The expression on Mia’s face went from happy to scared to sad all in a split second, and then she said, “I’m going to the house now. Poppa and Nana, scoot your chair back a little way. There’s lots more of those icicles just waiting to fall off the barn roof. I’ll see y’all at supper.”
Stevie straightened up. “That was a close call. It sounded like someone throwing bottles at us. Might be a good idea to do what Mia suggested and move both of your chairs back a couple of feet. You could still see the babies out there romping around.” She looked up at several more icicles dripping water and threatening to let go of the edge of the roof.
Sonny got to his feet and moved his chair back a little way. “Wouldn’t it be something if the Dixie Chicks and Reba ever got together on a tour?”
“If that happens, we’ll buy the tickets, and all of us will go see them,” Pearl told her, and whispered under her breath for Stevie’s ears only as she moved her chair, “Mia is upset about something. Can you check on her?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Stevie said with a slight nod. “See you later, Sonny.”
He waved over his shoulder.
Stevie found Mia outside the barn, bent over at the waist and sobbing so hard that she could hardly catch her breath. Stevie put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and said, “Want to talk about it?”
Mia rose and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her mustard yellow work coat. “Yes, please, but in the bunkhouse, not at home.”
“Are you having second thoughts about inviting Beau to dinner?” Stevie asked as they made their way down the pathway, which was fast becoming a sloshy mess instead of being slick with ice.
“No, I really like him and want to see what the family thinks about him,” Mia answered.
Stevie gave her some space, both mentally and physically. She wanted to hug Mia and tell her everything was going to be all right, not to let things upset her that much, but she kept quiet.
When they were out of the cold and in the warm bunkhouse, Mia removed her coat and threw it on the rocking chair, then collapsed on the end of the sofa. Stevie sat down beside her and draped a supporting arm around her shoulders again.
“That icicle…” Mia stammered, “could have killed Poppa…” She hiccuped. “If he’d set his chair even closer to the corral like he usually does. It really scared me, and then I got to thinking about him not being…” More tears flooded her cheeks. “You know, not being here all the time.”
“But he didn’t sit closer because Pearl didn’t want the cold breeze to hit him. She takes good care of him, so you don’t have to worry,” Stevie said.
“It breaks my heart that I disappointed him and Nana so much.” Mia had gotten the crying jag somewhat under control, but she kept hiccuping. “I took what all they had done for me for granted, and I can’t ever undo what I did. Every time I look at those alpacas, I think about how foolish I was.”
“Sometimes, it takes a pretty hard shock to wake us up.” Stevie went to the bedroom and brought back a box of tissues. “I wish I would have come home a year before I did, or that I would have started a vet service here when I first got out of school. I missed years and years with my mama.”
“I can’t bear to think of not having Poppa and Nana around.” Mia pulled a tissue out of the box and blew her nose. “I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to either of them while I was off blowing my money on Ricky.”
“Neither of them would want you to worry like this,” Stevie told her, “but I understand how you feel.”
“Thank you,” Mia said. “It’s been a tough year. This time last year I just stopped going to classes so I could pay the bills on the apartment Ricky and I were living in. I wound up going through thousands of dollars that I had in my savings, then I sold my sheep, and we ran off together.”
Stevie’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her hip pocket. “This is Stevie O’Dell,” she said without looking at the caller ID.
“This is Raymond Green, and I’ve got a horse tangled up in a roll of barbed wire. I think she might need stitches,” he said.
“I’ll be right over,” Stevie said and took down directions to his house, and then she remembered that she didn’t have a vehicle. She held the phone out from her face and asked Mia, “You reckon we could use the work truck for an hour or so? Raymond Green has a horse with a problem.”
“I’m sure we can,” Mia answered as she dried her tears. “Does that mean I can go with you?”
“Of course,” Stevie said. “You can even drive if you want to. We just need to get some supplies out of the van and put them in a duffel bag. We’re going to have to untangle some barbed wire from a horse’s leg and stitch up a gash.”
Mia took her phone from her hip pocket and called her mother. “Mama, Stevie has to go check on Raymond Green’s horse. Can we use the work truck, and is it okay if I go with her?” She listened for a few seconds and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Then she hopped up, picked up her coat, and said, “Mama says we can use the truck anytime we need it and if it hadn’t been close by, we could have used her SUV. I’ll jog up to the house, drive the truck to the barn, and pick you up.” She was putting on her coat as she dashed outside.
Stevie dumped what was left in her go bag onto the bed, put a few things in it, and then threw an apple into the bag before she left the bunkhouse and jogged to the barn. By the time Mia drove up, Stevie had loaded what supplies she thought she would need out of the van and was waiting at the door.
“I know where Raymond lives,” Mia said. “It’s just a couple of miles toward town from here. We can be there in a few minutes. That poor horse has to be in a lot of pain. I’ve always wanted a horse, but Poppa says no. Daddy says that when he was a little boy Poppa had to put his horse to sleep, and that he’d had him for more than twenty years, even before they adopted Daddy and Uncle Cody and Uncle Lucas. Having to do that hurt him so badly that he wouldn’t have another horse on the place.” Mia rambled on and on the entire distance.
When Mia turned in to the lane leading up to the ranch house, Stevie interrupted her and said, “Keep following the path toward the barn over to the west. The horse is in the corral out back of that.”
Mia nodded and kept talking. “It would break my heart to lose Maggie. She was my first hembra, and she’s produced a cria every year for me. We’re here.” She braked and turned the engine off. “Can I help carry anything?”
“No, I’ve got it,” Stevie answered.
Raymond met them at the gate and opened it for them. “She’s gentle as a lamb. I’ve had her more than fifteen years, and I’ve been using a vet out of Paris, but he retired at Christmas. I’m sure glad that you’re setting up a practice close by.”
“What’s her name?” Stevie asked.
“Buttercup,” Raymond said. “I’m not against taking orders if you need help.”
Stevie started by rubbing the horse’s nose and speaking softly to her. “Hello, Buttercup. I’m here to help you. I promise to be as gentle as possible. Looks like you’ve got a nasty cut on your leg. We can fix that right up, and you’ll be all better soon.”