Below them, in a small draw by a clear stream, were the thirty mares and their young. One mare lifted her head and her nostrils quivered as she tested the air for any dangerous presences. The humans, luckily enough, were down wind and out of range of the horses. Michelle hungrily drank in the sight of the wild Roamers. Their proud necklines, their bunched muscles, like they were constantly ready to run. Her eyes were drawn to a foal near the middle of the grazing band. Both of his front legs were white, as was his rump. The rest of him was black. Then Michelle saw his eyes and knew that this was the offspring of the stallion that Aaron had spoken of, for the foal’s left eye was as blue as the Montana sky.

Michelle looked up to the horizon and saw the silhouette of a large horse. It tossed its head and galloped down the gentle slope to its harem. When it drew nearer, Michelle could make out that it was the lead stallion. Her breath caught in her throat as the stallion’s full beauty was revealed to her. His eyes held a wily intelligence that bespoke of many years of experience at avoiding all other life forms. The girl’s eyes misted over.

Alex looked over at Michelle and saw that she was as taken with the view as he was. The tears stood out in her eyes, a dreamy smile ghosting across her face. Alex put his arm around Michelle and hugged her. As he did so, Michelle looked into his eyes and smiled a truly brilliant smile, her face positively glowing with happiness. Alex had thought that Michelle was happiest on a horse, yet she had proven him wrong.

"Isn’t it wonderful, Alex? Have you ever seen anything so magnificent in your life?" Michelle’s voice was a near whisper.

Alex was about to respond that the sight was only rivaled by the look in her eyes when the peacefulness was shattered by a piercing cry. Both of the teens’ heads jerked up. The band was milling around nervously and the stallion was running around the perimeter, trying to keep his mares in a tight circle. Then everyone saw the reason for the mustangs’ fear. Slinking down the side of the hill were five coyotes, and very hungry coyotes by the sight of them.

Michelle couldn’t figure out why the coyotes would be hunting during the day. Then it hit her.

"Aaron, didn’t you say once that coyotes follow a herd when there are a lot of foals?" Michelle waited the affirmative nod and then continued. "Would they bypass other food to get at a foal?" Again Aaron nodded in agreement. "Well, that explains their appearance. Do you think that they might get one of the foals?" Michelle’s tone was slightly worried and her brows were creased in consternation. She knew that that was the way of nature, but the thought of her foals being eaten by coyotes made her stomach turn.

"Well, there’s always the chance. Even coyotes need to eat, Michelle," Aaron gently chided. Michelle flushed slightly at her illogical outburst.

The stallion screamed again and drew the attention of the human interlopers. The coyotes had encircled the Roamers, and the stallion was standing stock-still and proud, even as his mares pranced around him. Michelle couldn’t help admiring him for his bravery; he seemed to think that he would be able to hold off the savages all by himself. As the tension built, one of the mares bolted for an opening and all of her sisters followed. The stallion reared and tried to keep the coyotes back but it was no use. As the band flowed down the draw, the coyotes raced after them, nipping at their hocks. Some of the mares had to hold back to help the foals and to goad them to run even faster.

Michelle heard Alex’s intake of breath as the blue eyed colt fell further and further behind. His mother tried to get him with the rest of the herd but it was no use and she had to eventually leave him behind. Alex screamed in outrage and leaped up. He flew into his saddle and he and Tharo jumped straight into a headlong gallop. Soon they were bearing down upon the coyotes that were hungrily closing in on the lone foal. He roared at the slinking scavengers and scattered them by running them down. Tharo’s eyes were wild but he responded on a dime. Michelle couldn’t believe her eyes. Alex had become a maniac, his face set and his eyes mad. When he reached the quivering foal, he slid out of the saddle and scooped him up as if he were as light as a feather. Alex then deposited him in front of the saddle and vaulted back into it. Again, man and horse galloped back up to where the others were waiting, not allowing for the coyotes to regroup.

Alex’s three companions were slack-jawed and blown away by their friend’s unexpected performance. When Alex and Tharo reached the top of the hill, the boy slid down and gingerly lifted the colt off of Tharo’s withers. A loving expression filled with wonder replaced the madness in Alex’s face as he looked down at the trembling bundle in his arms. He laid the colt on the ground and sank down to his knees, not once removing his hands from the tiny body. Michelle folded her legs beneath her and sat beside Alex, running her hands along the colt’s flanks.

She could feel the muscles bunch in fear and felt pity for this poor colt that was completely alone. No, he wasn’t completely alone, for Michelle had the distinct feeling that Alex would not leave him wanting for love and affection. She caressed her friend’s cheek and looked up at Aaron.. Her eyes were radiant.

"Alex, it seems that you’ve found yourself a friend. Now, I don’t want to ruin the moment but it would be best to get back to the ranch." Aaron picked up the colt and positioned him in front of Alex’s saddle once again. Then he mounted up and waited expectantly for the three teens to do the same.

When everyone was situated, they took off at a brisk walk, not chancing a trot for the sake of Alex and his new found responsibility. Michelle never once left Alex’s side. Through all off this, Johnny just hid in the shadows of his friend’s happiness, thinking that he had been forgotten. Just to the contrary, Aaron had been keeping an eye on the dark eyed boy, for he knew jealousy when he saw it. And it ran strong and bitter in this young man’s veins.

The riders came insight of the ranch a little after noon. Michelle knew that Aaron’s presence had been missed, for her father met them at the gate, a worried expression clouding his eyes.

"Aaron, where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you-" Dylan Valentine cut it short though, realizing how foolish he was sounding. He gave a little chuckle. "I guess that’s somewhat unnecessary considering that you taught me how to survive. We were just so used to you always being around the grounds that we thought that something must have been wrong. Then we saw that Brombie was gone too. That’s all." Michelle’s father had been blinded by his initial concern, but now that everything had been cleared up, he noticed the addition to the family. He looked a little uncertain.

"Ummm. . . Alex, where did you get that colt? I don’t know anyone who sells them so young."

Michelle cleared her throat, indicating that she would take over from there. Alex concluded that this would be best for she knew what her father could take. Not to mention the fact that she had her father wrapped around her little fingers and could get anything she wanted from him.

"Daddy, do you remember when those people came out and told us that there were no more Roamers? Well, this morning Johnny found a remaining band and came to tell us." Michelle paused here and gave Aaron a waspish glare. "It seems that Aaron already knew that there were still Roamers so he took us out there to have a peek. When we found them, a pack of coyotes decided that they were hungry. The whole band bolted and this little guy couldn’t keep up. When he was about to become lunch, Alex just leaped into the saddle and became the hero of the day.

"You should have seen him, wild eyed and completely oblivious to everything but his young colt there. It was truly amazing!" During Michelle’s oration, her father had seemed skeptical, but as she progressed through the day, his skepticism vanished and in its place was respect for this young man who would put his life on the line for a horse.

"Well, why don’t you guys get down on solid ground and get these horses fixed up." He turned to Alex, pondering something. "I don’t have any mares with foal so you’ll have to give him milk with a glove until he’s old enough for solids."

"I’ll clean up Tharo for you, Alex, and then you can take care of our little man there." Michelle took Tharo’s reins from her friend’s hands and then turned back to face him as a thought struck her. "Alex? What are you going to name him?"

It was obvious that her question had taken him by surprise for he just stood there for a while. "I hadn’t really thought about until now. I guess I would have to name him ‘Spirit Weaver’ because of his eye. It would almost be hypnotic if he wasn’t asleep so much. I’ll just call him Spirit for short." Without another word, he picked up Spirit and followed Dylan to the big house for milk.

Michelle motioned for the two men to follow her and she walked to the barn. Something was troubling her, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. It had something to do with the new colt and with Alex. Instinctively she tied Fancy up and began to untack the black mare. As she groomed her horse she went over the list in her mind. Alex could feed him, love him, train him, house him. . . That was it! Where was Spirit going to go when Alex went back to the city? The city is no place for a mustang! And she knew that now that Alex had a horse, he was not about to let him out of his sight for a moment. That was going to be a problem. Michelle considered asking Alex but the thought of bursting his bubble wrenched at her heart.

Then, out of the blue, Johnny’s face surfaced in her mind. With a start, she realized that she had completely ignored him all day. That definitely wasn’t going to help him cope with the situation of Alex.

"Johnny." At the mention of his name he looked up. Michelle couldn’t believe that she had been so out of it that she had looked over the anguish that her other friend had been suffering. She could tell that he was trying to hide it, but Johnny was not so good that he could mask his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Why don’t you tie Windy up and give that poor horse a rest; he certainly deserves it."

"Well, I didn’t think that I-" Johnny began to back out of the barn, but Michelle wasn’t about to let him feel sorry for himself and wallow in self-pity.

"Just tie him up beside Fancy and get that saddle off of his poor, abused back. Then you can give him some oats and carrots after putting him in the sixth stall down," Michelle instructed. Her tone allowed no arguments and her blue eyes bored into him, exposing his ravaged soul.

Johnny made as if he was going to argue so Michelle pointedly walked out of the large barn door. "Come in and eat when he’s all cleaned up," she called over her shoulder.

The teen let out the breath he had been holding in an explosive sigh of exasperation. The one time that he had no desire to stay and the girl was making him. There was no need to go over the fact that he would have to watch the girl he loved fawn over some city slicker. A dry chuckling interrupted his savage thoughts. He looked to see where the sound was coming from and realized that he wasn’t alone in the barn.

"It’s okay to let Michelle run over you every now and then. It keeps her in practice. Though it’s not like you could resist her if you wanted to. There’s something compelling about her, maybe her eyes. I don’t know. Anyway, I think that you know where all the stuff is, so when you’re finished join us in the big house for lunch." Aaron was as demanding as Michelle was; the only difference was that you didn’t realize that Aaron had guided you until you had already done it.

Johnny knew when he was beat and gave a little shrug as Aaron left him alone. He quickly cleaned Windy up, being extra cautious while going over the palomino’s legs. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief when no swelling was found. He hadn’t asked so much of his horse in quite some time. The boy affectionately patted his horse as the gelding noisily munched on carrots. Reluctantly he untied Windy and ushered him into the stall. Grudgingly he walked out of the barn and down to the main house, dragging his feet and raising little puffs of dust with each step.

When Johnny stepped into the kitchen, he heard gales of laughter and saw the Valentine family gathered around the tiny colt. Spirit seemed to adjust quickly and was butting Danny vigorously with his head, demanding more milk. Danny was completely taken with the feisty foal; Johnny could see the captivated look shining from the boy’s eyes.

Johnny Kyneese squared his shoulders and joined in the circle surrounding Spirit. Alex was on his knees beside the colt offering a bottle of warmed milk in response to the desperate bleatings issuing from the small muzzle. A tender smile alighted his enemy’s face; one that almost broke down Johnny’s hard hearted defenses. Almost - Johnny caught himself at the last minute, not allowing himself that small indulgence of friendship.

He walked to Michelle and grasped her elbow, steering her away from the crowd. She resisted at first, but when she realized who had grabbed her she allowed herself to be led. Johnny wasn’t even able to get a single word out, though, before Michelle deliberately guided him.

"Oh yes. Lunch." Michelle tossed her head, a knowing glint in her eye. "Okay everybody, while Alex his feeding his acquired toy-" The tall girl ignored Alex’s pained look. "We should not neglect to feed ourselves." It was at this point that Tallia took over and shooed the many people from her kitchen. The large bunch flowed into the large living room where light conversation reigned.

"So, Alex, when are your parents coming?" Dylan seated himself across from the young boy and his horse, leaning forward as the question left his lips.

Alex reluctantly pulled his eyes from Spirit. "What? Oh, well, what day is it?" He looked around the room, waiting for someone to answer.

"It’s the first of June," volunteered Michelle.

"Thanks." Alex flashed her a smile. "My parents were going to be about two weeks behind. They still have a lot to pack-" but he didn’t finish as he realized that he was not supposed to mention that. He quickly glanced at the people around him, hoping no one would press the issue, but was forced to hold back a groan as he recognized the determinedness in Michelle’s azure eyes.

"What do you mean they still have a lot to pack? It’s not like they’re moving out here." Michelle laughed at the ridiculous idea. Then her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Alex. "There’s something you’re not telling me," she said ominously.

Alex floundered for a moment before Tallia came to his rescue. "Michelle," she chided, "Don’t badger the poor boy. More than likely it’s none of your business." Tallia gracefully swept into the room with the tray of food. All eyes were riveted on her, although today might have been an exception for the hunger was almost palpable and those sandwiches looked delicious.

Tallia sat next to her husband and began to dish out the food.

"So, Aaron. I hear that you’ve been keeping something from us." Michelle knew that her mom had already heard the news about the mustangs. She had to fight down the giggles when she realized that Tallia was just being playful by putting her friend on the spot.

At first Aaron seemed unsure as how to answer but then a grin split his face in two. "Not you too, my Tallia. Your daughter here has already scolded me enough to show me the error of my ways. Not to insult your cunning mind, but what can I say? She’s definitely your daughter and there can’t be much that she left out." Both mother and daughter inclined their heads in haughty gratitude for the compliment, yet they smiled at the old-timer with true love shining through their identical eyes.

Then the question that Michelle dreaded was voiced, and the perpetrator was her own mouth. "Alex, where is little Spirit going to go when you have to go back to the city?" Michelle’s voice was imploring. Then her eyes got wide and she clapped her hands over her mouth, as if trying to catch the words back.

Alex looked like a trapped deer, then a beaten look flashed across his face. "What is it with women that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep nothing secret?"

"Get used to it," murmured Dylan, and Tallia awarded him a flinty stare.

"Well, you’ll find out soon enough, I guess." Alex took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for death. "The reason that my parents are following two weeks behind is that they’re packing to move and they wanted me to be able to spend some time with you before I would have to spend all of my time helping to set up the house."

A dismayed cry escaped Michelle’s lips and she lurched to her feet, staggering like a drunk. "No, no you can’t. You can’t move." Her arguments were plaintive; her eyes were pleading.

Alex shot his hand out as Michelle wavered on her feet. A fleeting look of genuine concern flashed across his face. Then he laughed. "Oh, Michelle. We’re moving to the ranch that’s for sale ten minutes from here. We’re moving closer, not farther away." He shot her a rueful glare. "You, young miss, have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret of that magnitude from you. But please," Alex gazed around the room, "don’t let on that you know. My parents are so excited; this really means a lot to them."

At first the news didn’t register in Michelle’s brain. Then the light of realization dawned in her eyes and she let out an explosive sigh of relief. Next thing the people knew, Michelle had launched herself into Alex’s arms, and he had no choice but to catch her or she would have landed on the floor. The fierceness with which she clung to him pleased Alex and he willingly supported her. The warm, wetness of tears trickled down his neck and he smiled into Michelle’s hair.

"Alex! That’s why you weren’t worried about Spirit. He won’t have to go far at all now will he?" Michelle sniffed loudly, her words muffled. She pulled back and her eyes shone into Alex’s, emitting all of her joy and love in one dose, nearly leaving Alex breathless at the depth of her emotions. Then she caught herself and slipped her arms from around his neck, casting an embarrassed glance around the room. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, "After all, I am only female." She shrugged and it seemed that everyone laughed.

Everyone but one, one that immediately grabbed Michelle’s attention. She hurriedly looked for Johnny, but she couldn’t spot his presence. Then she saw his plate in the corner where he had sat. Oh no! I just get done consoling him and then I go do something like this. When am I ever going to learn, and rushed out of the room.

Johnny couldn’t believe his ears. He had just reconciled himself to the fact that he would only have to put up with this city slicker for three months and now this. How dare he move out here? I was so close with Michelle and then he just. . . just barges in! With his hat and his cowboy boots, sitting that gray beast. It was that thought that had stopped him. What am I saying? Am I actually admitting that this little boy can beat me? No way! Michelle’s threat had been pushed to the back of his mind. Then Michelle lurched up like she’d been shot and he tried to reach her. But, again, that city slicker beat him to her. He slouched back down in his corner.

When Michelle hugged him though, that was the last straw. Johnny carefully placed his plate on the floor and slipped out of the house. I shouldn’t be missed, he thought bitterly as he passed through the kitchen door. He looked back into the living room and nearly choked on the sweetness emanating from the two. . . lovebirds.

Without another backward glance, he stole from the house and sprinted to the barn. He’d never saddled Windy up so fast before. Johnny definitely didn’t want to be stalled by Michelle’s hurt eyes, for he knew that if she turned those accusing eyes on him he would buckle and give in to her every whim, even if it meant hanging around to see the honey dripping from her and Alex.