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“Why don’t you both go?” Griffin took the chance to say his piece in a moment of silence.
“Both of us?” Corey asked as Atticus’s brows rose.
Griffin nodded. “Yeah, both. You each have a different reason for being there and why that’s important. If you go together, then maybe they’ll even take it a bit more seriously. The Coleman name holds weight around here and with Corey’s charm, there’s no way they’ll ignore it.”
“You think I’m charming, doggie doc?” Corey teased.
“I’m a vet for large farm animals. It’s not often I take a look at dogs these days. And yes, you can be charming when you wantto be. How else did Ashley wind up on the porch when none of us had ever even heard of him?”
“Shots fired!” Beau drummed his hands on the tabletop, then made shooting gun motions at me and Corey.
“Before this devolves into a teasing session, I’d like to steal Corey away for the day to get this handled. Is everyone else going to be fine?” He asked the room even as his gaze locked on me. I gave him a slight nod to let him know I’d be fine as everyone else tossed out their replies.
They left soon after, and I got paired with Bobby Allen to help with the horses. Apparently, it was a job Elton typically did, but with Corey gone, he and Travis were going to work together to tackle the cattle. I didn’t much mind either way so long as I had tasks to complete.
Bobby Allen put me to work right away mucking stalls and hosing down equipment. It was mindless work that only required me to flex my muscles. For others, it might have meant they’d go to a dangerous place in their minds. My situation was the opposite.
Now that I was a civilian, it was like my daytime hours were relaxing. Even if I did backbreaking work all day and sweated buckets, I still felt much better than I did in my prior life.
The nights were a different story. I was having nightmares at least once a night. Sometimes I woke Daddy up. Others he slept through my panic.
I was a work in progress.
I had a feeling we all were.
There was an air about the Coleman Ranch that spoke of men finding hope there. I’d noticed it the moment I’d met Harlan and Griffin at the market. From there, I saw it all around me. The animals, the land, it all created a space that was safe for these vastly different people to come together and heal.
I think that’s part of why I’m shocked Gerald didn’t return. The people here loved him so much, and they only wanted to see him get better. On the flip side of things, though, I considered the pain he must have felt by sticking around after the one man he loved was gone.
There wasn’t a cure for a heartache like that. Not even time could mend it completely.
I was so deep in my thoughts of what he must be going through, I almost missed the tugging on my pants. I turned around, thinking one of the horses must have wandered over to get my attention.
Instead of a large animal, I found a small human. An adorably small human I’d never met before.
Looking around the stables, I wondered who he could belong to. The boy watched me intently, as if he were waiting for me to introduce myself and not at all like he’d been the one to sneak up on me.
Bending down to one knee, I stuck out my hand. “I’m Ashley. Nice to meet you.”
He grinned as he took my hand. Tiny fingers disappeared into my palm as I closed my fingers over his hand.
“My name is Dakota. Ashley is a girl name.”
I barked out a laugh at his boldness. “I guess to some it is. My mama thought it was a lovely name though, and she wanted me to have it.”
“Dat’s nice. I don’t know who picked my name. Probably Dada did it.” His lip puckered, and he tapped his chin like he was in some comedic movie role.
“Where is your Dada?”
“I dunno. I want to see horses.” The boy tugged my hand as he pointed towards the pen. I knew Bobby Allen was out there working with some of the horses to make sure they were doingwell. He occasionally rode them, but mostly he let them play and explore on their own.
As we made it to the opening of the door, the boy pointed to the fence at the side. “Lift me,” he said as he pointed from his chest to the railing.
I thought it over for a second, then thoughtwhy not. Grabbing him up, I sat him on the rail so he’d be chest height with me. I kept hold of him as we watched Bobby Allen work.
Should I have found out where Jackson had run off to without his son? Sure. I only knew who his father was because he’d told me his name. I’d completely forgotten about the boy being here at all since he wasn’t here when I arrived, and no one had mentioned him in the days since.
But now I remembered the stories Corey told me. The ones where Jackson fought to have his son stay with him and how the mother was a supreme problem for everyone not all that long ago.
