“He has his moments.” She gave Chaos a final pat and got to her feet. “Not many. And he always wants them appreciated.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“Typical male response. But I agree with you. I always let Chaos know that any signs of softness please me.”

“Will it help to break him?”

“I told you that he can’t be broken. It would mean a crushing of spirit and telling him that he has to serve me. That’s been the role of horses all through the centuries. I’d never ask it of him.” She took Chaos’s empty water bucket and strode toward the pump at the end of the aisle. “But a polite suggestion, friend-to-friend, might make him forget all the ugliness and rage now and then. It’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since Alisa bought him from Rossi for me.” She was pumping the water. “I was making progress during the month I had him at St. Eldon’s, but then Masenak took him and he forgot everything he’d learned. All the hate came back, and I had to start over.”

“‘Hate’ is a strong word.”

“Rossi shot Chaos’s mother. It wasn’t malicious. She and the colt were in the field and she tried to jump the fence. It was too high for her and she broke her leg. But Chaos saw Rossi shoot her and he’s never forgotten.”

“Or forgiven?”

She nodded. “It was his mother. Rossi knew how intelligent Chaos was, and he should have realized that he’d associate her death with him and any other person who came near him. Rossi was in too much of a hurry to start training him, and he paid the price. He ended up with a broken back. That’s when he gave up and agreed to sell him to Alisa.”

“But Chaos didn’t blame you?”

“I was there with his mother when he was born, and that evidently put me in a special category. But it still took weeks for him to start getting close to me again.” The bucket was full, and she stopped pumping and lifted it to take back to the stall. Gilroy stepped forward to take it from her, and she gazed at him incredulously. “Really? I’ve been toting these buckets almost from the time I was a toddler.”

“Forgive me.” He held up his hands. “I’m sure it was very good exercise. I forgot myself.”

She suddenly smiled brilliantly. “I do forgive you. You kept your word and brought me that phone.”

“Two phones, two revolvers, and ammunition. Korgan’s going to slip a Remington rifle into that shed later that I might need for distance shots.” He grimaced. “And you used the phone to try to set up an escape for your horses. That wasn’t what I had in mind when I gave it to you.”