Because of Fate (Book 1 of Because of Series)

Chapter 14- Margaret's POV

I breathed a small sigh of relief when we were safely in the pasture with little to no incidents between the four horses, and Gallant seemed to grow relaxed as if he knew that I was about to let him off the lead rope. I didn't say a word and looked around before I looked at the men when Blake cleared his throat.

Blake raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side while he studied me, amusement filled his eyes. "Well?" he asked and raised his eyebrow higher in question, and and amused smile appeared on his face. "Would this work for you?" he asked.

I nodded in confirmation, and my cheeks instantly turned red. "Umm... yes, yes, it will. Thank you," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "Umm... sorry about that. I was just a little busy looking around and seeing what was going on..."

Blake bit back a small laugh and shook his head. "It's fine," he said and cleared his throat while he grew serious. "Now, how do you want the horses to be let go so that they can explore the pasture?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I am sure that there is a specific way that we need to do it so that there are no fights or whatever. Correct?" He cocked his head further to the side and continued to study me with something in his eyes that I wasn't sure I cared about.

I bit my lip and nodded in confirmation, and my cheeks turned another shade of red. "Umm... right," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "So, it's normally going to go Gallant, Bonnie, Admiral and then Sprite last. If you do Sprite first, then Admiral will instantly get anxious and then try to run after her because she will run from us even with his halter and lead rope on."

"And what happens when we do all the other horses before Gallant?" Blake asked after he nodded, biting back a small smile. "Does he start to have a "panic attack" because his herd is gone, or is he out of control?"

"He is out of control," I said with a small laugh before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "He will do what he can to escape, and he will not care who he hurts in the process of trying to escape from us."

They hesitated and looked at each other before they looked at me. They did not say a word, and I could tell that they were nervous about trying to let horses go until after I was done letting Gallant go.

I bit back a small smile and shook my head. "They will be fine as long as we follow that order," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "If not, then I would not be telling you to do it that way."

"Would you have us get out of the pasture if that was the case?" Blake asked, and I nodded in confirmation. His eyes seemed to bulge out of his head while he stared at me, shocked and surprised. "Wait, what about you? How will you handle four horses at once?"

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I'll manage," I said before I licked my lips and fiddled with Gallant's lead rope. "It's not like I haven't done that before today. Hell, I have had to lead all four of these horses at once, and that can be a pain in the butt, especially with a horse like Gallant."

Gallant instantly lifted his head and narrowed his eyes as soon as I said his name. He laid his ears to the back of his head and stared at me with a hard look in his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile while I tucked my head closer to my chest, amused.

"It's true though, Boy," I said while I bit back a small chuckle and patted his neck, and my horse seemed to roll his eyes before he nuzzled my arm. "Now, are you ready to go explore and claim this place as your own?"

Gallant snorted and bobbed his head up and down, earning a small chuckle from one of them that were with us while Bryson looked stoic and unamused at my horse's antics.

"It looks like he is ready for us to let him go explore his new home," Blake said, and I bit back a small smile while I slowly nodded in confirmation. "So go ahead and let him go so that he can go explore."

I rolled my eyes and bit back a small laugh before I nodded. "Ya, I think that it is time for us to let them go." I did what I was told to do and took the halter off of Gallant's head, and Gallant snorted before he shook his head and started to back away from us.

Gallant snorted and bucked before he turned away from us and bolted in the opposite direction, with the other horses snorting and getting antsy about being let go so that they could run, too.

"Shit," Blake and Bryson muttered under their breaths when the horses backed away from them and jerked their heads up, and I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing while I went to help Bryson because he had two horses that he had to deal with and not just one.

"Sorry, sorry," I said and cleared my throat to hide another chuckle. "I didn't mean for that to happen." I grabbed a hold of Admiral's halter to make sure that he couldn't escape before I grabbed the lead rope. "Easy, Boy," I soothed before I turned my attention to Bryson. "Go ahead and release your hold from Admiral and just take over Sprite, Bryson. You'll be ok with just her, and I have him."

Bryson set his jaw and slowly nodded. He didn't say a word and released Admiral's lead rope, and I gently pulled my horse away from the pony. The human male's whole body was tense, and I could tell that he was nervous and wanted to get away from my horses as soon as possible, much to my amusement.

I bit back a small snort and an eye roll before I looked at Blake, biting back a small smile. "Go ahead and release Bonnie, Blake," I said and nudged my head toward them. "She will be fine."

Blake did what I told him to do and released Bonnie, and unlike Gallant, she stayed put and flicked her tail while she looked around with her nostrils quivering. "Huh," he said and looked at her before he looked at me. "Why is she like this?" he asked and gestured toward my horse.

I bit back a small laugh and shook my head. "I do not know," I said before I started to take Admiral's halter all the way off of his head. "She does that sometimes. Go ahead and flick your hand to the side and say "release" so that she knows she can leave us and go exploring."

Blake nodded in confirmation and looked at Bonnie, biting back a small smile. "Ok, Bon Bon," he said and gestured away from us. "Release."

Bonnie snorted and nodded before she started to walk away from us, not even running away like Gallant had. She flicked her tail and shook her head while she walked away from us, and I couldn't help but shake my head, biting back a small smile.

"Good, girl," I said with a small laugh in my voice before I turned my attention back to Admiral, and I finished taking off his halter. "Ok, go ahead and go, Admiral," I said and gestured for him to start to leave us. "You are free."

However, Admiral didn't leave like I had expected and flicked his tail. He looked around before he looked at us. He whickered hesitantly before he breathed in and then released it with a small snort, shaking his head.

I bit back a tired sigh and rolled my eyes before I looked at Bryson, and I smiled and tucked my head closer to my chest while I gestured toward the only horse left. "Go ahead and let Sprite go, Bryson," I said. "I think Admiral is waiting for her before he leaves us."

Bryson set his jaw and nodded. He didn't say a word and released Sprite, and she turned away from us and started to run away with Admiral at her side.

I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "We might want to go ahead and leave the pasture," I said as soon as Sprite whinnied while she shook her head and started toward the other two horses with Admiral behind her, and the other horses snorted and started to run again, moving closer to each other to form a small group. "They will run around the whole pasture together as a group and will probably run us over on accident."

"Then let's go ahead and start getting out of the pasture before they do that," Blake said with a laugh and nodded. "I don't want to get run over by them, even if it will be on accident."

And with that, and without another word from any of us, we left the pasture but stopped to watch the horses run and enjoy their new home.

And hopefully, I would be able to enjoy it too, even if it would be only for a little while until they decided to kick me out, and I was to be on the road again with no other place in mind...