The horse thundered down the path. A rider who was less skilled would have been clinging for dear life to the reins as the countryside flashed by. Davy, though, was as one with the magnificent thoroughbred. He wasn't even conscious of the animal beneath him. He had never been so angry before. He wanted to ride until this horrible, uncontrollable boiling inside of him was spent. How could he have come to this point kept rolling over and over in his mind. What was he thinking to let himself get tangled in this mess? As the horse began to tire, Davy realized that he had been riding for nearly half an hour. He couldn't keep Pearl Locker moving at that pace without doing serious damage to him.
"I'm sorry, mate. I didn't mean to take it out on you," he said. He slowed the horse down to a trot to cool him off and began to look around for a stream or pond.
"Man! We really covered some ground, didn't we? We're all the way down by Cheshire Hill Ranch."
Cheshire Hill Ranch was owned by Chip Douglas, a good friend of The Monkees who had produced their latest record. Davy knew that he could water Pearl Locker at Chip's barn even though it was only six in the morning. Normally Davy would glory in the crisp morning air and peaceful drowsiness of the world around him, but not today. This feeling frightened him. It was somewhat less now but still powerful.
He steered the stallion toward the grove of trees that hid the barn from view. Once they were past the trees, he grimly dismounted and walked Pearl Locker to the stable. It occurred to Davy that under his fury was a deep ache. He hadn't acknowledged that ache in years. He patted the sleek haunches of his companion and got lost in thought as he took care of his horse.
Chapter 2
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