The Teagarden Trail

**Chapter Two**

Meanwhile, cold wind made Ginger's cheeks feel like ice before she slipped inside. The familiar scent and cozy hay was strewn in each of the stalls brought her back to the days when she was only a child. She began to work on straightening her lofts of hay as she hummed along the radio playing Luke Bryan's "What Makes You Country." The barn was her favorite place on the earth to be. Out in the fields, her horses grazed peacefully. She could feel it in her boots; a storm was coming. The scent of coming rain dazzled the outside air. She soon finished and slid down the pole to the wooden floor of the dark oak barn.

Meanwhile, in the field, Luke was resting on his back. He was enjoying himself as he watched the horses grazed. His own mare could feel the oncoming thunder in her hooves and she started to paw nervously.

" Easy girl . . . ." he soothed. His mare hated storms; actually, she was deathly afraid of them.

In the barn, Ginger double-checked her thermostat and then opened the gates. The smell of rain made her smile as she whistled her tune she trained her horses to know.

" They're magnificent," he said. When the rain began to drizzle from the heavens. " Great. . ."

The horses heads' raised and as if they were one., began to canter toward the gates. Ember kept rearing as thunder roared, approaching like a beast.

The light dancing drops soon turned into a shower. Ginger smiled and stood at the front; she loved to greet her favorite part of her family; the horses had been her companions since she was a little child. The horses thundered around her in a whirlwind of power and grace. She couldn't help but smile.

Each horse nestled in his or her cozy stall and waited for their owner. Ginger always said goodnight; rewarded their obedience, or rather, spoil the horses as if they were her babies; and than closed the stall. Just as she finished giving her Tennessee Walking horse Trigger his nightly bedtime treat, she took a few minutes with each of them.

In the field, his mare had been rearing and cantering wildly in fear. He raised his head and chuckled. " Lucky me." He turned and yelped as a big black mustang cantered; the stallion was heading straight for him. His mare started to calm as the mustang jumped over. The man smiled, " Woah! Augh!" The stallion's back hoof nicked him hard as he cantered away. The man collapsed and his mare neighed in fear for her owner. She followed the warm light of the barn and the large black stallion.

Ginger smiled as her favorite of them all thundered up to her. " There you are, Charcoal. I was beginning to worry . . ." she chuckled. She closed the gate and stroked his sleek black muzzle as she gave him an apple. " Night bud, I'll be here in the morning."

Every horse was snuggling in their stall as she did a final check over; everything was in order. She turned to walk out but was startled when a mare she had never seen before panicked cantering, rearing and neighing.

Ginger huffed in the effort as she managed to grab the mare's halter. " Easy, girl! Easy!" she soothed as she stroked her muzzle to calm her down. The mare snorted as she began to relax; this human was safe; this human was a good person. The mare neighed.

" That's it, now, I've not seen you around these parts."

She nudged her toward the entrance.

Ginger than realized that she was fully tacked. She had a rider. Her smile faded. " where's your rider, girl?"

The mare nickered in worry and pawed.

" You stay here, I'll go help him; don't you worry."

Ginger led her to an empty stall, dried her off, and gave her a treat. Than went out in the raging storm. She ran to the field and scanned the darkened horizon. She had a leather bag at her side. She spotted a figure on the ground and ran to his side, falling to her knees. She did a quick overlook; he had suffered a minor gash on his head. She ripped a sleeve off her shirt and tied it around his head, using her bag as a pillow for him.

" Ya gonna be okay, partner." By now, Ginger was soaked down to her bones. She used her legs and hoisted him on her back and slowly started making her way to the rustic but very nice ranch house. She huffed and panted in the effort as she trekked through the storm. Soon, she got to her door and set him down for a moment as she opened the door, propping it open than hoisting him back on her back and struggled to get him up the stairs. Her leg was badly hurting by this point. She panted in exhaustion as she lay him on the bed in her guest bedroom. She sank to the floor to catch her breath. Once she had regained it, she ran to close the barn up before the storm got worse. She then went back to the house and tended to his injury; she wrapped his head in a soft white bandage after fixing it up and disinfecting it. She pulled his boots off and got him out of the drenched clothes and into some she had for her dad when he came. Blindfolded. She couldn't force herself to try any other way. It wasn't right.

Soon, she found herself shivering from the cold and she decided to get in a warm shower and change into some dry clothes herself. She let the warm water run down her back and she reveled in the sweet warmth. When she got out, she slipped her aqua tank and some long patterned pajama pants that were a good match to the tank. She ran a warm rag over the man's temple and forehead as she sat beside the bed.

She had tied her hair back into a ponytail and was still dipping the rag once in a while.

The man started to come to partially. At the moment, Ginger was in her bathroom and getting more freshwater.

" Hghn. . ..my head. . ." the man moaned as Ginger once more sat beside the bed in the chair she had brought.

She untied her dark red locks so that they tumbled down her back in dry but silky waves.

" Oh wow.. . . " he muttered tiredly; could he be more dazzled.

She just smiled at him.