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“Just following your lead.” He chuckled and poured himself a mug of coffee. “I’ll call your guards to escort you.”
“To escort me a half mile down the road?” I rolled my eyes as I plated our food.
“Yes.”
“Fine.” I’d promised to be careful and follow the plan he and Storm made. But honestly, it was getting old, and I just wanted to live my life.
After breakfast, I arrived at the farm and went straight to the barn. Hollywood and Boone followed a few steps behind me. Boone had taken to working with Hollywood. He’d wanted to learn some bodyguard skills, apparently. And Hollywood? Who knew what his intention was, other than keeping me safe? Storm had his crew rotating weekly. Hollywood hadn’t been here since January, and it bummed my sister out that he still hadn’t made a move on her.
“You take the back entrance and I’ll guard the front,” Hollywood told Boone.
“You got it, boss.”
I heard the peeping and rushed into the barn, leaving my bodyguards to do their jobs, and saw my dad. “Morning. How many did you get?”
“Fifty,” he replied, and I noticed the tremors in his right hand as he tucked it into his pocket. They came and went but were worse when he forgot to take his meds.
“Why so many?”
“Some are for the freezer.”
“Oh.” I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling uneasy. Not thing I wanted to hear as a pregnant mama.
“How do you like their set-up? I improved it years ago after my babysitter wasn’t around to watch over them.” He gave me a side hug. His babysitter had been me. I adored the chick, but Olivia couldn’t be bothered with them. She had preferred to tend the dairy cow and sheep.
I approached the stall where the peeping was coming from. My heart grew fifty times larger at first sight of them. “Oh, my goodness! Look at all these sweet babies!” I cooed at them while my dad laughed. “You did a fabulous job, Dad!”
“I don’t imagine you’ll be leaving anytime soon?”
“Nope, I’m going to spend the morning with them and make sure they enjoy their new home.”
He chuckled some more. “I told your mama you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
“You are one thousand percent right.” I opened the gate and went in.
“Looks like you’ve got everything under control here. Now remember, your mother will be upset if you fall asleep with the chicks under the heat lamp.” He perched his arms on the gate and peered down at me with a smirk.
“That only happened twice, and I’m older and wiser now.”
“I’ve missed having my country girl around,” he lovingly said.
“Well, I’m back for good.”
“That does my heart good. Think I’ll go take a little nap now.” He waved as he left.
Mama had told me to come before ten because he usually takes a nap around that time. Even though he was managing the Parkinson’s well, he still tired easily.
A couple hours had passed, and I was still with the chicks, studying them and giving them names based on their breed and color. It was what I’d done every year when my dad had brought new chicks to the farm.
A yawn took hold of me, so I gathered some hay to make a soft place to lie in the stall with my peeps.
“Shelby?”
“In here!” I scrunched up my face a little bummed he interrupted my rest time.
“Hi, Honeybee.” His head appeared above the gate. “See, you’ve reclaimed your position as the welcome committee for the new peeps.”
“I sure have. Just look at these sweet babies.” I picked up two and cupped my hand to protect them from falling. “Aren’t they adorable? We need to get some.”
