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It's probably what I felt when I learned there was nothing I could do to stop the developers from coming in and building their ski and summer resort on my mountain.
What I felt when townspeople either patted me on the back and cheered me for something I'd have stopped if I could or yelled at me for bringing the developers here.
"First things first," I say. "Do you have a bucket you can fill with water for Mari?"
Dani scrubs a hand over her face. "Maybe?"
"Dani?" A woman in slacks, with blond hair in a tight bun at her nape and eyes so pale blue they look almost white, walks into the barn. I've never met her before, but I know immediately she's Dani's sister because she has Dani's nose and expressive mouth. "Dani, I was worried — What is that?"
Dani wilts farther toward the floor and I hate her sister immediately for making her feel this way, then dial it back. Where has this protectiveness for a woman I barely tolerate come from?
"This is Marigold." I wave an arm like I'm a game show host and Mari is the grand prize. "Dani found her wandering in the forest and rescued her."
The woman raises one eyebrow. No words needed.
"And then Ranger rescued me," Dani says. "Grant Holiday, Goldy Weston. Goldy, Grant. The point is, I've got a cow who's hungry and dehydrated and no idea if we even have a bucket we can fill with water."
Goldy's eyes widen, even as she starts across the barn to a door in the corner opposite the stalls. "Dandelion, we cannot keep a cow. The skunk is already too much. He's very upset you aren't here, by the way. He won't let any of us near him to put on his wheels."
She pulls open the door, steps inside, and emerges a moment later with a bucket.
Dani looks at me, expression pleading.
"Go ahead," I say. "I've got this."
She doesn't look convinced, torn between her new pet and her old.
"Seriously, Dani. I can handle this for the few minutes it will take you to see to your cat."
Her grin nearly knocks me off my feet and the kiss she presses to my cheek before racing out of the barn causes me to go cold and molten hot at the same time.
Goldy clears her throat as she fills the bucket with water from a hose. "I don't know what Dani is thinking. We cannot keep another animal here. We have no facilities for an animal this large, and not one of us knows the first thing about taking care of a cow."
I open my mouth to say… I have no idea, because she's not wrong.
"I do." Another woman, this one in denim overalls spattered with what appears to be clay, her black hair streaked with blue and falling loose around delicate shoulders, says as she joins us. "Remember? I spent two summers working on that ranch in Wyoming."
Goldy huffs. "Then you should know we have neither the time nor the resources to take care of a cow."
The other woman smiles at me and offers a delicate hand. "I'm Honey. Dani said this cow needs a home?"
Goldy mutters something under her breath and hands me the bucket of water, careful not to get too close to Mari. I set the bucket under Mari's face and she lowers her head and drinks like she's bone dry.
I turn back to Honey. "Dani found Mari wandering in the woods. She's malnourished and dehydrated from what I can tell, but the vet will tell us more."
"Vet?" Goldy says the word like it leaves an unpleasant taste in her mouth. "We cannot afford a vet bill for a cow we cannot possibly keep."
"We'll figure it out," Honey says sweetly. "We have to do what we can to help this lovely girl." Honey watches Mari drink with a beatific smile, apparently unbothered by the slobber the cow is flinging while she drinks.
"That's lovely," Goldy says. "I wish I lived in this magical world you and Dani live in, where money just appears because there's someone who really needs it."
Goldy is right. In any other circumstance, I'd agree with her, but in this circumstance, I'm offended on Dani's behalf. The woman lacks good sense or attention to rules and regulations, but she did just rescue this cow with no concern for her own well-being. I respect that. Hell, I even like it.
"I can help," I hear myself saying as though I'm having an out-of-body experience. "I know a place we can get cheap hay for bedding."
Goldy narrows her eyes. "If you know a guy you can see about hay, you should also know someone who'd be willing to take this cow off our hands. There are fields full of cows around here. Who's going to notice one more?"
"I can ask around. But Mari's too old to be a valuable asset to a farm. Most farmers would probably euthanize her rather than take on the care she'll require."
