Cornelia smiled at her, moved.
Grace was eager to join in the discussion. “I absolutely believe in reincarnation. I think I’ve had many lives, and all of them involved horses. You never know,” she added with a smirk, “I might’ve been a horse in another life.”
“That I can believe,” Rebecca said with a laugh while Hannah brushed blush across her cheeks.
“Or maybe a mule,” chided Hannah.
The women laughed, no one more than Grace. “You know that Freehold Farm has had its share of paranormal influences. I’m not saying I can explain them. But I’ve witnessed them.”
“You young girls are being quiet. What do you believe?” Cornelia asked.
Elise smirked and shrugged.
Moira responded with alacrity. “Oh, I believe in reincarnation. One hundred percent.”
Gerta held back her smile at the look of surprise on Cornelia’s face. Moira had the reputation of being levelheaded and her uncanny ability with animals was well known.
Katherine nudged Cornelia and said, “What she’s really asking is whether any of us think this is all woo-woo.”
A gentle laughter filled the room and the mood began to flow again with the wine as Grace refilled their glasses.
“Why would we think reincarnation is”—Moira lifted her hands to make air quotes—“woo-woo.” She paused, letting that sink in. “I believe animals have abilities to sense things—or see things—that we cannot. We humans have become so-called evolved. Fact-based. We rely on our left brain for accuracy. For what we see. But it’s our right brain that informs us of instinct, and that sense of knowing something is true, without seeing it.” She looked meaningfully at Cornelia. “Faith.”
They smiled warmly.
Katherine asked, “Horses rely on the right brain for their fight-or-flight instinct. I wonder . . . how many of you evacuated from the storm not just because of the weather warnings, but because you sensed an urgency to flee?”
The women looked at one another.
Hannah raised her hand. “Javi has impeccable instincts. You’ve seen him with horses. He knew we had to go.”
Caroline said, “I always listen to that uh-oh voice in my head. I learned that when I don’t, I regret it.”
“I’m very sensitive about such things,” Grace said. She looked at Gerta and Hannah. “I called each of you to get out, right?”
Gerta tipped her head with a half-smile and raised her glass.
“That sixth sense is within all of us at birth,” continued Moira. “Some humans hone this gift and have more access to auras or visions or experiences like Gerta had. These people are called shamans or visionaries.” Moira offered an uneven smile. “Or kooks. We all are judged for our external knowledge and not for internal wisdom. I stand in awe of our potential, if we choose to explore it.” She turned to Gerta. “Good for you.”
Gerta offered a tremulous smile in return. Her pale face flushed. “Honestly?” She let her gaze sweep the faces of the women in the room. “These feelings are new for me. Totally out of character. But I feel”—she laughed self-consciously and looked at her wineglass—“rather suddenly, like a window has opened and fresh air is blowing in. My left brain is telling me to stop being such an idiot. But my right brain is whispering, Go! You know this is right.” Gerta glanced up, seeking out Elise’s face. Her daughter stood still, listening intently. Gerta laughed lightly, as one making light of her confession.
Grace chimed in and said in a matter-of-fact voice, looking at the women, daring them to deny her. “Gerta’s right. Another thing I know for sure is that we were all meant to meet. This day has been special for me, too. For all of us. Maybe this hurricane brought us together for a reason. Don’t you feel the energy?”
“I do,” called out Caroline. “It’s almost tingly.”
Rebecca and Hannah were nodding their heads.
Katherine’s eyes shone. “I know we were.”
Cornelia grinned wide and clinked glasses with everyone. “Absolutely.”
Gerta brightened, feeling not merely validated, but included in the group of friends. Welcomed.
Grace turned to the two young women. “And that includes you, too.”
Rebecca was drawn by a sudden burst of howling and yapping to the collection of dogs hovering outdoors at the window. Some stood on hind legs, staring almost frantically inside.
“What on earth do these dogs want?” she asked.
Moira chuckled as she set her glass on the counter and rushed over to the window where Bunny and Gigi sat calmly staring out at the near hysterical dogs on the other side of the glass. She swooped up her little Cavalier King Charles spaniel and returned to the group. The pretty tricolor dog was wearing pink ruffled pantaloons. “Gigi’s in heat.”
“Good heavens, girl. Why haven’t you spayed her?” asked Caroline, rising from the table.
Hannah laughed boisterously. “I love it. Look at those boys lined up out there. They’re all in love!”
The mood shot upward as everyone laughed, back on safe ground.
“I co-own her with a breeder,” Moira explained. “I have to see if she wants to breed her one time before I spay her.”
“With the way those dudes are looking at her, good luck with holding out,” said Katherine.
“Oh. My. God,” exclaimed Caroline on a long sigh. She was standing by the window staring out. “Who is that dog?” she asked, pointing.
“Which one?” Elise asked, moving closer to peer out.
“That big one with the brown and white coat, standing by the planter. I swear, he’s staring at me with those big eyes. It’s like he’s looking into my soul.”
Elise squinted. “That’s Jack. He’s the leader of the bunch.”
“He’s my dog, is what he is,” Caroline declared. “I know it.” She looked up, her eyes twinkling. “It’s my instincts at work, right?”
“That’s a perfect segue into what I wanted to talk to all of you about,” Moira said, walking back to the window. Predictably, the moment the dogs waiting there spied Gigi again, they commenced scratching at the window and howling. “Look at all the dogs out there. Good, friendly, healthy dogs. That hurricane is battering Florida, and Danny and Ron will be rescuing a lot more dogs from flooded homes. I have to find homes for these dogs, and I need your help.”
Rebecca, looking quite pretty with her makeover, tilted her head and wagged a finger at Moira as she walked to the window. “Are you trying to rope us into adopting a dog?”
From beside her, Moira heard Elise mutter teasingly, “Busted.”
Moira’s mouth eased into a wide grin. “At least think about it. You know Danny and Ron let the dogs live with them in their house, so they’re all socialized and ready to go. Come on,” she pleaded. “Y’all spent the day helping horses. How about helping these dogs? They need you too. And they’re great, I promise you.”
Katherine moved to the window to peer out. She pointed at one of the terriers. “That little dog looks just like that Benji dog in the movie. I’ve always wanted a dog like that. You know, my Lucy died a few months ago. I’ve been thinking of getting a dog.”