She shrugged. “It was all right.”
Amanda scoffed. “If by all right you mean the band you did the audio engineering for won in three categories, then yeah, it was all right.”
“Betsy, that’s amazing.” I beamed.
She looked away, masking her face in a veneer of boredom, but the corners of her lips fluttered, giving away her hidden pleasure.
Tough girl, soft heart.
I shifted my gaze to Amanda. “Ready for the start of baseball season?”
She choked up a pretend bat. “We’re gonna hit it out of the park this year.”
My heel caught on a protruding rock, and I stumbled.
Ben caught my elbow. “Careful.”
“Yeah. We’re off-duty.” Drew winked. “Our superhero doctor’s capes were left back at the hospital.”
Nicole rolled her eyes.
A cow’s bellow welcomed us as we neared the maze of movable fence panels. A noteworthy profile stood off to the side, his arms folded over the top rung of a panel, the sole of his boot resting on the bottom, and his hat pulled low. He turned at the sound of our crunching footsteps.
I held out the Gatorade. “Nate said you’ve got a new addition.”
Malachi took the drink and jutted his chin in the direction he’d been watching before our arrival. We all pressed against the rolled bar barrier like it was the glass viewing window of a nursery in a maternity ward during the fifties.
“He’s so cute,” Molly crooned. Ben wove his fingers between hers. “We should have brought Chloe.”
He snapped a picture with his phone. “She’s having fun with Yaya at the zoo.”
Mama lay on the green grass, baby cuddled against her side. The baby’s red hair stood up in all directions, wet and wiry. Mama reached around with her long neck and swiped her tongue over baby’s shoulder. Spindly legs shook as he pushed himself up on his knobby knees. His back legs straightened, rear in the air. Mama continued licking and he fell back to the ground.
“Come on. You can do it,” I encouraged, gripping the railing.
Rump in the air again. Wobbled. Stumbled on front knees. One front leg extended.
My breath suspended.
There, the second. He braced himself, legs spread. The umbilical cord hung to the ground.
How silly was it that I felt like a proud mama? But just witnessing that moment—new life, struggle, triumph—was a blessing that would stay with me. My gaze found Malachi’s. He must have been experiencing the same joy that knocked against my breastbone.
His eyes roamed my face, his lips curving at my unadulterated wonder.
“Can we really name him?” Sierra’s small voice severed the light tug that had momentarily lured me closer to Malachi.
Malachi blinked, then tilted his face to the rest of the group. He looked back at me.
I laughed. “Don’t give me that look. Nate’s the one who put the idea into her head.”
“Of course he did.” Malachi dropped his arms from the railing.
“I think you should name him Snoopy,” Sierra said.
“After Charlie Brown’s beagle?” Nicole asked.
Malachi nodded to Sierra. “Red Baron, right?”
