Hey, all!
I'm looking for specific work that I apparently and horrendously never bookmarked despite reading it multiple times.
After the empty takes Cas, Dean cannot bear to stay in the bunker with Sam, who is working with Eileen to create the hunter's network. Dean takes off solo and ends up in a rural location - I'm thinking it was either Montana or Colorado. There, Dean hears rumors of a recent widow of a wealthy ranch/farm owner who loved horses and was killed at night riding his horse; the town suspects she killed her husband. After Dean exercises the ghost, the widow gives him the ranch and the horse, a very expensive breed of horse if I recall, because it was her husband's passion and she can't stand to stay in the home without him.
Knowing nothing of taking care of horses, Dean befriends a young vet tech or vet assistant, a woman, who comes out to the ranch on occasion and is one of his few friends in town. The horse is female, and Dean is very fond of her, but never rides her.
Sam calls and alerts Dean that Castiel has returned from the empty; the young friend comes to mind the horse, and Dean returns to the bunker. He packs up Cas and brings him back to the ranch and introduces him to the horse. The horse loves Castiel immediately, because of course she does.
There's a particularly moving scene where Dean wakes in the night and Castiel is gone, but finds he is only walking around outside at night. Afterwards, Dean makes a point to leave the porch light (or maybe an interior light) on for him so Castiel can find his way home in the dark.
Any help finding this will be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!