Untamed

44

Zina was having a bad day which put everyone on edge, she kicked the door to her stall down that morning and was prancing round the stable aggressively. The ranch hands locked the other horses in and made themselves scarce.

Bran would have been the next option to call but he was spending his day off with Tracy, Shelby didn't have it in her to cut it short. Her ranch hands had made themselves comfortable in one of the barns away from the drama, Shelby knew it was only so long till Zina actually started to cause trouble, the last thing she needed was two horses biting it out in her stable.

Shelby chewed her nails silently till she tasted blood; a very bad habit she exhibited when she was stressed or indecisive and at that moment, it was both.

"Miss Shelby."

Shelby turned her head slightly already used to the blurry images of people, preferring it that way, she rarely used her glasses even after walking into a thousand doors. She hated wearing them much to Bran's irritation.

"Yes"

"We're making some chicken soup, would you like to join us?"

Taking a quick glance at the semi-circle they had formed she shook her head negatively, her nerves were too taut for her to have a good meal, she would end up not eating at all which would be rude. Folding her bleeding finger into her palm she placed another one into her mouth.

Four bleeding fingers later, she was getting in on the fifth when a loud bang halted the mini chatter happening around her.

"She's getting agitated by the minute." Sandy, a new hired hand said nervously, her eyes glued to the door.

"It's only going to get worse if we don't calm her down." Shelby cursed under her breath, Zina had really bad timings.

"How do we do that? None of us have experiences with wild horses." They all nodded.

"Well, one of us does." They eyed each other then fixed their gazes on her.

"You can't go out there Miss Shelby, Bran will kill us if you get harmed."

Shelby rolled her eyes, of course they were worried about Bran, "I'll be fine, as long as I play my cards right."

"You're not with your glasses, how are you going to see her coming?"

Shelby laughed at the question. "See? I don't need to see her to know she's there, she'll come to me."

She didn't need eyes to know they all had looks of disbelief and apprehension coloring their faces.

Hiding in the barn eating chicken soup wouldn't solve the problem, Shelby could or could she?
Volunteering to calm a wild horse down was suicide, even she knew that. Taking this problem head on was just another way of letting herself know she got it, she had to have it if not what else was she living for.

Living and breathing for horses, that was her life's path, whether half-blind, fully blind or semi-blind. If she couldn't tame a wild horse, what path was her life going to take?

"I still don't think it's advisable to go out there Miss Shelby, we can't help you out there if anything goes terribly wrong."

Shelby's shoulder rose and fell with a shuddering breath flowing past her lips, "If all goes well, you won't need to do anything but continue your day."

"Mis-"

"And" Shelby cut Sandy off with a blank stare. "If anyone calls Bran, you're fired."

They all knew what they needed to do immediately the door closed behind Shelby.

It all felt like a horror movie once she walked out of the safety of the barn, she could almost see the hay bouncing by, hear the leaves rustling. The eerie silence wasn't helping either, her heart was beating so loud, drowning out everything else.

Lifting her head slightly, she took a deep breath muttering under her breath like she was performing a ritual, at least that was how it would look to anyone watching her, when in fact she was scared shitless, with her useless vision, she wouldn't see Zina or feel her until she was directly in front of her. If she chose aggression, Shelby was a dead woman; Sugar's kick would be child's play compared to Zina's.

So lost in her thought she missed the sound of hoofs slowly approaching, it snapped her out of her head so fast she almost lost her footing, holding her breath when the sound ceased, waiting for something to happen was unnerving. For a second-several seconds, she wished she took her glasses with her.

Shelby stood still knowing fully well the feeling of being watched, Zina was somewhere close, watching, gauging her next actions. Shelby was a sitting duck till she made that move, Bran wasn't here to tell her how bad an idea this was, not like she listened to the ranch hands, running back inside now would only take her fifty steps backwards not to mention the backlash she would be getting from Bran and... Tracy.

Putting on a brave face was a moment already gone, with all her fears and heart on her sleeves, she waited. After what felt like forever, Zina took a step, then another and another, the sound echoing in Shelby's ears, each step sounding closer than the last.

Trying hard not to strain her eyes, she waited still; fingers crossed. Zina's midnight black coat was hard to miss even half blind. Her breath hitched, Zina's imposing figure getting clearer by the second, she was holding her breath by that time she could feel her clearly knowing she was directly in her face.

Zina snorted reminding Shelby to breathe, letting the air out slowly was painful but her fear was stronger, they had a stare down even though Shelby was ready to let her win.

She took in her first shaky breath when Zina nudged her shoulder with her snout, the worst was over...hopefully. Weaving her hands through her shiny coat she leaned heavily on the majestic beast till her legs stopped shaking.

"What's wrong girl?" Shelby whispered as she caressed her.

Zina dropped her head on Shelby's shoulder with a heavy sigh, ignoring the sudden tears completely obscuring her sight, "Yeah I know."

"I miss her too."

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Hello everyone, thank you for waiting, I promise to update sooner.