Because he wanted to save Midnight.
That morning, another trainer had come to try.
His name was Travis Reed.
He was thirty-nine, confident, fit, and famous in rodeo circles.
He walked into the corral wearing a black hat and expensive boots.
The crowd grew quiet.
Midnight watched him.
Travis approached.
"Easy, boy."
The stallion lowered his head.
Daniel noticed the change immediately.
Midnight's ears had gone backward.
His nostrils tightened.
His muscles became rigid.
Daniel took one step forward.
"Travis."
The trainer ignored him.
"I know horses," Travis said.
Daniel shook his head.
"That's not what I said."
Travis reached for the reins.
Midnight jerked his head away.
The crowd murmured.
Travis grabbed harder.
The stallion backed away.
"Don't force him," Daniel warned.
Travis turned.
"You've been trying for three years."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"That's why I'm telling you."
Travis smiled.
"Watch."
He climbed into the saddle.
For one heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then Midnight launched upward.
The saddle slipped.
Travis flew over the horse's shoulder and landed heavily in the dirt.
The crowd gasped.
Midnight galloped to the far side of the corral.
He stood there trembling.
Nobody laughed.
Daniel walked toward the fallen trainer.
"Are you hurt?"
Travis pushed himself upright.
"My pride."
Daniel looked toward Midnight.
"No. You scared him."
Before Travis could answer, a young voice came from behind the crowd.
"Why does everyone keep trying to make him afraid?"
Daniel turned.
A girl stood beside the fence.
She couldn't have been more than seventeen.
She wore faded jeans, an oversized blue shirt, and old work boots. Her brown hair was tied loosely behind her head.
She was not dressed like a rider.
She wasn't carrying a saddle.
She wasn't carrying a whip.
She simply watched Midnight.
And Midnight was watching her.
Daniel frowned.
"Who are you?"
The girl looked at him.
"Lily."
"Lily what?"
"Lily Carter."
Daniel stared.
The name meant something.
Then he remembered.
Her grandmother had been staying in the area for the summer.
Lily was the granddaughter of his old friend Samuel Carter.
Samuel had been dead for nearly six years.
Daniel had never met Lily.
"You shouldn't be this close to the corral," Daniel said.
She stepped away from the fence.
"I wasn't trying to get close."
"Then why are you here?"
She looked at Midnight.
"Because everyone is yelling."
Daniel glanced around.
"People came to watch."
"That doesn't mean he wants them here."
Daniel almost smiled.
"You know horses?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
"Then what makes you think you understand him?"
She looked back at the stallion.
"I don't."
Daniel waited.
Lily continued quietly.
"But I think he understands us."
The crowd fell silent.
Midnight lifted his head.
And for the first time that morning, his ears moved forward.
Toward Lily.
The Girl Who Sat in the Dirt
The crowd expected Daniel to send Lily home.
Instead, he watched her.
There was something about the way she stood.
She wasn't trying to impress anyone.
She wasn't staring at Midnight like he was a prize.
She wasn't afraid of him, either.
That was unusual.
Most people who saw Midnight for the first time reacted in one of two ways.
They wanted to conquer him.
Or they wanted to stay as far away as possible.
Lily did neither.
She simply sat down.
Right there beside the fence.
Daniel frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"That's dangerous."
"I don't think so."
"You don't think a stallion capable of throwing a grown man ten feet is dangerous?"
Lily shrugged.
"I think he's dangerous if someone scares him."
Daniel studied her.
"You've never worked with him."
"No."
"You've never ridden him."
"No."
"You don't know anything about training."
"I told you that."
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
Lily looked at Midnight.
"Because he's afraid too."
Daniel didn't answer.
Those words stayed with him.
That afternoon, after everyone had left, Daniel found Lily sitting in exactly the same place.
Midnight was still in the corral.
She had been there almost two hours.
"You have somewhere else to be?" Daniel asked.
"My grandmother thinks I'm helping in the garden."
"Are you?"
"No."
Daniel laughed despite himself.
"At least you're honest."
Lily smiled.
"She knows I hate gardening."
Daniel leaned against the fence.
Midnight stood forty feet away.
The stallion had not moved closer.
But he had stopped pacing.
Daniel noticed that.
"Why do you keep watching him?"
Lily was silent for a moment.
"Because nobody else does."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"