or two.”

Days passed, then weeks. Two months dragged by. Andi and Riley counted the two-year-olds every day, but no more went missing.

“The thieves have figured out we’re onto them,” Chad insisted. “Riley, if you see anything suspicious, check it out or let me know.”

Riley nodded grimly.

The missing horses didn’t slow the training of the rest of the two-year-olds under their charge, and Riley and Andi rode out to the pasture for another day of work.

Andi surveyed the herd, realizing that training would’ve been significantly slower if Firefly were still there. Part of her missed the gorgeous stallion, and the other part was relieved he was gone. But his disappearance was still a mystery to them.

***

The next morning, Andi and Riley arrived at the east pasture before the sun was finished rising, and they instantly noticed something was wrong. Instead of milling about the pasture, the colts and fillies were bunched at the far end of the paddock. Their shrill whinnies showed they were clearly excited about something.

Andi and Riley investigated, and what they saw shocked them. Haggard and weary, a lone white filly stood by the fence, greeting her friends. Andi gasped. “Velvet!”

Indeed, the missing mare had returned. But at the sound of Andi’s voice, she snorted uneasily and backed away, her eyes rimmed white with fear.

“What’s gotten into her?” Andi whispered.

Riley was already looping his lasso. Crooning softly to Velvet, he nudged his gelding, Dakota, closer. When the trembling mare was in range, he gave the lariat a toss.

That was all it took. Terrified straight through, Velvet whirled and dashed away, her tail streaming out behind her like a flag of surrender. Riley’s lasso plopped to the ground.

Gathering it up, Riley cried, “C’mon!” and urged Dakota after the fleeing horse. Too bewildered to do anything else, Andi followed, nudging Shasta into a gallop. Her speedy mount easily gained on Riley and Dakota, but Velvet, not weighed down by a saddle and rider, pulled away and disappeared into a clump of trees.

Andi caught up to Riley and matched his pace. “What’s going on?” she blurted. “Why did Velvet come back, and why’s she now running away?”

Riley looked as confused as she did. “I don’t know, but something clearly scared her.”

Andi recollected the image of Velvet, staring at them in fear. “She was so thin and frightened,” Andi whispered.

Riley nodded. “We need to catch her. Something’s wrong.”

They crossed a creek, following recent hoofprints that pointed east, towards the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

“Velvet was already worn out,” Riley pointed out when Andi suggested they go back to check on the other colts and fillies. “We’ll probably catch her soon. C’mon.”

A horse’s angry whinny shrilled through the air, followed by a frightened neigh. Hoofbeats echoed like thunder nearby.

Eyes wide, Andi urged Shasta towards the commotion. Riley followed suit.

A few minutes later they reached a rise overlooking a luscious valley. And right in the middle of it was a herd of horses. Andi scanned the group and pointed out their leader—a chestnut. “Firefly,” Andi mouthed.

Firefly had escaped and, like a wild stallion, tried to start his own herd from Circle C fillies. All possibilities of thieves fled Andi’s mind.

Riley leaned close to Andi and said, barely audible, “If we can get closer and catch them by surprise, I think I can rope Firefly. Then maybe the others will be easier to catch.”

Andi agreed to the plan and they crept incognito around to the rear of the herd. Firefly was already uneasy, not grazing but glancing around nervously. With him, she could see Daffodil, Buttercup, and Velvet. But where’s Bruce?

As they got closer, Andi realized in disappointment that the stallion was not Firefly. This chestnut was at least a hand taller, and the white star on his forehead confirmed that he was not their horse.

At last, after what felt like hours, the stallion dropped his head and began grazing. That was the moment Riley had been waiting for. Dakota charged into the valley while Riley twirled his rope.

The stallion’s head snapped up and he whirled to face Riley. But it was too late—the lariat was already whirling through the air and dropping over the chestnut’s neck. The stallion reared and screamed in rage. The mares and fillies scattered.

Andi was there in a flash. Dakota alone couldn’t hold the stallion, but when Andi’s rope settled around the chestnut’s throat, Shasta was ready to help.

The horse neighed desperately and lunged, but Shasta and Dakota strained back, keeping the enraged stallion where he was.

“It’s not Firefly, but at least he won’t be stealing our mares anymore,” Riley mused as he studied the stallion, whose rich coat gleamed copper in the sun.

Hmm… Copper? No… I’ll call him Cooper! Andi thought. Aloud, she mused, “I wonder what Chad’ll do with him?”

“This horse isn’t his.” Riley pointed to a mark on Cooper’s side: ^B^ “This brand is for the Flying B ranch.”

Andi’s heart sank. I wish we could keep him.

“However,” Riley went on, “I’ve never heard of that ranch. We’ll take this stallion home and ask Chad about it.”

Cooper snorted and reared. Riley laughed. “He’s a lively one. If we can’t track the owners, Chad will be happy to keep and train him.”

Andi and Riley, astride their sweating mounts, slowly coaxed Cooper as far as an empty corral. Andi opened the gate, but Cooper balked and refused to enter. Finally Riley pulled a cloth from his saddlebags and managed to tie it over Cooper’s eyes.

Trembling in fear and fury, the stallion allowed them to lead him into the corral and loosen the ropes from around his neck. Cooper pawed the ground uneasily but didn’t move. Like any sensible horse, he didn’t go where he couldn’t see.

Riley pulled the blindfold off and Cooper erupted, speeding to the far side of the corral at a break-neck pace. Andi gasped, “He’ll jump!” But Cooper skidded to a halt inches from the fence and whirled to face them. The mighty stallion’s ears were flat against his head.

Andi grinned and closed the gate. “What about the other mares?” she asked. “Some looked like they were from nearby ranches.”

Riley nodded and glanced up at the sun. It was only mid-morning. “Well… training the two-year-olds is important, but I think this takes priority. I counted seven other horses with this stallion”—he nodded at Cooper— “and they all ran off. But I think we should at least start tracking them.”

Andi nodded. “And maybe they’ll start looking for their leader, too. They might end up here.” A thought struck her. “Wait—if Firefly isn’t the leader of that herd, then where is he? And where’s Bruce?”

Riley frowned. “Good point. Maybe Firefly jumped the fence to try to fight this stallion when he first stole those three fillies. Or maybe he started the herd, but this stallion fought him for it… and won. Bruce probably followed Firefly when he left.”

“Either way, Firefly’s gone, and there are a bunch of mares and fillies out there that need to be brought in.”

They mounted their weary steeds and trotted back to the rise where they’d first seen the feral herd. Instead of the herd seen minutes before, a lone horse—its brown color so dark it seemed almost black— was loping across the meadow. Its coat was shaggy and unkempt. Even from afar, Andi could see the fear in its eyes.

Andi’s mind reeled, remembering Velvet’s fear, the fillies’ and mares’ uneasiness, and now this frightened horse. What are these horses scared of?

Riley’s absence pulled Andi from her thoughts. She spotted him pursuing the dark brown horse and nudged Shasta after him. Shasta’s shoulders were lathered in sweat, and Andi realized how difficult it must’ve been for him to drag a spirited stallion around.

Nevertheless, her loyal steed fought his exhaustion and dashed down the slope after Riley.

***

After a long while of searching, Andi pulled Shasta to a halt. She had found neither Riley nor the horse. Where were they? Had Riley circled back and tried to find her?

I bet he’s looking for me. She glanced around warily, suddenly realizing that the woods had fallen eerily silent. Andi’s heart began to pound, and it seemed to echo in the forest surrounding her. She froze. Shasta, noticing her fear, snorted uneasily.

 A twig snapped, and Andi whirled Shasta around. “Riley?” She gaped at what she saw.

 A scruffy man, seated on the back of a familiar bay, scowled back. Recognizing the horse, Bruce, Andi wanted to yell, “That’s our horse!” but decided against it. After hesitating a moment, she stammered, “Who are you? You know this is Circle C rangeland, right?” She tried to sound bold, but her voice was shaky.

 The man scowled. “I don’t care. Seen me horse?”

 “What horse?” Andi asked, backing Shasta up. The man’s unfriendly posture, plus the fact that he held a rifle, screamed at her that this man was dangerous.

  “Brown. Ran off earlier.”

 The brown horse! “Um…” Something told her not to tell this man anything. “Well, no. Sorry.” She continued backing Shasta up, preparing to turn and flee.

The barrel of his rifle met her gaze. “Yer lyin’!”

Run! Andi’s mind screamed. But then she remembered her weary horse. Could Shasta outrun this man?

“Where’s me horse?” the man barked.

“You thief!” Andi blurted. “That—” She pointed at Bruce— “is our horse!”

His expression, a mixture of shock, uneasiness, and rage, told Andi that she was right. Fear gripped her heart. “Alright,” she blurted. “I did see the horse. But he was scared—of you, I bet. You have no right to mistreat horses!”

The man’s eyes widened. “Why, you—”

“She’s right,” a cool voice said. “Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.”

Andi’s heart leapt. Riley! He sat on Dakota behind the man with a pistol clutched in one hand.

The man froze, but his furious glare remained locked on Andi.

“They hang horse thieves here,” Riley continued. “And that means you, mister. Drop your rifle, dismount, and put your hands in the air.”

Simmering with anger, the man obeyed. The rifle clanked to the ground.

“The brand on the horse you’re riding? That’s ours—the Circle C. And the brown horse you were trying to find? He’s our stallion.”

For the first time, Andi noticed the terrified horse tied to Riley’s saddle horn. Which stallion is that? she wondered, puzzled. She thought hard, studying the chocolate-colored horse, but her mind drew a blank.

“And unless you’d like to be shot right now,” Riley went on, “back away from your rifle.”

The man seethed but obeyed, and at a nod from Riley, Andi dismounted and scooped it up.

“Now,” Riley declared after tying up the scruffy-bearded man with his rope, “why don’t we take a visit to the sheriff’s office?”

***

As they rode home, the thin brown horse trailing behind, Andi waited for Riley to explain how he’d figured out what was going on. But to Andi’s dismay, he remained silent.

 They rode into the barn and unsaddled their horses. Then Riley turned. “Let’s clean this horse up,” he declared.

During the grooming given to the chocolate-brown horse, Andi tried to figure out which horse it was. The stallion didn’t match the description of any of the horses owned by the Circle C.

At last Riley spoke. “I barely recognized Firefly,” he remarked. “But his blaze, plus his orneriness, told me who he was.”

 Andi gaped. Firefly? How? Then she remembered that in summer, Firefly’s coat darkened significantly.At Firefly’s weary whicker, she knew this was their missing horse. Delighted, Andi continued the grooming. Hurrah! Firefly’s back, and the mystery’s solved! Thank You, God!

When Firefly’s care was complete, Riley wrapped Andi in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered. “When I saw that man with a rifle, I was so scared for you.”

Andi’s heart lurched, and she hugged him back.

***

 After recounting the previous events to Chad, Andi’s brother held a surprise for them. “Andi, Riley, I want you to round up all the horses you found. Some belong to other ranches, and we need to return them.”

 Andi grinned in delight, and not even the thought of training Firefly the next day could dampen her joy. Within minutes, she and Riley were riding off into the afternoon to round up the stolen horses.