Call

As Katie leans into him, Jason wraps his arms around her, trying to be a shelter. Despite their argument, she wanted him now and he would be there. He kisses the top of her head lightly.

"I'll call them for you."

Don't worry... he'll be okay. He's strong and will pull through.

Rick appears in the hall, just having stepped out from the infirmary. "Katie...?" His face is grim. "He's calm now if you want to see him... but I'm not sure how much time he has." Turning, he slips back into the room, looking at Jeff half-asleep in the bed, then at Misty. "I don't know what's wrong with him, Misty. It's kind of like his body is reacting to something... almost like an allergy, but it's so severe... I don't know what to do."

Jason gives Katie's shoulder a squeeze before nodding her to the infirmary. "Go on. Try to find out what happened. I'll call Texas."


Leo hears another wrench clatter and his eyes drift from the car he was working on, to the one at the other end of the shop. Axel was muttering to himself and looking around for the dropped tool. Thankfully, Darrell wasn't around today again.

Sighing, Leo moves from his car and wipes his hands on his rag, wandering over to Axel. "Need help?"

"No, I don't need help," Axel snaps. "Just..." He takes a deep breath. "Sorry. Just one of those days."

Leo looks to Axel's hand that was held to his side. "Did it finally happen?"

Axel stops working and closes his eyes, turning to lean back against the car. "Yeah." He lets out a sorry scoff. "It hurt this morning, but by the time I came down here, there was nothing. It's been numb for about five hours now."

He tosses aside the wrench he'd found. "If it doesn't improve by the end of the day, I might as well pack up my stuff."

"Well don't-"

"Have you ever seen a one-handed mechanic?" Axel shakes his head. "No, it's too late." Glancing around at the others in the shop who were busy working, he turns back around again. "Just don't tell anybody yet."

Leo shrugs. "Okay. What about Jess?"

"I'll... tell her. Soon."


"It's a great day for racing, ladies and gentlemen, as the breeze is cool on this eighty-degree day. Be sure to stop by the concession stands for some icy lemonade, and check out the racing shack where you can get your favorite hats, jackets and more. Take your seats, 'cause we'll be starting in just ten minutes..."

Bret zips up his jacket and tips his head to look out across the track to where the announcer was giving his spiel. It really was a perfect day, and they had a good turnout too. For a track that went against the flow and never got involved with the bigwigs or the racing hooplah, they were holding their own quite well.

"Yo man, you ready?" Landon slaps Bret's shoulders.

Bret grins. "Sure am."

"Good. 'Cause I heard Troy telling his buddies out there from Carterton that he was gonna take this one. Personally I think it'll be you."

"Or you."

"Naw... Maybe I never left, but you got the talent and you know it."

Bret pulls on his gloves, still grinning. "Maybe. See you out there." He points after his friend as Landon walks away. "Be safe."

"You too, bro."

The anticipation in the air was thick. Engines revved. People were mingling everywhere. From his spot on the track, Bret looked up above the stands to the box where Kirk was, along with several others from the crew, and Charlotte. "Hey babe." He grins, while speaking into the mic in his helmet. "No flirting with the guys while I'm down here."


Mick hangs up the phone in the house and just stares at it for a moment. This didn't sound good.

He moves slowly to go back outside. So much had happened already. He hadn't wanted to think that Rosetta's bad feelings were realistic, but now he knew they were.

He'd just come inside to get something to drink and happened to hear the phone ring while he was there. The conversation with Jason had been brief. Walking to the barn, he looks around for his wife.

"Mick?" Eric looks up from his seat on a bale of hay. "What's wrong?"

Mick shakes his head. "Later. Seen your sister?"

"Um... yeah, I think she's down with one of the foals."

"Thanks." Mick continues his route down to the larger stalls. Hearing Rosetta's voice, he smiles and slides open the stall door to join her. The little chestnut filly looks at him curiously and swishes her tail. Toddling over to him, she sticks her nose out to sniff his hand.

Mick grins and lets her nuzzle his palm, then suck his fingers. It would be a while before she had teeth. She moves from his fingers then sniffs his pocket with interest.

"Naw," he croons, nudging her back to his mother. "You'll get to find out what an apple is once you got something to chew it with."

Sighing deeply, he then moves to Rosetta, pulling her into a hug. "Hey." Drawing away a little, he looks into her eyes, knowing that she could sense his seriousness. "Jeff's at TJY. He went to Katie's... he's sick... really sick."