He switches off the flashlight, tucks it into his pocket, and starts pushing. I follow, trying very hard not to notice how perfectly his jeans mold over his broad shoulders.
Focus, Keira.
Alistair pushes against the door. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, with a protesting creak, it gives. Bright light floods the passage, making me blink.
— Looks like it opens right into your barn, he says as he steps through.
He turns back and offers me his hand. I take it, ignoring the electric jolt that shoots up my arm, and let him pull me up.
We emerge in a corner of the old McGregor barn, behind stacked hay bales that must have hidden the door for decades. Ilook around. The place where I played as a child suddenly feels entirely different.
— I can’t believe this passage was here all this time and no one ever noticed.
Alistair brushes off his pants, just as disoriented as I am.
— People only see what they expect to see. No one was looking for a secret passage between our properties, so no one found it.
I mull over his words, wondering what other obvious truths we’ve missed simply because we never thought to look.
A distant bleat snaps us back to our mission.
— You think that’s her? Alistair asks.
— Or him. Let’s go see.
We step out of the barn—and straight into chaos.
Chickens are running everywhere, chased by Lachlan and two farmhands. The orchard gate is wide open, and Maggie’s goats seem to have decided that the young apple trees make an excellent lunch. And in the middle of it all, up on the hill overlooking the property, two woolly silhouettes stand watching the destruction with what looks suspiciously like satisfaction.
— Oh my God, I breathe. It looks like they’ve freed every animal on the farm.
— An ovine revolution, Alistair remarks dryly. Led by Hamish and his Juliet.
— Rosita and her Romeo, you mean.
— Not bad.
We share an amused look.
Lachlan spots us and storms over, furious.
— Keira! Where the hell did you two come from? And what is he doing here?
— Nice to see you too, Lachlan, I reply calmly. Alistair came to get Rosita.
— Rosita? The McKenzie ewe? She’s here?
— Clearly, I say, pointing toward the hill where the two sheep are now nuzzling each other affectionately. And apparently, they decided to share their happiness by freeing every other animal.
Lachlan follows my gaze and swears under his breath.
— Those two… I swear, Keira, if your fiancé doesn’t take his demonic sheep out of here immediately, I’m making stew out of both of them!
— Calm down, you turnip, I shoot back. It’s not their fault they’re in love.
— In love? Lachlan chokes. They’re sheep! Demons sent to destroy this property!
With that, he takes off after a particularly agile chicken that seems to be mocking him.
