"Be careful."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Dammit, I hate it when you do that, Bridget," he said in disgust.

"Tough." She couldn't blame him. But it was just as frustrating for her. No, not frustrating, terrifying. Keep it under control. It could be a false alarm. "I'm giving you all I can. It's not right away. Maybe not at all. Now let me concentrate on this donkey."

"Who's stopping you?" He was uneasily following her gaze toward the east. "You're the one who decided to scare the pants off me."

"Sorry." She didn't want to frighten Fraser. She couldn't be sure. She wasn't right all the time. Forget it and get to the job at hand. "Okay, Casper," she said softly as she opened the gate. "We're going to go very slow. Just listen, and we'll see what we can do together."

Casper turned to look at her.

Not a warm response. She could sense only wariness and the gathering of strength.

"We have to help Devon." She was slowly walking toward him. "She needs us to go away for a while. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise you."

Distrust.

"I know. You haven't had much reason to trust people. But it's started to turn around. There are people coming here that might hurt you. If she knew, Devon would want you to go." She reached out and touched the center of his head with her forefinger. Careful. Casper might look the picture of a friendly figure from a children's book, but those teeth were scissor-strong, and one bite could take off a finger.

He didn't move under her touch.

How much time did she have?

Not long.

But she had to take the time. If he brayed, he might wake the house hold. If she tried to put a halter on him, he might lead her all over the pasture before he let her catch him. He had to follow her willingly.

She gently rubbed the sweet spot on his muzzle. "It's okay. You don't want to be here right now. Nothing is going to happen to you. I wouldn't let it. I'm going to be with you all the way…"