Changing Charlie

Chapter Four

Up top Annabella's ranch
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The next morning I woke up really early. I wanted to ride Don and Rango again. I also wanted to see what happened when the horses got fed.

But obviously it wasn't early enough. Because when I got to the barn I saw that Rango was not in his stal. I spotted one of the grooms and ran to him. ''Where is Rango?'' I asked in a paniced voice. ''Charlie took him on the trail. Just follow the blue markers. You will reach a opening in the field. They will be there.'' I grabbed Don out of his stable. The poor horse nearly got a heart attack from my sudden movements. I vaulted onto him. Not caring that I don't have a saddle on him. I kicked him in his sides and we sprung foteward into a full gallop.

The blue markers were easy to follow and I could still see fresh hoof prints on the ground. Don was a very responsive, fast horse. We neared a clearing when I heard someone yelling.

I slided of, off Don and sneeked closer so that I could have a clear view of what was happeing.

What I saw broke my heart. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and started making a video. It was completly horrible. Charlie was beating Rango with a branch while he was bucking like a possessed thing. Everytime Rango bucked Charlie would just beat him harder. Rango gave one massive buck, unseating Charlie. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. Rango continued bucking. He started running in the direction of Don and I. The horse galloped towards us and reared when he saw Don. I was still filming. You could clearly see blood seeping out of his wounds. His whole body was shaking. I stopped the filming and walked over to the horse.

Rango was completely startled when I reached out to him. He shook his head violently when I grabbed his reins. The horse snorted loudly but followed Don when we walked over to Charlie's still body.

It was a scary sight to see. Charlie lying there with his eyes closed. He was breathing evenly but he was slightly covered in blood.

Charlie suddenly started groaning. He rolled over onto his side and started coughing. ''Are you okay?'' I asked him in a conserned tone. ''Yeah. I'll live.'' He groaned while he pushed himself up from the ground. I let out a sigh. ''Are you insane! What did the poor horse do to deserve that beating?'' I asked, enraged. ''He needed to be shown his place. What he did yesterday was unacceptable. It could have cost us a sale. Someone could have been hurt.'' Charlie said. ''Are you kidding me? Someone has been hurt and you have lost more than just a sale.'' I growled at him. ''Mister Odell, I shall see you in court. I demand to see all your horses on this farm now. I shall confiscate what I am not happy with. You can expect a case file of animal abuse opened against you.'' I turned on my heel and walked away with the two horses trailing behind me. Rango was still bleeding and he had a slight limp. Don was surprisingly calm.

Back at the ranch. I spoke to Charlie's mother. Who burst out in tears when I showed her the video. ''I knew he was doing something to them. But I was never sure what.'' She claimed. ''After my husband's death. Charlie hasn't been the same. It is as if he is angry. As if his compassion and love died with his father.'' She agreed to show me all the horses. Some of them seemed fine, but the majority beared scars and were very skinny. I took loads of photos and then negotiated with Donna what I owe her for Don. She agreed that I should not pay for Rango.

I loaded Don and Rango alongside two young mares who are heavily pregnant and extremly malnourished.

The drive home was horrible. The one mare lied down a few times and Rango seemed to have developed an infection.

I arrived back home late that evening. With the four horses. I turned Don out into a large paddock and put the two mares next to each other in stables. I immediatly treated Rango's wounds. He seemed to look better and stopped shivering. The mares were very hungry.

Throughout the night I got up every two hours to check on the horses. I fed the mares small portions each time I went to them.

. . .

The next morning when I looked through my emails I saw that Donna had sent me the horses ownership details and the mares pedigrees. Their names were Alkhana and Nala. They were both in foal to a large thoroughbred stallion.

There was also a message from Charlie. He said that he wanted to talk about this whole mess and that going to court would be unessesary. I just ignored his message. Was he crazy? I might wait a while and build a solid case against him. But I'm defnintly tacking him to court.

When I entered the stables I was greeted by a not so nice view. Rango was kicking against his stall doors and each time a groom walked past he would rear up or try and bite them.

I gave Rango pain medication after I talked to the vet and moved him into a foaling stable so that he had more space to move around.

Don seemed fine in the paddock and looked greatfull for the extra space. He ran around bucking and whinning.

I turned the two mares out into a grass paddock. They are looking better already.

After all this I lunged Zeuss, Starlight and Riley, and did some rodeo work with Texas.
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Chip and Pip were jumping around when they saw that I was lacing up my running shoes. They loved to run. I took them out to the dam to go and check on my cows and calves. They all seemed good. We stayed at the dam for a while. Chip and Pip both swam.

It was nearly dark when we returned home. I had a funny feeling in my gut when I walked through the barn to the house to check on the horses. I closed all the stall doors and made sure everyone was happy. My funny feeling was confirmed when I saw a silver truck parked infront of my house. The dogs ran to the man who climbed out of the truck. He looked slightly familier. As he got nearer I still coudn't place his face. ''Hello Bella.'' The stranger said with a smirk on his face.

My jaw nearly hit the ground. How could he be here?
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1117 words in total. So that's the first 5 chapters of the book. Now I will start updating 5 at a time. Or well just more than one.

Don't forget to vote and comment. I might just forget to update😁
#jokes 😉😋