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I hung up the phone and checked the time. It was nearing one in the morning, so I tucked my phone in my pocket and nodded to George as I started to walk toward the entrance to the barn.
“I’m gonna go grab some coffee and food for us. We’re gonna be here all night. Do you need anything?” I asked, but he shook his head, still following the cow as she paced back and forth.
I got into my truck and drove over to the house, which took me all of five minutes across the dirt road winding through the lower pasture. A few lights in the house were on, which was a good sign. I’d told Henry and his guys to make the house look like someone was inside, and awake, all night and every night until the Kirk business was sorted out.
I walked into the kitchen as silently as possible and started the coffee machine, then pulled some leftovers out of the fridge. I packed a bag of food while I waited on the coffee to brew, then walked into the living room.
Day and Moira were asleep in his fort, curled up together next to Jenny.
My heart tugged in my chest at the sight. It felt like I hadn’t seen them all day, which was honestly true.
I knelt onto the ground, quickly running my hand over Jenny’s head before tucking Day’s curls behind his ear. He didn’t so much as stir.
I caressed Moira’s cheek, her mouth twitching into a soft, sleepy smile but she didn’t wake up, not even after I leaned down and brushed a kiss over her forehead.
I had a feeling tonight was going to be awful, but times like these were just part of the job. I signed up for this, and it had felt like my duty to protect and care for animals that had been neglected or were too old and frail to be of much use anymore.
It came with a lot of heartache.
I left the house, slinging a backpack over my back and carrying the largest thermos I could find that easily held two pots of coffee.
I didn’t go back to my truck, though. I went to the stable, stepping into the darkness and the sleeping forms of my horses.
One was awake.
“Let’s go, boy,” I said quietly, opening the door to King’s stall. He didn’t make a sound as he silently walked out of his stall and waited for me to get on his back.
Maybe he felt like something was off about the night as well and couldn’t sleep.
We rode across the pasture at a steady, easy pace. Night flared all around us, the sky nothing but a shimmering blanket of stars so bright I could see the ribbons of far-flung galaxies. There was no light pollution here, not at all. There was nothing between me and the sky as I let King lead the way.
He knew exactly where I needed to be without prompting. He lay down at the entrance to the barn like a watchdog as I went inside and started unpacking my bag.
And as George and I delivered the first calf, he remained at the door, his neck rigid and eyes hyper-focused on the night, and his kingdom.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Moira
Ireached for my phone, grappling under the couch where it had fallen. It wasn’t even four in the morning, but I’d woken with a start, feeling like I wasn’t alone.
I mean, I wasn’t alone. Day was sprawled out like a starfish next to me, one arm and one leg pinning me to the cushions beneath the sheet that made up the roof of his eternal fort.
I’d fallen asleep while watching a movie with him, drifting in and out of consciousness until I finally just shut my eyes. Grant had been out in the pasture all day, but we’d be texting back and forth all evening, and it was clear he likely wasn’t going to be coming home anytime soon.
I was looking forward to some new, cute baby cows running around and causing chaos, so I wasn’t all that upset about his absence.
I gently rolled out of the fort, careful not to wake Day as I padded across the living room and into the foyer. I needed to go to the bathroom, badly. I’d also fallen asleep before getting ready for bed, and I wanted nothing more than to brush my teeth. I looked around, noticing the lights that had been left on last night. Henry told me he’d be doing so, and that he’d be inside with us, but I didn’t see him anywhere as I walked up the stairs and into Grant’s bedroom.
I checked my messages as I brushed my teeth, seeing nothing new from Grant in several hours. I texted him, my toothbrush clenched between my teeth as my fingers flew over the screen.
Me: Everything okay?
I finished brushing my teeth and walked out into the bedroom when my phone buzzed in my hand. It was a picture of two little cows, both of them white with little black spots on their rumps. I smiled, trying not to squeal in excitement.
Grant: I’m gonna be a while. We lost the mom.
My heart sank into my stomach, my thumbs hovering over the keyboard as I looked down at the text.
