“What’s going on?” I murmured. I glanced at Ville, but he had no more idea than I did. We’d both been off grid last night. I pointed toward the barns. “Follow them.”
“Yes, my liege,” Ville deadpanned, which had me cracking up.
By the time we caught up at Barn 2, Crew had exited his truck and was at the back of the trailer, opening the doors.
“Did you buy Mal another horse?” I called out.
Crew didn’t even turn my way, just extended his arm in my direction, middle finger on display. I cackled, but then he lowered the ramp and I could see what was inside. I gasped, and hopped out of Bluey.
“Is that…Is that a zonkey?”
Crew did spare me a glance at that as he climbed up and released the animal. It came willing enough as he led it down. “Technically a donkra, as her mother was the zebra. But zonkey is fine, I guess.”
“What in the what?” I couldn’t seem to keep my eyeballs in my head, totally transfixed on the sweet little animal.
Crew shrugged. “She was at Charlie’s Chance. Rachel called, begging me to take Molly here because they were getting all the wrong sort of attention about her. She needed a safe home, so…here she is.”
“And Crew is a sucker,” Wren said, smiling wide. I had no idea where he’d come from. I got my answer a second later. “But I went for the ride, because I wanted to see the rescue, and oh my god. First of all, I need to contact my accountant team because they need funds, but second of all, look!”
He was pointing into the trailer, and that’s when I noticed the horse at the back of the trailer. We were all so shocked by the donkra, we hadn’t noticed. It was a gorgeous dun color, a good sixteen hands if I had to guess, and the mane and tail were very long, thick, and wavy. And it was a little whale eyed, ears pinned back, not liking all the noise and commotion.
Ville sighed. “What did you do?”
Wren did not stop grinning. “Isn’t he beautiful? He’s gotta have some Andalusian in him, if he’s not pure. Look at that mane! I’m going to do a DNA test to find out. And he’s got absolutely zero manners, because his previous owners were horrible. I couldn’t leave him.”
“Wren, what—”
But Wren was still going, talking right over whatever Ville was going to say. “He needs groceries, clearly. And, as I said, manners. I’m going to have Hawk fix him up. Before you know it, he’ll be a perfect gentleman. I just know it. I have a feeling.”
Ville took a slow breath, squeezed my hand, and then crossed the distance to stand right in front of Wren. Wren tilted his head back so he could keep looking at Ville’s face. When Ville spoke, his voice was soft.
“You live in a city. Where are you going to keep him?”
Wren waved that away. “By the time he’s finished training I’ll be—” He cut himself off, and because I was looking, I saw something cross his expression that I couldn’t name. It was there and gone within seconds. But when he smiled again, it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s a future me problem. I’ve got plenty of time to sort it out.”
Ville glanced back at me, and because I knew him, I knew what his expression meant. We’d planned to stay at each other’s sides the whole day, but Wren needed him. Something was clearly going on, if he was going to impulse rescue a horse. And yes, Hawk would absolutely take on another project, especially for Wren, but this went deeper than that. I smiled and nodded, letting him know it was okay.
That done, I petted Molly who was sweet as could be, and then left Crew to get the new animals settled into the quarantine stalls. Since they came from Charlie’s Chance, we knew that they were in good health, and had negative tests for all the infectiousdiseases, so they wouldn’t be there for long. But I certainly wasn’t needed for this part.
I got back into Bluey and drove it over to the shed, unpacked everything and stored it, somewhat haphazardly. I left the UTV where it was and walked to the hustle and bustle around the main house. There was a lot going on here too, people helping where they could, all of them, I was sure, ready to eat.
I intercepted Mom on a trip back from the food table. Just stepped right into her path so she had to pull up short. Her eyes were bright, her smile happy, and I knew she was in her element, taking care of all these people. She grabbed me in a super tight hug, holding on for a bit longer than I expected, but when she pulled back, she was laughing.
“Watch this,” she muttered. Then she turned slightly to where Nick was uncovering pan after pan, and called out, “Nick, did you remember to put raisins in the potato salad?”
He went absolutely still, and then turned, very slowly, to pin her with a stormy glare. Honestly, if he hadn’t been around for the past few weeks, and I hadn’t seen with my own eyes the way they sniped at each other, I would have been scared by that expression. But I knew better now, and I also knew damn well my mother wouldneverput raisins in potato salad.
“You are an evil woman,” Nick declared. “Go away.”
Mom threw her head back and laughed. Several people turned to look at us, smiling at her infectious laughter. When she looped her arm through mine and tugged me toward the house, I went with her willingly.
It was quieter inside, since everyone was out enjoying the nice day and waiting on food so they could fill their bellies before they left. I caught sight of the twins napping in the playpen in the living room, but I only noticed because Judson was standing guard. I had no idea where Aria was, but I was sure it was either with Carter or her Papa. My money was on Carter.
Mom shooed me toward one of the bar stools, and she got me a glass of water I didn’t ask for. Then she took a seat beside me. She didn’t say a word, but neither did her gaze leave my face. It was an old tactic, one she’d used since we were children. Mom and Dad had been big on autonomy, and they tried never to force us to do something we didn’t want to do, unless it had to do with safety. That included talking. But this stare down, and the sweet smile attached, always got us to break.
“I’m good,” I murmured, drinking just to have something to do.
“Are you really?” She reached up to tug one of my curls. “Because I’m having all sorts of feelings at the first wedding of one of my children, even though several are paired off and living that life. Feels big.”
