At Risk

Chapter 1

~Kendall's Point Of View~

I wake to a violent thundering shaking the house.  I glance outside my window to see that a feirce storm has picked up throughout the night.  I pick up my phone and see that it is 1:34AM, confirming my earlier thought that it was still hours from sunrise.  I lazily slip out of bed and throw on my windbreaker and a pair of jeans, slipping on my boots as I slide out the back door.  I quickly jog to the barn and un-lock it with the key that was always in my right boot.  As soon as I enter the barn, I hear the horses going crazy.

I have two horses, a 11 year old palimino Quarter Horse gelding (my show horse), and a 21 year old black and white Paint Horse mare (my neighbor's horse I was watching for a week while she was away on vacation).

I grab two peppermint treats on my way to the stalls hoping that the treats may distract them from the storm.

"Neeeighh!" I hear the Paint Horse, Missy, call out as another shock shakes the barn.  I walk quicker when I don't hear Prince call out as well, knowing there was no way he was still asleep through the storm.  As I near the stalls, I see Missy's head poke out of her stall as she looks over at me.  She beings to bob her head as I near her stall.  I lay the treat flat on my palm and allow her to eat it.  As she chomps away, I look into Prince's stall and see him laying on the ground, eyes closed.  I immeadiatey un-latch his stall and throw myself on the ground next to him, not caring that I left his stall door wide open and the barn cats could now easily get in.

"Prince?  Prince!  C'mon handsome, wake up!  Wake up my big boy!" I stroke his neck with one hand and lean my head down to his face.  Even with Missy going crazy to my left, and a barn cat meowing to my right, I know that he is dead.  I let the tears flow freely down my face as I throw my arms around his neck and bury my face into his over-grown mane that I had origianally planned on cutting today. 

My body shakes with violent sobs as the storm dies down and the sun beings to rise.  I sit by his side into the late hours of the morning, stroking his fur and letting my tears soak his, once shiny, coat.  He looks like Death.  His fur was dull and his ears didn't perk up when I let his name slip from my lips, sending me into another fit of tears.

"Kendall?" I hear my dad call into the barn, but I ignore him, knowing he would find me.  I lay my head on Prince's still-warm stomach and let the tears flow silently down my face as I run my fingers through his now-tangle-free mane.

"Kendall!  What happened to Prince?" he asks, bending down to move the hair from my face and to wipe away my tears.  I simply shake my head as another fit of sobs rakes through my body.

"He's d-d-dead daddy!" I choke out, fisting his mane and burrying my face deeper into his stomach, which was hard with muscle from the months of conditioning that had taken place since Spring hit and allowed me to take him out and ride him through the nearby trail where there was hills, fallen logs, and nature-made obstacles, quickly conditioning him for the Summer's work around the ranch.

"Where's your phone honey?" he says and I reach into the pocket of my windbreaker, which I hadn't taken off yet, and grab my phone, a black I-Phone 4S.  I hear my dad make a call and order the person to our home immeadiatly.  My dad set my phone on Prince's ribbon case which was overflowing with ribbons won at State fair, my county fair, and many other open shows around the state.  I had ribbons from over 6 years ago in the box, all won by me on Prince.  We were a widely known pair and I commonly found people betting in my favor at some bigger shows.  I had never lost a show with Prince.  We ar- were the perfect pair.

I hear a truck burn rubber pulling into the driveway, but let it pass, not leaving Pince's side for anything.

"Where is she?!" I hear a deep male voice ask my dad, who had went to the door as soon as he heard the truck.

"She's in his stall.  Be gentle, but keep her either inside, or off the property for at least 2-3 hours.  He's a big boy and it'll take a while to not only dig his hole, but move him into the hole." I let the pain fill my body as I realize he is reffering to Prince.  I cling to his mane, in attempt to wake him up one last time.

"Don't be dead Prince!  Please, Buddy I need you.  You need to be alive, you can't die!  We were supposed to become stars together baby!  We were gonna show at Congress, and then I would've gotten you a new saddle and bridle, and I probably would've changed your show colour again.  We would've beat everyone there." I let my voice trail off as the sobs shake my entire body.  I hear heavy footsteps near my location, but I refuse to move.

"Darlin' c'mon.  Your dad's gotta take care of him." my boyfriend, Nick, crouches down and tucks my hair behind my ears.  However, my face is still hidden by a thick patch of Prince's winter coat he hadn't shed completely yet. "Baby, come here." he tries again and gently puts his hand on my back.  When I still didn't move, he un-clasps Prince's mane from my fingers and picks me up bridal-style.  He set me on my feet as soon as I was completely out of Prince's stall and I threw my arms around his muscular 6'3'' frame.  He ran his fingers through my hair and repeadly kisses the top of my head.  In a matter of minutes, the front of his shirt was wet with my tears.  He must've sensed my discomfort because he pulled away from me for a moment to remove my windbreaker, leaving me in a plain black tank top, dark skinny jeans, and my barn boots, which were black with green accents, which was Prince's show colour.

"Why me, Nick?  What did I do to deserve this?" I ask him as I hug him again.

"You didn't do anything sweetheart.  It was his time." He looks down at me and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "You're gonna be okay sweetheart, because you're gonna get through this.  You're gonna get another horse, and you're gonna show the world that you can bump back from this because you're strong, and I love you."

"Nick?" I ask, looking up at his sea green eyes.

"Yeah baby?" He stroked my hair, which falls to about 2 inches above my butt.

"Can we go get a new horse while my dad burries Prince?  I need one soon if we're to be ready by fair." I let a lone tear slip from my eye at the thought of possibly forgetting Prince.

"Yes of course.  Anything for my Princess." He kisses me quickly as we went back to the house so I could get ready.