“No,” she said quietly, “I’m giving him to you. I have this crazy feeling that he wants to be here. Besides, it’s a family tradition. My family gives yours horses, Lipizzaners, every seventy-six years.” Alex laughed and shook his head. He knew what she had paid for him. A fortune.
“I can’t accept a gift like that.” He smiled as he said it.
“I’m sure your grandfather said something like that to my great-grandfather in 1938.”
“Maybe so,” Alex said, watching her quietly, and then he looked at the stallion again. “What did you call him?”
“Snow,” she said, and the horse turned and gave her a filthy look, but he didn’t try to bite her.
“What about Pegasus?” Alex said, and the horse turned again and looked like he was smiling.
“See what I mean? He doesn’t even like the name I gave him. I swear, he hates me. I think he wanted to go home with you all along.” It felt that way now, watching him nuzzle Alex. He was wearing a bit and bridle, and Alex swung easily onto his bare back and led him around. The giant Lipizzaner was as meek as a lamb. And Alex looked at Nicky and smiled.
“Want to go for a ride? I can grab you a horse from the barn.” She was wearing riding boots, and she nodded, still unable to believe that he was riding the huge stallion bareback with no problem. He had a magical way with horses, and the Lipizzaner looked like he knew he was home and had a friend. He had treated Nicky like the enemy since she bought him.
Lucas saw what they were doing, and brought her a horse a minute later. He introduced himself, and Nicky explained who she was. He had known it the minute he saw her.
“Beautiful stallion,” he commented about the Lipizzaner she had brought with her.
“He belongs here,” she said simply. And a moment later they cantered off, and Alex had no problem with him at all. They rode for a long time and were still on his enormous ranch.
“I don’t know why, but I had a feeling you’d come here. And I felt like I was going to see him again,” Alex said quietly, referring to the stallion.
“You must be psychic,” she said, and he laughed.
“No, I just felt like our meeting was so strange, as though it were meant to be, or happened for some odd reason.” And then he realized where he had taken her, without thinking. They were walking their horses past the peaceful place where his grandfather was buried, and Christianna beside him, looking out over a bluff, and Pegasus was buried nearby. He looked at Nicky then, and saw again that her eyes looked familiar, as though he had known her for a long time, or in another place. And she had the same feeling about him. It was as though they had been linked long ago, and their paths had been meant to cross that day at the auction. It felt as though forces more powerful than they were at work.
“I’m glad you came,” Alex said quietly. “I thought about you a lot after we met. I almost called you a couple of times, but I didn’t know what to say.”
“Me too,” she admitted. “I just rode in a show in Santa Barbara, and I knew I had to bring him here. He was meant for you. He doesn’t belong to me. He never did.”
“Pegasus,” Alex said quietly, and the horse gently moved his handsome white head at the sound of his name. “Welcome home,” he said, patting him, astride his powerful bare back, and as he said it, he looked at Nicky and she smiled.
He gave Pegasus his head then, and Nicky followed beside him, as they galloped through the fields. They had come through generations to find each other, and the white stallion that had bound their ancestors to each other and saved three lives had come with them.
Pegasus had come back to them. They slowed their horses to a walk as the barns came into sight, and Alex reached out and gently touched Nicky’s cheek. She felt as docile as the stallion when he did it, which wasn’t like her. He had a magical touch. “Welcome home,” he said again. He was saying it to her this time, and as their eyes met, it was the most peaceful feeling in the world. And as Lucas watched them from the distance, he smiled, too, and walked into the barn, knowing that all was well in their world. Pegasus had come home.
To my beloved children,
Beatie, Trevor, Todd, Nick, Sam, Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara,
To history, magic, survival, and new lives,
To the Pegasus in each of our lives, to carry us forward,
And the courage to pursue him bravely and embrace him.
I love you so very much,
Mommy/d.s.
By Danielle Steel
A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
PURE JOY: The Dogs We Love
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 600 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include A Perfect Life, Power Play, Winners, First Sight, Until the End of Time, The Sins of the Mother, Friends Forever, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; and Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved.
Visit the Danielle Steel website at daniellesteel.com.
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