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Jade had asked him not to get involved. But his voice was so deep and imposing that Tag’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
“Nope,” Tag said simply.
“Good,” Jade said. “Then let’s head outside. I think I saw some nice ones in the meadow. Why don’t you grab us that feed bag, Tag, and since you’re offering the halters, I’ll take them, too.”
“Help yourselves,” Tag said. “I’ve got chores to do.”
He retreated further into the barn and Jade had to repress a giggle.
Nanee-12 grabbed a bag of feed without being asked and headed back to the sleigh.
Jade, Rafe, and Tally quietly collected the harnesses from the deer in the barn and headed out to the field.
“He’s not really gone,” Tally murmured. “He’s sitting out behind a hay bale, watching us.”
“That’s fine,” Jade said. “We aren’t doing anything we aren’t supposed to, and we would never sabotage his farm. We’re just picking up the dozen deer, like the contract says we’re supposed to.”
The smell of sweet hay and the crunch of hooves in the frozen lichen made Jade feel happy to be a lichen-deer breeder. The animals were a little shy, but Tally was wonderful about catching them gently. His injuries had subsided to mostly just fading bruises at this point.
Each time he caught one, she and Rafe would put a harness on it and then lead it to the sleigh.
Before too long, there were twelve beautiful lichen-deer hitched up to the back of the sleigh.
The deer they already had snorted happily.
“You won’t be so lonesome anymore, will you, boy?” Tally asked the stag, scratching behind his mossy antlers.
“You’re really good with them,” Jade said to him. “Would you have any interest in working with me? I’d be glad to hire you on.”
Tally looked over at her and grinned.
“I actually have another plan,” he told her.
“Right, the secret,” she remembered.
“I was going to wait, but I got my acceptance letter yesterday,” Tally said, his eyes shining. “I’m going off-moon, to law school.”
“Really?” Jade asked, amazed, glancing up at Rafe, who looked very pleased.
“I thought about what you guys told me,” Tally said. “About avenging my father with justice, not with killing. And I decided that I want to honor his memory with justice as well. My goal is to come back here one day and take over his judgeship.”
“The moon is young,” Rafe agreed. “And this town knew your dad and knows you. I’m sure they’ll hold the position open for a few years with an interim judge. After all, how many trials could they need in a little place like this?”
“We’ve been here for like a week, and we’ve seen a murder and an attempt at livestock defrauding,” Jade protested.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Rafe laughed.
Gus chuckled too, and Jade found herself smiling.
They all piled into the sleigh again and headed for home, the twelve lichen-deer following behind, with Nanee-12 bringing up the rear, scolding the deer when they got distracted.
* * *
That afternoon, as sol dipped toward the horizon, painting the sky a glorious pink, Jade stood out on her own back porch, Gus in her arms, and Rafe by her side.
Together, they looked out onto the field of deer nibbling at the lichen of their very own property.
The creatures were so peaceful, mossy horns dipping low as they took bites, then lifting as they nuzzled each other and looked around for the next most succulent mouthful.
