Chapter Twelve

~ Miko ~

I wasn't ready to head back to the barn. It was peaceful and quiet out here. I knew the main ranch was off in the distance somewhere behind us, but there were trees and open fields as far as I could see.

I kind of wanted to stay and walk around a bit.

"Jos?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

I pressed my lips together for a moment before asking, "May we walk a little more?"

Jos's dark brows slanted over his eyes. "I reckon that would be okay."

I think that was a yes.

"How far is the ranch?" I asked.

"You are standing on it."

"I mean the house."

"Oh, I guess about a half a mile east of here, maybe a little more."

Yeah, I saw nothing.

I also hadn't realized we had come this far. "Is horse okay?"

"Yeah, Bucky loves this kind of stuff. Being cooped up in the barn is his idea of hell. He'd rather be out roaming the range."

Me, too, as it turned out.

"Where are the cows?"

This was a cow ranch. Shouldn't there be cows?

Jos gestured west of us with his head. "The boys have them out a little further. We try not to let them graze in one place for too long so we move them often."

I squinted at Jos for a moment. "What is graze?"

"Oh." Jos looked perplexed for a moment. "It means to eat grass, I guess. Not sure what the actual definition is, but when the cattle are out eating the grass on the range we call it grazing."

The word was a little weird, but the concept was good. I knew a bit about rotating crops since I had to grow a lot of my own vegetables growing up. Horses weren't crops, but I imagined the concept was similar.

"Miko!" Jos suddenly grabbed me, jerking me hard enough to make me stumble. "Get back to Bucky now!"

"Wha—" Before I could ask what was going on, I was picked up and tossed over Jos's shoulder. It was a bumpy ride as the man took off running. I held on as tightly as I could, but there wasn't much to grab onto except Jos's belt buckle.

I seriously thought about grabbing his ass...right up until he tossed me up onto his horse. Jos mounted up in front of me this time, grabbing my arms and wrapping them around his waist.

"Hold on tight."

I knew exactly why he said that when he jerked the reins and Bucky took off running back toward the main house.

I held on for dear life.

That little instinct button every human being has was flashing bright red right now, screaming at me that something was seriously wrong. I just didn't know what it was, and that made it just a little more frightening.

My heart was thundering so hard in my chest I almost missed the low rumble that started filling the air behind us. One glance over my shoulder and I wished I had never looked.

"Jos!"

"Hold on, Miko," Jos yelled at me. "Don't let go."

I glued myself to Jos's back and held on for all I was worth. I knew there was a word for all those cows running toward us, kicking up dust and dirt, but in my panic I couldn't remember what it was. I just knew I didn't want to be here right now.

I forgot to swallow when I glanced behind me and saw the cloud of dust and horns headed in our direction. "Go faster," I shouted to Jos. "They are catching up."

I felt a spurt of speed in the horse underneath me, but realized too late that it wasn't going to work. Bucky stumbled, sending Jos and I went flying through the air.

I heard a terrified scream and didn't realize until it had suddenly cut off when I hit the ground that it came from me. Something heavy came down on top of me, stealing the air from my lungs. I could barely breathe. Spots danced in my eyes, warring with the tears of pain flooding them.

I gasped and tried to push the heavy weight off of me so I could suck in some much needed oxygen, but whatever was holding me down had me surrounded.

Panic started to set in.

Was I going to die?

With my last grasped of air I called out for the one person I knew could save me. "Jos."

It came out as more of a croaked murmur.

"Stay still, Miko!" The words were whispered into my ear, but they echoed like thunder.

I heard Jos grunt a few times and felt him jerk against my body. I was terrified of what was happening to him. When I looked into his eyes I was surprised to find tears in them. We stared at each other, no words spoken, for what seemed like forever.

And then the noise suddenly stopped.

Jos lifted his head and glanced around for a moment and then looked back at me. "Are you okay?" His hands started moving over me inch by inch, going over my shoulders, down my arms, and then to my legs. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

I mutely shook my head. I was terrified, but I didn't feel any pain anywhere. "What happened?"

"Cattle stampede." Jos closed his eyes for a moment, the corded muscles of his neck straining. When he opened them again, the tears were gone, but his cornflower blue eyes were faded with pain.

I frowned as I watched him stagger a couple of steps when he got to his feet. I quickly got up and went to him. "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Miko. Just a couple of kicks from the cattle."

I didn't believe him.

"Show me," I insisted.

"Miko, it's—" Jos's head snapped around and then he took off running, skidding to a stop several feet away before dropping to his knees. Bucky was down, lying on his side and panting heavily.

Jos unbuckled the saddle and let it slide away before starting to check him over. Even from where I stood I could spot the blood on his backend.

Once Jos examined the wound, his head dropped down to his chest and I could swear I heard him whisper Bucky's name. He stayed like that for so long, I started to grow concerned.

I started walking toward him, but when he got up and drew the gun he had holstered to his side, I broke into a run. "What are you doing?" I shouted as I grabbed his arm.

"Miko, stop!"

"No!"

I refused to let go.

"Miko, stop," he said again. "You don't understand. Bucky is injured. His back leg was mangled by a horn. He won't heal from this. The kindest thing I can do for him is put him out of his misery."

"No hurt!"

"Miko—"

I darted between Jos and the horse, spreading my arms out to my sides to prevent him from getting past me. "No!"

"Miko, stop!"

Jos grabbed my arm with one hand and tried to pull me out of the way. I could see the exasperation in his face, mixed with a whole lot of misery, but I couldn't let him shoot Bucky.

I wasn't positive I could save Bucky because I hadn't been able to get a good look at his injury yet, but I still wanted the chance to try.

"Please, don't hurt Bucky."

Jos paused for a moment, dragging his hand down over his face before reaching up to tilt his hat back. "Miko, he's got a leg wound. Most horses don't come back from an injury like that. I'm trying to do the humane thing here."

I narrowed my eyes and then jumped forward to tap at pressure points on Jos's neck. I caught him when his eyes rolled back into his head and gently lowered him to the ground.

It wasn't easy. The man weighed a ton.

I stared down at him, my heart aching that I'd been forced to do that. I just had no other choice. Jos loved Bucky. He might not have said it, but it was loudly spoken in the gentle care he had for his horse. He'd be devastated if Bucky died, especially if he was the one to pull the trigger, even if it was the humane thing to do.

Now I just needed to figure out what I was going to do.

I figured the first thing on my list was alerting others that we needed help. I searched Jos for his cell phone, finding it on a holder attached to his belt. I quickly pulled it off and scanned through the names listed.

I dialed the first one I recognized.

"Hey, Boss, what's up?"

"Wade?"

Confusion laced Wade's voice as he asked, "Miko?"

" Hai ."

"Uh..."

"Yes, is Miko. Need help." God, my English was escaping me right now. I took a deep breath and tried again. "Jos and Bucky were hurt in stampede. We need help."

"Oh, fuck," Wade replied. "Where are you?"

"West of house near creek."

"Okay, I know where you are. We'll be right there."

"Wait, you need to bring a truck for Jos and something to move Bucky."

"Bucky?" Wade asked in a hesitant tone.

"Bucky got hurt in the stampede, but I think I can save him. We just need a way to move him back to the barn. Once I treat him, he can't be moved. I also need someone to bring a first aid kit and the green leather case from the top drawer of my dresser."

"Yeah, okay, we'll be there soon."

Once I hung up, I placed the cell phone back on Jos's belt. I wasn't sure what to do with the gun. I'd let Wade handle it when he got here. I didn't want to touch it. Guns were not something I had experience with.

I quickly looked Jos over, checking to make sure none of his injuries were life threatening. I didn't think they were, but I knew he might have internal injuries I couldn't spot. As long as the cows didn't come back, I wasn't going to move him.

Now, to Bucky.

It was easy to see where he was injured. Blood covered the jagged wound on his hindquarter. Before I could start to assess the injury, I needed to calm Bucky down.

I moved to his head and started speaking Japanese to him in a low, calm tone. I told him everything was going to be all right, even if I wasn't sure it was, I told him that he wouldn't feel any pain soon, and I told him how much Jos loved him.

I'm not sure how much of what I said Bucky understood because I didn't know horses that well, but his breathing calmed and he stopped shuddering so hard.

I guess that was something.

I moved back to the injury. I tore off the bottom of my T-shirt and wiped away as much of the blood as I could so I could see exactly what I needed to do to fix Bucky. The injury wasn't that deep, but it had torn into muscle quite severely.

I then understood what Jos had wanted to do. I might be an expert on horse anatomy, but I knew what it meant when muscle was destroyed like this. For a horse, it was a devastating injury.

I still felt that I might be able to do something.

I worked feverishly to stem the flow of blood while keeping Bucky as calm as possible. My movements, while frantic, were slow and measured as to not spook him.

Or me.

I was freaking out here a little bit.

I just hoped Jos didn't wake up before I could get help. I didn't have time to argue with him right now. Bucky had to be my first priority.

Relief flooded me when I heard the sounds of a vehicle approaching. It was going rather fast. When I looked up, I saw one of the ranch trucks tearing across the field right for me.

I prayed it stopped in time.

When it skidded to a stop several feet away, it threw up dust and debris into the air. Wade jumped out of the driver's seat and raced over to me, my green leather case in his hands.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing he asked.

I nodded as I held out my hand. "Case please."

Once Wade handed it over, I set it on the ground and unrolled it. I picked two needles. One that would block Bucky's pain receptors and one to keep him immobile. I didn't want him thrashing around when we tried to move him. I also didn't want him to feel any pain while we did it.

"Boss?" Wade called out as he shook Jos's shoulder. "Boss?"

"Let him sleep," I ordered. "I don't want him waking up until this is over with. If we have to put Bucky down, I don't want him to be the one to do it. He doesn't need that image in his head."

I was surprised when Wade listened to me.

"Do you think you can save Bucky? Most horses don't come back from injuries like this, Miko. You have to know that."

"Jos said so, but I'm going to try."

I refused to just give up. This horse meant too much to Jos.

"What do you need me to do?" Wade asked.

"Is there a doctor we can call to come check Jos out? He protected me after we fell. I don't think he has any broken ribs or internal injuries, but I'd prefer a doctor confirmed that."

"We should probably call an ambulance for him."

I nodded absently as I inserted the needles into Bucky. I was careful where I placed them, trying to remember the anatomy of a horse. I'd treated smaller animals a lot more.

I glanced up when I heard the sounds of hoof beats on the ground, my breath catching with fear that it might be another stampede. I was a little less terrified when I saw three men on horseback racing toward us.

But just a little.

"What happened?" one of the ranch hands asked as he reached us. I wasn't exactly sure who he was.

"Axel, you and Beau need to get the boss back to the house and call the doctor to come check on him," Wade ordered.

Axel grimaced when he looked at Bucky. "Wade, you know that—"

"Just do it!" Wade snapped.

Axel huffed as he turned and walked over to Jos. Another man joined him and between the two of them, they got Jos moved to the back of the truck.

"I'll drive him to the house," Axel said. "You can take my horse back."

Wade waved his hand, but never stopped assisting me with Bucky.

I appreciated that.

"The front loader is almost here," Wade said. "We can move Bucky with that."

I had no idea what a front loader was, but if it would move the horse I was all for it.

"I need someone to call that vet that came out and looked at Kouki, ask him to come out. I also need someone to run into town and get a list of herbs for me so I can make a poultice."

Wade glanced up and looked at the other two ranch hands. "Who can make a run into town and get some stuff for Miko?"

One of the ranch hands nodded. "I'll go. I just need a list."

"You have phone?" I asked.

The man nodded before unclipping his cell phone from his belt and handing it over. I quickly found the note app, opened it up, and then began writing out everything I felt I would need. I added a little extra so I could make a soothing bath and some tea for Jos to help his aches and pains.

When I handed it back, I said, "I need this fast."

The man nodded once before taking off for his horse.

I glanced up and looked back toward the house. "How much longer for that front loader? I need to start treating Bucky right away." The more time that passed, the less chance I had of successfully treating Bucky.

"Declan," Wade said, "go find out what's keeping Trent."

I guess all we could do now was wait.