That night as Landon kissed her goodbye, she realized she had other reasons for not revealing her parents’ decision. Part of her simply didn’t want to know if her parents were right. She didn’t want to find out if Landon would treat her differently once he knew her family wasn’t willing to sell Coyote Glen.
The next morning,Dewayne left for a long weekend to visit his mother in Casa Grande. He would only be gone for three nights but still seemed to have his doubts that Kate could manage in his absence. Before heading to his truck, he said, “If anything breaks down, don’t try to fix it. Just let me handle it when I get back. And don’t overfeed the horses, we’re running low on their wet grain.”
She felt like a teenager who’d been reluctantly handed her parents’ car keys. He shouldn’t have made her feel that way. She’d been working here for nearly two months and was capable of buying horse feed when needed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I can manage everything just fine.”
“Good, then you ought to find some time to clean the chicken coop. It needs it.”
Ugh. She shouldn’t have said anything. She should have just waved him a silent goodbye and not given him an opportunity to give her more chores. Now she’d have to clean the coop or it would look like she’d been too overwhelmed to get to the task.
The first day, she attacked the chores with relentless energy and even managed to clean the chicken coop. True, she wasn’t done until after the sun went down, and in the end, she was sort of blindly throwing straw around, but everything was clean. The second day was about the same. The third day went well until the horses’ second feeding. As per Dewayne’s orders, she hadn’t let Grandpa’s prize cutter Marigold out to graze with the other horses. Marigold was due to give birth in a couple weeks, and Dewayne was worried that if she was with the others, she might exert herself too much.
This was only the third day the horse had been confined in her pen, and she was already getting restless. When Kate came into the barn, the mare was pacing around. Probably dying for some exercise and fresh air.
Kate petted her neck sympathetically. “I wouldn’t want to be stuck in that pen either.” And who knew if Dewayne would let her out at all when he got home. Being cooped up for two weeks would be so dreary.
Kate glanced out the barn door. About an hour of sunlight was left. The temperature was cooling but wasn’t too chilly yet. She could let the horse out to stretch her legs for that much time. After Kate ate dinner, she would bring her back to the stables.
Kate led Marigold out to the pasture by the barn, murmuring to the horse that a cute little foal would be worth all the trouble it was causing her now. Then she went into the house to make dinner.
She meant to remember to take the horse back to her pen. She really did. But while Kate ate, she began reading articles about ranchers who were reintroducing native grasses back into their lands. Using them could be more cost effective and better for the environment.
The article about grass reminded her that she’d bought more grass seed but hadn’t recorded the purchase on her expense spreadsheet. Lately she’d spent so much time with Landon, she’d let paperwork slide. Well, no time like the present. She grabbed her laptop and the stack of receipts and sat down on the couch to tackle them. The day’s work had taken a toll on her. When she gave herself a break to lean back and rest her eyes, she immediately fell asleep.
She awoke later, groggy and unsure of where she was. Her phone said it was eleven thirty. She plodded into her bedroom, rubbing her stiff neck, and got ready for bed. Missy was already there, stretched out in the middle of the bed, enjoying the extra room. Kate pushed the dog over to the side.
A banging noise from outside caught her attention. She straightened and listened. Another bang. It sounded like something hitting metal. What could possibly…? Only then did she remember Marigold out alone in the dark.
She bolted from the room, horrified at her mistake. Wolves could be around. Or cougars. She pulled on some shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and ran outside. Missy bounded after her, barking because something interesting was clearly happening. Marigold would be fine, she told herself. Lots of wild horses lived in Arizona and they somehow made it through the night without succumbing to death.
“I’m coming!” she called just in case any predators were around. Maybe the sound of a running person and a barking dog would scare them off.
When Kate finally got close to the pasture, she waved the flashlight left and right, trying to find the horse. Nothing. Nothing. And then the beam hit the horse’s eyes and glowed. Marigold stood by the steel water trough, whole and well.Thank goodness.
Whole and well, but not particularly happy. She pawed at the ground then at the empty trough, making it clang. The thing was empty. Kate had forgotten to check it before she’d turned Marigold out.
Kate jogged that direction, panting. “Sorry, sorry,” she repeated and hoped the horse could understand by the tone of her voice what she meant. “Poor baby. Out here by yourself and thirsty. I’m so sorry.”
She petted her neck, but the horse flicked her mane and pulled away. The action felt like a scolding. Kate took the lead rope and walked the horse to the barn, murmuring more apologies and promising apple slices for days to come. She put the horse in her pen and checked the water there. “We will never speak of this to Dewayne,” she said, and trudged back to the house.
When she crawled back into bed at midnight, she was still chastising herself. She was the worst ranch hand ever. Dewayne had left her alone for three days, and she’d forgotten about a horse. And not just any horse. The expensive pregnant one. The one that had been her grandfather’s pride and joy. What would Dewayne have done if he’d come home early tomorrow morning and Marigold was still out there in the pasture? Would he tell everyone in town how incredibly inept Kate was? Did he tell people that already?
Really, to think she’d felt like such a competent person before she started ranching, that only today she’d been congratulating herself on managing things so well on her own.
The alarm clock kept silently blinking through numbers, reminding her that morning was coming and would bring more chores with it. 12:06, 12:07. Finally, finally she began to relax. And then a terrible thought hit her. What if Marigold wasn’t pacing in her stall earlier because she was restless; what if she was in labor?
No, it was still too early for that. Before Dewayne left, he’d checked the mare’s udder like it was a reliable indicator of the foal’s arrival. He would’ve said something if the horse was about to give birth. But agitation and pacing were signs of labor, and Marigold had been agitated when Kate brought her in. Maybe she hadn’t been indignant at being forgotten, maybe she’d been in pain.
Once more, Kate threw off the covers. She grabbed her coat, put on her boots, and headed to the barn.
Marigold was trudging around her pen, occasionally nudging the straw at her feet. She might still be cold and trying to warm up.
Kate watched her for ten minutes and then twenty, waiting to see if the mare settled down and went to sleep. Every once in a while, the horse stood still, but after a few moments she would pace around again like a restless shadow. Marigold might be sick. Kate would have to check for a temperature, and if the mare was having contractions, she wouldn’t appreciate having a thermometer shoved into her rear. Hopefully, she wouldn’t kick Kate. Ending this night in the emergency room would not improve the situation.
A few minutes later, Kate was more familiar with the horse’s backside than she wanted to be, and she learned that, no, Marigold didn’t have a fever.
If the mare was truly was in labor, Kate should call a vet. However, the idea of ringing up Angelina at a quarter ‘til one was less than appealing. What would Kate tell her? “My horse isn’t sleeping, and I’m not sure whether it’s because she’s in labor or because I accidentally left her out in the cold for hours.”
Angelina would come, smug and condescending, and happily charge her an exorbitant after-hours fee. Then she’d let everyone know how inept Kate was. It would be humiliating.