"Hey, man, get out of there!" Jonas didn't yell, but he amplified his voice to carry, and it caught Sam's attention.
She turned to see who he was talking to. Her blood froze in her veins as the mare trumpeted and pawed the earth. Toren was inside the pen! She wanted to scream for him to get out but couldn't take the chance of spooking the mare any further.
She held her breath and watched. Toren sidled in a slow circle around the mare, keeping his distance, hands out at his sides. The mare switched her tail and rolled her eyes, but she kept her attention on him, circling to face him.
Doc Jansen nodded to his assistant, the other man in the group. "Get over there by the fence. When he gets the mare's full attention, you get in there and drag that foal out."
The young man nodded and shed his coat and hat, careful to avoid alerting the mare. In just a moment, he'd found a place to crouch beside the fence as close to the infant horse as possible, ready to dive through.
Toren circled within a dozen feet of the mare, still moving slow and crooning soft words.
"This is bullshit!" Joe snatched off his own hat and threw it to the ground. "That bastard is going to get himself killed."
The mare threw her head up and trumpeted her warning again, stamping the ground.
Toren froze but continued to talk to the enraged mother.
Joe suddenly moved closer to the fence and shouldered the rifle. "Get out of there, you idiot! Damn thing will kill you!" He waved one hand wildly and whistled, drawing the mare's full attention.
She reared and screamed then leapt forward to deal with the threat Joe presented.
Toren stood directly between the furious beast and her target. He dove to the side but her shoulder still hit him with tremendous force, throwing him through the air to land hard on his back.
The mare screamed again, rearing and pawing the air while sweat and lather dripped from her glistening hide.
Toren lay on the ground, the breath obviously knocked from him, leaving him helpless.
The mare dove at him and rose in a short rear. Sam's heart stopped.
The mare's iron-hard hooves drove down to strike Toren's chest with incredible force. His body jerked off the ground with the impact.
"Shoot! Kill her Joe!" The words leapt from her throat in panic, but Sam wouldn't take them back. Suddenly Toren meant more to her than the ranch's future. Another blow like the first would kill any man and she couldn’t lose him. No matter if he did end up shattering her heart and soul. One moment with him was worth far more than any horse or piece of land.
Moving in slow motion, Joe took aim and the mare reared again, bellowing her anger.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sam absently noted the vet's assistant darting toward the foal. He dropped to his knees at its side.
Joe's finger finally tightened on the trigger as the mare started her downward plunge.
"SHOOT!"
"NO!" Toren exploded from under the mare's hooves and flew at her head. Using his momentum and the mare's position, he spun her off her feet and bore her to the ground. He crouched with his knee on the horse's jaw, keeping her pinned.
The vet's assistant grabbed the foal's hind feet and dragged it to the fence where the vet took over and pulled the little thing under the bottom rail. "Clear!"
"Toren, get out!"
Faced with the dilemma of letting go of the tiger's tail, Toren stayed still for a long moment. Then he visibly gathered himself, muscles rippling under the muddy mixture of dirt, sweat and snow that coved his naked back. With inhuman speed, he leaped off the mare's head and moved back.
He continued to face the horse as she lunged to her feet.
Why didn't he run? He'd had a few seconds to get outside the fence.
Instead he stood like a statue, hands out, murmuring those soft words again.
The mare snorted and tossed her mane, but stood.
Toren took a step toward her. And still she stood. Another step. She stretched her muzzle out, nostrils quivering.
Toren took another step and the mare allowed his fingers to touch her nose, then creep up to her head, tickling and scratching. Amazingly, the powerful creature lowered her head and relaxed her ears.
Toren stepped up to touch her neck.
"You want a rope, man?" Jonas' low voice carried across the pen.
Toren shook his head and took hold of a handful of mane and tugged. The mare took a step, apparently willing to follow where he led.
"Get the hell out of my way, you bastard!" Joe’s voice broke and he screeched the command as he drew the rifle's hammer back.
Toren turned a little, still keeping his hand on the mare. His low voice carried so there could be no mistake what he said. "Back the fuck off. You aren't hurting this horse."
Unable to shoot without hitting Toren, Joe darted around the pen, trying for a clear line of sight of the mare. "That thing's insane." At the same time, near the barn, the foal responded to the vet's efforts with a plaintive whinny.