This view is breathtaking, thought Clarissa. She was mounted on her favorite stallion, Blitz, and they were standing on the rim of a deep basin covered in wildflowers of all different colors. All around them the sky extended, and it was such a brilliant blue. “Montana is always so pretty after a rainstorm, isn’t it Blitz?”

Blitz, as usual, seemed to understand what she was saying. He snorted and nodded his great head. Clarissa smiled, then sighed. “It’s too bad Jamie couldn’t come with us,” she said, one hand moving unconsciously to her stomach. “Today would have been the perfect day to tell him. Oh well, let’s go home and see if he’s back from town yet.”

Patting Blitz on the neck, Clarissa turned him around and headed for home. She gently began to sing, savoring the way the beauty of the land and the music intertwined in sweet harmony. They were just on top of the hill that overlooked her home when Blitz snorted, shuffled skittishly, and flicked his ears back. Immediately, Clarissa scanned the area to find the source of his unease, her senses heightening. It didn’t take long to find the hulking form of Blackjack, one of Jamie’s prized longhorn bulls. Blackjack was infamous for his short temper and mean spirit; the only reason Jamie kept him around was for his bloodline in the herd.

She shuddered as Jamie’s warning rang through her head, “I never want you to be anywhere near that bull. He’s dangerous, and he will kill anything that challenges or threatens him. Stay away from him, please. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Her heart pounded as she realized the danger she was in. Blackjack had broken free of the fences that contained him, and now there was nothing between them but open prairie.

Clarissa’s hands tensed on the reins as Blitz danced lightly on his feet. The old bull raised his head and sniffed the air. He snorted angrily and lowered his massive head, pawing the earth. His horns, from tip to tip, were 5 feet long and dangerously sharp. Clarissa’s breath caught in her throat as Blackjack slowly backed away. She knew that if they turned and ran it would be a close call, so she had to be smart. She thanked God that she was riding Blitz and not one of her other horses. Blitz seemed to be able to read her mind, and the two had undeniable connections.

The angry bellow stopped her heart before kicking it into overdrive. Blackjack was charging. Blitz snorted, his tense muscles uncoiling like a spring as he leaped to the side, avoiding the bull with wild instinct. He reared with a piercing scream, and Clarissa panicked as she lost her grip on the saddle and fell off the back of Blitz, a scream escaping her throat. She twisted midair, trying to catch herself. Spots danced across her vision as she heard the snap of her arm and felt the pain all over her body.

Hearing the two screams confused the raging bull, and in his confusion turned to the smaller of the two opponents. Clarissa panicked as the bull charged her with a roar of fury. Her broken arm refused to support her weight in her frantic scramble backwards, and she saw her life and the tiny life inside her flash before her eyes. “Jamie!” His name flew from her lips as a screaming plea for a savior just before she was greeted by blissful darkness.

To be continued...