Salvation

Legacy made his way to the bucket, and gently lowered his head in. The tempting aroma wafting up from the bottom had him salivating- it had been so long since he had a good warm mash that he'd forgotten how wonderful it smelled. With the first bite, he closed his eyes and groaned with pleasure. Bliss. Warm, slightly sweet, soft- Legacy was enjoying the feel of the feed in his mouth as much as he did the taste of it.

Bad Ass sat in his favorite spot where he could look out over the entire farm yard down to the main house. He could also turn slightly and see directly into Legacy's stall, which he did with the start of the groaning.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me. That mush can not possibly be THAT good! Groaning and carrying on. I might have known you'd still be a complete attention hound, even when there is only me here to witness it!"

The hungry horse barely slowed his savoring. He merely rolled an eye towards the opinionated cat and kept on chewing.

Bad Ass shook his head and went back to grooming himself. Silly horses. Crazy humans. Some days, he did not know why these trials had been put upon him. Still, he supposed someone had to be strong enough to keep them all in line, and who was better for that job than a tough as nails, black as sin barn cat?



Up in the main house, Keeley too was lost in thought. She stole a quick look out the window, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Legacy or Bad Ass. Her attention was brought back to the task at hand quickly, when a spatter from the egg pan popped onto her wrist and burned her. Nothing like a quick, painful reminder to keep her mind on the job.

She plated the eggs, buttered the toast, and took a tray into the sitting room for her father. Sean had come in from the barn and quietly gone to his chair. He sat looking out the window, lost in memories. Keeley hesitated half a heartbeat before entering the room. The pain in her father's face clearly told her where his mind had wandered to- it was pain she was all too familiar with.

"Dad? Are you hungry? I brought your breakfast in. Do you want some juice or coffee to go with it...?" Keeley's voice trailed off as she saw the tears slowly making their way down his cheeks. Sean turned towards her, his eyes tired. The lines in his face had deepened in just the short time they had been in the house. Gone was the alertness present in the barn. Instead his blue eyes swam with sorrow.

"Oh Keeley... why did she have to go? Why did it have to be by that horse of all things? I would have shot him dead right then you know. Shot him dead. He might have been better off if I had. At least then he would not have wound up in this condition. I don't know if I can ever forgive him for taking your mother from me. I just don't know." He dropped his head down onto his chest, sobbing.

Keeley fumbled the tray down on the end table. Reaching out to her Dad, she wrapped her arms around him holding him as tight as she could. "I don't know, Dad. I just don't know. But we have to hold onto this- she will never be gone from us because she will always be a part of us. I know she is watching over us Dad. I know it. And I know with out a doubt she would want us to take care of Legacy. We need to do this together Dad. You and me."

Keeley sat, perched on the arm of her Dad's favorite chair. Her arms were wrapped around his thin frame tightly, holding him as if to protect him from all the troubles of the world. Together they sat, grieving over old wounds so freshly ripped open. She didn't know how long she held her father, but when she felt his body go slack and heard his quiet breathing, she eased him back in the chair and slowly, stiffly stood. Placing a soft blanket over him, she picked up the tray and quietly headed to the kitchen. Breakfast was stone cold, the eggs congealed on the plate. Keeley could not bring herself to face the mess in the kitchen now, and slipped quietly out the door for a quick trip to the barn. Her excuse to herself was to check on Legacy, but in her heart of hearts, she knew the real reason for the trip out was for peace of mind. Horses had always provided a calm in the storm, and she needed that calm now in order to be able to face what the rest of the day would bring.



Legacy had finally finished licking his bucket clean by the time Keeley got to the barn, and stood eyes half closed, dozing in the sun. He perked up his ears at the sound of her footsteps, and he let out a low nicker. Bad Ass pranced over to Keeley, tail up, letting out his rusty sounding meow now and again, looking for all the world like he was the sole keeper of the worlds greatest secret. Which in some ways, he was.

"Look at you two boys! BA, you're never quite THIS lovey. Are you happy having a horse back home, or are you just trying to make sure you get your fair share of attention?" She ran her hand down the big cat's back, all the way to the tip of his tail. He rewarded her with a purr that rumbled seemingly up from the depths of the Earth itself. She moved to the stall door, going in to get the feed bucket. Turning, she stood looking at Legacy, taking her first true, hard look at him. What she saw was shocking. His once glossy hide was now dull and covered with scars and odd bits of twisted flesh. The skin was stretched tight over protruding bones, and every knob of his spine was visible. His legs were not quite as swollen this morning at least, and his eyes were still bright. At least those were two good things to enjoy for the moment. She let out a sigh. "Even if you are beat to hell and back horse, it's darn good to have you home again." Reaching out she ran a gentle hand over his barrel, feeling each and every rib, each and every scar. "Just look at that mess of mane! All knotted up and nasty. We'll be doing something about that today. Cleaning that up alone will make us both feel better, won't it?"

Legacy turned his head towards Keeley, and she gently touched his face. Pushing aside the twisted mass of forelock, she traced the scar on his head with careful fingertips. "Just think boy. If it had not been for a moment of clumsiness as a baby, we never would have known it was you. Pretty ironic isn't it?" She straightened the mess as best she could and briskly said, "Well, let's get you a bit of hay to munch on. Dr. Mike said you could start eating a bit here and there. Time to start and see how you're going to do with it." One last stroke down his face and she turned to head out of the stall.