Nothing Comes Easy

Marcus, a troubled boy who's mother who took off on him, tries to cope with the inner pain of abandonment. He knows his pa, Billy Joe Jr., loves him, even if—biologically speaking—the man is really just his uncle. Nevertheless, that love is not enough. Marcus takes his wrath out on animals for the crimes he feels have been committed against him. Tired of doing barn chores and being forced to care for his pa’s gentle Standardbred, Dancer, Marcus tortures the horse with taunting and his BB gun, a weapon he also unleashes on other animals that wander into the barn. In time, Marcus’s animal cruelty catches up to him. Much to the dismay and embarrassment of Billy Joe Jr., the boy is taken into custody for the needless death of a cat. He is sentenced to serve time in juvenile detention, in the hopes that he will be rehabilitated before he becomes a dangerous adult. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done, and Dancer has been scarred inside and out. The rage that Marcus harbors becomes part of the horse, a once-loving creature who morphs into a dangerous animal. Unaware of the reason for the horse’s sudden change in personality and fearing his own suspicions of the cold-hearted boy, Billy Joe Jr. knows he must get rid of the colt, an heirloom left to him by his father, famed trainer Billy Joe Benson Sr. His brief encounter with a local horseman, Dallas, at a gas station proves to be the remedy, and he offers Dancer to him free and clear. Meanwhile, in Pumpkinville, Ohio, Krickett is a young woman trying to keep her life in order. Having recently lost her mother to cancer, she now works tirelessly to help her beloved grandfather, Rodney, a legendary trainer in his own right. Between caring for horses and cleaning stables, she struggles with her relationship with Trent, a wealthy young man who seems to have a problem committing and keeping his eyes off of a busty barfly by the name of Ruby. As Krickett’s stormy relationship with her would-be fiancé unfurls, she continues seeking solace in her work with the animals she loves. Out on an assistance call with the local veterinarian, she encounters a special horse, one she does not believe deserves the fate of being put down for his temperamental behavior. Dallas, the horse owner, is reluctant to turn Dancer over to her, for fear he may hurt the young woman, but Krickett is persistent and gets her way. As her relationship with Trent falls apart, the horse helps to hold her together, filling her life with excitement. The crazy colt becomes the talk of area horsemen, even dubbed Ghost for his demonic behavior, but with much hard work, as well as some bright ideas and the friendship of other four-legged barn-dwellers, Krickett and Rodney manage to tame Dancer and build him into a champion. In time, he finds his way into the winner’s circle, much to the chagrin of Trent, who so shamelessly trampled Krickett’s heart just to steal her grandfather’s horseracing secrets. Trent tries his best to ruin Dancer’s chances, even going so far as to sneakily cause injury to Rodney, but with Dallas in the driver’s seat and Krickett and Rodney by Dancer’s side, the colt rises to the top of Standardbred competitions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, leaving Trent and his cohorts looking like fools. Krickett’s dreams of owning her own racehorse are fulfilled by Dancer, with the help of a gift left to her from her mother. Her dreams of love and security are found in Dallas, a real cowboy who welcomes her into his heart and his home. All those dreams are jeopardized, though, when jealous Marcus bumps into some troublemakers from Pumpkinville and discovers that his biggest enemy, the horse he loved to torture, is now a prized animal, being lauded and praised and paid to race. Furious and jealous, he manages to sneak out of the detention center with vengeance on his mind, ready to destroy the horse who put him there, no matter who or what gets in his way.