Spirit of Love

It had been a little over a year since Rio Madre’s deputy marshal, Corey Hansen, had died. Peggy Harris had thrown herself into working with her horses. They had known each other since grade school; but hadn’t started seeing each other romantically until it was almost too late. Although her romance with Corey had been brief, she knew that deep inside she had loved him very much. There had been something about him…something pure and honest. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. Actually, there were times that she could almost feel him with her, especially when she was working with Sunny, his palomino horse. Corey’s last request had been to make sure that Sunny be given to her, and that she be told how ‘special’ she was to him. At the time, Corey hadn’t known that although his physical body would be buried in the town cemetery, his ‘spirit’ would remain in Rio Madre. He was Bill Raines’ deputy, and he intended to keep his job, which included bringing down the leader of the band of rustlers responsible for his demise. Bill’s new deputy, Danny Wilde, was good at the job; but Corey was always there when they needed him. Danny had been a part of the rustler band. Then, when Marshal Raines and the posse caught up with the band, he surrendered immediately. Later, while in jail, he saved the Marshal’s life - twice. He was given a ‘suspended’ sentence and paroled into Bill’s custody. Bill decided that the best way to keep an eye on him was to make him a deputy. And with Corey still there, he had a pretty good team. Besides, who could be a better ‘undercover’ operator than a ghost? So far, they were the only people that could actually ‘see’ him, other than Bill’s wife, Sally. Corey now divided his time between the town and the Harris Ranch, especially when Peggy was working with the horses. Although she didn’t know he was there, he couldn’t help watching out for her from the far side of the barn. He didn’t want the other horses to sense his presence and spook; but, Sunny knew when he was there, and would always stand beside him relishing receiving the familiar scratches behind his ear. “I always knew she seemed to ‘understand’ horses, Sunny; but what she has been doing lately…it’s beyond me.” Sunny softly nickered and bobbed his head. “So, I guess you have known it all along?” Again, Sunny bobbed his head as Corey smiled and gave the horse’s neck a big hug.