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28
Work was a bitch.Nothing new there…same old physically demanding bullshit that never changed. It was Monday afternoon, my kids were with Shay for a much-needed pool day—her words, not mine—and the September sun was just as hot as it had been in August. I was in the middle of mopping down pool chairs as mandated by the new health codes, but I had yet to take my lunch break, which had me cranky and hungry. I was counting the chairs, hoping it would move time along a bit faster, when Sondra pushed through the heavy brown door leading to the sports center.
Blinking at the sun, I stared at her confused expression and started toward her.
“Hey, everything okay?” I set down the mop and wiped my brow with my forearm.
Sondra’s hair shifted like a sheet of shimmery blonde paper as she nervously shuffled closer.
“It’s just that Judy is gone…and she left me in charge.”
I blinked. That wasn’t new information; was Sondra having a seizure? I was about to pull my glove free and check her forehead when she cleared her throat, a look of pure terror crossing her petite features.
“Usually when this sort of thing happens, Judy deals with it because she’s in charge and she has a farm, so she’s more comfortable around them.”
“Around who?” I scrunched my brows together as I tried to keep up. What on earth was she talking about?
“The cows. They’re back and I…we have to go round them up.” She gathered her hair off her neck, fanning the skin in rushed pats.
It was time to take the gloves off and get this girl inside. She needed water.
“Look, sweetie, let’s get you out of the sun and then we can talk some more about the…” I froze midsentence. Through the gate surrounding the pool, I saw it. A light brown cow was grazing on the well-manicured grass, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“What the hell is that?” I pointed, now wondering if I had heat sickness.
A groan erupted from Sondra as she darted toward the exit gate at the end of the patio.
“Hurry, I need help herding them back to the other side,” she shouted over her shoulder.
I ripped the latex gloves off my hands, mop and pool chairs forgotten as I pounded the pavement after her.
“Wait…how many?” My question died on the hot summer air as I ran up toward the parking lot and found three more cows walking around.
“We need to get them away from the private rentals first!” Sondra yelled in terror as she ran toward the end of the road.
“Do I come with you or get these guys somewhere?” I eyed the cows. Two were standing near the bike rentals, one in the parking lot. So far no one had made a fuss about it. It was Oregon; people didn’t usually fuss over cows, but then again…this was a five-star resort.
“Come with me. We have to make sure the VIP guests and owners aren’t affected.” Sondra ran as hard as she could toward the resort condos.
This was good—we could recruit Ryan for help. He was fast and had to have knowledge of cows from growing up here. I hated that I didn’t have my phone with me to warn him of our quick approach as I was nearly positive neither of us would have any air in our lungs left to explain what in the world we were doing.
A few bystanders were coming out of their homes to see the commotion as we found more and more cows up and down the street. They were everywhere. If I had been closer to Sondra, I would have asked her about a billion questions, like how this was a normal thing to have to deal with and who on earth these creatures belonged to.
“Open your arms, like wings. It will help herd them away from the homes,” Sondra yelled back at me.
I did as she said as I gasped for air. Sweat ran down my face and neck as I continued to somewhat keep pace with eighteen-year-old Sondra. I prayed no one with a camera would be watching or there to capture my red, blotchy face or sweaty hair look. That with my khaki pants and neon green t-shirt—heaven have mercy.
Finally, we neared Ryan’s condo. He didn’t seem to have any livestock roaming around his space, so I veered toward the back, not wanting to waste time with knocking. He was usually in the back or at least had the back sliding door open while he worked. I didn’t think anything of the gunmetal gray SUV parked next to Ryan’s black one. He’d mentioned he had to work today, making calls and plans to get started with pre-production; if anything it was someone from HitFlix or something.
I had always been bad with assumptions, and this time mine blew up in my face.
As I rounded the back patio area of Ryan’s condo, there on the lounger I had just been sitting in a few nights prior was a gorgeous woman. She looked somewhat familiar, with her flaxen hair and bronze skin, her skintight dress and sky-high heels. Everything about her was extraordinarily more. I skidded to a stop, heaving in air just as the woman leaned into the space next to her and kissed the man I loved.
