The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker

Author:Christopher Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beacon Press Limited
Published: 2021-08-04T20:18:35+00:00

26

The town square was deserted. Ryan’s truck was still parked outside the hotel, its windshield plastered with food wrappers, fluo­rescent streamers, and other soggy remnants of a festival hastily abandoned. They cleared away the debris, jumped inside, then took to the road.

Conditions were treacherous, visibility next to nothing. Even Amy, who wasn’t behind the wheel, kept her eyes fixed ahead to help Ryan steer through the maze of potholes, fallen trees, and other obstacles littering the road. Once back at the ranch, Ryan brought the truck to a skidding stop outside the field gate and turned his headlights to full.

Horses!

He could see them huddled by the gate, but by his count there were only six.

“Little Dipper’s not there. She’s gone!” He turned off the engine and grabbed a flashlight from the glove box. “Wait here for me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the field! I have to find her.”

“I’ll come too.”

“No, it’s not safe. She’ll be frightened and unpredictable. It’s too dangerous.”

“But there must be something I can do—anything—I want to help.”

“Actually, yes—the other horses.” Ryan twisted around and checked that the barn was open. “Could you get them inside?”

“Okay, I can do that. But how?”

“There’s a strap beneath their chins. Hold it tight and lead them over one at a time and put them in a stall, any stall, doesn’t matter which.”

“All right, no problem. Go, Ryan, go find her.”

“Thank you, Amy. Back soon.”

They jumped out of the truck and went their separate ways. Amy went for the horses while Ryan ran for the field, the beam of his flashlight getting swiftly swallowed up by the darkness.

Amy had no problems getting the horses to safety. They obeyed her commands and were so keen to find shelter that she had trouble keeping up. Once they were all locked away in their stalls, she returned to the entrance of the barn, where she stood guard and waited. The storm was relentless. The rain was falling in sheets and the wind, now even fiercer than before, was bulldozing through the valley, sending haybales cartwheeling across the grass and making light work of anything that wasn’t tied down. It took everything Amy had just to stay upright. Her clothes were sodden and she was shivering with cold, but she didn’t care—all she could think about was that poor horse and how frightened she must be. She only hoped that luck was on Ryan’s side, that he would return soon with good news.

Thankfully, after a brief but nervous wait, Ryan emerged from the darkness with Little Dipper thrashing next to him. She appeared to be highly agitated and in no mood to cooperate.

“Can you believe it!” Ryan called out as he jostled and wrestled the frightened animal through the gate and across the forecourt.

“Where was she?”

“Way, way back! Right by the fence line. It’s amazing she hadn’t gone any farther. But keep your distance. She’s still really freaked out.”

Amy stood back, marveling at Ryan’s ability to hold on and keep the powerful animal under his control.

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