Chapter Eight #2
The morning had drifted into the early afternoon before Poppy was able to check on Sophie.
It had been a long day already, and she felt bad that she had left her alone for so long, putting all of the burden on Barley to look after her.
Much to her surprise, both children were sleeping on the bed.
Sophie was snuggled up to her doll, and Barley was sprawled out next to her with the open Bible laying on his belly.
Poppy couldn’t help it. She had fallen in love with this young boy already. She took the Bible ever so gently off him, then she draped a light blanket over both of them before she left to see if she could help with the horses.
Walking through the living room, Poppy noticed that Neil had left his jacket draped over the back of his chair, so she grabbed it on her way out. The walk up toward the paddock near the barn wasn’t that far, but it also wasn’t very close.
Benson, the barn dog who looked like a cross between a massive wolf and a white cloud, came bounding toward her.
He looked like he was smiling as he jumped in her direction with his big tongue lolling out.
Poppy could only hope that this beast was happy to see her, because she’d never had many interactions with dogs before, particularly such large ones.
Her life in the city had been so very different before. She had never really been exposed to any large animals such as these—at least none that were loose. Poppy had seen some street dogs in Springfield, but those had been a different kind, much smaller and much less friendly.
However, just like the day before, Benson just took a good sniff from her open hand, licked it, ran a circle around her, then trotted next to her like the good guardian he was. For some reason she couldn’t even fathom, Poppy found it comforting to have Benson nearby.
So when she went through the gate and neared the group of horses, most of which were still lying on the ground, she didn’t even think about bringing Benson with her. He ran ahead as she followed him up the small hill.
Unfortunately, Benson didn’t behave as well as she’d expected him to.
Suddenly, Poppy could hear some horses neighing.
One struggled to get up, making a panicked squealing sound.
The large dog began running at every one of the downed horses, barking and even nipping at them.
She watched in horror as Paul and Neil were shouting at the dog, trying to shoo him away.
One of the workers took a large stick and smacked the dog’s backside with it to get him to go away.
“Who let the dog in here?” Neil yelled angrily, but before Poppy could say anything, his eyes darted toward her. His golden eyes seemed to flash like fire, and she could see in his eyes that he was outraged.
Poppy didn’t dare to say anything, but her hand covered her mouth in shock, which was an admission in itself. She felt awful at the chaos she’d caused.
“Get that thing out of here!” Paul yelled worriedly.
One of the taller workers managed to grab the big dog around its chest and carried it to the fence, where he let it down on the other side. Unfortunately, the horses weren’t that easy to calm down.
Poppy immediately rushed toward Storm, who struggled to get up, thrashing her legs helplessly in the air, not gaining any traction. The noises the horse made were heartbreaking. Storm wasn’t only in distress but clearly in pain.
But before she got to the mare, Neil stepped in front of her. His nostrils were flaring.
“What were you thinking?” he yelled. His face looked absolutely furious. “Why do you always cause problems? Don’t you ever think before you do something?”
Poppy flinched. His fury crashed into her like an impenetrable wall, and she could feel his outrage rolling off him in waves. He was more than just angry, it seemed.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Poppy exclaimed in an attempt to defend herself, but it fell on deaf ears. “I didn’t know Benson would be so—”
“This isn’t working,” Neil interrupted her, his voice suddenly calm and controlled, which was more unsettling than his yelling. “You’re interfering with my business, and I can’t have that.”
“I’m so very sorry!” Poppy replied, looking up at him with pleading eyes, not to send her away, but Neil shook his head.
“None of this is working out,” he admitted. “I was hesitant from the start, and I should have listened to my instincts. I think you should go back to the city. You’re better off there.” His face was stone cold when he said it.
Poppy panicked, but she was also overcome with her own anger. Her eyes filled with tears, partially because she was desperate but also because her own fury started to boil over. Neil always treated her so badly, and she’d had enough.
“No!” she yelled back, ripping her arm out of his grip.
“No, I will not go back! I’m your wife now!
You married me! I won’t allow you to abandon this marriage just because you’re as stubborn as a mule and don’t know what it means to be faithful!
I’m not some dog you can chase away like you just did! ”
Poppy shoved Neil’s jacket so hard against his chest that he stumbled a step backward. She saw a flicker of softness in Neil’s eyes, but she didn’t allow it to make herself weak again. She turned on her heels and walked away before he would be able to see the tears fall from her eyes.