“Yeah, I hear you, Aug,” Raz answered as the frantic energy swirling around the man amplified.
What a pair they made! His chi was no more stable than hers.
“Dad, Libby, come on,” Sebastian called, hopping from foot to foot.
“Let’s get this over with,” Raz mumbled.
The infuriating beefcake!
The group gathered around the back of the trailer. Gentle stomps and muffled grunty brays drifted out of the metal enclosure. Anticipation hung in the air, sweet and expectant. Sebastian came to her side and took her hand, and she gave him a gentle squeeze.
“They want to meet us. You can feel it, too, can’t you, Libby?”
“I can,” she answered. It wasn’t a lie. There was a distinct pull between these animals and this place.
Wobbly Bob rested his hand on the latch of the trailer door. “Here’s how this is going to go. Erasmus and Libby, you’ll lead your pack burro out of the trailer. Plum is the gray Jennie, and Beefcake is the big brown Jack.”
“And where should we store the donkeys?” Raz asked.
Store the donkeys?
“It’s the three of you in the big house, right?” Bob tossed back, eyeing the giant Victorian.
“Yes.”
“Then you’ve got a couple of extra bedrooms.”
“You want us to give the donkeys actual bedrooms?” Raz shot back, wide-eyed.
“Oh, don’t take Bob too seriously,” Maud said, shaking her head. “The donkeys will stay in the barn. There’s a fenced-in area for the burros to move around and graze. We’ve got it ready for them. The feed schedule is tacked to the wall, and our donkey rescue volunteers will keep you stocked.”
“The donkeys are staying here with us?” Raz asked.
Wobbly Bob cocked his head to the side. “How else will you bond with them? It’s the most important thing a burro racer can do.”
“I thought we just ran with them,” Raz mumbled.
Bob gazed down the mountainside into the valley. “There’s a lot more to burro racing than running.”
“What more is there?” the man asked.
Wobbly Bob’s expression grew pensive. “The donkey knows.”
“The donkey knows what?” Raz repeated.
“Like your boy said, donkeys are smart animals. They’re your teammates in the burro race, and they’re also spiritual creatures. They understand what you need to do to be the best version of yourself. The trick is learning to listen.”
“That’s your area, right, Libby?” Maud asked. “You’re the spiritual advisor.”
“Yes, I guess I am.”
“It’ll have to be both your areas of expertise,” Bob added. “And yours, too, Sebastian, since you’ll be living here and caring for the donkeys this summer. The connection between a pack burro and their team is essential. You ever heard the phrase as stubborn as a mule?” the wobbly man asked, looking squarely at Raz.
And rightly so!
If anyone was acting like a stubborn ass, it was Erasmus Cress.
“Sure,” the boxer barked.
“If you and your donkey aren’t on the same page,” Bob continued, “you’re not moving forward. That pack burro weighs close to five hundred pounds, and in the race, you run with thirty-three pounds of mining equipment. You only move forward if you do it together.”
“It’s about trust,” Maud added.
“Trust?” the boxer echoed.
“When you bond, you become the animal’s home,” Bob explained.
Raz looked past the Victorian toward the barn and the garage. “But the barn is their home.”
Bob studied Raz. “That’s the physical enclosure. Home is created through bonding. Home is your heart.”
“The donkeys already have a home in my heart,” Sebastian crooned.
Raz crossed his arms and looked away. “Yeah, okay, I get it.”
“Word to the wise,” Maud added, leaning in. “You’ve got to watch Plum. If you’re on the trails and she catches sight of a butterfly or a bird, she can wander off the path.”
“So, you’re saying Plum can be a little spacey in her own world?” Raz asked, injecting a touch of beefy arrogance into the question.
“She can,” Maud agreed.
Libby pasted a plastic grin to her lips. She was out of line with her comment about Sebastian being their kid, but that didn’t give Raz the okay to act like a put-off prick. He needed to be taken down a peg.
“What about Beefcake?” she pressed, playing it breezy but going in for a punch. “Is there anything we need to watch with him?”
Maud grimaced. “Lord, help me! Where to start with Beefcake? He can be willful and a little bit of a showoff.”
Libby gave Raz the once-over. “Is that right? A stubborn, cocky showoff, you say?”
“And if Beefcake happens to get into the wild alfalfa,” Bob added, waving his hand in front of his face. “I’ll warn you now. His farts are strong enough to knock a man into next week.”
How’s that for karma!
She didn’t even have to look at her beefcake to know what he was thinking.
Luckily, Sebastian perked up.
“Beefcake farts like you, Dad! My dad’s a car farter, Wobbly Bob. He farted in the car on our drive here. Did you eat wild alfalfa before we left?” The child cocked his head to the side and scratched his chin. “What is wild alfalfa?” Sebastian mused sweetly as Raz’s cheeks burned crimson.
Maud and Bob chuckled. Libby wanted to high-five the boy, but she restrained herself.
It served the sourpuss beefcake right!
If anyone deserved a little ribbing, it was Erasmus Cress.
Raz cleared his throat. “For the record, there was no car farting—especially, not by me. And now that we’ve cleared that up, we’ll be sure to keep Beefcake away from the wild alfalfa.”
Bob jiggled the latch. “All right, here we go. We’re about to see if you’ve got what it takes.”
Slowly, Bob lifted the latch. With the metal door creaking, the donkeys called out, stomping and shuffling. They knew the drill. The burros whinnied as he opened the gate, and then they were eye to eye with the animals.
“Wow.” Sebastian breathed. “I’ve never had pets before.”
Maud climbed into the trailer, hushing the restless creatures as she untied the ropes that kept the burros from moving around.
Libby studied the animals. How long had it been since she’d seen an actual donkey? It wasn’t like you could find them traipsing around downtown Denver or in the ritzy streets of the Crystal Creek neighborhood. It must have been years ago before her mother had gotten sick. They used to visit a petting zoo in the city—when her father still acted like a father and when the man used to gaze lovingly at her mother. It was almost incomprehensible how much he’d changed since those days.
She tucked the bittersweet memories away and observed Plum. The animal had a gentleness about her, a knowing stillness Libby had once recognized in herself.
“Libby, take the lead rope and guide Plum out of the trailer. This sweet Jennie has done it before. She knows the way,” Maud directed.
Libby focused on the animal as Maud handed her the rope. Plum regarded her with soulful, curious eyes and snow-white eyelashes.