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“Why would I have her number?”
“Because you’re friends.”
Grandma blinked at me. “I’m surprisedyoudon’t have her number.”
“Grandma.”
“All right, all right.” She held up her hands. “No, I don’t have her number.”
I sighed and walked over to the stack of hay bales. “I’ll take him home, then. If she knows he’s out, she’ll be worried. If not, she’ll be glad to have him back anyway.”
“Is she leaving a window open?”
“Nope.” I climbed up. “She has no idea how he’s getting out. If she’ll let me, I think I’ll have to go in and see if I can find it myself. Hey, Winston.”
He rolled his head back to look at me and yawned.
I picked him up before he could jump down this time and slowly made my way back down to the ground with him safely under my arm. He hung there in my grip like a ragdoll, and I scooped him around to hold him properly.
“Right. I’m going to return him to where he belongs,” I said, adjusting Winston in my arms. “I’ll come back and sort the goats out after.”
“Take your time,” Grandma said, strolling out of the barn. “I’m off to see the ducks. I think Countess Quackula is due to hatch today.”
•••
The door was open.
Why was the door open?
Winston meowed in my arms, and I slowly approached the door.
“Ellie?” I called out. “Are you here?”
There was no response, so I edged closer until I was on the steps.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Where was she?
She had to know that Winston had escaped and was out looking for him. That didn’t explain exactly why the door was open, but I imagined that she’d probably disappeared in a bit of a hurry.
The problem was that I didn’t know if she had keys or not with her. So I either had to take Winston back to my house or wait in here for her to get back just in case.
Winston wriggled in my arms and jumped out, running inside.
Well, that was my decision made for me, wasn’t it?
I ran inside after him. He was in the kitchen, eating, so I closed the kitchen door. I just had to check to make sure the other door to the living room was closed, then I’d be able to wait outside for Ellie.
I didn’t like being here without her. It felt as though I was intruding on her privacy, and I was desperately trying not to do that. I had no choice now but to get her number, whether from her or the listing.
If he did this again and she was out, I needed a way to contact her.
I quickly checked outside, and with no sign of her, I walked through the living room to the connecting door to the kitchen. It was ajar, so I poked my head into the kitchen to see Winston lying in front of his bowl, scarfing down the food in there.
I closed the door with a gentle click, and I turned around.
