Toby didn’t run the place like Harlan. He didn’t care about profit margins or breeding distinct bloodlines for snobby auctions. He had turned the fourteen thousand acres into a rehabilitation center for abused and unbreakable horses.
Toby stood on the porch of the main house, watching the sunset paint the sky in hues of purple and gold. He wasn’t wearing fancy clothes. He was still wearing jeans and boots, though they weren’t held together by tape anymore.
Sheriff Colton pulled up the driveway in his cruiser. He stepped out, tipping his hat. “Evening, Toby. Just checking in. Heard you got a new batch of mustangs from Nevada.”
“Yeah,” Toby smiled, handing the Sheriff a glass of lemonade. “They’re rough, scared, but they’ll come around. They just need to know nobody’s gonna hurt them.”
“You heard about Harlan?” the Sheriff asked.
Toby shook his head. “No, don’t much care to.”
“Filed for bankruptcy in Florida. Apparently, nobody wants to do business with the man who lost his empire to a stable boy. Karma’s a slow rider, but she always arrives.”
Toby looked out at the pasture. In the distance, a black silhouette was galloping across the ridge, mane flying in the wind. Midnight ran free—the leader of the herd, the king of the valley.
“It wasn’t about the empire, Sheriff,” Toby said softly. “I would have given the ranch back if it meant keeping the horse. Harlan never understood that. He thought value was in the dirt and the money.”
Toby whistled a sharp, piercing sound. Far out in the field, Midnight stopped. He turned and galloped back toward the house, thundering up the hill until he skidded to a halt right in front of the porch. He nudged Toby’s chest with his snout, looking for an apple. Toby laughed, feeding him the treat.
“Value,” Toby said, resting his forehead against the horse’s, “is in the trust you build when the rest of the world has given up on you.”
The sun dipped below the mountains, casting a long shadow over the land that was won not by greed, but by the gentle touch of a hand that refused to strike. Sometimes, the things we think are broken just need someone who remembers how they were before the world tried to break them. Toby proved that true power isn’t in money or land, but in the courage to stand still when everyone else runs away.
