AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She left.
Ethan and Jake arrived in minutes. Their faces were filled with concern as they looked around the room.
“This looks worse than we thought,” Ethan muttered.
“We’ve seen similar damage in other parts of the ranch,” Jake said. “This storm did a number on us.”
My heart sank at the news of the damage.
“Once we clean and clear this up, let’s take stock of all the damage across the ranch,” I said.
The men nodded, rolling up their sleeves. They began to move heavy wet furniture out of the room. Beth took me to another room where I could have a hot bath and a cup of coffee.
When I protested, she said, “It’s no good if you get ill, Anna.”
Once I was through, I rejoined them. Beth was wringing out towels she’d used to dry the floor after mopping it. I spread out damp photographs and papers on every available surface. Hopefully, they’d dry without further damage.
We cleaned and cleared the room till the day was bright, doing our best to restore some order to it.
Once we were done, Ethan, Jake, Beth, and I walked around the house. The house was in a terrible state. Hail had battered the roof mercilessly, leaving gaping holes in several places. I could see the sky through them.
Afterward, we went outside into the crisp morning air. The ranch looked hauntingly different.
Parts of the fence had fallen. Hailstones had hit the barn, compromising its structure. The side of the stable had partially caved in. It seemed it had borne the brunt of the storm’s fury. The shed that had been turned into my room was equally damaged. We would have to break down the door and repair it.
We moved on to check the animals.
The beef cows huddled together. Thankfully, they were unharmed. But once they saw us, they mooed in agitation. The milking cow, usually calm and docile, shifted nervously as we approached. The horses and the colt were in a similar state. Even the sheep were bleating in distress.
I tried to soothe the animals by touching them and whispering words of comfort.
But the more we walked around the ranch, the more helpless I felt. I was back at square one. Maybe even worse. There was more damage on the ranch now than when I’d first arrived to inherit it from Grandpa.
The progress I’d made since then was insignificant in the face of this setback. Unfortunately, the stakes were higher. I had lost more, so there was more to rebuild.
Before I could stop myself, my shoulders slumped. Beth, Ethan, and Jake moved closer. Beth placed her hand on mine.
“We’ll get through this, Anna. We always do.”
The others placed their hands on hers.
Their gesture of solidarity was touching, encouraging. These people needed me to lead them now, not despair. I lifted my head high and squared my shoulder, then injected some confidence I didn’t feel into my voice.
“Harrington Ranch might look bad now, but we’ll make it better,” I said.
Jake nodded.
Ethan’s eyes shone with admiration.
“We will,” they said one after the other.
“Alright, feed the animals first, then we can focus on repairs,” I instructed.
The moment they left, I crossed my arms and walked to the high fence connecting Max’s ranch to mine. His father built it years ago to ‘properly’ demarcate his ranch from ours. Built with bricks, it was the only part of our fence that never caved in.
I placed my hand on it despite not being able to see Max’s ranch from here. I wish Max were here, talking to me and providing comfort.
I stood there for a long while before joining the others to repair what we could.
