Henry and the colt traveled through the night, stopping only for four hours to get some much needed rest, and early the next morning they passed through the gate that put them on Jessie’s ranch. The gray became excited later that day when he began to recognize some of the landmarks he had seen on the ranch when Henry would take him out for rides. There was the rocky overhang near the creek. The tree that stood off by itself that the horses would stand under when the weather was bad, and the narrow game trail he and Henry had used when they ponied Mic and other horses.

But it had been the smell of the place that caused him to let out the two loud whinnies as they approached. They were still nearly a mile from the main ranch when he picked up the odor. He was able to distinguish the geldings Jessie had put him with after taking him out of the round pen. There were several mares he recognized, and most importantly, even a mile from the ranch, he had picked up the faint, but sweet smell of Jessie herself. It was that odor that made it all worth it for the gray. All the pain and suffering he had gone through when he was banished from the herd. All the worry when he was first forced into the world of humans, and all the confusion and defending he had to endure with the men on the Essex ranch. All of it didn’t matter anymore when he smelled the ranch. He knew he was returning home.

The colt, standing in the shade of the little tree, let out a long sigh and nipped at a fly buzzing around his chest. The ranch was quiet now, and other than the occasional horse blowing through its nose in a paddock somewhere, there was very little sound on the place at all. Henry and Jessie had been around to feed that morning, but the gray hadn’t seen them since. He’d see them later, around feeding time, he was sure of it. They were dependable, and he liked that. It was good to be with them again, and it was good to be back at the ranch. It was his home, and he liked that, too.

CHAPTER 50

There were more trees in the cemetery than Henry remembered. More headstones, too. But then, it had been twenty years since he’d been there last. Still, even after all those years, it was hard on him to be there, and his heart raced as he slowly made his way to their grave site. It seemed odd that even after all this time, with all the extra headstones and all the new trees, Henry was able to walk right up to where he had last been with Annie and Josh. He removed his hat, then stooped down and brushed leaves off of the two headstones, one that read “Loving Wife,” the other “Beloved Son.” He hadn’t remembered asking those words to be carved on the stones, but then, other than being at the cemetery for the funeral, he couldn’t really remember much of anything about that time.