Helena gave a high-pitched huff of amusement before turning her attention back to our original conversation. “Before you ask, Gage, the animal-loving Sunday was Hawkins. He used to take our class hamster home with him every weekend, because he was so very afraid that our class snake, Pansy, would somehow get loose and eat her.”
I laughed. That sounded exactly like Hawk.
“That’s because Webb was an animal lover also, so we had a whole huge collection of Nature Planet DVDs by the time Hawk was old enough to watch them,” Knox explained. He smiled lopsidedly. “I remember coming home for summer break when I was in college, and Cara—Hawk’s mom,” he added as an aside to me, “would plunk the kid down in front of a video. He wouldn’t move forhours. And some of the videos were cute, but some of them were very circle of life, if you know what I mean.” He lowered his voice and made a respectable attempt at David Attenborough. “‘And soooo the mighty stork stalks the baby bird who’s fallen out of his nest…’ It used to scare the crap out of him. But every day, he’d ask for more.” He shrugged.
“Because he’s brave,” Helena said. “Takes a brave person to be sensitive and unafraid.”
“How are we doing, Averill Union?” DJ Tony squawked into his microphone as the song ended, and Knox and I jumped at the same time.
“We’ve been better,” I muttered, rubbing my ear.
Knox’s eyes found mine, and we shared an amused glance—one single glance—that made my whole body go warm.
Since the cider wasn’t spiked, I had no idea what made him so peaceable that night. I didn’t expect it to last—I figured any minute, Knox was going to cut in with something about how I’d hung the dish towel in our shared efficiency kitchen on theleftside of the sink when the only correct, precise, efficient way to live was to hang it on theright—but in the meantime, I was going along with it because everything about the guy sucked me in like the Enterprise’s tractor beam. The person he’d been in that photo, the guy he was now; the way he was cute when he was cranky and downright beautiful when he smiled; and Jesus Christ, theshoulderson the man were?—
“Excellent! Thank you, Marianne and Christina! Aren’t they adorable, everyone? That’s right, give ’em a nice round of applause. Okay, our next song is a personal favorite of mine from way back, friends. Webb Sunday? Where are you, Webb? Ah! I see you hiding behind the apple topiary! Don’t be shy now, buddy! Come on out here! Katey Valcourt requests the pleasure of your company as you dance to…” He paused dramatically. “REO Speedwagon’s ‘I Can’t Fight This Feeling’! And—whoa-ho-ho!—she’s pledged an unprecedented $200 to Averill Union! That makes her tonight’s Big Pledger! Whaddya say, Webb? Canyoufight the feeling?” Tony guffawed at his own joke.
“Oh my God,” Knox breathed, closing his eyes in satisfaction. “Karmic payback is real.”
“What?” I demanded.
“Good grief,” Helena groaned. “Excuse me, boys. I need to see this.” She pushed her way through the crowd to the dance floor before I could catch her.
“What song is this?” I demanded. “Is it cringey?”
“How do you not know this song?” Knox darted a distracted glance at me before searching the dance floor over the headsof the crowd, probably trying to spot Webb. “It’s… it’s required knowledge, Goodman. It should have been in your history book.”
I shook my head slowly. “You’re a strange man. In the past fifteen days, the only two things you’ve felt true passion for are the location of my coffee mug and this song.”
“Not true.” Knox flushed. “Definitely not true.” He stood on his tiptoes. “Now, hush. I’m trying to watch Webb so I can mock him relentlessly later.”
As a man with a bunch of brothers, I understood this, even if I thought it was ridiculous that he needed me to be silent in order for him tosee. As a man who’d spent more than two weeks trying to have a civil conversation with Knox Sunday, I had no idea where this level of friendly adorableness was coming from. I literally hadn’t known whether Knox—this version of Knox that had replaced the guy in the picture—had it in him.
“Knox!” Hawk hurried over, looking worried. “You and Webb aren’t answering your messages.”
“Huh?” Knox turned away from the dance floor and dug out his phone. “What’s going on? Shit. Four missed calls from Drew? Is Aiden okay? Is Drew?”
“Yes,” Hawk said firmly. “Everyone’s okay. Breathe. Murray got a little banged up, but he’s fine, too.”
I frowned. I was pretty sure Murray was the redhead who helped out with chores around the property part-time. I’d met most of the farm crew and the seasonal workers only once or twice, since they tended to work outdoors and be gone by supper.
“Banged up how?” Knox demanded. “I made sure the equipment was all put up for the night and the store was locked before I left. All he had to do was milk Pattie and Muriel, put the milk in the cold room fridge, and check Stella for signs of labor. Did Pattie kick him?”
“Nah.” Hawk shook his head. “Stella got him.”
“Stella?” Knox sounded confused. “But?—”
I full-on gasped. “Stella’s gone rogue! Holy shit.Holy. Shit. I fucking knew it. It’s okay, you guys. I’ve been training my whole life for this. I’m gonna need some soap on a rope and a roll of aluminum foil to?—”
“Shush,” Hawk chided, nudging my arm. “When Murray went to check her, he saw her water bag emerging. Because she’s almost ready to deliver,” he explained when I stared at him blankly.“Deliverher calf,” he added when I kept staring.
Ohhh.
“So Murray took out his phone to call Webb, but the field was all muddy from the rain earlier. Stella side-shuffled, Murray slipped, she head-butted him, then shouldered him into the wooden fence, and he went down hard. He’s okay,” Hawk reiterated. “Sitting in the kitchen with Drew and Marco, eating leftover plum tart. But he’s never helped during calving before. Drew can’t really get out there on his ankle, let alone help pull a calf if Stella needs help, and Marco says he’s allergic to unhygienic tasks, so they need reinforcements.”
“Oh.” Knox straightened. “Yeah, I can handle that. Did Drew call Dr. Reemer? I don’t have her number.”
“No. Webb doesn’t call the vet in usually. He says it’s an unnecessary expense since the cows don’t need it most of the time.” Hawk hesitated. “He has it down to a science. I’d go myself, but Mrs. Hendelmann cornered me, and I promised I’d stay and help the cleanup crew. Maybe I should go get Webb?—”
