Getting the job over and done with as quickly as possible did seem the best option.
The rooster continued to watch her, but he remained at a safe distance.She thrust her hand inside the box, pushed the first indignant hen to one side, and scooped up a warm egg.She dropped it into her basket.Her eyes watered, but she persevered, and a few minutes later, she’d gathered a dozen eggs and her basket was full.
Now to make it back to the fence with her bounty.
She was five feet from freedom when the rooster attacked.
Malika, however, wasn’t about to be defeated by a chicken, and she was ready for him.She set the basket down, and in the same motion, swung the stick.She aimed for his chest, the same as before, but he was smarter than Tilly had led her to believe, and he swerved.Instead of his chest, she cracked him on the side of the head.He dropped in his tracks and flipped to his side, feathers quivering.
Malika froze.“I’ve killed Mavis’s rooster.”
“You’ve only stunned him.But if he were dead, I could show you how to pluck and clean him, and we could have him for supper.That’s at least twelve pounds of good meat,” Tilly said, proving exactly how heartless she was.
“I couldn’teathim.”Not when she was responsible for his demise.
“You’ve got his kids in your basket.You eat those for breakfast.And I hate to break this to you, but you ate a decent helping of one of his sisters for supper last night.”
It was true that she’d eaten chicken for dinner the previous evening, and sadly, it was delicious.Since she’d never been formally introduced to the sister, she had no need for these cannibalistic feelings of guilt.The basket of eggs was a cause for concern, but she’d eaten many of them over the years, and the jury remained out as to when life began.Her conscience was clear.
Andy vaulted the low fence that separated Mavis’s small, tidy plot of land from the wilderness that threatened to consume it.
“Morning, ladies.What are we up to?”
Tilly answered.“Malika thinks she killed Mavis’s rooster.”The rooster’s legs jerked.He flapped his wings and made a feeble attempt to stand up.“But see?What did I tell you.He’s only stunned.”
“You aren’t supposed to beat him to death with a stick,” Andy said to Malika.“It bruises the meat.Try wringing his neck.”
“I don’t want to kill him.I want him to learn manners.”
She picked up the basket of eggs and escaped through the door in the fence, then hooked the rope back in place and tested it to make sure it was secure.She didn’t need the rooster escaping and exacting revenge.
She didn’t need Andy hanging about, either.He wasn’t the cowboy she wanted to see.She missed Jayce, who was more fun to tease.
But she’d heeded Mavis’s warning, because Mavis was right.How could Jayce not have expectations if she continued to tease him?No man could resist her.
Andy was no different.She’d prove to Tilly how resourceful she could be.
She batted her eyelashes at him.“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said warmly, injecting helplessness into her tone and a flirtatious tilt to her head.“Mavis asked me to clean out the chicken coop, and I have no idea where to begin.Could I ask you to help me?”
“How about if I grab a shovel and a wheelbarrow, and I do it for you.It will take me ten minutes,” Andy said.He winked at her, flirting right back.“It would be a shame for you to get that pretty dress dirty.”
“I told her no one wears pink to do chores,” Tilly said, who wore an ugly brown calico dress and equally hideous boots.She had about as much aptitude for flirting as Jayce.“Why are you here?”
Andy showed no signs of taking offense at her brusk manner.“To ask if you lovely ladies might like to go on a hayride this evening.Grady’s organizing one for the kids.”
“Who else is going?”Tilly asked.“Because if I’m invited along just to babysit, I’ll give it a pass.I spend the school year with those little monsters and I’m on vacation.”
“Adam, Jayce, Grady, and I are driving the wagons.Pearl and Loretta will be there.You two would make up the four we need to have an adult riding in each of the wagons to keep the little monsters under control.You’d only have three to deal with at the most,” Andy said.
Malika loved the idea.
Adeel had given her a picture book as a child that included a hayride, and it had looked like such fun.He used to read the book to her, complete with barnyard animal noises.She’d forgotten about it.
She hoped baby Callen would be there.She loved cuddling his warm little body and breathing in his soft, warm baby smell.And Tilly could complain all she liked, but she loved cuddling him too.She also adored each one of her students, who idolized her in return.She seemed to think no one knew what a softie she was.
Jayce would be there, too.This was another excellent opportunity for her to show him how unimportant he was.
“Mavis is constantly encouraging me to get out of her house and get some fresh air,” she said.“A hayride will be perfect.”
