Daisies in the Canyon(43)

“Well, shit!” She turned to jog around the house to the front door. The porch would offer some protection while she picked that lock. The stoop at the back didn’t stop a bit of the rain from pelting the hell out of her.

A sudden burst of light blinded Abby and the door flew open. She blinked several times before she could focus.

“Shiloh?”

“You look like a drowned rat. Surely you’ve got enough sense to come in out of the rain. There’s clean towels in the dryer. See you in the morning.”

Standing on the rug just inside the door, Abby shucked out of her coat and hung it on one of a line of nails. “Did you wait up for me?”

“I did not! A clap of thunder woke me and then I saw a couple of headlights through the rain. Looked like aliens. I got up to be sure we weren’t about to be abducted,” she yawned. “You do look a little like E.T. Are you sure you are Abby Malloy?”

“Right now I’m not sure about a damn thing, but thank you for opening the door,” Abby said.

Shiloh waved off the comment with a flick of her wrist. “See you in the morning for chores. It’s going to be so much fun in the rain.”

Martha was lying in the hallway beside her door when Abby reached her bedroom. The dog wagged her tail and stood, meandered inside the room as soon as Abby opened the door, and went straight for the gold rocking chair, where she curled up.

“Do you want a blanket?” Abby laughed.

Martha laid her head down and shut her eyes.

Abby pulled a small throw from the back of the chair and wrapped it around Martha’s body. Then she dropped down on her knees and scratched her ears. “I’m going to take a quick shower. He kissed me again, Martha, and I’m not sure what to do with all these emotions,” she whispered.





Chapter Eleven

All three Malloy sisters crowded into the front seat of the work truck the next morning. Abby drove over the muddy pathway in steady rain to where the cattle waited for breakfast. The hay would be like soggy shredded wheat, but it would be one of those eat-it-or-leave-it situations.

“Okay, are we ready to get wet?” Abby parked the truck and the cattle started coming toward it.

“Might as well be. The clouds aren’t parting,” Shiloh said.

“Next July we’ll be praying for this kind of weather. When it’s so dry the lizards start carrying canteens,” Bonnie said.

Abby was slow to get out in the cold rain. “How do you know?”

“Mama talked about the summer she was pregnant with me. When she got really good and drunk, she’d tell me about that miserable summer and how hard she worked only to have fall come late that year. I was born the third of November and she said the first frost hadn’t even hit the canyon.”

“Your mama drank?” Shiloh asked.

“No, my mama drinks. Might as well get this work over with.” Bonnie threw open the door, scrambled up over the fender, and tossed thee bales out on the ground before the other two could get the clippers out of their hip pockets.

Abby snipped wire as fast as she could and Shiloh crawled into the truck bed to help Bonnie toss the bales out. The lightning bolt that ripped through the sky at the top of the canyon wall was behind them so they didn’t see it. But all three women ducked and covered their heads when the thunder sounded like the whole canyon was falling in on itself.

“Holy shit!” Abby yelled. “Where did that come from?”

“My heart almost jumped out of my chest,” Shiloh said. “I hate storms.”

“Me, too. Let’s get these chores done and go home,” Bonnie said.

“One more load of hay, then you’d better drive the truck to and from the barn so you can get the milk to the house. The hens might get mad at getting wet when Shiloh gets the eggs, but the hogs won’t care if their feed is a little soupier than normal,” Abby said.

If someone had told her a month ago that she’d be working on a ranch with her sisters and enjoying it, she would have thought they were batshit crazy. But there she was, in the middle of a canyon, in the winter, doing chores with siblings and hoping to hell neither of them left.

“And then we get to stay in the rest of the day until chores tonight, right?” Shiloh asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Can’t plow mud, and the barn is clean and ready for whatever happens. Let’s hope we don’t have a problem with a pregnant cow. Either of y’all ever pulled a calf?” Bonnie asked.

“Have you?” Shiloh asked.

“Couple of times, but it’s been a while.”

“You might have to show us if that happens,” Abby said.

Instead of being jealous that her younger sister knew so much more than she did, Abby breathed a sigh of pure, unadulterated relief. Shiloh might throw in the towel after a day like this, but hopefully Bonnie would stick around long enough that Abby could learn from her.

A deep sense of loss hit Abby in the gut at the idea of Shiloh leaving. It was a new feeling and she analyzed it carefully as they finished up the chores the next hour. It had to be blood calling to blood, because she hadn’t felt that way when she left Haley behind every time she went home from a deployment. Similar and yet very different from the loss of her mother, the feeling still caused her to reach inside her pocket for a miniature candy bar. She brought out a handful and offered Shiloh and Bonnie one.