“But there must be something I can do—anything—I want to help.”

“Actually, yes—the other horses.” Ryan twisted around and checked that the barn was open. “Could you get them inside?”

“Okay, I can do that. But how?”

“There’s a strap beneath their chins. Hold it tight and lead them over one at a time and put them in a stall, any stall, doesn’t matter which.”

“All right, no problem. Go, Ryan, go find her.”

“Thank you, Amy. Back soon.”

They jumped out of the truck and went their separate ways. Amy went for the horses while Ryan ran for the field, the beam of his flashlight getting swiftly swallowed up by the darkness.

Amy had no problems getting the horses to safety. They obeyed her commands and were so keen to find shelter that she had trouble keeping up. Once they were all locked away in their stalls, she returned to the entrance of the barn, where she stood guard and waited. The storm was relentless. The rain was falling in sheets and the wind, now even fiercer than before, was bulldozing through the valley, sending haybales cartwheeling across the grass and making light work of anything that wasn’t tied down. It took everything Amy had just to stay upright. Her clothes were sodden and she was shivering with cold, but she didn’t care—all she could think about was that poor horse and how frightened she must be. She only hoped that luck was on Ryan’s side, that he would return soon with good news.

Thankfully, after a brief but nervous wait, Ryan emerged from the darkness with Little Dipper thrashing next to him. She appeared to be highly agitated and in no mood to cooperate.

“Can you believe it!” Ryan called out as he jostled and wrestled the frightened animal through the gate and across the forecourt.

“Where was she?”

“Way, way back! Right by the fence line. It’s amazing she hadn’t gone any farther. But keep your distance. She’s still really freaked out.”

Amy stood back, marveling at Ryan’s ability to hold on and keep the powerful animal under his control. The horse was kicking her legs and swinging her head; how he was able to coax her into the stall, she had no idea.

“I need to stay with her a moment,” he said as he locked himself inside the stall and began stroking Little Dipper’s neck. “Just till she’s calm.”

“Of course.”

By the time the horse was settled, Amy was so cold and wet that she wondered if she might be on the cusp of hypothermia. She had goose bumps over her arms and her teeth were chattering between her pale blue lips.

“Look at you, you’re freezing.”

She smiled and pointed out that so was he.

“You need to get warm. Come on, I have dry clothes in the house.”